GQF Sportsman 1502 Troubleshooting

[Doc McCluckins]

I am having trouble with my incubator. I bought it about 4 months ago and am definitely new to cabinet incubators but seem to be having some troubles. Any help appreciated.

1. Humidity. I cannot seem to keep the humidity very high, over single digits even sometimes. I use the wick pads, try to keep the tub filled but it is emptied daily. The building I keep it in is dry and I thought that could be a culprit. Even will both wick pads and a full tub I think the highest humidity I have achieved is 24%. It has occurred to me that my humidity sensor could be faulty but I am not sure how to check it.

2. The egg turner. It seems to be working overtime. When I use the automatic egg turner it probably turns them over 10x daily. I do not see a way to adjust the amount that it turns eggs but this seems excessive. The counter even reads some ridiculously high number. What is the deal? How many times daily should eggs be turned?

3. System Failure. Last but most certainly not least, now the darn thing won't even run. Last night I went to restart it after I had given it a week long break, it had been running nonstop for several weeks, and now it gave me a red light, an alarm and says -Inside Temp Sensor signal lost. I looked in the manual and it instructed me to check connection of yellow box and thermostat which I have not yet done. In the event that doesn't solve it what could the issue be?

 

[R2elk]

I am having trouble with my incubator. I bought it about 4 months ago and am definitely new to cabinet incubators but seem to be having some troubles. Any help appreciated.

1. Humidity. I cannot seem to keep the humidity very high, over single digits even sometimes. I use the wick pads, try to keep the tub filled but it is emptied daily. The building I keep it in is dry and I thought that could be a culprit. Even will both wick pads and a full tub I think the highest humidity I have achieved is 24%. It has occurred to me that my humidity sensor could be faulty but I am not sure how to check it.

2. The egg turner. It seems to be working overtime. When I use the automatic egg turner it probably turns them over 10x daily. I do not see a way to adjust the amount that it turns eggs but this seems excessive. The counter even reads some ridiculously high number. What is the deal? How many times daily should eggs be turned?

3. System Failure. Last but most certainly not least, now the darn thing won't even run. Last night I went to restart it after I had given it a week long break, it had been running nonstop for several weeks, and now it gave me a red light, an alarm and says -Inside Temp Sensor signal lost. I looked in the manual and it instructed me to check connection of yellow box and thermostat which I have not yet done. In the event that doesn't solve it what could the issue be?

Item #1 - Buy a separate hygrometer. Calibrate it using the salt method. Use your new hygrometer to verify the humidity in your incubator. If your humidity is extremely low you may wish to add a humidifier to the room the incubator is in.

Item #2 - The newer GQF Sportsman 1502 are factory set to turn the egg trays once an hour. There are studies that have been done that verify that the more frequently the eggs are turned, the better the hatch is. The 1502 does not offer the ability to change the amount of times the trays are automatically turned.

Item #3 - Contact the manufacturer.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

Item #1 - Buy a separate hygrometer. Calibrate it using the salt method. Use your new hygrometer to verify the humidity in your incubator. If your humidity is extremely low you may wish to add a humidifier to the room the incubator is in.

Item #2 - The newer GQF Sportsman 1502 are factory set to turn the egg trays once an hour. There are studies that have been done that verify that the more frequently the eggs are turned, the better the hatch is. The 1502 does not offer the ability to change the amount of times the trays are automatically turned.

Item #3 - Contact the manufacturer.

Do you have a hygrometer you recommend? That makes sense about the turner. I thought that was a bit much. Good to know that is at least working properly.

 

[R2elk]

Do you have a hygrometer you recommend? That makes sense about the turner. I thought that was a bit much. Good to know that is at least working properly.

I do not have a hygrometer that I would recommend but if you go to a local store, you should be able to find readily available weather stations with both indoor and (wireless) outdoor sensors. I put the outdoor sensor inside the incubator.

The thing to remember about the weather stations is that the cheaper models have hygrometer sensors that will only measure down to 20% humidity irregardless of how low the humidity actually is. Since the humidity range you want the incubator to operate in is higher than 20%, it should be a non issue unless your humidity is really lower than that.

 

[feedman77]

Also on your humidity how far open do you have vent holes?

 

[R2elk]

I am having trouble with my incubator. I bought it about 4 months ago

With your issue concerning the system failure warning, I would expect this to be covered by the manufacturer's warranty which is why you should contact them.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

Also on your humidity how far open do you have vent holes?

I have never adjusted them. Not entirely sure how... This is a screen grab from the manual I found online

With your issue concerning the system failure warning, I would expect this to be covered by the manufacturer's warranty which is why you should contact them.

I bought the system as a refurnished return from the distribution company I work for. So I am not entirely sure it is even under any warranty. The thermostat had been replaced but it was new and unused.

 

[feedman77]

My 1502 has 4 black plugs in it.

You have to knock the centers out or remove them completely.

If they are all removed or have had the centers knocked out it will let humidity out at a fast rate.

I believe I have the centers out of 2 of them. If I use the water pan and 2 wicks my humidity will be over 70.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

My 1502 has 4 black plugs in it.

You have to knock the centers out or remove them completely.

If they are all removed or have had the centers knocked out it will let humidity out at a fast rate.

I believe I have the centers out of 2 of them. If I use the water pan and 2 wicks my humidity will be over 70.

Assuming I get the thing up and running again I'll buy a second hygrometer and see what's going on. Sounds like it just isn't reading right.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

Just wanted to share an update. Earlier this week I did contact GQF. I told them my issues and they responded by asking that I send them a proof of purchase, which I then did. We never corresponded again after that. Yesterday I got a package from them, mind you I didn't talk to anyone about parts or even give them my address (although my address was located on the invoice I sent them). They have shipped me a new motherboard and a temperature sensor. I haven't put it on yet so no news on whether that solved the issue. The lack of discussion leading up to getting parts has me bumfuzzled. I mean, I myself don't think over communication is necessary and they got me parts FAST and FREE but the lack of speaking was a little odd to me. Hopefully this is fixed. If not the buyer whom I purchased the unit from said we would be able to return and replace the unit.