Older cabinet incubator... how to adjust temp!?!

[CrazyWestTexasFarmGirl]

Hi Guys! Im new here. Been lurking for a while....
So I scored a cabinet incubator for FREE last weekend.... we werent sure if it worked but it gave me something to start with to make one if not.
Fired it up and it worked. Let it run yesterday and it shot up to 111 degrees..... now there is no obviouse way to adjust the temps and I dont
know what to do! It has two of the disk wafer tsat things inside, is is as simple as tightening them up? They were loose and would turn, just now
I turned them until they tighened down....
I sooo want to use this incubator asap now that I know it runs..... so am freaking out.

I still cant believe I got this thing.. I have been dreaming of a cabinet incubator and when we hatched our first batch of chicks last weekend
I posted pics on my facebook... about 5 mintutes later an old friend from high school calls and tells me... hey I saw your chicks... can you use another incubator...
I was like heck yeah... thinking its a little styro like I already have... he said I dont know what kind it it... but you need your TRUCK and its HEAVY.
Seems he bought an old farmplace and it had sheds packed with stuff, he let me pick through and get stuff I wanted and told me to come back and take whatever I want that left..... it has old cooops and everything... not sure if they are salvagable though I might try. I got a brooder light, calf milk feeder buckets, some horse tack, and a bunch of other stuff and that was just picking around in the dark with very little light... I got this incubator home thinking it was manual turn and no fan.... nope its got an autoturner with fast turn and off switch... fan... hatch tray with dividers and cover.... everything...

OK enough babble for now... does anyone know if tighening those things down will adjust it?

Serena

 

[JScatt69]

The wafers are your thermostats and you do turn them to adjust, turning clockwise lowers the temp. Do you have a small indicator light that lights up when heating element has turned on? Below the wafers there should be a little switch that the wafer activates check to make sure the little button isn't stuck. If the unit has sat a long time it's probably a good Idea to disassemble and clean all the little parts and stuff. If you are turning those discs and it doesn't turn the element off I would guess something is stuck, broke or dirty.


J

 

[panner123]

Many here will be envious of your good luck. We all need friends like yours. Clean that puppy up and and hatch many healthy bay chicks. It will last for many years to come.

 

[CrazyWestTexasFarmGirl]

Yikes I was turning them counterclockwise this morning. I just went and turned them back clockwise a ways.
FRom what I can see there is not switch...

Hopefully the pics work.....

 

[dbcooper02]

Here's a link to the GQF instructions for the 1200 series incubators which use the 2 wafer thermostats. On the first page are detailed instructions on how to set-up and adjust the dual thermostats.

https://www.gqfmfg.com/pdf/1202 1250 Cabinet model instructions.pdf


By the way, looking at your photos I can see that the front wafer is dead. I think the first thing you should do is find a couple of new wafers. You can check feed stores in your area or find them on line at a variety of places like GQF, Mcmurray hatchery, Randal Burkey etc.

hth, db

 

[JScatt69]

Were you able to get the temp down by turning clockwise? Thats how the ones I've had worked. Looks like those cylinder shaped things in front of the wafers are your "switches" if you can look behind them their might be some sort of contact that the wafer touches when it expands. If you still don't get to work you might want to check your electrical connections and replace the black electrical tape with wire nuts. If you know a electrician he/she can test your electrical parts with a multimeter tester. I'm sure others on here will have some advice. I'm not sure why they used to T-stats plus it looks like they are linked together? One might be for the fan?

 

[NYREDS]

On the outside of the cabinet you should find a screw that goes through the wall of the cabinet & attaches to thr wafers. You adjust the temperature by turning those screws, They should have a wing nut/locking collar that holds them in position once you have reached the desired temperature.

Determine which thermostat is secondary & set it 1/2 degree higher than your desired temp. Then adjust the primary thermostat to the desired temp. That way if the primary fails the secondary will keep the temp from getting too high, That's why there are 2.

 

[CrazyWestTexasFarmGirl]

ok so if one of the wafers is dead. ... can I change this setup out to a different kind of tsat like the water heater tsats others have used when building their own? HOw cna you tell the wafer is dead?

 

[CrazyWestTexasFarmGirl]

NYREDS! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! on the outside there were two L shaped rods with wingnuts... they had the cord wrapped around them and it looked like they were tohold the cord.... But as soon as i started turning them I HEARD it click and the red indictor light went OFF! (by then the temp was up to 117 after my tinkering this morning.) IT has quickly dropped to 111 and clicked back on so I turned some more... Earlier I was physically turning the wafers themselves reaching inside the incubator.... and I think I was acutally turning them counterclowise to the way they would turn turning the wingnuts things clockwise.

 

[ga_goat]

The wafers will hold a better constant ( more level ) temp than a water heater one would , I have a water heater theromostat in my home made cabinet and i;n not at all happy with it , I have an electronic one on the shelf waiting for the eggs in there to finish so I can put it in ,,
BTW ,, what was your / our friends name ,, I just gave 150 for one almost like yours but havn't had time to check mine out yet .