water wigglers to help temps

[ButchGood]

I've been reading different articles about methods to control temps. in the cheaper foam incubators. One idea that made a lot of sense to me was the use of a child's toy. The water wiggler. You can mimic the internal temperature of the egg. It is less likely to jump and spike because its an internal temp not air temp. Just slip your digitherm's probe into the middle and hold 100 degree temperature. I heard this was very successful. Now the question. Where do you find them besides on line? Has anyone noticed them in stores lately? If so, What store? I'm on the hunt

 

[Mavrik]

I don't see why one would cover the digitherm probe with these, it would delay the reaction time and has no advantage. Your not helping the temp, your masking the reading. The only advantage I can see using something like this if one opens the bater often, one of these would retain some heat from the mass of the of the wiggler. You could use a ziplock bag filled with water instead. I would pre-heat the water first to 100°.

 

[Velvet Sparrow]

I couldn't find one locally to save my life, I ended up getting a box of a dozen from Oriental Trading: http://www.orientaltrading.com/pastel-pearlized-water-tubes-a2-16_453.fltr

I've been using them in my incubators for several years now, and have gotten a better hatch using them to simulate the inside of an egg. But I agree with Mavrik, I'll bet you could do the exact same thing using a ziploc bag (heavy-duty so hatching chicks don't puncture it!) of water, just fold it over and use a bit of clear packing tape to secure it & create your own tube.

I never pre-heat my water tube, I just place it in there when I first fire up the 'bator, it warms over a few hours as the incubator gets up to temp.

 

[ButchGood]

I found some at a convinience store. I'm using it right now. I'm using two digital thermometers. One has the probe in the wiggler reading internal temperature and the other the probe is laying on top of the eggs. These thermometers i calibrated using the ice method. The bot read 32 degrees at freezing. The one reading the internal temp is reading 100 degrees and holding extremely steady. The other is reading 95.5 to 100 degrees firm. So far I'm pretty happy about the temps and how they are holding.

 

[Bantam Chase]

The foam 'bators tend to do a lot of temperature shifts, which make people want to do a lot of thermostat adjustments... turns into a viscous cycle of highs and lows. The water wiggler does not control temps, it mimics the temperature of the inside of the egg therefore eliminating the constant change on the thermometer and making people like ME keep their fingers off the dial.

I use a LG bator and have filled the bottom with stones - I think ziploc bags of water would be even better. The less air space the better the temperature holds. I have a cooler hatcher that used to have crazy temperature swings until I lined the bottom with soda bottles, now the temperature does not budge.

Long story short: air = temp swings = knob fiddling.

 

[melodie_a]

I bought mine yesterday at wal-mart. They are mini ones but they seem to work fine. They were .97 each and I found them in the party section, where they have kids party bag fillers.

 

[Bantam Chase]

too much facebook - i was looking for a 'like' button. I"ll check out walmart - I have the LG up and running and have GOT to keep my hands of the dial!

 

[ButchGood]

The foam 'bators tend to do a lot of temperature shifts, which make people want to do a lot of thermostat adjustments... turns into a viscous cycle of highs and lows. The water wiggler does not control temps, it mimics the temperature of the inside of the egg therefore eliminating the constant change on the thermometer and making people like ME keep their fingers off the dial.

I use a LG bator and have filled the bottom with stones - I think ziploc bags of water would be even better. The less air space the better the temperature holds. I have a cooler hatcher that used to have crazy temperature swings until I lined the bottom with soda bottles, now the temperature does not budge.

Long story short: air = temp swings = knob fiddling.

Yep....Thats what I've found. Sweating that exact temperature on a foam tabletop will make you crazy. This little childs toy has put my mind at ease for the time being. Still holding a steady 100 degrees in the wiggler.