6 HUMIDITY
SETTING THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVEL:
USING THE EXTERNAL FILL POINT
The humidity in the incubator can be adjusted by
adding water to one or both halves of the central
water pot. (If you want to decrease humidity don’t
add water).
The Mini II has an external water fill point allowing
the water level to be checked and filled up without
removing the top of the incubator.
To fill the first half of the water pot, carefully add
water to the external fill point. Keep the water level
below the depth mark (see picture). The water will
flow through the tube and fill one half of the central
pot.
To increase humidity further, fill both halves of the
central water pot by continuing to add water to the
external fill point to above the level of the depth
mark. Water will flow through the tube and over the
divider wall to fill the second half of the pot.
Maintain the water level above the depth mark.
HATCHING
In all cases the humidity for hatching needs to be
high. Because of the short duration involved
water/weight loss will not be significantly affected.
High humidity is necessary to prevent membranes
drying and hardening before the hatch fully
emerges. Humidity will naturally increase as the first
eggs begin to hatch and internal membranes begin
to dry. This effect is in addition to the increased area
of water evaporation from the water pots. During
hatching the high humidity levels will fall
dramatically when the lid is opened and will take
some time to build up. Resist the temptation to lift
the lid frequently –leave for at least 6 hours
between inspections.
In practice the minimum and maximum levels of humidity achievable in an incubator depend upon several factors including the
ambient conditions in the incubation room. You may need to allow 24 hours for humidity to fully stabilise after making changes.
If you cannot achieve the relative humidity level required consider these notes:
Humidity will not go low enough
A lower limit will be determined by the moisture content of the ambient air, particularly in warm humid conditions. This
can only be countered by dehumidification of the room air outside the incubator with proprietary dehumidifier but is
rarely a problem in practice.
Humidity will not go high enough
Increase the amount of water by using the fill point. Fit evaporating card strips, available from Brinsea or your stockist.
Condensation
It is normal for some condensation to occur on the cooler exposed parts of the clear top. This natural phenomenon is not a hazard or
a problem for incubation but may indicate the room is cooler than optimum.