setting up new bator...need input!

[featherworks]

I recently aquired a Phoenix 6100 cabinet style incubator and have had it running for 24 hours. I cannot find much info about it on the net. Does anyone have any experience with one of these? So far I have 4 thermometers in the unit and all are very close to 99.5*. The humidity control does not work on the unit but the resevior does. I have a bucket sitting on top with the line running to the copper line on the unit. As of right now, I have a sponge standing up in the resevior and I can't seen to be able to get either hygrometer to read above 32. I have not calibrated them, however. I just came accross the post on how to do that. If they are pretty close to right, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can raise the humidity? Here are some pics.

Thanks, Phil

Here is the bator

The thermometer that came with the bator

One therm/hygro

2nd therm/hygro

Reg thermometer hanging on a rack

The sponge in the resevior

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not familiar with that model, so I can't give you direct advice. In general, humidity is controlled by water surface area. The more surface area, the more water evaporates, and the higher the humidity. Depth of water in the container does not matter, except that the deeper it is the less often you have to fill it. So if you can put in pans of water in there somewhere, you should be able to raise the humidity. You can also add more sponges or cloth rags so they wick water out of the reservoir and create more surface area that way. To lower the humidity, you can close off part of the surface area by covering it with aluminum foil if you ever need to.

Some models have plugs you can close to increase humidity. You don't want to close them off completely because you need some air exchange to bring oxygen into the incubator. The developing chick in the porous egg needs to be able to breathe, so you need some air exchange, especially later in incubation and lockdown. When the living mass in the eggs is larger they need more oxygen.

 

[featherworks]

Thanks for the input. I am going to calibrate the hygros tomorrow and see how far off they are. I might try to add a 2nd sponge, possibly a taller one that will wick more. I would like to use the water that is there because it refills on it's own and I don't have to open any part off the bator.

Phil

 

[featherworks]

Well... After calibrating the hygros using the method that SpeckledHen suggested, assuming the humidity in the bag after 8 hours was 75%, The black one read 68% and the white one read 61%. So for now my goal is to get the black one to read 38%. That would put the humidity around 45%. Then on day 18, bump it up a little more.

Phil