Incubation setup Q

[Ryan and Katie]

We have just started testing out our incubator. Its a styrofoam cooler with bricks and water. Our aquarium heater has an external temp probe and we can't decide if we should place the probe in the water or have it read the air temp? Is there an advantage to having the probe in the air or will the heater turn on and spike the temperature when we open the lid?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[JDouglas]

You are correct about the spike when the lid opens if your reading air temp. The heat will turn on when the lid is opened and continue to heat the water until the air is back up to temp. By the time the air warms up the water will be too hot and you will have major overshoot as the water continues to heat the air.

I would put the thermostat probe in the water for sure.

Temperature in water is very stable. You can open the cooler for a minute and the water temp may only change by a degree if even that. When you close the lid the evaporation and rising heat from the water will heat the air back up quickly and your heat source will barely even run. Your water temp will have very little temp swing and this heats the air. So your air will have very little temp swing also. You may have to set the water temp a degree or two higher than your desired egg temp because as the water evaporates it cools a little. To set the thermostat I would put your thermometer probe inside the cooler athe same height the eggs will be to read the air temp. Adjust the thermostat until you have your desired air temp. Then after you have the correct air temp in the cooler put the thermometer in the egg chamber. You will see that the temp in the egg chamber is even more stable than the air temp in the cooler.

Be patient, this type of incubator needs time to level off after you make adjustments because the water temp is so stable. If the temp is too high it can take a long time to cool down.

Good Luck!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Yep, water for sure. I have found, and this is just my opinion, that when you want to regulate heat, always regulate the heat at the heat source. It'll be far more accurate.

[Ryan and Katie]

Thanks guys! The heater ran all last night with the probe in the water and the temps were solid at 89.4 - 89.6. We figured that the probe in the water would be best but with this new heater we wanted to see if there was a way to take advantage of an aquarium heater with external temp probe.