Setting 100 on 1/6/16 in new Ova Easy 100...hatch along

[NTBugtraq]

Hey NT, can't believe you got the ova easy!! That's awesome!! Brinsea's hold their value. I'm sure you won't have trouble selling the 40. I actually just started getting eggs from my first hatch, back in spring. Planning to set end of the week, as I've had people pre-order chicks...no inside brooding in winter for me!

Yeah, its very pretty...;-] I filled the water tray and set it running yesterday and today its RH was 83%...not good, then I realized there was a cover plate for the water tray that I had forgotten to put in place...lolz. So, with that done, we'll see what the RH is tomorrow.

Glad to hear you're setting too, that's great you are getting eggs. Where are you going to brood then, and how are you going to keep them warm?

Quote:
Yes, that is my goal, but at the same time I don't want the eggs to get too old. I figure I will take eggs from up to 10 days before the setting date. If I can get 100 darker eggs of decent size (at least 55g) in the 10 days, they will be my setting, otherwise I will make up the 100 with whatever else is laid. Tomorrow I take my 3 yr-olds to be processed, leaving me with nothing but my Gen1 pullets. So it will be interesting to see how many eggs are laid per day by them. I know I have at least 7 laying, and suspect there may be 21 or so.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Hmm, I'm having trouble getting the humidity to stay down. There's this tray that covers the bottom of the bator, and then in the front of it there's an evaporation block that's kinda like woven paper...like, there's lots of open pockets in this block, exposing lots of surface that wicks up water out of the tray. So one would assume you fill the tray to provide continuous water to the block...but when I do that I get 75%+ RH.

So, I have just cut the block in half to provide less exposed wet surface area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know. I am pretty sure that reducing the water in the tray isn't an option.

 

[RubyNala97]

Yeah, its very pretty...;-] I filled the water tray and set it running yesterday and today its RH was 83%...not good, then I realized there was a cover plate for the water tray that I had forgotten to put in place...lolz. So, with that done, we'll see what the RH is tomorrow.

Glad to hear you're setting too, that's great you are getting eggs. Where are you going to brood then, and how are you going to keep them warm?

The chicks are already sold, so hopefully I will only have them in the house for a day or two!

Hmm, I'm having trouble getting the humidity to stay down. There's this tray that covers the bottom of the bator, and then in the front of it there's an evaporation block that's kinda like woven paper...like, there's lots of open pockets in this block, exposing lots of surface that wicks up water out of the tray. So one would assume you fill the tray to provide continuous water to the block...but when I do that I get 75%+ RH.

So, I have just cut the block in half to provide less exposed wet surface area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know. I am pretty sure that reducing the water in the tray isn't an option.

I'm not familiar with your incubator but is that block removable? Can you just take it out and see where that puts you, humidity wise?

 

[WVduckchick]

Or put something over it to reduce the amount of open surface area of the water? Alum foil, plastic, sheet of glass?

How bout posting a pic of that ova easy?

 

[scflock]

Hmm, I'm having trouble getting the humidity to stay down. There's this tray that covers the bottom of the bator, and then in the front of it there's an evaporation block that's kinda like woven paper...like, there's lots of open pockets in this block, exposing lots of surface that wicks up water out of the tray. So one would assume you fill the tray to provide continuous water to the block...but when I do that I get 75%+ RH.

So, I have just cut the block in half to provide less exposed wet surface area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know. I am pretty sure that reducing the water in the tray isn't an option.

I know you don't like to read instructions, so when I get to work I'm going to look up the owners manual for that model and read it. If I read it and find out you are adding water where it is unnecessary for the first 18 days, I'm going to the crap out of you

 

[scflock]

Ok, I read the manual and don't see enough reason to

you, so I'll try to be helpful and offer suggestions. First, the manual does say you can cut the evaporation block in half to reduce humidity, like you said you may do. My other suggestion would be that since you have the humidity pump as well, try running only the pump to the evaporation block, but leave the tray dry. That would significantly reduce the surface area of the water, maybe too much, but I would give it a shot. If your target humidity for the first 18 days is 40%, just the block and pump may maintain that. The pump would go through a lot of water that way, but it may be worth trying

 

[NTBugtraq]

Quote:
Well, I have done that and using only the Humidity pump, a very small piece of the block for the pump to drop water on, and no problem keeping the bator at 40% (the target). This does, however, mean that the pump is working regularly. The only problem with that is each time the pump works, its very loud (a failing of the pump). So, obviously, to be able to have a reservoir in the bator would prevent the pump from working so much, and reduce the noise. In fact, when you hear the pump you know it needs more water in the reservoir, making it kind of an alarm. But, so far, with any amount of block and a full reservoir, I cannot get below 53%.

 

[WVduckchick]

How about a small bowl, pan, or sponge instead of putting water in the reservoir? Less surface area of water.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Quote:
Lolz, well, thanks for not smacking me...;-] I did read the manual this time. I figured I'd learned that much from our past useful exchanges. To be honest, you and Ruby both made the right suggestion, just use the pump. Since I am not setting for a month, I just thought I would check this feature out for my review. Quite frankly, I've no idea how this bator could work without the pump. I tried progressively smaller and smaller pieces of block, and nothing changed. FWIW, I left the bator door open for an hour between attempts, and waited 2 hours after closing the door to see where I got to. With a full block it went to 75%+, cut in half, 53%, so I figured cut it in half again should be lower, but it wasn't, because by that point there was a significant amount of water in the tray exposed...so reducing the block wasn't really reducing the surface area of water...so IDK how you could get lower without the pump and removing the tray entirely. So, for now, I am marking that as a negative for the Ova Easy **without an external humidity pump**

 

[NTBugtraq]

Quote:
That makes perfect sense, its just not what comes with the bator or what is discussed in the manual. So you're right, but then how did Brinsea get it so wrong? I would have been very easy for them to have created sections in the tray, like so many other bator trays have. Fill channel 1, 2, 3, or 4, or some number of them, all the other bators I have used have that. This one comes with a single large tray which has a cover that covers 90% of the tray...and then this block. I am having problems with my camera right now or I would show pictures, sorry.