Thermostat help

[mistymtn]

Hi guys,

i havejust purchased a Microclimate 100 to use in an incubator. i set it all up last night & noticed that with the temp set at 30Deg that it cuts the power ok but doesn't turn the heat cord back on again until it drops down to about 25.5Deg???
Is this normal for these thermostats or is this a faulty unit? it is only for gecko eggs but i thought it wouldn't have so much variance?

Any help would be apreciated

Cheers

[dee4]

where is your the sensor on the Microclimate 100 compared to where the heat cord is? Is the heat cord in the unit or out of the unit? Probably a silly question, but is the sensor from the microclimate 100 in or out of the unit? Post some pics of your setup mate, with the heat cord and sensor positions.

[mistymtn]

The unit is one of those polystirene fruit boxes with the heat cord on one side of the box (inside) & the thermometer & thermostat are on the other side. 15W heat cord.
Will post some pics tonight.

Cheers

[Valley Reptile Supplies]

sound like the sensor is picking up radiant heat and thermostat is set to low best thing to do is forget the dial on the thermo has numbers. and set it when it comes on not when it goes off with a thermometer and let it run for a day or 2 and check temps. set temp about 1 deg below what you want.
OR your thermometer is to close to the heat cord and is getting cord temp not air temp
dimming thermostats are the best thing to use in an incubator

[dee4]

The heat cord should be spread evenly around the outer walls of the box. Make sure you have the thermometer and sensor from the microclimate in the exactly the same spot, this way it is reading the same temp. Have them both in the middle of the box, and the thermostat should be outside the box.

[mistymtn]

i did have it up higher & it wouldn't turn off until about 35deg which is too hot.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

[dailyskin]

Matt from Animal Attraction set our ministat 100 to about 28 - this means it goes between about 32 and 24, which apparently is fine

[mistymtn]

Oh ok.
i have the heat cord running zigzag along the side of the box about 4 rows but on the inside of the box.
i will try putting it on the outside.
Will the heat go thru the foam?

Cheers

[mistymtn]

What sort of variance does everyone get?

[dee4]

no, not on the outside, sorry, I should have explained it a bit better. It has to be inside the box but on the inside walls.

[Valley Reptile Supplies]

the cord needs to be inside
run around the sides all of them just zig vag it top to bottom all the way around
Put the probe and thermometre probe right in the middle set it to 30 on the dial and leave it a few hours
You can not set an incubator in a few hours like you can a cage it all needs to walm up to give constant temps
tommorow when you look if the temp is low or high turn it up or down a little and leave it for an hour or so and do the same thing till its just right.
it may take a few days to get it set right

[Valley Reptile Supplies]

Originally Posted by Valley Reptile Supplies

the cord needs to be inside
run around the sides all of them just zig vag it top to bottom all the way around
Put the probe and thermometre probe right in the middle set it to 30 on the dial and leave it a few hours
You can not set an incubator in a few hours like you can a cage it all needs to walm up to give constant temps
tommorow when you look if the temp is low or high turn it up or down a little and leave it for an hour or so and do the same thing till its just right.
it may take a few days to get it set right

about the best you will get is 1-2 deg which is ok.
Some one once said EGGS WERE MADE TO HATCH

[DrNick]

For an incubator a dimming or pulsing stat works better as they control the amount or level of power to the heat source, rather than switching on and off. They cost a bit more but are definitely more stable temp wise. My microclimate dimmer keeps my incubator pretty much dead on 29.1 with a variance of only 0.2-0.5 degrees according to my max/min thermometer. As others have said it will take a while for temps to become stable and DEFINITELY set your temps with a thermometer as the dials on thermostats are often out by a fair margin. Poly boxes, especially the thinner ones, are affected by external temps which can cause the thermo to over/under shoot the temps as it tries to keep up.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EGGS!!!

[mistymtn]

Thanks for all for your help guys.
I will post some pics tonight & try all the things suggested. i will update how it goes.

Cheers

[herptrader]

Originally Posted by dailyskin

Matt from Animal Attraction set our ministat 100 to about 28 - this means it goes between about 32 and 24, which apparently is fine

For an enclosure yes but this is far from optimal for an incubator.

With a standard on/off type thermostat in an incubator I would expect a swing of no more than 3C.

If you go to a dimming thermostat (Habistat - what I use or Microclimate) I would expect a swing of about 0.3C which is much better.

What you need to worry about in an incubator is the maximum temperature it peaks at so if you have a dimming stat with only small temperature fluctuations you can more safely set it close to the optimal temperature.