Humidification during setting
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LOOK-THINK-ACT
What do you notice here? You can see pipework with limescale close to the spraying nozzle. The further away from the nozzle you look, the fewer deposits on the cooling pipes. Water with a very high lime content causes scale deposits on the heating/cooling pipework close to the nozzles. Remove these deposits to ensure proper operation of the system. The best solution is to handle this problem at source and prevent scaling by using a water softener for the spray water. Before starting each incubation cycle, check that the nozzles are creating a fine spray, in other words, that they are limescale free and operate at the right pressure.
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Humidification is not advised. It is only necessary if the machine has limited cooling capacity or when a high level of ventilation is required because the CO2 concentration is too high. Beware of large droplets. Large water droplets falling on eggs will cool them down. This will reduce temperature uniformity among the eggs in the setter, and cause wide variation in hatching times. In addition, eggs will get wet. Moisture is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and moulds, which can lead to ‘bangers’. But, on the other hand, air with high RH transfers heat more uniformly. A higher ventilation rate will extract more moisture. Some incubators activate humidifiers when the ventilation based on CO2 extracts too much moisture. If you use a humidifier, preferably condition the air before it enters, to prevent condensation formation inside the incubator. Make sure no moisture reaches the temperature sensors. If it does, this sensor will give an artificially low reading, which can lead to the wrong response (too little cooling or too much heating).
This nozzle is clogged up with calcium deposits and rust. Make sure the nozzles are working properly in order to create a fine spray.
Regulate humidification to avoid wet spots on the hatchery floor, as moisture promotes the development of moulds. Make sure the hygiene protocol includes attention to wet spots on the floor. 7. S et t i n g
There are various humidification systems. Spraying and humidity rollers are the main two principles. Spraying involves a risk of water droplets falling onto the eggs. The risk of a humidity roller is that it uses warm standing water, which is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and moulds. 103
