NOT so impressed with the LG (UPDATE: PIPS!!)

[FenDruadin]

Using an LG as a hatcher. I was so impressed with how it held temps steady at first, but now it fluctuates so wildly it's driving me insane. Mostly it gets warm during the day and cold at night, but sometimes it fluctuates during the day too.

And right now I'm not sure what to do because the in-incubator thermometer registers 102 degrees, but the more-accurate probe thermometer says 94, and they are not usually that wildly off from each other. I just replaced the batteries in the in-incubator therm to see if that's the problem. I'd do the same for the probe, but it takes a watch battery and I don't have one handy.

I don't really need advice or anything. I knew the perils of the LG when I bought it, and I know it's a cheap bator. I just wanted to post an update to add to the general body of knowledge about the LG.

Anyway--we'll see how the hatch goes. I hope well. We'll see.

 

[debilorrah]

Sorry you are going through that. I did some research before I bought mine and I am SOOO glad I did not go the cheap route because I was REALLY tempted.

 

[Cowgirl71]

How old is your bator? I've found that with my LGs the first thing to go out on them is the little gadget that tells them to turn on/off... Next time I need another bator, I'm going to try the GQFs. I've heard they're a much better investment.

 

[georgialee]

That stinks! I hope your hatch still turns out well.

 

[FenDruadin]

Thanks, guys. It's brand new. And yeah, I did my research--I knew what I was getting into. My understanding is that temps don't matter as much during the hatch, so a lot of people--including several I know actually IRL, amazingly enough--use them as hatchers, because they're a cheap way to run staggered hatches without the complications of hatching in a bator full of younger eggs. So I know they can be very successful as hatchers, and my current set-up really calls for economical ways of doing things (i.e., I don't have much money for this!). So I will make it work. It's just frustrating, and I wanted to put it on the record that the Hovabator (which is what my primary incubator is) is a far superior machine, in my opinion. But I guess everyone already knows that.

 

[msheets]

I really hope your hatch isn't affected to much by the temp fluctuations! I already had a LG from when I was younger then I just bought another LG 2 days ago. In the next few months though I plan on building my own & saying the heck with them, then just donate my 2 to a school or something. That sucks you're having to deal with that, I'm sure it's stressfull )=

 

[mandyp]

Mine was given to me, but it's new. I'm having the same problem. Mercury thermometer says 108, digital says 96, & my husbands point & shoot fancy thermometer says 99.

 

[morninggloryhatchery]

I'm really sorry about your LG!

But if you get another Incubator I recommend a Brinsea for sure! Never had problems with it and there no messing around with temperature. It's factory set at 99.5! and there's a knob you can turn it up a little bit - ducks or other fowl etc

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

I use an LG as well I have found that once I set the temp to a steady 99.5 I do not touch it. If I notice that the thermometer reads alittle low I throw a towel around it If you cover just the little window you will see a difference in temps. I usually put a towel around it over night when the room temp changes and so far this has worked for me. I think people have trouble when they constantly raise or lower the temps. JMHO Micki

 

[FenDruadin]

Oh, thank you for that! I'm going to get it so that the temp is right at the peak of the day's heat (to avoid the danger of upward temp spikes), then I'll stop messing with it and just throw towels over it when I know it's going to get cooler in here. Thank you SO much for that tip.

The babies have still not pipped, which is weird because they usually pip a couple days early and they are due Saturday (i.e., they usually pip Tuesday night or Wednesday morning), but that may have to do with slightly lower temps while I had another batch locked down with them in my Hova before I got the LG. They are still alive--or at least, the one I candled this morning was--and either internally pipped or working at it.

Temp was really good this morning.

Mandyp--when there's a discrepancy between my digital in-bator thermometer and the fancy probe thermometer (I got it from Hoegger's Goat Supply--it's for pasteurizing milk, but it's rated for use in air or liquid and has a guaranteed accuracy to 0.1 degree F), I always go with the fancy probe. I think that must be right this time too, because the eggs would be cooked by now if the other thermometer were correct (it's been reading 104 for days). But it still always freaks me out.

I know the Brinsea's are awesome machines. I'd love to have one some day, but this operation has to pay for itself or I can't afford to do it right now, and there's no way the Brinsea can pay for itself with the cost of it and the number of eggs it holds. So sadly, I'm stuck with cheap bators for now.

We are planning to build a cabinet incubator, but we have so many other livestock projects right now that it will be a while before we get to it.

Thanks so much, both for the sympathy and the advice. I really appreciate it!