newbie question, thermostat probe in water wiggler or in air

[sbkdownunder]

hi everyone, I have just built my first incubator based on some of the lovely designs on this forum. I have put my thermostat probe into a water filled film roll container, thinking that it would act like a water wiggler, and would give me close to the inside temperature of an egg. this temperature is quite stable and fluctuates very little as the liquid holds the temperature well, now that I have the bator running. however the surrounding air temperature fluctuates wildly depending if the heat is on or off.
so my question is:

a) do I keep the thermostat probe as is, and add a similar thermometer probe setup to give me a control temperature reading, as the inside probe and outside air temperature don't match or
b) should the thermostat probe go into the air above the eggs to work on the surrounding air temperature, rather than the inside water temperature, and I use a couple of normal thermometers reading air temp for contol?

the setup works fine, but I am reluctant to set any eggs until I have the temp spot on. here is a picture of my setup, I will post the complete setup on the bator design page, when I run the first batch.

thank you in advance for any guidance you can give me.

 

[fried green eggs]

Hi &

Congrats on building your first incubator!

The temp in your incubator will stay more even if you add some heat sinks. Glass jars with lids on filled with warm water work well. I always use at least two thermometers and two hygrometers that get calibrated before I start new eggs. If you have not read this post - it is a must read for all new hatchers. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 Hope you have a Great Hatch!!!

 

[sbkdownunder]

yes, thanks, I have added a new and sealed 600ml bottle of water to the bator, and may be able to add more if I wire them to the lid, though 600ml may be enough... my question was more about the set up of the thermostat probe and why the outside air and inside water wasn't matching, however it has now stabilised and actually reads the same. I do have multiple thermometers and hygrometers on order, just waiting for them to arrive in the post, but hopefully I have all the bits I need.
thanks for your encouragement. exciting times!