Frequent temperature fluctuations between 98.6-101 degrees ok?

[Jeremeyclarkson]

I've been tweaking things for a month my eggs come tomorrow.

I have a diy forced air incubator with temp controller that is supposed to maintian 100 degrees but it is constantly fluctuating.

I have the temp probe inside a water baggy.

When the temp gets above 101 it turns the light off and kicks on a fan. Then eventually it cools down to about 98.6 then the fan kicks off and the light comes on warming back up to about 101. This cycle is probably every 40 mins.

Since I'm within the proper temp range is the frequent fluctuation Ok?

 

[lazy gardener]

Why do you have your fan linked into the thermostat? Most bators have fan running continually, while heat is regulated by the thermostat. Your temp probe should NOT BE in a water baggy or water wiggler. It should be in free air at the expected level of the eggs. And you should be checking the temp throughout your bator box with a separate calibrated thermometer.

Your temp is averaging about 100*, so that is good, and it is within range, so THAT is good. But, without checking all areas of the box with a calibrated thermometer, you have no way of knowing if the thermostat temp (I assume it's a digital?) is accurate.

What do you have for vents? You may need to play around with vents and air baffles to help regulate temps within the box.

Do you have a calibrated hygrometer? An other absolute necessity for a successful hatch. I run 30 - 40% through day 18, and use humidity to manage air cell size for the best hatch outcome.

 

[Jeremeyclarkson]

Why do you have your fan linked into the thermostat? Most bators have fan running continually, while heat is regulated by the thermostat. Your temp probe should NOT BE in a water baggy or water wiggler. It should be in free air at the expected level of the eggs. And you should be checking the temp throughout your bator box with a separate calibrated thermometer.

Your temp is averaging about 100*, so that is good, and it is within range, so THAT is good. But, without checking all areas of the box with a calibrated thermometer, you have no way of knowing if the thermostat temp (I assume it's a digital?) is accurate.

What do you have for vents? You may need to play around with vents and air baffles to help regulate temps within the box.

Do you have a calibrated hygrometer? An other absolute necessity for a successful hatch. I run 30 - 40% through day 18, and use humidity to manage air cell size for the best hatch outcome.

Thanks for your reply, I didnt want to go into detail about my setup but I actually have 2 thermometers in addition to the probe. I put the probe in a water baggy to simulate the temp of an egg. While the other thermometers confirm that the temp is pretty consistent throughout the box. I do have fans running constantly, but I also have 2 more fans on the temp controller to cool the eggs once the temp gets above 101.

Im more worried about the eggs getting too cold tho because most times I check the temp is closer to the low end (98.6) so I might eleminate the cooling fans

 

[lazy gardener]

How big is your bator, what are you using for heat source, and thermostat, and fans? Have you looked at the many videos re: incubator builds put out by "Rush Lane Poultry"? I wonder if you've got too much fan going. My last build, that was the case, even though there was only one computer fan in a large picnic cooler. (2) 40W bulbs and a digital thermostat. I had a heck of a time regulating the temp. Finally, I turned the fan off completely, and jacked the temp up to 102*, and had an excellent hatch. I need to do a lot of tweaking to get that bator regulated.

 

[Kiki]

May I ask how big this bator is.
Can you share a few pictures of it?

 

[Jeremeyclarkson]

May I ask how big this bator is.
Can you share a few pictures of it?

Its probably 3 feet long by 2 feed wide/tall

May I ask how big this bator is.
Can you share a few pictures of it?

How big is your bator, what are you using for heat source, and thermostat, and fans? Have you looked at the many videos re: incubator builds put out by "Rush Lane Poultry"? I wonder if you've got too much fan going. My last build, that was the case, even though there was only one computer fan in a large picnic cooler. (2) 40W bulbs and a digital thermostat. I had a heck of a time regulating the temp. Finally, I turned the fan off completely, and jacked the temp up to 102*, and had an excellent hatch. I need to do a lot of tweaking to get that bator regulated.

I see what you mean yeah I just turned off the cooling fans to see if that helps. Heres a pic

 

[lazy gardener]

That bator certainly does not need more than one fan. If all else fails, convert it to still air. Of course when doing still air, temp measured at surface of eggs should be 102*F.

 

[Jeremeyclarkson]

View attachment 1356521 View attachment 1356522
Its probably 3 feet long by 2 feed wide/tall

I was finding that with 1 fan would have inconsistent temps throughout it , These are 12v 6" computer fans theyre not very strong

I see what you mean yeah I just turned off the cooling fans to see if that helps. Heres a pic