Incubator buy vs. build

i'm getting quails

i need advise from experienced people on buying or building my incubator
if you have been raising quails for a while what can you tell me on build vs. buy my incubator

i was thinking about buying the hova-bator for about $150 with the self turning eggs
or i could just buy the self turning egg thingee for about $50 and build the rest my self
or just build everything


your advise, please

I build always. You sound confident that you can handle it, I say build.

My hatch rates are as good as ANY commercial incubator.

for less money you can have it exactly like you want it.

I may be a bit biased, I build everything anyway.

I plan on buying only because I'm not a good builder/inventor haha! But I think it'd be a good idea to build one yourself if you're really sure.

Building it yourself is half the fun! I was inspired by the Homemade Chicken Egg Incubator Designs & Pictures page.

I had almost everything I needed already sitting around the house. I used an old cheap cooler that has been cluttering our back porch. I cut a window in the top and sealed it with glass inside and out (was sitting around from an old picture frame). I added a couple of computer fans from the dead computer my wife had been pestering me to trash, and powered them with a charger for a blackberry I no longer have (its 5V instead of 12V output, so the fans are slower but blowing enough). I lined the bottom with metal duct tape (reflective) for good measure since I had it already. I only had to buy the light sockets ($1.47 each a Lowes), a digital thermostat/controller from Amazon, and a cheap thermometer/hydrometer (I also have a good old-fashion lab thermometer as a backup check). I currently have two 25w bulbs in it. what are controlled by the thermostat. To hold 99.5 degrees, it cycles the light on and off every few minutes. The thermostat keeps it within 0.5 degrees C, and I have lab thermometer inside a ziplock bag full of water (my substitute for the internal temp of a egg). It hold temperature very well, and the thermometer in the bag of water essentially does not move at all once it stabilizes. (in the picture I had the thermostat probe in the baggie, and the lab thermometer outside - I switched that)

I built the platform above the lights out of PVC and have paver bricks underneath for thermal mass. I added some foil tape to the hardware cloth directly above the light to reduce any direct heat. I have a shallow plastic container lid with water for humidity. At lockdown I added some drawer liner over the 1/2" hardware cloth since the holes would be too large for the chicks when they hatched.

My first hatch went quite well.

Now I just need to work out an egg turner...

Good job!
My hatcher is set up very similar to that.