THE Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco Thread; Hatches, etc. (PICS)

[wishingbee]

I must not have complained about it enough! I rotated it last night, stared at it for what seemed like forever, the temperature didn't move, steady at 99.5F! I got up this morning, and there it was, at 97F. Grrr.

I rotated it back to a neutral position, and the temperature climbed back to 99F within moments. I'm so confused.

Here's my set up:

1. Eggs are in the back two rows of the incubator.
2. Ventilation hole is just slightly less than halfway open. (45RH this morning)
3. Digital thermometer is in the front of the incubator, just below the built in thermometer.
4. Built in thermometer drops to just under 99F when I rotate it back.
5. I only have temperature variation when the incubator is rolled backwards.

Do you think it's because my eggs aren't evenly distributed in the incubator that I'm having inconsistent heat issues? I'm getting a little nervous thinking that my eggs are sitting at 97F a third of the time. (at least it's not overheating though, right?)


Eggs on one side:

Temps on the other:

 

[rarely bored]

wishingbee... what is the Brinsea thermometer reading at? If the heat changes are due to the position then all our Brinseas do that, and it hasn't affected our hatch rates, so methinks you are fine. When I began incubating I used a different thermometer, but the fluctuations in the electronic thermometer drove me crazy, so I don't use it anymore.

 

[wishingbee]

Quote:
The Brinsea thermometer fluctuates from 98.5 on its side and to 99.5 when I have it straight up. You bring up a good point regarding the hatch rates. I hope I'm fretting for nothing. Perhaps I should follow your lead and toss out the electric thermometer.

 

[yinepu]

wishingbee
spread the eggs out into two rows with space between them.. I think the problem you are seeing and what is confusing the incubator is the heat sink created by the warm eggs
if you spread them out the problem should fix itself

 

[wishingbee]

Quote:
Done! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Little Luna Silkies]

I love my Brinsea Octagon Ecos! I started relying on the Brinsea Spot Check thermometer, and I've had better hath rates since.

 

[jcatblum]

Quote:
We did take our Eco to school. First time anyone had seen eggs hatch. I was really surprised since I live in a small country town.
For DD class I took the incubator when it was on lock down so all that had to be done was watch the chicks hatch. One other classroom came to see the chicks, but the others didn't. Teachers don't like to get the kids excited with extra things. So defiantly double check if the teacher is interested.

 

[jmc]

Quote:
Done! Thanks for the tip!

let us know what results you get re. this adjustment and the temperatures that follow it...............

 

[jmc]

Quote:
How do you use the spot check therm. Brinsea told me the only way to use it without taking the whole top off is to stick the probe into the vent opening and to get the probe tip right under the fan...............................

Is this what you have done??


hope this thread hasn't died prematurely...................

 

[Little Luna Silkies]

Quote:
How do you use the spot check therm. Brinsea told me the only way to use it without taking the whole top off is to stick the probe into the vent opening and to get the probe tip right under the fan...............................

Is this what you have done??


hope this thread hasn't died prematurely...................

Yes, I stick it through the vent opening. It is difficult to get it exactly where you want it though. I have to move it around a lot before I get it in place, and then I use some tape to hold it still on the outside. I let it read for about 24 hours before setting eggs just to make sure it's holding steady. I've noticed that it drops in temperature when you set the eggs (I'm assuming because they are much cooler), but once they've warmed up then it stabilizes. At this point, I take out the probe so that I can adjust the vent as needed.