Reptipro 5000 Hatch-A-Long (=

[yinepu]

I will try to open the door for a minute and air it out at least three times a day for the next hatch attempt - hopefully that will solve the endless dead chick problem.

it should...

lol.. close to hatch I open it every so often at night too when I get up... especially if I have it packed with eggs

 

[mayberrygirl]

Yes, I have from 1/2" to 3/4" on all sides.

 

[yinepu]

Yes, I have from 1/2" to 3/4" on all sides.

ok... so you have eggs on the bottom and on the top... with a water dish in the middle?

for the thermometers you are using.. do they record a minimum and maximum temperature?.. or do they only have one reading?


also... how long after you put the eggs in did you check the temperatures?

 

[mayberrygirl]

I started out with eggs on the top shelf and the middle shelf (altered by attaching PVC legs to make it 1" lower then the lowest shelf setting), water bowl on floor. This worked well with the heat set on 99* from when I set eggs at 8:30am untill about an hour before my post about problems.

I then rearranged the setup thinking that was the issue...

I then lowered the top shelf to the middle shelf setting, placed the other tray of eggs on the floor and placed the water in on the middle shelf. I right now have the water out. I am still getting about a 10* difference from top to bottom. I mean it was fine, I opened to turn, and then it just went a little crazy. The only ones I can fit in right now are stick style or only read right now temps.

 

[Cynthia12]

experiment with the temp at different levels and see what you come up with

just remember.. the temp at shelf level is what matters.. not what is on the display

I so have to read up on all of these. I'm here because may mentioned it on the other thread, didn't even know there was a thread on these bators. Ok, so, what type of thermometer do you use on the shelves, if you aren't using the one that comes on the bator? Maybe you have already said, I just haven't read all of these posts yet.

 

[yinepu]

I started out with eggs on the top shelf and the middle shelf (altered by attaching PVC legs to make it 1" lower then the lowest shelf setting), water bowl on floor. This worked well with the heat set on 99* from when I set eggs at 8:30am untill about an hour before my post about problems.
I then rearranged the setup thinking that was the issue...
I then lowered the top shelf to the middle shelf setting, placed the other tray of eggs on the floor and placed the water in on the middle shelf. I right now have the water out. I am still getting about a 10* difference from top to bottom. I mean it was fine, I opened to turn, and then it just went a little crazy. The only ones I can fit in right now are stick style or only read right now temps.

what do you have the heat set on now?

thermometers will spike as the incubator heats and cools because they are reading the immediate air temperature... it's the overall temperature that matters..
even in homemade bators the air temp will fluctuate a bit as the heating element comes on... so long as the overall temp inside the eggs stays constant.. they will be fine...
if the readout on the incubator is set at 99... it won't heat to 103.. it should shut off at 99.... does the display continue to rise over what you have it set at? If it does.. is the incubator sitting next to a window where the sunlight is shining on it?

The readout on mine is set for 100... there have been a few times when I moved hot eggs from another bator into mine where the temp would flash at 101 for a few seconds.. but that was because it was registering the temp of the heat rising off of the eggs.. it wasn't still heating

You said you are getting a 10 degree difference between the top and bottom... in mine I get a 1 degree difference between the top shelf and lowest shelf setting... maybe try trading the top thermometer for the bottom one.. I am suspecting one of them may be a bit off if they are showing a 10 degree difference

for mine.. the display is set to 100
the top shelf is reading 99.5
the bottom shelf is reading 98.5
I don't have a reading for the bottom simply because I am not incubating down that low with eggs right now.. that si the area where I add a water tray if I need to raise humidity

 

[yinepu]

I so have to read up on all of these. I'm here because may mentioned it on the other thread, didn't even know there was a thread on these bators. Ok, so, what type of thermometer do you use on the shelves, if you aren't using the one that comes on the bator? Maybe you have already said, I just haven't read all of these posts yet.

the incubator comes with just the digital display that's made into the incubator..

I have several of these that I am using now
http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Impor...CZQE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337196255&sr=8-3

I prefer them because the hygrometer part is adjustable.. so it can be easily calibrated and adjusted as needed

I do occasionally double check it with a thermometer we have had for years that measures in half degree increments (which is how I know that the shelf temp is reading at 99.5 and 98.5) and also have a few thermometers with probes

 

[mayberrygirl]

Wish I knew where the thermostat is taking reading from. The thermometers I am using are aquarium type and one that you stick the probe in meat in the oven (digital kind that sets outside the oven), the oven one I am wondering if it is because the probe tip is metal if it is not cooling down like the air and heating higher when the heat comes on. That does not explain the aquarium ones though.

I put everything back the way I had it to begin with so I could get the water back in.

 

[yinepu]

Wish I knew where the thermostat is taking reading from. The thermometers I am using are aquarium type and one that you stick the probe in meat in the oven (digital kind that sets outside the oven), the oven one I am wondering if it is because the probe tip is metal if it is not cooling down like the air and heating higher when the heat comes on. That does not explain the aquarium ones though.
I put everything back the way I had it to begin with so I could get the water back in.

the digital reading is coming from the air at the very top of the bator

I've never opened one of these bators up to see where the thermostat is located.. maybe Chris could tell us...

if you are using the tape type sticky aquarium thermometers they are a bit unreliable.. lol.. I don't even use them for my aquariums
even the glass floating ones can be a bit off (i always compare several in the store to see which are reading the closest to each other... and even then I don't trust them a whole lot for anything other than aquariums)

 

[mayberrygirl]

Ok, it has been almost 2 hours...
Top - 101
Middle - 101
Bottom (no eggs) - 97*

I have it set at 99*, should I bump it down?