Except for the failure of the tubing, does the system work?

This is tough since you're not in the states. Hardware stores sell the same type of tubing you're looking for. I just bought some myself a few weeks back and it had a small enough ID to fit on something about the same size.

Does it not have a tray for water to go in? That's how many of us do it in the cheaper incubators.

 

Except for the failure of the tubing, does the system work?

This is tough since you're not in the states. Hardware stores sell the same type of tubing you're looking for. I just bought some myself a few weeks back and it had a small enough ID to fit on something about the same size.

Does it not have a tray for water to go in? That's how many of us do it in the cheaper incubators.

I can get silicone tubing, no problems. Just wondering if there were a better option than simply replacing the tubing and swapping the roller clamp for a needle valve.

Incubator has a tray, and the bottle dumps a liter of water into it over the course of a few hours. No point in the bottle if that is okay. Might as well just dump the liter in when the alarm sounds. I would be more comfortable if the liter took a couple of days instead.

Just my thoughts. Here to ask the experts.

-sterling

 

It may be hard to maintain a constant humidity level with a drip system but I have seen this done a few times with the IV drip set up. It is hard to adjust if you get any major atmospheric changes and also can be tricky for lockdown.

 

If your humidity is running that high in the early days then the system isn't working and you would be better off just using the tray.

How certain are you the device doing the measuring is accurate? So often they are way off or off enough to really mess things up.

Can you change the setting on the humidity alarm? And how can it possibly be going that dry so quickly if you live in the climate you do? Something just isn't right.

If you can give a lot more information about the incubator, Patrick can probably help.

 

I have a separate humidity gauge coming. Should be here in a day or so. I can compare at that point. I don't have a known standard to refer back to. Are there any DIY methods to verify humidity readings?

The tray is what is being used. Water drips by gravity from the bottle into the tray. The issue (or what I believe is contributing) is that there is no good way to slow that delivery to the tray. All or nothing. Short of going in daily and manually adding a measure of water, it is either full, or empty.

I have ordered better quality tubing, an IV drip chamber (in order to monitor the flow), a bib for the water bottle (I already have a few laying around. good for hatching brine shrimp) and a needle valve. (all under $5) I'm hoping this set-up will give better control of water delivery.

Possibly there is a mis-communication as to what is going dry.
Water bottle - drips onto bottom tray of incubator via gravity. Water bottle is going dry as the drip is too fast. I cannot slow drip without stopping it altogether.
Tray - does not go dry for days. But being full keeps the humidity too high.

I asked in another thread if adding a sponge or towel would slow or speed evaporation? I'm not really sure if the increased surface area would speed it up, or if water locked inside would slow it down.

-sterling

 

You're right, misunderstanding what is happening. Words on a screen can be so hard sometimes.

Looking at the manual control that came with the unit I thought you had better control over the speed the water ran into the bator.

The only one I know of for absolute testing for accuracy is the wet bulb. Most of us used little electronic measuring tools. Since 100% accuracy isn't absolutely needed most of us didn't pursue it further than whatever we were using said. Temps were the one we focused on since a degree can alter hatch times.

The sponge trick. That one is most often used when the incubator is in a dry environment and struggles to keep the humidity to at least 35%. It increases the surface space for water to evaporate from. For too high humidity, some water is removed from the tray. If that isn't good enough then the lid is cocked a bit to allow it to escape.

 

I had seen, and looked for, the little electronic pumps for maintaining the humidity, but couldn't find anything. Terminology/translation may be getting in my way, or they may only come with a complete unit. Dunno.

The DIY rig I have does a much better job of delivering water in a constant slow rate. Still fiddly, but humidity 'drifts', up or down, rather than 'spiking' as it did before. With a daily tweak, I've been able to keep things within 10% of target without issue.

The IV Drip Chamber, and needle valve are the key components and I highly recommend this simple modification if you have my issue.

-sterling