been working on this for a bit now
i have 1 foot of 11 inch heat tape on the floor and two feet of 11inch up the back hooked up to a brand new ranco thermostat. i also have 3 fans in there, they are all wired together so they dont go that fast.
i have these fluker thermometers in there one on each shelf and every time i check them they are good 88-90 but as a test i put a couple water bottles in a container i plan to use for eggs and whenever me or my bro check them they are 92. i was thinking they should be 88-90 so something isnt right here and i cant figure it out. i know setting these things up is trial and error but im running outta trials here any advice would be appreciated, also if you have your incubator hooked up could you toss a water bottle in a tub in there and check what temp you get, im thinking maybe the airtight container is trapping heat or i dunno im stumped any help is appreciated. thanks

In that size incubator One fan is all thats needed. You dont need water bottles on the shelves either, just the bottom.


Set the Ranco to 88, since ranco/johnsons have a delay in temp you will get higher temps Then set. Also Take the Heat tape out of the bottom and leave just the back. 2 ft of 11in is all you need in there.

Once you get these changes done, Close the door and dont open it , as doign so kills the temps.

i was thinking the floor pad is to heat the bottles, but you want the air to heat them right?
where would you put the one fan. only reason i did three was my bro figured wiring all three together slowed them down so its not windy its just going, but i can easily cut 2 of them out of the picture.
is my method of testing good? with the bottles being the eggs pretty much?
i have a temp gun so i can get pretty accurate, what should the temp in the actual egg container read?

Set up the boxes with moist vermiculite but no eggs. But thermometer inside and check once a day and tweak till you get a 88-90 inside the tubs. No need for the heat tape to heat the bottles as the air gets warm the bottles will too.


One fan in the back blowing down the heat tape will work just fine.

As long as the temps inside the egg boxes are 88-90 your fine.

i forgot to ask where youd put the probe for the thermostat? right now its rigged in the middle of the middle shelf.

Mine hangs off my lowest shelf. But my incubator is huge. you should be fine with it in middle hanging off shelf.

cool thanks bro. i saw your hatchling racks i can only imagine the size incubator youd need to incubate for all those, what do you use a fridge?

Yes i have a fridge that holds 28 clutches

i did the adjustments you recommended yesterday, today opened the egg tub and got mins of 87.1- 87.5 and highs of 88-88.5. that was with the thermostat set at 88, so i turned it up to 89 and we will see what tomorow says, but i think im on the right track now, thanks for the help bro.

87F is still fine

Keep in mind your using an on/off style thermostat, so you will have more variances in temps than if you used Helix or herpstat.