Backyard Poultry Forum

My incubator has done an automatic restart. What do I do to restore it to what I had before?

OK
The most common question is about the incubator performing an automatic factory restart in your absence.

If for whatever reason the controller encounters a conflict, it will trigger an automatic restart and keep running with its default factory values.
The controller `flushes' all user-input values and resets its own, on the logic that the user-inputs may have caused the conflict.
If you come home and find the bottom screens changed to 38oC and 60%RH, there's probably been an auto restart.

To reset the bottom screen values (the SV),
Press Set, the bottom screens will read 38, tt, the controller is waiting for the SV temp input
Consult your Settings Sheet and press the Up/Down arrows until you have adjusted the temp
Press OK, the bottom screens will read 60, HH, the controller is waiting for the SV humidity input
Consult your Settings Sheet and press the Up/Down arrows until you have adjusted the humidity
Press OK, this exits the setting of the Set Values

Now consult your settings sheet and adjust the values of the P and F functions

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Why did my fully developed chicks die in the shell. What could I have done for them to hatch?

OK
The second most common question that I am asked is about late dead-in-shell. "Is it the incubator - or - is it something else"
There can be nothing more frustrating than having fully-developed and seemingly healthy chicks die-in-shell

The first thing to be addressed is diet. Has the parent flock been fed breeder rations for a month or so prior to setting eggs from them?
What one feeds chickens for table eggs is not the same thing as feeding them for hatching eggs
The eggs must contain all the building material to develop into a hatchable, viable embryo.
Naturally if some necessary nutrient is lacking, a chick may not survive the stresses of the hatch
And even if it does hatch it may not thrive.

The second thing to be addressed is the humidity `profile'
- If humidity levels are too high early in the term, there is insufficient moisture loss from the egg resulting in too small an air sac
As the chick pips through internally it starts air breathing in the air sac.
If the air sac is too small the chick suffocates before it can pip a breathing hole in the shell.
- If humidity levels are too low late in the term, there is insufficient moisture transfer down the shell's pores to `lubricate' the chick.
The chick needs to complete a 360 degree turn to chip a door in the shell while at the same time twisting-off its navel.
Insufficient moisture causes its down to dry against the membrane, the contents of the egg gluing the chick in one position
And when it does make a small hole in the shell, what moisture is in the shell may escape causing more grief

There are other factors of course, such as shell density, leg feathering, etc.,
These require tailoring of the incubator settings (based on experienced breeders' feedback)

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Over-Voltage issues resulting from Solar-To-The-grid supply

OK
Two breeders whose machines had behaved faultlessly for extended periods of time have reported an issue to me
Their issue was narrowed down to solar-to-the-grid supply
In the off-season, one breeder had installed a new solar array.
The second breeder's neighbour had installed a solar array.

In each case the issue was shared by other equipment so the energy supplier was called in to verify the delivered voltage
At its peak on a sunny day midweek the voltage exceeded the upper limit of the energy supplier's target margin
The supplied voltage target is 230VAC - (Less) 10% / + (Plus) 6%

If an over voltage condition is identfied, the energy supplier is obliged to rectify it.
This can be by switching the premises to a different phase or it can be by adjusting the closest transformer

Like most sensitive equipment incubators are susceptible to damage by over voltage
Over voltage can cause component failure and will shorten service life
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From a Bulletin by the president of The Electric Energy Society of Australia
http://www.eesa.asn.au

The 240V to 230V Switch
In Australia we have officially been a 230V country since 2000. However, no significant changes have been made
to the actual voltages delivered to most customers since the 240V days going back as long as I can remember. The
change to 230V in Australia has been more about convenient labelling than one of actually changing the way we
deliver power to electricity customers.

A recent article by Chris Halliday (Electrical Consulting & Training) and Dave Urquhart (Energex) has highlighted
the misalignment of various Australian standards and government regulations in the 230V/240V area. There is a
strong case for changing from the old 240V supply system to a true 230V system by actually lowering the steady
state voltage we deliver to customers. The new drivers for change are four fold:

1. Many customers are under the misapprehension that they actually receive electricity supply at 230V. The reality is that much of the
time the voltage is much higher near the top end of the old 240V ±6% range (253V).
2. The recent surge in connections of rooftop photovoltaics is causing new voltage rise pressures on the electricity networks and customer
installations that they were never designed for. This results in severe overvoltage conditions in localised areas that are causing voltage
stress on customer equipment and PV generation shutdowns caused by overvoltage inverter protection.
3. Many Australian equipment standards are written on the basis of supply voltage being near the nominal 230V level. e.g. motors have
an "A" range of 230V ±5%. There is a clear mismatch between equipment standards and the supply voltages actually being received
by most Australian electricity customers.
4. Specifications of mandatory Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for customer equipment commonly call up performance
tests to be conducted at or near 230V. This is a voltage much lower than the environment in which most of these appliances need to operate.

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Greatlander Incubators can run at a cooler temperature than the ambient temperature

OK, this `hot' topic often comes under discussion by members as it has done recently ...

... "No incubator can cool to a temp less than the room it's in so it's imperative to keep the room temp below the incubation temp, with any type of incubator".

