Insulating an incubator

[happyhens1972]

As some of you have seen in my post entitled 'jinxed', I have had a power cut which lasted two hours and sent me into a panic over the 14 eggs I currently have on day 11 in my RCom 20 Max.

I have candled the eggs now and am happy to report all 14 are still harbouring very lively little wrigglers. I only hope that the hatch itself won't be compromised in any way by this temperature loss.

The power cut was due to very high winds across the UK causing all sorts of issues and the radio stations are warning to expect further power cuts across the country. My question is this....is there anything I can do to help insulate the incubator in case of another power failure? I thought about putting it inside a cardboard box and wrapping a towel round it but I am concerned that this would cause over-heating problems, either within the incubator itself or, more generally, in the fire-causing sense! I don't need to lose my eggs but I certainly don't need to lose my house to an electrical fire either!!!!

The incubator is currently in a room which probably averages a temperature of around 60 to 65 degrees....should I raise the temperature in the room (via the central heating) so that if the power fails, the room is at least warmer and the eggs will cool slower? If I raise the temperature in the room, am I likely to cause the incubator's internal temps to fluctuate....they have held steady and solid at 99.5 so far but that is in the cooler room. Obviously when the power fails, the central heating goes off too and the room will cool down again anyway but maybe it being warmer to begin with will make a difference?

Or should I just stop fussing and trust that this power failure didn't kill them so the next shouldn't either?

Any suggestions Peeps?

 

[MillersFarm]

What type of incubator do you have? One way of keeping a incubator warm for a short while is by filling up plastic bottles of Hot water and placing them against the incubator...

 

[happyhens1972]

What type of incubator do you have? One way of keeping a incubator warm for a short while is by filling up plastic bottles of Hot water and placing them against the incubator...

I have an RCom 20 max. Thank you for your suggestion. The trouble is, the power cut happened when I was at work. I'm reasonably confident I can keep things where they need to be if I am home when it happens, my concern is about it happening when I'm not there to put hot water bottles or whatever in place.

 

[Laodicia]

if you have an alarm clock that will sound in the event of a power outage I have kept eggs alive overnight with no power with body heat - eggs on my chest and a pillow over top of them. temperature had dropped to 93* before I moved them out of the incubator on to me. I slept on the couch so I wouldn't roll over on to them. (just an idea)

 

[happyhens1972]

if you have an alarm clock that will sound in the event of a power outage I have kept eggs alive overnight with no power with body heat - eggs on my chest and a pillow over top of them. temperature had dropped to 93* before I moved them out of the incubator on to me. I slept on the couch so I wouldn't roll over on to them. (just an idea)

Sorry....I think we both posted at the same time there. Again, great suggestion, thank you so much, but I'm talking about a power outage in my absence.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

You can put marbles or river rocks in the bottom of the incubator in the water reservoirs and they will hold heat and keep the temperature a bit higher.

 

[happyhens1972]

You can put marbles or river rocks in the bottom of the incubator in the water reservoirs and they will hold heat and keep the temperature a bit higher.

That might help if the water was in where the eggs are but in the RCom 20, the water reservoirs are not in the same area as the eggs so I can't see that that would make a difference. They are in a separate compartment, in front of the egg area and the fan just presumably blows across the surface to distribute the humidity. Once the power fails, the fan won't do that anymore so I don't think the eggs would benefit from any conserved heat. Thank you for the suggestion and please don't think I am brushing off everyone's advice, I just don't think that would work in my given circumstances. Another fab idea though xxx

 

[Laodicia]

Sorry....I think we both posted at the same time there. Again, great suggestion, thank you so much, but I'm talking about a power outage in my absence.

yes we did. Uh, I'm not really sure what to suggest. I've never used that incubator before, but if you have room, maybe put the stones/marbles/jars of water in where the eggs are. Just be aware that when you first put them in the temperature will change. I wouldn't recommend changing the room temperature, every time I've done that it completely screwed up the consistent temperatures. maybe try to find a room to put the incubator in that has less variation in temperature, like a bathroom maybe, mine doesn't have any outside walls no windows so it has a more constant temperature for longer. just be careful if it is a bathroom of humidity being too high.

 

[Feathers4Fun2]

Stop Fussing? Oh no! Fussing over a clutch of eggs is half the fun - Mama hen does, why should we be any different? Enjoyed your post and those that responded to your dilemma.

 

[Percheron chick]

You can place the incubator on a towel to help retain heat. I do it just so it doesn't work as hard to maintain temp. I also cover it with a box because the room it is in is pretty cold.
That is a nice high end incubator. It's not going to oveairflow if you cover it. Do not cove the vents to where you are restricting airflow.