Redwood Incubators - Information, help, for sale and wanted

[ftwchopper]

I loaded up our FarmMaster 1200 yesterday with about 6 dozen eggs. No, it's not very full but I could spread out the egg types in various trays. ftw: does the paper toweling on the tray bottoms interfere with the air flow at all?We found an 18 x18 ceramic tile at Lowes to put on the water tray rails. I have a rimmed cookie sheet on top of that and ours seems to require 3 pts water every 2 days to keep the humidity above 20%. I had water in it and running for the week before setting eggs to soak the wood. The plan is to add sponges for hatching humidity top and bottom.
We threw a quilt over it too, and discovered that one area of the side at the top lid feels MUCH warmer-- like there is a leak. There is no sign of any gasketing there so we aren't sure we want to add some. No signs of air leakage at the door despite missing the bottom hinge. So far, so good. Made a turning chart so we know who pulled/pushed the slides and when. It does not seem to lose much,if anything, when we open the door to use the turning sliders.
I didn't get any new hygrometer wick ordered so we are relying on 2 battery powered hygrometer/temp displays. I don't care for the original hygrometer setup although it seems intact. Placement just seems wrong compared to all the pictures I see online.

Ive been adding the paper towels in the trays of my sportsman for a long time and have had great hatches in that.I wouldnt see why that wouldnt work in the redwood.The instructions say to keep all the trays in it when hatching,even if you have eggs in only one tray.I found some felt stripping about two inches wide at the hardware store.I stapled that around the entire top of the incubator to seal it and screwed the rear cover back on.Seems to keep better temperature now with less fluctuation.

 

[maryhysong]

Have you changed the thermostat setting?

no; it's been running continuously at 98, was waiting for it to get to 99 to adjust it. Have a cheap thermometer/hydrometer in there; on another thread someone suggested take the batteries out and put back it to reset them. Did that, no change. Thought this afternoon maybe it was the position and maybe it was warmer on the top tray. This T/H unit has a probe for taking out door temp, then the sensor for the indoor temp and humidity are on the unit itself. So I moved the unit itself down a bit and put the outdoor sensor up on the top tray. Reading by the bottom tray it says 97. Reading at the top tray says 98. Still thinking it's this digital unit maybe, so put my mercury cooking thermometer in there and it is readying 100 exactly. So I'm thinking I need to order a better unit. Any suggestion?

 

[ftwchopper]

no; it's been running continuously at 98, was waiting for it to get to 99 to adjust it. Have a cheap thermometer/hydrometer in there; on another thread someone suggested take the batteries out and put back it to reset them. Did that, no change. Thought this afternoon maybe it was the position and maybe it was warmer on the top tray. This T/H unit has a probe for taking out door temp, then the sensor for the indoor temp and humidity are on the unit itself. So I moved the unit itself down a bit and put the outdoor sensor up on the top tray. Reading by the bottom tray it says 97. Reading at the top tray says 98. Still thinking it's this digital unit maybe, so put my mercury cooking thermometer in there and it is readying 100 exactly. So I'm thinking I need to order a better unit. Any suggestion?

The gqf dial thermometers are very accurate and last forever.https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=117

 

[maryhysong]

The gqf dial thermometers are very accurate and last forever.https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=117

Thank you!

 

[maryhysong]

Have you changed the thermostat setting?

NYREDS thank you. This dumb old broad finally had the light bulb go off! I was under the impression that the fan and heater were wired to be on at the same time. Things have finally sunk in that the fan is wired separate and is running ALL the time while the heating element goes on and off. DUH! It's up to 99 on the upper tray and 98 on the bottom. My digi doesn't give me fractions of degrees, so will try and get it set at 100 on the top and 99 on the bottom, at least until I get a thermometer that will read fractions. Thanks everyone!

 

[Uisge]

I am rebuilding a Leahy 416 that I just picked up and I would would really appreciate input on the best finish to use and any finishes to avoid.

Also I would really appreciate it if anyone out there can provide a good copy of the manual and any other Leah documentation.

Thanks in Advance,

Scott

 

[Allfowledup80]

I bought a Leahy 416 with everything original except the heating unit. I am seeking an original heater, I have tried to contact Sunny Creek in Minnesota, but no luck. Does anyone know if they are still in business or if there is any other place to get parts for Leahy incubators? Thanks

 

[Uisge]

I have read where people have opened the can that the element is in and replaced them with strip heaters from www.grainger.com. Strips like the ones here:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/st...igeration/ecatalog/N-kpm?op=search&sst=subset

You should be able to choose ones with the voltage you and that gives you the wattage you need. Pull the old stuff out of the can and put the new heater strips in. You can put multiple strips in if needed and if wired in parallel it would actually give you redundancy in case one of them fails.

Regards,

-Scott

 

[maryhysong]

I bought a Leahy 416 with everything original except the heating unit. I am seeking an original heater, I have tried to contact Sunny Creek in Minnesota, but no luck. Does anyone know if they are still in business or if there is any other place to get parts for Leahy incubators? Thanks

wow that one is a beauty! You lucky dog!

 

[bwalden]

I bought a Leahy 416 with everything original except the heating unit. I am seeking an original heater, I have tried to contact Sunny Creek in Minnesota, but no luck. Does anyone know if they are still in business or if there is any other place to get parts for Leahy incubators? Thanks

http://sunnycreekfarms.zxq.net/