Best incubator teperature?

[jglass38]

A wise man once told me the 2 important things are:

1. Never over 90 degrees

2. Stable temps!

Keep it stable and your eggs will hatch at 86, 87, 88 or 89.

[jamesw]

I use and have always heard 89.

[West Coast Jungle]

It depends on the incubator and how much temps change outside incubator. Most incubators heat but don't cool. So if you are at the higher end of temps and room heats up, the incubator heats up too and may get too hot. I like to keep mine at 88 so I have room if the room should heat up.

[jglass38]

If the incubator is properly insulated, a small change in the room temp shouldn't cause a spike inside the incubator. I am incubating at about 87.5 this year. Also keep in mind, that a good proportional tstat is key. The Helix DBS1000 is internally calibrated to .25 of a degree but the display reads in full degrees. The Herpstat ND has an internal resolution of .11 degrees and is accurate to .9. It displays in tenths of a degree. Another thing to realize is that most thermometers including the Accurite and the PEs have a tolerance of +-3 degrees. That is a big number and all the more reason to choose a quality tstat and trust it to get the job done.

[West Coast Jungle]

If the incubator is properly insulated, a small change in the room temp shouldn't cause a spike inside the incubator. I am incubating at about 87.5 this year. Also keep in mind, that a good proportional tstat is key. The Helix DBS1000 is internally calibrated to .25 of a degree but the display reads in full degrees. The Herpstat ND has an internal resolution of .11 degrees and is accurate to .9. It displays in tenths of a degree. Another thing to realize is that most thermometers including the Accurite and the PEs have a tolerance of +-3 degrees. That is a big number and all the more reason to choose a quality tstat and trust it to get the job done.

You are right I am also using the herpstat pro. Depending on where you live and how your room is set up, temps can change alot. Here in cali we have 50 at night and up to 90 during the day, anyway your temps are also on the lower end which gives you a little cushion for heating up. I'm not talking about a spike but gradual heat up. If your at 90 and it goes up 3-4 degress for a prolonged time you could have problems.

[ECLARK]

With some t stats you will have a 1-2 degree temp swing and thats OK, I think its very important to incubate on the cooler side. like 87-88* that way if your temps creep up on a warm day. you wont kill the eggs with excessive temperatures. something else I see alot of people doing is playing with the eggs......constantly opening the incubator up to check on them, candleing them every week. just leave them alone and let them develope and hatch.

[West Coast Jungle]

With some t stats you will have a 1-2 degree temp swing and thats OK, I think its very important to incubate on the cooler side. like 87-88* that way if your temps creep up on a warm day. you wont kill the eggs with excessive temperatures. something else I see alot of people doing is playing with the eggs......constantly opening the incubator up to check on them, candleing them every week. just leave them alone and let them develope and hatch.

That's my wife. Wants to candle them all the time. LOL Just let them hatch in peace!

[Adam_Wysocki]

With some t stats you will have a 1-2 degree temp swing and thats OK, I think its very important to incubate on the cooler side. like 87-88* that way if your temps creep up on a warm day. you wont kill the eggs with excessive temperatures. something else I see alot of people doing is playing with the eggs......constantly opening the incubator up to check on them, candleing them every week. just leave them alone and let them develope and hatch.

Excellent post ED!!!!

-adam

[AjBalls]

I use 89.6....

[Larry Suttles]

It depends on the incubator and how much temps change outside incubator. Most incubators heat but don't cool. So if you are at the higher end of temps and room heats up, the incubator heats up too and may get too hot. I like to keep mine at 88 so I have room if the room should heat up.

I ran into this problem with my converted frige. When the room would heat up to 80 during some days the incubator temps would read over 95! I fixed the problem by venting the incubator out with some 3/8 holes drilled in the back and sides it's been spot on ever since even with room temps changing 70-81 degrees