Incubator failure: 45 quad eggs gone

[summoner12]

I am using the mini fridge that LLL Reptile sells... similar or the same as the ThinkGeek.com model. I have been running it for about 8 months I think.

It works well for me

People have said that when power is lost these little fridges will reset to 32*f. This has not been the case for me the one time power was out for part of the day (changing power cables to our apt.) and another time where I unplugged the unit for a little bit of time. Either way, I hooked up a battery backup to it so that if power does go out the cooler can keep running for a bit, and just in case I got lucky about the temp resetting itself to 32*f.

Edit: I typed out the above reply this morning before work... and forgot to send it. I guess people do have issues with the temps resetting. I wonder if this is an issue with the old thinkgeek model that people originally started to buy. Didn't the first models of the fridge have green lights and they were on the opposite side of the unit compared to the 'newer' models? The claim is that the LLL model is bigger than the thinkgeek... but if you look on the site and look at the reviews people have left with photos, there is a distinct difference between what seems like 'older' models and 'newer' models. The model from LLL that I have has an LED light inside, I think it is white? Did the older models have that feature as well?

 

[Seeco]

People have said that when power is lost these little fridges will reset to 32*f. This has not been the case for me the one time power was out for part of the day (changing power cables to our apt.) and another time where I unplugged the unit for a little bit of time. Either way, I hooked up a battery backup to it so that if power does go out the cooler can keep running for a bit, and just in case I got lucky about the temp resetting itself to 32*f.

I actually have a theory that the temp button got stuck on mine.

 

[DGray]

gon, gone, gone

Hey, keep them if you did not already dispose them. I have basically the same fridge and mine dipped to 40. I just had a clutch of K. multituberculata pull through. Lost only 3 out of 8 eggs. Wound up taking over 13 months to hatch.

Of course, if they were iced, the forget it (probably).

Frozen. As in 32 deg. F.
The eggs were caved in on one side, so I assume there was some serious dehydration as well. The eggs were thrown away.

 

[DGray]

great

Something I have thought about doing but haven't is to run the incubator on a second thermostat.

so- if you set your incubator to 68 degrees, your second thermostat would cut the power to your incubator when temps reach 65, for example...

in other words run the first thermostat on a second thermostat.

Sometimes things fail, no matter how good they are (sounds like from what others are saying your incubator might not have been all that great though).

After an incubator failed several years ago, cooking most of a year's worth of eggs and providing me with one of the very worst days of my life, I invested in a spyder robotics herpstat pro controller for my incubators. My previous thermostat which lasted only a few years on incubator was an excellent scientific labratory grade thermostat that cost a few hundred bucks but was not digital and did not have all the bells and whistles and failsafes the herpstat pro has.

Herpstat pro can warm and cool up to 4 incubators, is accurate within 1/10 of a degree and has failsafes, audible alarms, and if connected to the internet can even send you a text message or email if temps go outside your desired range. You can also connect it to the internet via an old computer and keep track of your incubator temps from your office when you are away from home. It can also do some cool things if you want like provide dawn and dusk for a couple of terrariums where lights gradually go on and off over time.

It's good stuff.

Wow. Great stuff. Thanks very much for that info. If I had only known...

 

[Seeco]

Frozen. As in 32 deg. F.

Man that sucks!

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

My condolences DGray.

 

[morpheon]

I wonder if there is a less expensive way of running a second thermostat on the first thermostat! *shrugs*

 

[ReptiPro]

Hey guys,
I just saw this thread here and thought I would respond.
We have made a lot of changes and advancements to the ReptiPro and are always working to make it better.
If you ever have an issue with one of our units, please feel free to give us a call at (800)259-9755. We would love to help resolve it and get you incubating again.
Thanks,
ReptiPro