Operating instructions for Grumbach

Incubators
Thank you for choosing and entrusting Grumbach Incubators to incubate your valuable eggs. On receiving your
incubator please un-pack it and make sure it is fitted with the features you ordered. Please check all rollers are
present plus mercury thermometer and dial hygrometer. Fill in the guarantee card and the I.D. number of your
incubator is printed on the back cover of the incubator, send your card to your purchasing agent, all Grumbach
incubators are guaranteed for twelve months from the time of purchase.
Both the B.S.S. and S84 range of incubators are similar in the operating procedures with operating ease and
precision at the forefront of their design. It is a good idea to store the shipping crate and pallet in case the
incubator requires shipping to us for an overhaul or service in future years.
Please ignore any operating instructions for features not fitted on your individual incubator.

Where to site your incubator.

The site chosen for any incubator is vitally important for the optimum performance of the machine.
An incubators temperature control works to its optimum when its surrounding environment has a reasonably
constant temperature. Grumbach incubators have great insulation properties, but large external variations in
temperature will affect even these machines temperature control. Do not site your incubator where direct
sunlight falls on it, as this will increase the incubators temperature due to the ‘green house effect’.
As relative humidity can only be increased within the incubator, it is important that the room where the
incubator is sited, has as low as possible ambient humidity. This in turn will give you a greater field of control
on humidity settings within the incubator. Kitchens and bathrooms generally have high ambient humidity levels
so should be avoided.
The surface that the incubator is placed on, should be level to decreases the problem of ‘egg creep’ on the
turning rollers. Make sure you have sufficient room to open the door fully to allow removal of the egg trays.

Fig. 1. Control Panel

Humidity Flap

Filler cap for water

reservoir

Drain Plug
Auto Humidity on/off

Light Switch
Thermo Light
Mains on/off switch
Coarse & Fine
temperature controllers
Auto Turning on/off
Humidity up/down
control
Temperature Control

Once your machine is sited, plug the Incubator into the mains and turn on the mains power switch. If digital
readers are fitted these will light along with the power switch. Leave the incubator running for several hours to
heat up and allow the internal temperature to equilibrate. The ‘Thermo Light’ will be lit continuous while the
incubator is heating up and will start to flash on/off as it reaches the temperature it is set at. The temperature
settings will be set either at or very close to 37.5 C in the factory prior to shipment. The two knobs marked
coarse and fine are your temperature controllers. The coarse knob should be used to adjust the temperature to
close to the desired temperature and then the final adjustments made with the fine knob. Whenever making
adjustments please ensure you check the temperature regularly after, as the increase or decrease is not instant
and will take a few minutes to equilibrate throughout the entire incubator.
Each incubator is fitted with two additional safety thermostats. On the left hand side panel a mechanical safety
thermostat is fitted. This will stop your incubator from overheating if there was a failure with the electronic
primary thermostat. This is preset at the factory and should not need altering.
A third electronic thermostat is fitted close to the fan housing. This is a safety feature and will stop the any
heater damage should the fan stop working. This is fitted under E.E.C. law and should not be tampered with.

Thermometers

Each incubator comes with a laboratory high-grade mercury thermometer. These thermometers are very precise
and we strongly advise that if you have a digital thermometer fitted to your machine, that you calibrate it to the
same reading as the mercury thermometer. The thermometer fits into the bracket supplied on one of the turning
trays and should be viewed straight on to see the blue mercury. Whenever cleaning the thermometer only use
cold water.
Digital thermometers have a far quicker reaction time to small changes in temperature than mercury
thermometers. Once the desired temperature established within the incubator (set by the mercury) calibrate the
digital unit to the same reading if required.
To calibrate simply remove the black plastic frame that surrounds the red plastic front, this clips off by mildly
prising it with a knife or screwdriver then remove the plastic front. Then simply use a screwdriver to turn the
adjusting screw clockwise to turn the thermometer reading up or anti clockwise to turn it down. Once the
desired reading is achieved replace the front. This is safely achieved with the incubator turned on.

Fig 3. Digital thermometer

with front removed
Fig 4. Mercury Thermometer in
bracket.

