Incubator fan problem..

Ok so I originally had my fan set to come on with my heat tape and the Incubator stayed a good 89ish and then after reading everybody says it needs to stay on 24/7 but when I do this it jacks the temp up to 93... Obviously that won't work.. Any ideas? Does it have to run 24/7 I was getting good temps when it wasn't

I would just keep it the way you were doing it. proper temps are more important I would think and some people don't even use a fan so it running some is better than nothing.

What would you say the ratio of fan on to fan off is?

I mean the way I had it it clicks on when the tstat does so probably a few minutes every 30-45 min

All it needs to do is circulate the air some to keep the temperature constant throughout the incubator. I doubt that you will have issues.

from my personal experience with my incubator when i dont run the fan i will get temps from 87-91. with the fan on 24\7 i see temps in all egg tubs 88.0-88.4.

ok so the only concern that i have when you turn on the fan 24/7 your temp spikes. Well this makes me think that maybe you have temp variation and when you turn on the fan it is evenly dispersing the heat. And also i would recommend getting a thermostat like a herp stat that is not a on off type so when you set it to 89 it holds it at that temp. Thats just me personally. I mean you are taking all this time to raise and breed for these eggs. Why risk anything going wrong while your incubating. Replacing your thermostat like a herp stat should help you. Having the fan is key to circulating the air. If it turns on every 40 min then since heat rises then in that 40 min that the fans no on all the warm air is staying at the top of your incubator. Hope this helps a little

No that's not it. I left the fan on last night and after a couple hours the fan was burning hot. And before when it was synced with the tstat I hit every part of the incubator with the temp gun and it was 89*. And I do have a good thermostat on it lol I'm running a ranco (I forget which model exactly)

Rancos aren't proportional thermostats which means that they are just as inaccurate at cheap thermostats like hydrofarms.

Where is the probe? You might need to move it around.

So your saying that the fan is getting really hot and you think that the fan is what is bumping up the temp? (just making sure I'm understanding you correctly)

If so then as I said before moving the thermostat probe might help.

Are you sure that you are supplying the fan with the proper electricity? (you most likely are just trying to cover all of the bases)

Also temp guns only measure surface temperatures, not air temperatures. Something to keep in mind.

I think I'm gonna go grab a fan controller tomorrow and wire it in that way I don't have to keep the fan spun up on full speed. I think that's what was causing it to overheat. I just need a little airflow cause it's just a mini fridge

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Rancos aren't proportional thermostats which means that they are just as inaccurate at cheap thermostats like hydrofarms.

Where is the probe? You might need to move it around.

So your saying that the fan is getting really hot and you think that the fan is what is bumping up the temp? (just making sure I'm understanding you correctly)

If so then as I said before moving the thermostat probe might help.

Are you sure that you are supplying the fan with the proper electricity? (you most likely are just trying to cover all of the bases)

Also temp guns only measure surface temperatures, not air temperatures. Something to keep in mind.

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Probe is hanging dead center in the incubator
And yeah I know that about the temp gun I was just saying. I've got the probe, another digital thermometer set up inside a imitation egg box, and a third digital thermometer hanging in the middle haha