Need suggestions to stabilize humidity and Temperature at 55%RH; 100F

[rosco]

I'm having trouble getting conditions correct. i've drilled four holes in top but now the temperature is all over the place. so is the humidity. i've tried stoppering each of the the holes but the humidity sky rockets.
here is photo:

here is top view (two fans on right lower; light bulb on upper right; R= Thermostat; light blue is water bowl and egg carton in middle. T = thermometer is mounted on right side of egg basket and just on top of basket):

Here is side view (two fans on left (one upper pointed down and lower one pointed to just bypass light bulb b/c i can't angle it onto lightbulb with hardware wire in the way; light bulb on left, T=Thermometer on top of left side of egg basket; water bowl and R = Thermometer on right).

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

If your thermostat is a hot water thermostat it needs to be real close to the light. Something like 2 inches away. If its something more sensitive it should work there.

 

[rosco]

Quote:
ooops. it is in the opposite side of the cooler. this would help control the lag between on/off and temp on the opposite side. both sides are not the same temperature now that i've put holes in the lid.

ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS? IT SEEMS I'VE SEEN SEVERAL WITH THERMOSTAT'S ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COOLER?

I'm not sure if i can get it two inches from the bulb.

eeeks. i hope i can remove the thermostat.

Thanks. rosco.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Placement is key with hot water thermostats. It has about 5 degrees between the temp it comes on at an the one it goes off at. If the thermostat is far from the light the whole incubator has to go up an down those 5 degrees. If it is very close to the light only the small space by the light has to go up an down that far. The rest of the incubator stays close to the temp the thermostat kicks on at. Two inches is a round number. Put it where you can that is close to the light. But make sure the fan is not blowing cold air on it.

 

[rosco]

Quote:
Rebel,
Kewl. it is helping. the thermostat is about 3 or inches away and that is helping. W/o removing the hardware cloth and destroying cooler, this is as close as it will come . i turned it on its side to get the membrane any closer to the bulb.

the temperature was hovering between 97 & 100. we'll see if this narrows the swings.

another issue is the humidity. it is either way too low or way too high. i've put holes in the lid, 1/4". i've been stoppering them to try to get temp balanced with humidity. it seems to settle at ~66%RH.

you can see the holes and probably much of the design on my incubator page of "my page."

thanks for you help rebelcowboysnb!

Rosco

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

You could try a smaller water bowl an move it closer to the fan to raise humidity. Or use a coke bottle an make a wick out of a strip of cloth. Tie a string to it so you can hang the wick from the top in to the water. Adjust the height to adjust the humidity.

 

[rosco]

Quote:
I like the coke bottle wick idea. This would require much work though.

i'll try to keep the temp at 100F. the thermometer doesn't read tenth of a degree so i'll shoot to have it bounce between 100 & 99.

i'd like to have the humidity stable at 55%RH but it is much higher. 66%RH. if this is not exceptable and things dont' change soon, i'll follow the coke bottle wick idea. this will allow humidity control that doesn't affect temp. poking holes in the lid releases both heat and vapor.

Great idea and i'm curious lo learn the acceptable range of RH.

Rosco

 

[geosheets]

If you have a sponge in your water pan, reduce the size of it... basically you need to decrease surface area of the water pan to lower the humidity.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Here is some info on humidity.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113681

http://cmfarm.us/ventilation.html

 

[rosco]

Quote:
Yeah, i took the wire cutters to the hardware wire and cut/chopped/hacked a hole to get a sponge into the water bowl. we'll see where the humidity ends up.

I've two eggs in there right now. they probably aren't even fertile as it is 2.5 wks past exposure to rooster but the temp has been mostly between 99-100, according to the thermometer. i wonder how accurate this thermometer is. i've put another cheap $1 glass tube thermometer and it reads 105 or 106.

Thanks for the push to finally destructively insert sponge into the bowl! i know it will decrease the water activity and drop RH.

Rosco