MissPrissy and the Genesis Gang--Temp Question!!

[Crunchie]

Hey guys,

I have my new Genesis set up and running. I know it's pre-set. I know I should leave it alone. I know it says that it is often more accurate than the thermometer that it comes with, so you should not go by that and think that the temp is off. I know I should plug it in, add water and eggs, and walk away.

BUT. The two thermometers I have in there both say that it is at 101 degrees. Honestly, I've tried expensive thermometers, but I keep coming back to the cheap ones that GQF sends with the incubators--I've found that the analog thermometers are more accurate. So that's what I have in there, 2 analog thermometers. I've hatched sucessfully with these thermometers--I've trusted them before, but that doesn't mean that they are correct.

What do I do? I really have to get eggs in the bator this afternoon!! But I don't want to go messing with the pre-set temps on this bator if I'm just going to go screwing things up! Do I trust the 'bator?? I'm really fed up with my old hova bator, I don't want to put the eggs in that one.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

does it constantly stay at 101 degrees or ? Mine stays at 100 degrees and fluctuates up to 101 occassionally. When I had the water wiggler in it, the egg temp was around 99 degrees at all times.

 

[Crunchie]

It went right up to 101 and has been there ever since--very steady! I don't have a water wiggler, but I do sometimes get an "egg" temp with a little container of water...I'm think that I'm going to try that with yet another thermometer.

 

[K&H Chicken Farm]

Call GQF. They have a great sevice dept.

 

[KKluckers]

GQF and Brinsea asell a spot check thermometer. The most accurate I have found for 20.00 I use mine with a water wiggler. My hatches have been great since I started using it.

 

[McGoo]

Is 101 too high? I thought that would be an acceptable range.

 

[urbanagrarian]

I have 2 of them. One to incubate and one to hatch.
As I recall the directions say to try it out with the factory settings and then only change it after one or two hatchings if adjustment is needed.

I have never adjusted either of mine. I never even look at the temperature any more after continual hatching for the last 3 months. I do watch my hydrometer though, because my house humidity fluctuates widely. I try to keep the incubator between 40 - 55% and the hatcher 65% - 70%. I'm obsessive about the hatcher humidity, but often don't even have a hydrometer in the incubator. My hatch rate has been over 90%. I love this incubator. I do sometimes fear that 4 months continually running of the incubators and turner may eventually kill the motors, but so far so good.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
It depends what you are measuring.

If you have a wiggler, and an accurate thermometer, the reading should be 99.5, and it shouldn't vary too much .... maybe 0.5F up and down.

If you are measuring the air temp at egg height, 101F is the usual setting, but this isn't always easy to measure, as it WILL vary up and down, sometimes by quite a bit. This doesn't matter, it's the average that counts. A series of readings over a few hours will give you an idea.

The Brinsea Spot Check is a good choice.

 

[MissPrissy]

I would leave it alone. But if you really must change it look in the toggle hole on the thermostat. #4 should be on. If so, turn #4 off and turn #3 on. The temp should drop by 1/2 a degree. If it drops more than a half degree toggle #3 off and turn #4 on again and just leave it alone.

 

[Crunchie]

Ok, well...I left the incubator alone for another couple of hours. Decided I would walk away from it for a bit and quit staring at it. My husband comes to me after awhile and says, "what were you having a fit about all afternoon? The temperature? This thermometer says exactly 100, and it's staying there, has been there awhile now."

Maybe it just needed a couple more hours to get itself straight? I don't know. But the temp went down to 100 and did stay there. I loaded it up with eggs a few hours ago--it just got back up to temp maybe an hour or so ago and has been perfect ever since.

No matter how many times I hatch, I'm never going to quit being a paranoid, obsessive-compulsive worry-wort, am I?

I might look into other thermometers again, I just really haven't had any luck with the digital ones. But I don't think I've tried the Brinsea Spot Check.