Thermostat allows too much temperature fluctuation

[Lunchbag]

I've installed a thermostat (same inexpensive water-heater device used by Miss Prissy in hers) in my cooler incubator. Although it works, it allows too much fluctuation in temperature. I have repositioned it to bring the fluctuation down to 7.5 degrees total, but I imagine I want it much tighter than that (i.e. - 1 or 2 degrees total)? Any ideas?

 

[Velociraptor]

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[Lunchbag]

I assume this is too much temperature differential for incubating. Anyone have a solution? Thanks!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

They make a dimmer you plug into the outlet and then the lamp or in this case your heat light into it and you can use it to regulate temps. I saw one at Walmart for just under $9 and I've seen them in hardware stores for around $20. I have one and it works well.

 

[Lunchbag]

OK, if the dimmer is a better way of regulating the heat than the thermostat, I might get better results that way. I was just afraid the temperature fluctuations in the room might make the dimmer-only system too inaccurate overnight. Also, it requires much more attention, and I was hoping the thermostat would alleviate that.

 

[MaransGuy]

Quote:
You are completely correct in your concern. A dimmer switch will only regulate the amount of heat given out. Therefore, if your room temp at noon is 75 and you set the dimmer to give you 24 degrees of heat it will be perfect at that tme. However, if the room temp drops to 65 at night, the dimmer will still only be regulating out 24 degrees of heat, thus dropping the incubator down to 89. If the room heats up.....cooked embryos. A dimmer might work if the room temp is very stable but if it varies by more than a degree over the course of three weeks then it will not be very useful.

Richard

 

[donnap1967]

Lunchbag did you ever manage to get this problem solved? I am having a similar problem and I was curious if you worked it out.

 

[donnap1967]

OK maybe I am just reading this accurite incorrectly. I have been reading everything I can find in searching through the forum and I have a question.

My eyes aren't what they used to be and I am wondering if I am reading this accurite wrong. I have the one with the probe. Supposedly there is an In and Out temperature. I have been resetting the min/max so when I check on it every hour I can be sure there isnt too much fluctuation. However am I reading the In or the Out Min/Max???? The instructions that came with this thing are pathetically uninformative.

Can anyone explain the readings to me???

Edited to say I have the probe in a water wiggler and the whole unit inside the bator.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

The probe will be the out temp and the in temp will be the unit.

Oh and the humidity is where the unit is at.

 

[donnap1967]

OK I read the instructions again very carefully. I don't know how I missed this but it says to push the Min/Max button two times to see the Min/Max out temp. All along I had been pushing the button once and was looking at the Min/Max In temp which varies quite a bit.

Duh!!!! Two weeks of testing and adjusting like a big dummy based on the wrong reading!

So now that I got that settled, so far my temps are ranging 99.3 to 100.8 which I think is pretty good. Humidity is around 43% right now. I will have to watch it over the next 24 hours.

So far that's the range over the last hour or two.

The outside temps are up as high as 107.4 Is this bad? Should I not pay attention to the out and just watch the wiggler? Will that be okay once the chicks hatch?

Thanks for all the help...this forum is the greatest!