Temp question Hovabator 1588

[lutherpug]

I have 7 silkie eggs that are on day 5 in a Hovabator 1588. This is my first time incubating. The incubator reads 100 degrees. I have used 2 different meat thermometers to verify the temp. The cheap WalMart one says 100. My nicer OXO one reads 97.8!

I stuck both temp probes in boiling water and they both read 210. I have no idea what to do-should I try to adjust it up a degree or just let it go? I won’t be devastated if these eggs don’t hatch but I’d like to sort this out for future batches of eggs...

Also, how accurate is the temp on a 1588 out of the box?

 

[Mosey2003]

You need to calibrate with both boiling and ice water, and bear in mind your elevation if you're over 2,000 feet. Get some ice and crush it up and fill a water glass to the brim, then add cold water. Stir it and let it sit for 3 minutes, then stir again and insert the thermometers. Once you see what they read cold (should be 32) I can help you adjust them.

Any incubator can be off, especially a digital, but the 1588 is a good quality machine, and I wouldn't expect it to be far off.

 

[Mosey2003]

Also, describe how you checked with the thermometers. Did you stick them down the top vent hole? Or did you push them through the side of the styrofoam at the level of the eggs (preferred)? Had you just opened it recently when you used the Oxo? The 1588 takes longer to come back to temp for me than the 1602n (wafer instead of digital).

 

[Rose Quartz]

I have 7 silkie eggs that are on day 5 in a Hovabator 1588. This is my first time incubating. The incubator reads 100 degrees. I have used 2 different meat thermometers to verify the temp. The cheap WalMart one says 100. My nicer OXO one reads 97.8!

I stuck both temp probes in boiling water and they both read 210. I have no idea what to do-should I try to adjust it up a degree or just let it go? I won’t be devastated if these eggs don’t hatch but I’d like to sort this out for future batches of eggs...

Also, how accurate is the temp on a 1588 out of the box?

my hovabator 1602 I ran with trusted thermometers through the whole incubation. I had them set on the egg turner. I found one side was about a degree colder than the other. I wouldn't mess with it with eggs in there. maybe try running it after you're done with the same thermometer moved around to different places to see if you are actually getting a temperature variation or if it's just a case of one of your thermometers being slower to adjust to the temp.

 

[Mosey2003]

Yes, I should have mentioned, don't adjust the incubator until you've gotten the thermometers fully calibrated and we determine how you're measuring. The 1588 *is* meant to be used right from the box without adjustment, so it's not going to be far enough off to hurt anything most likely.

 

[lutherpug]

Well....I ran them both in ice water and they’re within a degree of each other at 37.... elevation here is around 1000. The OXO seemed to jump around a bit more but it also measures in 1/10 degree increments as opposed to the Taylor which does whole degrees.

When I measured temp in the incubator I ran it through the side and it was resting on the egg turner. The incubator was open for just seconds-according to its digital temp it only dropped 2/10 and was back at 100 pretty quickly.

I’m not going to fuss with it. I’ll be anxious to candle them Saturday night and see what’s going on. Hopefully we will be able to hatch out a few healthy chicks.

 

[Mosey2003]

With 210 boiling and 37 freezing, you would adjust it down 1.5 degrees. I would just leave it alone and see what the chicks tell you when they hatch. Did you have the lid cracked open with the thermometer through while you did it?

 

[Mosey2003]

Wait, are they *digital* thermometers? In that case, I wouldn't bother worrying about it at all.

 

[KikiLeigh02]

To get mine at 99.5 I have to set the digital temp on the 1588 at 96-97 or so, it fluctuates a little. I've been putting one calibrated thermometer in the middle, and one on the outside edge.The window on the top is large enough that if you place the thermometers just right you can read them without opening the top. The digital read out is pretty accurate if I run it empty, but once it's full I have to make some adjustments.

 

[JediPat]

Try to remember that all incubators are going to have hot and cold spots, its just how they work. The best way to check your thermometers to your thermostat for accuracy is to rubber band all the thermometers together and they band them to the yellow box in the lid with your thermostat sensor. This will allow them to all pull from the exact same spot and give you an idea of the variances...if any. Generally the 1588 is not going to be too inaccurate and I tend to trust mine without a checker in place. Best of luck and happy hatching.