Little Giant Hatch Along

[BookWorm243]

I did the box just like you, and had 4 layers of cardboard. I put foil on the bottom and I had the light in the bottom. I also built a rack for the eggs out of old wire. I checked on the temp. and it was up to 104 so I turned the light of when I turned back on it was down to 90. It got to about 95ish and a very strong burning smell filled the living room ( sigh) So that was the end of that one, this is the 4th time I have tried to make my own incubator they all either start to catch fire or don't get hot enough

I am not sure what I am doing wrong

bunnibird55, I am candling every day

I couldn't handle only candling twice! If you can do it more power to ya

 

[youngbiddy]

Quote:
You need to wire your heat source to a thermostat. The thermostat will turn the heat on and off as needed. It sounds like your light came into contact with something, or the base of it did. There's a porcelain fitting you can attach to your box and then screw the bulb into. The porcelain insulates the box from contact with too much heat. Take a look at this..

http://www.fruitridgetools.com/stor...aspx?sfid=136763&i=199210236&mpid=8171&dfid=1

You can attach it to the box and it won't set the box on fire. Always a plus. LOL

 

[artathart]

Havent slept......Cannot hold a steady temp at day 5......Please shoot me now.

 

[youngbiddy]

Quote:
Okay sir/ma'am, step away from the ledge.

You've got to stop touching that stupid little stick. If the temp goes over 102.5 (in a still-air, 101.5 in a forced-air) take out a plug. If it continues to climb, turn the knob down a tiny bit and wait. And by a tiny bit, I mean you barely move it at all. Like, you hardly feel you moved it at all. It should stop going up and actually come down some since you've got a plug out. When it levels out at the right temp, mark the stick and top of the bator with a Sharpie. Place the tip at the base of the stick and you'll leave a mark on the stick and a mark on the bator that line up with each other. This is the sweet spot. You may have temp variations a degree up or down after that, but as long as you leave it where it is you won't overheat and you won't drop too low.

 

[artathart]

Quote:
Okay sir/ma'am, step away from the ledge.

You've got to stop touching that stupid little stick. If the temp goes over 102.5 (in a still-air, 101.5 in a forced-air) take out a plug. If it continues to climb, turn the knob down a tiny bit and wait. And by a tiny bit, I mean you barely move it at all. Like, you hardly feel you moved it at all. It should stop going up and actually come down some since you've got a plug out. When it levels out at the right temp, mark the stick and top of the bator with a Sharpie. Place the tip at the base of the stick and you'll leave a mark on the stick and a mark on the bator that line up with each other. This is the sweet spot. You may have temp variations a degree up or down after that, but as long as you leave it where it is you won't overheat and you won't drop too low.

This was out of no where. It was ALMOST fine for a couple days then out of no where...it drops from 101 to 97. So I moved my digital sensor. It has yet to stablize in about 8 hours. Havent slept. Where is this sweet spot you speak of? I have my digital sensor in the hole in the back inbetween 2 eggs now not touching anything right about egg level. Should I move it somewhere else maybe?

 

[youngbiddy]

Hold on, let me go take a pic to show what I mean.

Okay, your sensor should be between two eggs reading around 99.5 for a forced air or at the top of the eggs reading 101.5 for a still-air. Personally, I added a fan 8 days into my first incubation because the still-air temps were driving me batty. Now, what I meant about making the mark was on the temperature knob at the base, like this:

When those two marks are lined up, I know that the temp may fluctuate up or down a degree or so but it comes back to the right temp and doesn't overheat or get too cool. Basically, you need to stop worrying about keeping it perfect all the time, because it won't unless it's in a 70 degree room that stays perfectly steady. What you need to do is make the very tiniest of adjustments and wait for a couple of hours between them to make sure you're not turning it in response to minor temp fluctuations that level out on their own.

 

[artathart]

Quote:
Thanks!

 

[youngbiddy]

This fan is inexpensive and easy to install, it leveled out my temps nicely..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140400242972&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

[artathart]

Quote:
Thanks, But I cannot invest in a fan since once this hatch is over, I am returning this POS to TSC. I have a 30 day return window so I am not keeping this. It does NOT perform to the standards I had for it nor does it perform as the instructions claim either. I am returning this LG and the egg turner and buying a Brinsea.

 

[youngbiddy]

More power to you! I'd get a Brinsea if I had the moolah. I hope that my suggestions above are helpful in the meantime.