Adjusting screw
Auto Turning

When setting up the turning tray with the rollers, make sure that the rollers are at right angles to each other.
Simply count the number of spaces between rollers so each end of the rollers are the same number of slots apart
from each other. The desired distance between rollers is dependant on the size of egg you are incubating. The
egg should sit on the rollers with the bottom of the egg not touching the turning tray. To minimise ‘egg creep’
along the rollers it is best to alternate each egg so the top of one egg faces the front of the incubator and the next
the back and so on. When placing the turning tray into the incubator make sure that the brass rod on the turning
tray enters into the fork on the turning arm.
The auto turning will only work when the switch on the control panel is turned on and it lights up. To set the
frequency and length of turn the timing clock on the side of the incubator will have to be set.
The 24-hour time clock has I digit per 15 minutes around the out side of the clock face. When one digit is
pushed in this is equal to the turner moving for that period of time. 15 minutes of turning equals approximately
half a stroke. For small eggs such as quail and partridge this is about a 180degree turn. For the larger eggs a full
stroke (two digits pushed in) will be needed for each turning session. Please remember to start the turner at one
side for larger eggs as if set off in the middle of its stroke each 30-minute turn will end back at the middle of the
incubator. As a rule of thumb a chicken egg will need two digits in then the next four out (no turning) and so on
around the clock. This will give you half an hour turning (one stroke) and one hour of no turning. But the
frequency and amount of turning is down to your individual choice.

Fig 4. Eggs on rollers Fig 5. Turning Timer

Fig 6. Turning Fork with

tray in correct position
Humidity Control

On incubators where the auto-Humidity feature is not fitted the humidity can be increased via filling the bottom
tray with water. As relative humidity is directly proportional to the surface area of water, small receptacles may
be placed on the floor of the incubator with different surface areas until the desired humidity level is obtained.

On auto-humidity incubators the reservoir should be filled using distilled water to combat lime scale build up
within the reservoir. Opening or closing the Humidity flap to various degrees can alter the humidity level to
suit most incubation needs. If when the flap is fully open (white line is at three o’clock) the humidity is still not
as high as you require then switch on the Humidity on/off switch. By turning the Humidity up/down switch this
will increase the humidity level up to 100%.. Once the on/ off switch is turned on there is a small heater
situated under the water reservoir, which warms the water, and so assists in evaporation hence increasing the
humidity level. The up/down switch is a simple thermostat that allows you control over how warm the water
gets. By using this facility in conjunction with the flap, you can control the humidity level to your exact
requirements

Make sure the water level is topped up this is easily viewed through the plastic filling tube. Whenever the
incubator is not in use or is being moved, empty any water from the reservoir into a bowl by removing the
drain plug at the base of the filling tube and tilt the incubator forward slightly.

To calibrate the dial humidity gauge, wrap it up in a damp cloth for 15 minutes. Then with a small screwdriver
turn the pointer via the screw in the back off the gauge to 100%. Then leave for it to drop to ambient humidity
level (generally between 30-50 %).

To calibrate the digital Hygrometer remove the front the same as the digital thermometer. The two calibration
screws are found on the side of each digital digit.

Calibration Screws

Fig 7. Dial Hygrometer Fig 8. Digital Hygrometer Calibration

Cool Down Timer

Cool down timers are only generally used when incubating waterfowl eggs The time clock is set the same as the
turning/ timer, with each digit inserted equalling 15 minutes of no heat

Air vent.

The air vent is a circular rose on the top front of the S84 incubator and a larger oblong grate on B.S.S. models.
This allows you to manipulate how much fresh air enters the machine. For most eggs this will be left fully open,
but some geese and other waterfowl eggs seem to require a slightly stale air environment, so the flap may be
either partially or fully closed to suit your individual needs.

Cleaning your incubator

Each incubator has been designed for ease of cleaning. All surfaces can be cleaned with warm water and a mild
disinfectant. Fumigation with Formaldehyde gas is recommended between hatches. Please do not place the
rollers in a dishwasher as they will bend and distort. The filter gauze should be changed annually under normal
conditions but under heavy use this will require a more frequent change. A water-sanitising tablet may be used
in the water reservoir.

Essential Spare parts

Grumbach incubators are built with reliability in mind. However over time certain parts may become warn and
fail as with any other machine. This always seems to happen at the most inopportune moments and we strongly
advise you to have a small number of spare parts to hand to get the incubator back up in use swiftly. These
include a spare fan motor, turner motor, thermostat card and a few 3amp fuses.

A quick problem and answer guide.

Problem Probable cause or answer

Temperature fails to reach desired level. 1. Fan failure
2. Thermostat card failure

Discrepancy between mercury thermometer and Calibrate Digital thermometer.

digital thermometer

Turner not working 1. Make sure turner is switched on, on control

panel
2. Make sure turning tray is engaged in turning
are fork
3. Make sure digits are pushed in on timer.
4. Turner motor failure.
No power to incubator. 1. Check and change the two 3 amp fuses inside left
side panel near where power cable enters the back of
the incubator.
Warning unplug power source before removing any
panels
2. Make sure cool down timer is not engaged.