omg the temp dropped help!

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

my eggs i ordered should be arriving tommorrow so i thought id go ahead and set the incubator up now well i had it on for about 3 hours and the temp was right at 99.5 but when i put some warm water in there for humidity it went down to 99 degrees and it keeps going from 89 to 99 to 99.3 and back and its in a room with no ac on and no fans its been sitting for about 3 hrs now since then how do i get it back up to about 99.6 or so?

 

[KellyHM]

Breathe...give it time. It takes a while for the water to heat up, even if it's warm when you put it in. When you put the eggs in it will drop the temp also...for up to 24 hrs. What kind of bator do you have? You can adjust the thermostat on top a little bit if it's that kind.

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

idk the brand but its an old styrafoam one it looks like the newer little giant still air a bit can i ajust the temp on that?

 

[KellyHM]

Yes, just do it slowly and give 1/2 hour or so in between so it has time to adjust.

 

[Mom2Cool]

well I have a Still air LG & it's my experience that the little knob needs adjusting at the onset of setting it up. It's good you're getting it set to go ahead of time for this very reason. I would adjust the temp using the knob until it's correct and then yes keep in mind as you put in the eggs the temp will drop again & it will take time for the temp to come back up. again it's just my own experience I'm speaking from this past winter here but putting the eggs in it's never taken more than a few hours for it to come back up to the right temp. I have had to watch the bator however & make adjustments at time using the little knob because some times they'll spike like with weather conditions etc. I keep mine in a closet that is out of drafts, air conditioning & heat but when we have a drastic change in weather some times even the closet the air temp changes. This past winter I thought was VERY different from when the weather warmed up & when it was hot outside the LG spiked even in the closet.... So just keep an eye on it. I just make sure mine is on temp for more than a few hours before I 1st set the eggs & then if I'm adjusting using the knob I just keep checking till it's back on temp & it's been there for a while... You should still have time for this now because your eggs will need to rest when they arrive too. Your temp isn't that far off & so I would just close it up & leave it for a few more hours & then if it needs it just up it a tad.

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

which way do i turn the know to turn up the temp? left or right?

 

[Mom2Cool]

mine has arrows pointing the direction (it's on a sticker the knob is fitted through) that's going around the knob. clock wise increases the heat & counter clock wise decreases.

 

[dancingbear]

There should be a little light on top, by the knob. If you nudge the knob just a hair to increase the temp, (on mine that's clockwise) the light should come on.

Here's what I have found with mine: I set it up, get the temp stable, which takes about 24 hours. Once it's right, I wait another 8 hours or so to make sure it'll stay put. Then I add the eggs. No water. (I dry incubate, until day 18, then add a little water to raise humidity to 55-60%.)

Once eggs are in, the temp will drop a little. DO NOT ADJUST AT THIS TIME. Just leave it alone, and let the eggs warm up. This may take as long as 24 hours. That's ok. They'd warm up slowly under a hen, too. Start counting the 21 days, after the first 24 hrs.

If they are below 99.5 at 24 hrs., wait another 8. Recheck. If they're still a little cool, give a very slight nudge up on the temp. As slight as you can manage. Then wait at least 2 hours, and recheck. If it's right at 99.5, recheck in 8 hrs or so. I get a slight fluctuation with mine, it'll run about 99.8-100.5, and that's perfect for mine. Any lower I get late hatches, any higher I don't want to try. At this temp, they hatch right on schedule, which to me means the temp is right.

If you fall into adjusting the temps constantly, you'll get spikes and drops, very bad for the eggs. Wait and see, always, before you mess with it, UNLESS TEMP IS TOO HIGH. They turn it down a hair, and open the top for a minute to cool it off. Recheck every 15 minutes until its low enough to be safe. Eggs tolerate cooling a little pretty well, but you can't un-cook an embryo. A little cool, they can make it. Too hot will kill, a lot faster than too cool.