need recommendation on brooder thermometer

[flossyandprissy]

All the ones I see on Amazon have bad reviews. I don't wanna get one the is off or will quit on me. Suggestions please?

 

[DraigAthar]

I work in a laboratory, and I liked the typed of thermometers we use to monitor equipment at work, so I bought one like them. I love it so far, let me find you a link to what I got ... here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006H8LHG0/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I specifically wanted one with max/min recording. This one has a wide temperature range because I wanted to use it for other tasks as well. You could look up a similar one with a narrower temperature range if you want to use it only for incubation.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

Whatever thermometer you buy, test it against a known temp.

This is what I did before starting an incubation and I used them in the brooder too.

Tips on checking accuracy of thermometers and hygrometers:

The thing you want to do is check that any of thermometers and hygrometers are correct by testing them against a known criteria.
Comparing devices is useless unless you know how accurate any of them are.

I used a candy thermometer tested in boiling water and noted how far off 212 degrees it was...or whatever temp water boils at your altitude.
You can check your boiling temp at altitude here.
Then put the candy thermometer and 3 others in the incubator during the test run and compared them all, noting any differences.
I made a chart noting all temps and made notes about if this one reads this temp it is actually that temp.

Hygrometers can be tested by putting 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup water in a dish or jar and mixing it to a slurry.
Put the salt slurry jar and the hygrometer next to each other in a sealed plastic bag.
After 8-12 hours the hygrometer should read 75%...again note and differences and you're set.

 

[DraigAthar]

This is excellent advice, especially the part of calibrating a hygrometer. As for checking the thermometer against a known, that's great too, just be sure to check that whatever themometer your get can actually handle temps up to boiling point. Not all of them can, heh, and you don't want to accidentally kill your new thermometer.