I'm posting this review mainly to let those who are buying one know not to trust the incubator right out of the box. Brinsea claims that it comes calibrated and pre-set at 99.5 degrees. I made the mistake of trusting it for my first hatch and had a very poor delayed hatch. During this time my friend also bought one and when he checked his temp with a Spot Check thermometer, he found that the actual temperature was 98 when set at 99.5. We checked mine, and low and behold it too was 98 degrees. I know have my own spot check thermometer and another digital thermometer which I used to re calibrate the machine and have had much better success.
My friend sold some eggs to another guy nearby who bought the same incubator. After a 30% hatch on what my friend knew were excellent eggs, he brought the incubator with him when he went to pick up replacement eggs. His incubator came from the factory set at 102 despite the 99.5 reading on the display. That's 3 for 3 on brand new incubators that were not calibrated properly. This is a great little unit but its disappointing to see such a lack in quality control.
My friend sold some eggs to another guy nearby who bought the same incubator. After a 30% hatch on what my friend knew were excellent eggs, he brought the incubator with him when he went to pick up replacement eggs. His incubator came from the factory set at 102 despite the 99.5 reading on the display. That's 3 for 3 on brand new incubators that were not calibrated properly. This is a great little unit but its disappointing to see such a lack in quality control.