Common Alarms — Causes and Solutions

I. Tunnel Setters and Their Air-Flow Hatchers

First open the turning check page and confirm whether the three lines in the box for the trolley in question are slanted. There are several cases:

① Turning alarm right after setting: on the turning check page the trolleys at positions 1-5 and 2-5 on the outlet side are marked red, but all boxes show slanted lines. Check that the trolleys actually turned; once turning is normal, wait for the next cycle and the alarm clears by itself. Cause: there is no turning signal before setting; the signal reappears after setting, so the signal is discontinuous within the current turning cycle and the alarm is triggered.
② A single machine misbehaving during normal incubation: check whether an air duct is connected the wrong way round or not pushed fully home, whether a duct leaks, and inspect the cylinder and whether a trolley is jammed.
③ Turning alarms across many machines at the same time: a problem in the main air supply. Most likely the refrigerated dryer on the compressor has iced up because of low discharge frequency — contact the compressor supplier; less likely, a valve in the main air line has been closed by mistake.

① Check whether the setter door has been left open, whether water is dripping onto a probe, and whether the heating elements are working. If a high-humidity alarm appears at the same time, check whether the humidifying solenoid valve is stuck.

① Only the master control temperature was calibrated, the auxiliary board temperature was not, so a difference exists between the two; the alarm triggers when the difference exceeds 0.2. Calibrate both the master and auxiliary boards against a mercury thermometer.
② Left/right tunnel temperature-deviation alarm

① Check whether the plenum chamber is cooling properly and whether the fan-coil unit has failed.
② Confirm that water cooling is switched on (ignore this if the machine has no water cooling).
③ Check the water-cooling circuit: valve open, strainer not blocked, water pressure adequate, compressor cooling properly (ignore if there is no water cooling).

① Most likely the humidity probe is blocked — remove and clean it.
② If several machines raise a low-humidity alarm at the same time, check the main humidification water line.

① Eggs that were not dried after washing were set directly — wait for the humidity to come down by itself.
② A corroded or damaged water-cooling pipe is leaking — take the machine out of service and replace the part.
③ The humidifying solenoid valve is blocked by debris and cannot close — clean the valve.
④ A pipe above the setter leaks and water drips into the cabinet — repair the pipe.

① Peak hatch: moisture evaporating from the chicks raises humidity — normal, no action needed. The peak is around day 26 of duck incubation and around day 20 of chick incubation.
② Alarm outside the peak: check whether the muslin of the wet-bulb hygrometer is dry and whether the water tray is empty; wet or replace the muslin and top up the water.
③ Tray and muslin both fine: check the water line for leaks and damaged hoses and replace as needed.
④ A damaged water line in the plenum chamber (top of the hatcher) is dripping into the cabinet — repair the pipe.

① Most likely the humidifying atomiser nozzle is blocked — dismantle and clean it. After routine cleaning you can also use the test function to confirm it is clear.
② Main water supply fault, for example a water cut or a burnt-out pump.

Common just after transfer, when the eggs are exposed to room temperature and cool down; wait for the machine to warm up again.

① Check whether the plenum chamber is cooling properly and whether the fan-coil unit has failed.
② Confirm that water cooling is switched on.
③ Check the water-cooling circuit: valve open, strainer not blocked, water pressure adequate, compressor cooling properly.

The auxiliary board was not calibrated. Read the mercury thermometer and enter the corresponding value on the master and auxiliary calibration pages.