Why is my incubator temp climbing?

[A-Texas-Man]

I stabilized my incubator (hova-bater 1588) at 99.6 degrees of 48 hour before putting the 42 eggs in it yesterday. For some reason the temp is climbing and I can't stop it. It is now at 101 degrees. I have read that 102 is the desired temp for still air incubators, my incubator is a forced air type and the recommended temp for it is around 99.5. I don't know why the temp is climbing like this. I incubated 20 eggs last month and the temp never went higher then 99.9. Should I be worried at this and what could be causing this?

 

[kidcody]

Yes, too long at that temperature can indicate badly curled toes. Is there anyway you can turn it down a little, What kind of incubator are you using? Also Little Giants are famous for doing this (climbing temps).

 

[CupOJoe42]

I have a few thoughts:

- Is the incubator in a room that has a constant climate?
- Is the incubator in direct sunlight at any time of the day?
- If you add water to the reservoir, are you adding hot water?
- Are any of the vent plugs open?
- Are you using more than one thermometer, and are they at egg level? Do the thermometers all read the same temperature?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Sunlight in room of the incubator, some other ambient temperature fluctuation- near laundry room, changing the central heating temp, near kitchen and cooking a turkey, etc. Try and find the cause and nudge down your incubator for now. You can lift the lid off for a few minutes to get temp down fast. I've heard good things about the 1583, most of all is the ease of minor adjustment (not overly sensitive thermostat knob).

 

[A-Texas-Man]

Okay.The incubator is in a small 10 foot by 12 foot room that is temperature controlled to stay between 68 and 70 degrees. The room is pretty much sealed with one little window with the curtain drawn so there is no direct sunlight. I am controlling the room humidity instead of the incubator humidity. The room humidity is set at 50% and the incubator is showing an internal humidity level of 31%. As I said before, the incubator was stable at 99.6 for 48 hour before adding the eggs.

I have introduced a second thermometer to get a second opinion on the temp, lowered the room temp to 66 to 68 and opened a vent hole in the incubator. I have never adjusted the incubator itself, as it was supposed to be pre-adjusted for chicken eggs and has performed well so far. I am hesitant to make any adjustments to it in the middle of incubation.

 

[CupOJoe42]

Is there enough room for air circulation around the incubator? Just my thoughts. I would not make any adjustments yet.

 

[A-Texas-Man]

Is there enough room for air circulation around the incubator? Just my thoughts. I would not make any adjustments yet.

It is sitting in a table all by itself in a 10X12 room. I have lowered the room temp to 68 degrees and opened all the vent holes and the temp is still over 100. My digital is reading 100.5 and the mercury one is reading just over 100 (its small and hard to tell precisely how much over 100). I think I will have to adjust the incubator.

 

[A-Texas-Man]

I just read an online manual for my incubator and it said it is factory preset to 100 to 100.5 degrees. The manual has no directions telling how to achieve 99.5. My model is the Hova-Bater Genesis 1588. Does anyone know how to set it to 99.5 degrees?

 

[Purdy]

we had some problem with high temps too. When adding eggs and they warm up and start to grow, your temp. will need to be adjusted down. small adjustments are always better. We had a problem with sun light and cloudy days changing the temp. One day we found the temp. up 106.5 we still hatched out 15 of the 20 eggs. So never give up hope.

 

[CupOJoe42]

I have the Genesis 1588 too. I would leave the settings the way they are and see how the hatch goes. According to the instructions, that is the recommended setting for most bird eggs. You should begin your incubation at this setting and make further adjustments after the first hatch, only if eggs do not hatch in the expected number of days.

When either the up or the down arrow is pressed the SET TEMP is displayed. If the arrow button is pressed longer than 5 seconds, the SET TEMP will begin to change. This temperature will move by tenths of a degree. Increasing with the up arrow and decreasing with the down arrow.

If the indicator light fails to cycle on and off after the set temperature is reached, re-toggle the rocker switch that sets the temperature as it may have become unlocked. If after completing one or two hatches you feel it necessary to slightly change the temperature, follow directions above or call GQF for technical assistance. The quality of hatch may be the best indicator as to the temperature setting after considering other factors that can affect the hatch.