Little Giant incubator...hate it!

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

Hubby actually went out on his own and bought a Little Giant still air incubator and the matching egg turner. He installed a pc fan so it has air movement. Had it all set up and put some of our own eggs in it to hatch.

It doesn't hold temp or humidity like my Hova, fluctuates so freakin' much it is not funny. Any hints or tips other than pitch it or take it back to the store?

 

[arllcountrygirl]

yea - that is typical - you can cover with a towel to help it hold the temp. but you still have to check it quite frequently.

 

[gabrielle1976]

If its in a stable inviroment it shouldnt flucate to bad once its up and running , the thing with LG is that they are slaves to there enviroment and they are very touchy to calabrate the knob is soooo senstive , You should adjust it a tiny tiny smidge then give it at least 2 hours to see what the temp does. Befor adjusting it again.
Good luck someone else will know more Im shure

 

[ChickyLaura]

I am on day 4 of using my LG & I am a first timer. I had my bator running for a few days before I put the eggs in. It does take an hour or two after you make any changes, like gabrielle said, and also you MUST only turn the knob a TINY smidgen to adjust the temps. But for me, so far, so good. We have been keeping our house temp pretty constant as well. I have been keeping my humidity around 40%-44% just by keeping the bottom "cups" filled with water. Hopefully I'll have a good hatch!

Play around with it for awhile before you take it back, maybe (?) you'll keep it!

 

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

Quote:
Very touchy...if I bump it there is up to 8 degrees difference.

 

[Marion]

I have used an LG for two years and had no trouble with temps or humidity, I do keep it in a draft free room inside the house where the temperatures are pretty stable though. I bought a Hovabator 1602N to use for a hatcher and it took me 3 days to get the thing up to a steady temperature but since I got it set it is as stable as the LG. I do agree that the LG knob is too small and takes a bit of practice to learn to adjust, there is a post that has a great idea for fixing that small problem though... have a look!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=164562&p=1

 

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

I am just scared I will screw something up with the LG and have a bad hatch...

 

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

I appreciate all the advise and direction...this is such a cool place.

 

[ChickyLaura]

I gotta agree, this place is THE best. I have learned SOOO much here.

 

[Davaroo]

I make a bubble wrap blanket for mine and I put flat river stones in the bottom of it to help buffer temp swings. Then I put it on the bottom of a closet, on a piece of insulating board.
This way it experiences no overt room air fluctuations.

These bators are notorious for temp swings, in my experience. Even minor room changes affect them. So I mitigate that by doing the above.
And I always leave mine running for a week with some water filled 20 oz soda bottles in it - before I put an egg even close to it.

The problem is, we're trying to control such a small air mass. In a small space, little disturbances get out of hand fast and become big - fast.

I finally did away with it altogether and made my own. I just took the guts from the LG and used them in a box of my own design. It quadruples the LG's air mass and so is more stable.