Styrofoam bodied incubators need constant monitoring?

[columbiacritter]

My coworkers are bummed I won't be bringing the bator to work with me everyday.

They so love it when I get chicks delivered here or pick up from a local source at lunch.

I WILL plan on day 21 being a Friday so I can take the day off then watch any late hatchers all weekend.

 

[Penturner]

I have a homemade foam incubator. the foam is 3 inches thick. if the room I have it in goes from 70 degrees to 80 or so the incubator will go from reading 101.4 to 102. this is actual temp of 99.5 to 99.9. No matter how cold it gets I have not seen it fall below 99.3. in my experience this is far more stable than what is actually needed. I have read several comments that the thinner foam bators are more sensitive but usually complaints about them are from people doing their first hatch. incubator like anything else require some practice to get used to and figure out just what works best. IN my case I get my best hatches if the thermometer reads 101.4 to 102 degrees and 30 to 40 % humidity. remember these are not the real temps they are just what my equipment in my incubator read when things are at there best. It took about three attempts at hatching eggs to get it all dialed in.

 

[novaman]

Get a Genesis 1588 and you won't have to worry a lick about temperatures. Check the humidity once in awhile and that's all you have to do as it self-regulates the temperature. I absolutely love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything else.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

After a complete hatch failure in a still air LG, we put it inside a big box * air conditioner size*; added a computer fan; weatherstripped the opening around the sides; and use a blanket over the top of the box. It sits on a chest off to the side of our living room. Mostly we ignore it.
We use two digital thermometers: a small one inside where we can see it through a window and the second transmits to a table next to the TV- easily seen.
The temp fluxuates from 99 to 101 and we are now getting better than 50% hatches. I dry hatch and humidity hangs around 30%. If it goes below... like when the room air conditioner goes on.. I add a tiny bit of water.
This last hatch was VERY VERY sensitive during hatching humidty. I fussed a lot with the hole plugs and found optimum was only one plug over the fan opened only a tiny slice.
And yes I did open the bator during lockdown-- through the windows only. It works really well to just crack a window for what you need to do. It seems to recover quickly.

 

[Tala]

I had 17 our of 20 hatch on my first try in a LG styrofoam bator. I got it all set right in the warmest room in the house (with the computers, they put off an amazing amount of heat.....) and put the eggs in the next day. I would turn the eggs, leave for work, turn the eggs and go to bed. The only time I really hovered was day 20 when the eggs were rockin and pipping!!!!

You really do mess that thing up MORE by tweaking with the temperature controls!!! Don't freak out over every little temp fluctuation, because there is some variance in nature and even if the thermometer on top reads 102 for a few minutes after the heat cycles off - the center of the eggs doesn't get that hot. (you can use a water wiggler to get the true "egg temp" but I didn't)

If I remember correctly I had to turn it down just a fuzz around day 16 or so because it started staying a little on the hot side, but really the less that you mess with it, the better.

 

[katharinad]

I think it is wrong to generalize all Styrofoam incubators as being unreliable. The one that have wafer thermostats are touchy. The newer technology ones, like the Hovabator Geneses 1588, are right on the money. I did my research before buying one and decided to go for the Hovabator Geneses 1588. I do not regret it at all, and I only will have 3 hatches per year for now. I had mine this year and the machine still looks like new. It is very roomy so you have plenty of space for hatching eggs. Sure the foam will eventually get bad, but a replacement base is cheap. Some paint the inside with bathroom caulking, which will make it a breeze when it comes to cleaning. The foam will keep the heat very stable even with outside fluctuations. I use mine in the kitchen where I have a sink near, so I can add water etc. All incubators are designed to run at room temperature, so don't plan on using the barn or shed where the temps fluctuate to much.