Need help with incubator

[RM1776]

So I got an old wine cooler with glass door and put heat tape in it. And I have it hooked to an inkbird thermostat at 86F and it won’t get below 104F even when I lower the temp. Thanks for any help.

[Albert Clark]

What type of heat tape are you using? THG ? flexwatt,? Have you checked the position of your probe? Consider resetting the thermostat as well. I use Herpstats and sometimes have to reset them and then set my desired temperature again as well as the time and date.

[RM1776]

I’m not sure of the brand I got it from a list animals. And I will try resetting it thank you

[Albert Clark]

Double check the actual connections that come off the tape into the wiring of the plug that goes into the thermostat. You may have to purchase new heat tape.

[OhhWatALoser]

Even malfunctioning heat tape should change tempature with a thermostat. Where is the probe?

[RM1776]

Probe is in the center of the incubator

[Armiyana]

Heat will continue to rise. So that heated air is just building up at the top of the incubator until it's enough to hit where the probe is centered.
You can try moving the probe to the top of the incubator instead, so when the air up top hits the desired temp, it turns off. Obviously, this can leave the lower part of the incubator a bit colder. A simple computer style fan can help keep the air moving and get that heat a little more evenly spread.

If the temp is still hitting 104 up top when you move the probe there, you probably have a busted thermostat or probe.

[Albert Clark]

Probe is in the center of the incubator

Are you covering the probe itself with tape? If so, try taping the probe wire only! Covering the sensitive probe end can be problematic. Don’t tape the crossbars of the filament either, tape on the outer edges. Foil tape is a conductor of both heat and electricity. Be very careful!

[RM1776]

Thanks for all the great ideas I think I’ll move the probe to the top. I didn’t tape the probe at all it is resting on the wire shelf.

[nikkubus]

Where is the heat tape? I would put the probe ON the heat tape. If the heat tape is on the bottom, and the probe is at the top, the bottom is going to get a bit hotter by the time the heat rises to the top, so after it shuts off, it's going to continue to still raise to the top. If the probe is on the heat tape, it will shut on and off more frequently and take slightly longer to initially come up to temp, but it will never be allowed to get too hot. Placing some full, sealed water bottles in the incubator somewhere can help to stabilize the temp so that when you open the door to check eggs it doesn't take as long to reach the correct temps again.