Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK...I set up my incubator for the no substrate method.

Basically it is a large wooden (sealed) box with a glass front door. Lined(bottom and sides) with 5' of 11" flex (on a Helix). I have a fan to circulate the air. A shelf in the middle where I have a 6qt container with 1.5" of sopping peralite with egg crate on top of it. The containers have a lid that closes tightly but are not "sealed"

Temps are rock steady at 89.7 - humidity inside the containers is near 100 and in the overall incubator is about 23%.

After all this my question is I am getting an LOT of condensation inside the containers (to the point of dripping)

I don't have any eggs "yet" but need to figure out why I am getting so mucn condensation...any ideas?

Thanks so much for your help.

You need to aqual out the humidity a bit.. Get the humidity in the bator Higher and see if that helps..
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http://www.jasballpythons.com./

Thanks for the idea...I added a bowl of water at the bottom to raise the humidity. I will update everyone once it stabalizes again.

We have a big storm here today dumping 3 feet of snow so with nothing else to do I thought I would kill some time and respond to your incubator/condensation question.
First thing to keep in mind is that the ONLY way condensation can accumulate on the walls "inside" the egg container is if there is a difference in temps (higher inside the egg box than the air temp inside the incubator). Physically "impossible" and can't happen if there is no temp difference.
I have listed some possibilities below.
First, if temps in the incubator vary by even a degree over the course of a day, this can create what you are seeing. This can easily happen if the incubator is not very well insulated, there is a significant variation in room temp where the incubator is kept, or if you use an analog on-off thermostat that may have a trigger range of 1-2 degrees. this may not be the case, but for arguments sake lets assume that the temp in the room where you keep the incubator fluctuates 10 degrees between daytime and night time, or it's by a window where sun shines through a window on it during the day. If the incubator is not very well insulated and or you are using an analog thermostat this could cause a 1-2 degree difference in temps inside the incubator during the day compared to during the night. If durring the day the inside of the incubator (and egg box and substrate) are 90 degrees, and then the temp drops by even 1 degree at night, the incubator will cool faster than the inside of the egg box, which creates a temperature difference, which causes condensation inside the egg box.
Secondly, if the air is not cirulating sufficiently within the incubator and depending on how heat is supplied there can be a temp gradient created within the incubator which can cause what you are seeing.
Third, depending on the type and method by which your incubator is being heated, it may be that direct "radiant" heat is being transferred to your egg box directly from the heat source causing it to heat up to a higher degree than the ambient temp in the incubator.
Fourth possibility, "if" you have a bad egg in the clutch, it can create heat as it degenerates which in turn elevates the interior temp of the incubator leading to condensation.
Just remember is is physically impossible for condensation to form unless there is a temperature gradient (warm air in contact with a cool surface). You need to track down and fix the cause of the gradient and condensation will disappear.
One further thing to keep in mind. During the last 2-3 weeks of incubation eggs will actually give off heat as a by-product of respiration and metabolism. This can (most likely will) create some condensation within the egg box during this period.
Good Luck
Grant

I went back and re-read your post and I think I got a little off topic given the facts as you presented them. If your temps are "really" holding steady all the time in the incubator, I would almost be willing to bet that your problem stems from radiant heat being transferred directly from the heat tape to the egg box. This would be exacerbated if the incubator is not very well insulated which would cause the heat tape to have to be "on" longer. Have you ever tried to pick up a metal object with sunshine hitting it coming through a window? the interior temp of the house may be only 70 degrees, but the metal in the sunlight coming through the window can be over 100 degrees. Same type of phenomenon on a much smaller scale is probably happening with the heat tape.
Best way to remedy this situation is to shield the box from the radiant heat. That is why many incubators isolate the heat source and use a fan to circulate air across the heating element and out into the incubator.
Let me know how it turns out.
Good luck
Grant

After reading your post I moved the egg box to the center of the incubator (it was near a wall and the flex before) once it restablizes I will let you know if it fixes the issue.

The fan in on a dimmer switch but it doesn't appear to work very well the slightest turn (away from full) and the fan doesn't appear to get enough current to run and stops and just humms.

Thanks for the ideas.

PS..got to love the snow we got 18" here in Indiana yesterday. LOL

I read something in your post that could cause problems for your eggs, when you get them.
You have perlite inside the egg tray "sopping wet" with the plastic crate laying on top of the perlite.
The problem I see is....water, if it is in contact with the bottom of the plastic crate will creap up and absorb into the eggs, causing your eggs to swell and most likely go bad.

I use the same white plastic crate....but I use spacers underneath, with NO perlite...I put enough water in the egg tray to provide the humidity required....But I make sure that the water level is below the bottom of the plastic crate...That prevents the water from being able to "creap up".

Also try putting a dimmer switch on your fan, to slow it down some. It sounds like the air movement inside the incubator is cooling down the outside of the egg tray, at the same time the water inside the egg tray is being warmed by the heat tape. This would cause the temperature difference that is causing your condensation.

If you want to e-mail me, I can send you some photos of how I set up my egg trays.

Carl Aiken-Snakes
E-mail....casnakes@juno.com

Thanks...email sent.

I've been doing this for years (from what I can tell, I was one of the first, if not the first here to go to the no-sub method). The plastic is non porous, and will not "wick" water into the eggs. As long as the eggs sit on top of the grate, they will be fine.

There are several advantages to using wet perlite instead of just plain water.

1) provides more mass and more of a "heat sink" (more stable temps).
2) provides a MUCH greater surface area, and therefore greater evaporation and higher humidity.
3) potentially keeps down any microorganisms that may grow in 90 degree water.

As far as the condensation goes, make sure your temps are consitent from top to bottom (get that fan working), and leave it alone for a few days. Opening and closing will help keep them temps "out of wack". Your set-up should work just fine.