How to temperature check your dipslide incubator

22/04/2024

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This page is for anyone who is unsure whether their dipslide incubator is reaching the required temperature. It will guide you on how to perform a test to temperature check the incubator. Our dipslide incubators do not have moving parts so very little can go wrong with them. Due to this, we always advise testing the unit first before returning it to the manufacturer.

Should my dipslide incubator lights be lit up at all times?

Depending on which incubator you have, makes a difference as to how many lights your incubator has. However, whether it's one or two, there will always be a light which will only be lit up when heat is being applied. Once the incubator reaches temperature, this light will go off and then will come back on when more heat is required. This is to ensure a constant and stable temperature. If this light is off, it simply means that the incubator is hot enough and does not require any more heat at that time.

Will testing the heat in the individual chambers help figure out if it's reaching temperature?

Temperature checking the cavities in a dipslide incubator will most likely give a lower temperature reading. A dipslide incubator is designed to radiate the heat into a dipslide tube where it is trapped. Only the inside of a dipslide tube should reach 30C or the temperature set on the incubator. All other parts of the incubator will be at a lower temperature to avoid overheating the dipslides.
Similarly, the casing will also give a lower temperature.

How do I perform a test to check if the incubator is heating up the dipslides as it should?

To temperature check a dipslide incubator, you would do the following:

Take an unused dipslide and remove the paddle (so you are left with the clear plastic tube).

Add water to the empty dipslide tube. Fill water up to 10mm deep in the tube.

Place the tube inside the incubator with a thermometer placed inside the water (this works best with a glass thermometer). Make sure that no water comes into contact with the incubator itself. Place the lid on the incubator (if one is provided).

Turn the incubator on and allow the water to be incubated for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, check the thermometer temperature. This should be close to 30 degrees C (to get it to 30C, you would also need to have the lid on the dipslide tube itself but this would not be possible with the thermometer).