3 Digital Thermometers in Incubator All Reading Different

[Wjeffgriggs]

In a still air incubator I have a digital thermometer that reads indoor temp and has a sensor that reads outdoor temp which I also have mounted inside the incubator. The outdoor temp is reading 99 but the indoor temp is reading 103. I put another digital thermometer inside the incubator and it is reading 100.
99, 100, 103 which on is right? 103 is to hot but 99 or 100 would be good. I don't want to harm the eggs when I put them in.

 

[dbcooper02]

Heat rises. In a still air incubator it is warmer at the top than at the bottom. Typically in a still air you want about 101.5 measured at the top the eggs.

 

[Wjeffgriggs]

all at the same level. approximately egg height

 

[Wjeffgriggs]

I put a none digital in on top of what will be egg height and it is reading 99.5 and has been for the past day. I am going to assume I am good and transfer my eggs into it today when I get home from work.

 

[FLITZ]

I have two dig. thermometers with a wired probe. and three glass aquarium therms. split between two still air Little giants. No eggs yet
when outside the incubators all placed side by side they all read the same.. the dig ones with the probe says a glass of ice water is 32.5

BUT...... Inside the incubator the glass ones stay a constant 102 or just a tiny bit lower..hard to tell maybe just a tiny bit two in one bator one in the other ..all reads the same

the two gig thermometers one in each bator reads 99-99.5

I'm afraid if i trust the 102s it will kill my babies...but if I lower it the therms that say 99-99.5 may be correct and it will be too cold
grrrr i'm new to this also

 

[cva34]

all at the same level. approximately egg height

Radiant heat.like light shining on them differently. What happens when you set all 3 outside incubator in a huddle on counter top or someplace with consist ant heat.If its radiant heat you can block it with Alum .foil.or solar screen scraps....cva34
does it have fan ? is it working? does it have turner and measuring too near motor?

 

[Wjeffgriggs]

It is a still air I bought from Tractor Supply Store
no fan
no turner
no light
just a heating coil that goes around the top.
Its crazy, That they are so far off. I am going to assume the digital one with the outside sensor is way off. This morning I checked it and it said the outside temp was 93 and indoor 103 (both sensor and thermometer inside incubator). The non-digital one is the one that came with the incubator. I am going to set the it on top of the eggs and adjust for it to read 100 like the instruction that came with the incubator recommend. I am driving myself insane with temp issues.

 

[1muttsfan]

Thermometers often have an accuracy rating of +/- 2 degrees (or more). This means if the temp is actually 100 degrees, they may read anything from 98 to 102.

Calibrate your thermometers if possible, if not compare them to one you can calibrate - you can note how far off it is compared to the calibrated thermometer, and subtract or add that number of degrees to the one you are using.

http://www.foodservice.com/articles/equipment-supplies/How-To-Calibrate-A-Thermometer/

 

[Wjeffgriggs]

UPDATE
I took some advice and used the glass of crush iced water to calibrate. I found that the Acu-Rite digital outside probe to be the most accurate. I stuck the probe half way down in the glass and it read a constant 32 degrees for the 10-15 minutes I had it in there.

Here is what I did:
mounted the probe on top of a 2 1/2" nail.
stuck the nail in the center of the incubator and adjusted the nail heigth to be exactly egg height.
Then I adjusted the incubator temp where the Temp reads 100 degrees.

I feel confident with this method I am getting a true accurate temp reading.

Thoughts?

 

[borntoride]

I have always had problems with regulating temp in LG