Should i trust my incubator to maintain the proper temperature?

[FFAChickenFan]

So, I'm running my eggs in an incubator thats been used many times successfully by a family friend, but I recently bought a thermometer (Taylor Indoor) to measure temp and Humidity- just to be safe- and now it seems like I'm not getting the temperature I should be (I'm not entirely sure of the reliability of the thermometer, even though its brand new). Should I be worried if its been reading about 98.5 instead of the 100 degrees that the incubator assures it will electronically maintain? Theres a sticker and everything on the incubator window that states thermometers should not be trusted, and that the incubator has been fine tuned to keep a steady 100 degrees, but I'm still a little nervous.

Also, as a guess effort, I put a warm jar of water into the incubator with the hopes that it will help boost the temp a bit.

Thoughts? Everything else seems to be going normally, although i wont candle for the first time until thursday.

 

[mrsguardian88]

I've found that if you have a styrofoam incubator that doesn't close quite right, you should set something no more than three pounds on top.(Making sure not to block any vent holes!) I actually used two of my daughters toys! Haha once I did that, the temp rose just a bit. I would be sure to remember, the automatic temperature gauge is set at the correct height to check the temp of the developing eggs, your thermometer may not be set at the correct height. Also may not be calibrated, I would set it in a room that stays the same temp and check it after a few hours, it should be very close to the normal room temp. Adding the jar with water will raise the humidity. Did the incubator come with a hygrometer? Or do you have a humidity monitor?

 

[FFAChickenFan]

The jar is closed, not open. I just filled up a jar with semi-hot water with the hopes of adding some sort of extra insulation- I read that some people do that with varied success in raising the temperature. I havent tried setting anything on the top, but I will do so now. Also, I keep the incubtor in my room, which is relatively small and the thermostat is set at 70.

The thermometer I bought has a Hygrometer on it. I've actually been trying to lower the humidity from around 70%, so humidity isnt really an issue.

 

[mrsguardian88]

The jar is closed, not open. I just filled up a jar with semi-hot water with the hopes of adding some sort of extra insulation- I read that some people do that with varied success in raising the temperature. I havent tried setting anything on the top, but I will do so now. Also, I keep the incubtor in my room, which is relatively small and the thermostat is set at 70.


The thermometer I bought has a Hygrometer on it. I've actually been trying to lower the humidity from around 70%, so humidity isnt really an issue.

Gotcha! I hope setting something on top helps!! Good luck!

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[mrsguardian88]

Anytime! I'm a newbie so I'm just giving advice that I've just learned throughout today!

 

[ryry209]

Newbie here... I have a Styrofoam bator and was wondering how do you set the temp gauge at the right height or calibrate it?