still air incubator help?

[spish]

ok ive been trying for a week to get my still air bator up and running but am having major temp problems...can anyone advise?


ive read stilll air bators need to be 104 above the egg? so i positioned one thermometer half way up the bator to get that temp. got it too 104.....brilliant! but the thermometer on the bottom of the incubator reads just 84 degrees...is it normal to have such a big difference???

i even swapped thermometers round to be sure one wasnt faulty...nope same readings. and the humidity is at 55% without even adding water??


so then throughout the days the temp is fluctuating.......a lot. at times the temp on the top thermometer is reading 106 (fried eggs!!!)others it will read 100 (too cold??) why is it changing so much??? im guessing if i put eggs in it would be a disaster! ive been fiddling about with it for nearly a week now , it seems to keep steady if i set it to 100 degrees (it then swings between 99 and 103 but no more or less)


its level on a table, out of draughts, in a room with a constant temp of 15 degrees day and night (my hatchery room)



any ideas whats happenening or is it normal for a still air bator to swing with the temps? i have 60 eggs waiting to go in so dont want to wait too long or they'll be useless....

do i risk it on the lower temp??

 

[cpegram]

On my first hatch a couple of weeks ago...I used an LG still air but added a fan...I kept a digital thermometer on the wire and kept it at 100.2 out of 31 eggs 25 hatched not bad for a first hatch....i kept my humidity between 30-40% there were some swings but not too bad. Hope this helps.....Oh did you try taking out the vent plugs or leaving them in to decrease the humidity?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
I use a thermometer/hygrometer in my still air bators for readings. Mine lays right behind all the eggs on the bator wire floor where I can see it clearly. Some can be purchased from Wal-mart in the garden section. That is all I have ever used in my still airs and I have great hatches.

Still Air temps are only suppose to be 101 to 102 nothing higher. I keep mine at 101.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

This may help ya. http://cmfarm.us/stillair.html

 

[surgreen farms]

Good day everyone! I am new to BYC but not new to poultry! place 4 old golf balls in the center your bator and put the thermometer on top of them. remove 1 vent plug and fill water reservoir with distilled water. adjust your bator til you have 101 degrees fairly consistently on the thermometer.
(there will be temperature swings from thermostat operation) humidity can affect thermostat operation so be sure water levels are as they will be for incubation. Once you maintain a fairly consistent 101.0 temp for 24 hours then remove the golf balls and place the room temperature eggs in the bator and put the thermometer on top of the eggs just as you did the golf balls. i keep golf balls around to put in my laying boxes when some of my hens need guidance on where to lay! Good hatching