... "A batch cooked over early summer here with the temperature outside reaching 45C and not much cooler inside the house.
As Rach says, they will not cool so its safer not to incubate in the heat of summer".

To which I posted this reply:
For some time now, we have fitted `cool misting' devices in my cabinet incubators
The device keeps the temp inside our machines within a safe margin while outside the temp is hotter
I have a PDF that explains how it works if any member is interested (I don't seem to be able to attach a PDF to this post)

To explain it for members, Greatlander incubators are equipped with micro-misting, and with an exhuast fan which comes on automatically to extract hot air.
Now whereas heat is stored in the incubator's total mass, humidity is completely airborne
So during those heat waves, whenever the exhaust comes on to extract hot air, it also extracts some of the airborne humidity
This deficit in humidity is sensed and the misting device is switchd on automatically, to make fresh humidity
However, the micro-mist has an evaporative-cooling effect, which cools the air inside the set

For as long as the outside temperature remains above the set temperature, the exhaust fan and the misting device remain in a positive feedback loop, and the Set Temp and R/H are maintained

If/when the inside temp falls however marginally below the set temp, e.g. if the cooling is excessive, the machine's heaters switch on to make the required correction.

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

OK, some members may like some further reading about relative humidity ... see link below

For instance, can it be both hot and humid such that no evaporation can occur
This would be an extremely rare event ...
It will require that the ambient temperature is greater than the incubating temperature AND that the relative humidity inside the set is persisting at 100%
Otherwise, in practice, you increase the humidity setting to keep the mister in the loop
Greatlander sets, now in challenging areas with a Wet season, include NT, FNQ, PNG, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Kiribati, ...

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/relhum.html#c5

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Re-Starting & Shutting Down Procedure & Cleaning

This advisory has just been sent out to all Greatlander Owners-of-Record, those who have provided an email address
There are some owners did not supply an email address and owners who purchased second-hand machines
Those owners may look for instructions here

Hello All
With the start of a new season please make absolutely sure that your machines were shut down properly and will restart safely
If you did not dry-run your machine followed by a thorough blow down, do so before you start up again

- Unplug your machine from the wall

- Blow back each of the fans against their normal flow

- Blow down the small blue or brown capacitor on the turning motor

- Pull out the controller and remove the four small screws in the back corners
Push in the tabs on the sides of the box and slide back the shroud
This will expose the circuit boards
Blow the circuit boards and the contactors between the circuit boards, especially the heating and humidity contactors
Follow their tracks from terminals 19, 21, 22, 23, 24

- When restarting, monitor the set closely and make sure that the heating relays are switching on and off and that heating has stopped

- Check also with a test lamp that the humidity relay is switching on and off
The test lamp should light up only whenever the small green `WET’ LED light is illuminated


http://www.greatlander.com.au

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Greatlander Humidfier now by Ultra Sonic Fogger (no longer by heating water)

Those members who incubate through into the warmer months have long told me about the need for vigilance
Heating water to generate humidity is not what you want to be doing in already hot weather
In a nutshell, the warmed water also heats the air which can destabilise the set
This difficulty was ironed out a few years back when I added misting nozzles, which cool the sets in hot weather

The latest innovation for the coming season is an Ultra Sonic Fogger, which replaces the immersion heating element
I've uploaded a video of the Ultra Sonic Fogger to Youtube, here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNt5bVjlPxQ

The fogger itself is 24 volt DC and I supply a C-Tick approved 240VAC - 24VCD transformer, which plugs into the socket in the machine
I've given prototype foggers to several experienced client-breeders of mine and the feedback is wonderful

Cheers

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

Re-Starting & Shutting Down Procedure & Cleaning


Re-Starting & Shutting Down Procedure & Cleaning

This advisory has just been sent out to all Greatlander Owners-of-Record, those who have provided an email address
There are some owners did not supply an email address and owners who purchased second-hand machines
Those owners may look for instructions here

Hello All
With the start of a new season please make absolutely sure that your machines were shut down properly and will restart safely
If you did not dry-run your machine followed by a thorough blow down, do so before you start up again

- Unplug your machine from the wall

- Blow back each of the fans against their normal flow

- Blow down the small blue or brown capacitor on the turning motor

- Pull out the controller and remove the four small screws in the back corners
Push in the tabs on the sides of the box and slide back the shroud
This will expose the circuit boards
Blow the circuit boards and the contactors between the circuit boards, especially the heating and humidity contactors
Follow their tracks from terminals 19, 21, 22, 23, 24

- When restarting, monitor the set closely and make sure that the heating relays are switching on and off and that heating has stopped

- Check also with a test lamp that the humidity relay is switching on and off
The test lamp should light up only whenever the small green `WET’ LED light is illuminated


http://www.greatlander.com.au

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au

For those wishing to continue following what is happening inside Greatlander, there are more technical posts, and in-depth incubation advice at our new group Greatlander Insiders.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/240090539959678/

This Q&A service is in the business advertising section where hyperlinks-out are permitted.

_________________
bobpeel@greatlander.com.au