Marsh Manufacturing TX6 "Lyon's" incubator Experience?

[G-Man]

Hi everyone,

I don’t actually have any chickens yet. I’ve ordered some and am on a couple waiting lists, which is alright because my coop is still a few weeks off from being finished.

Me being very excited about this new adventure I’m telling anyone that will listen about the chickens we've picked and the hen house build. I talk to my Grandma on a regular basis and of course some of my fondest memories were of visiting my grandparents in the country (Oregon). They always kept rabbits, pigeons, ducks and chickens.

So as I’m bending her ear about the birds we’ve chosen and the coop on the phone. She said she thinks she still has the old incubator she bought my grandfather as a gift many, many years ago.

So, long story short. My grandma sent me their 30-35 year old “Marsh Manufacturing TX6” incubator with the auto turner. I now know that “Lyon’s” is the new manufacturing company and that they still have parts available.

I know my grandma is just beaming, knowing that I will be able to use it and I’m excited (nervous) to try my hand at hatching eggs now.

It turns on, heats up, the fan turns and the motor still moves the tray. I still need to check the temp and such, but it seems to be in good working order. The last time it was used was 15 years ago to hatch quail eggs for a school project.

Is there anyone that has experience with this model incubator?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[dbcooper02]

Turn-x is awesome. I have and have used several of them. Kind of limited as to number of eggs, but really neat for watching them hatch. I was reading some old Marsh/ Lyon literature the other day and they were claiming that they will successfully hatch eggs in the freezer compartment of a working refrigerator. A far cry from the room temp sensitive styro-bators. If yours didn't come with the instructions shoot me a pm with your email and I'll send you off a set.
db

 

[G-Man]

Thanks Doug,
I really appreciate the scanned documents you sent, it has much more information than the booklets that came with the unit. I should be able to scan the ones I have and send it to you before the weekends is out.

I stayed up late last night, or until early this morning, however you want to look at it. I just HAD to get into this incubator a bit more. So I disassembled it and gave it a thorough cleaning and powered it up. It ran smooth and quiet and after a few adjustments I was able to get it to read 100 degrees and 39% humidity. (I included an ACU-RITE digital humidity and temp gauge for quick reads) then off to bed.

I checked it first thing this morning and the temperature is still 100 degrees with 38% humidity. I was very pleased to see it held the temperature and had only dropped 1% in humidity. I was able to adjust the attached water reservoir to gain that 1% back fairly quick.

I am noticing the Wet Bulb temperature at 83 degrees (48% humidity)
The ACU-RITE is 100degrees and reading 38% humidity again.

The original thermometer has a tic mark with a bold line and arrow pointing to 103 degrees.
The wet bulb has a similar tic mark at 86 degrees (56% humidity).
Are these danger or warning marks; or where they should be set at?

How do these numbers look to you?
Will that be good for the first 18 days before lockdown?

I’m going to keep it running for a couple days just to get a better understanding of how it reacts to ambient temperatures in the room and the reservoir bottle.

Thanks for any input you may have.

 

[G-Man]

Thought I would submit a few images of what I was describing.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Gotta love that orange retro color.

 

[judyc]

That's so nice! You should send Grandma a thank you card. I've not had a Turn-X, but have had my Roll-X for twenty years. Those things can hatch! Good luck with yours.

 

[georgiagail]

I've got three Turn-X incubators that I snagged on ebay. One does not have the water bottle attachment and has been retrofitted for the turner (I plug the automatic turner into an outlet instead of in a socket on top of the incubator). It may very likely be older than your Grandma's. Still runs extemely well and keeps a very steady temperature.

Marsh/Lyon Turn-X incubators are the cadillac of these type of incubators. Sorta like the Electrolux vacuums that I also buy on ebay and are often 60+ years old but run like champs.

Gail

P.S. If you want to use it for lockdown (I use one exclusively for this as it did not come with an automatic turner) simply unplug the turner from the top of the unit.

 

[dbcooper02]

That Brower thermometer with the mark at 103 is for a still air incubator measuring the temp at the top of the eggs. It is not original to the turn x.
Typically they would use 2 of the Marsh thermometers. One dry and the other with the wick into the water to give you the wet bulb reading. Thus
the 2 marks on the Marsh thermometer.
It has been noted in the past that unplugging the turner at lock down can cause an unexpected humidity loss because removing the plug from the
top of the unit opens an unintended vent path. A plastic child safety plug or a piece of tape will close this off.

 

[G-Man]

My Grandma is great. Even though she lives in another state, we are very close. I talk to her at least once a week. Thank you for the encouragement.

I am so relieved to see members with experience with these machines and that are still having continued success. This is all very, very new to me. I would love to hear more about your personal experiences and methods used for your successful hatches; more specifically your temperatures and humidity levels for the 18 days and then for the final 3.

Good catch with the Bower thermometer and excellent explanation regarding the noted graduations. Grandpa must have opted for the larger display. Thanks for the tips for lockdown and the childproof plastic plug. I know I have some of those in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

 

[Mtoast]

It took a while to find the Marsh TX6 incubator again. I used to used it in the late 70's for incubating quail eggs, pub quail eggs, cockatiel eggs and was very successful at it. I had a large bird aviary. It was so much fun using it and my kids enjoyed watching them hatch. Unlike any of todays choices.. I am sorry I let it go when I had to sell my aviary after 10 years. My incubator turned the eggs automatically, just needed to check water for moisture.

Glad it is still around. I plan on getting another one exactly like it for my daughter now that she is doing it again after learning how to breed the same birds as a child.

MToast

 

[chaz123]

how much it cust