My take on the NR360 vs Brinsea Ovation 28 EX

[Benny R]

I'm a bit green when it comes to incubating. I waited 6 months for one of my 3 hens to get broody, never happened.
I then bought a NR360 and had a good hatch of 10 eggs out of 11. I was very happy about that. used 4 Govee's to get an average temp of 99.5. The 360 read 1 *F high, so the temp was set to 100.5f.

My big issue with the 360 was the cheap ass poorly designed cover/dome. It is such a PITA to line up the cover.
So I went on a search for a better incubator. Got a Brinsea Ovation EX 28. I must hand it to Brinsea, the cover is first class! Beautiful design. Temps held steady with in .2*f degrees. The Humidity was way off, reading 8% high. It's very odd because the NR360 was spot on. Also it took 12 hours to get to 75%, where I like to do my lock down at, but I was only getting 67% because of the error. It would not go any higher then 75% display reading.
The Brinsea is also lacking a countdown timer/display. The display is from the 80's and has no backlight. In the end, I could not justify spending over $400. for an incubator that was lacking so much. I'm a bit sad because I really wanted to love the Brinsea. I do love the case design and turner set up(very nice). But I feel Brinsea is milking their reputation, and not keeping up with modern times.

I hope I do not offend any Brinsea fans. I'm just sharing my thoughts. For $150. on sale the NR360 with it's crumby cover is still a fantastic Incubator(IMO).

 

[wrathsfarm]

There's a couple threads here about the NR 360 and one member put a couple 'stick on hooks' onto the lid to aid opening it. I have one I haven't taken out of the box yet... Not til March/April.

I believe this is the thread....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rture-right-360-incubator-is-amazing.1294466/

 

[wrathsfarm]

Found it....
Link to conversation ..
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...tor-is-amazing.1294466/page-331#post-25632303

Screenshot of specific post...

Hope this helps.

 

[Benny R]

Update!!
I then found a post on the calibration menu(all 3 buttons held down for a few seconds). I messed around with it and got the Temp/RU dead nuts, 4 matched Govee's read with in .1*f of each other. I find I very much like the Quality/build of the Brinsea. The non backlit display I can now live with. It's also mostly made in England. My Mom lives in England, and likes that I bought something made there.

 

[Benny R]

2nd update!Just finish a second hatch on the Brinsea. I collected eggs from my favorite hen over the week. 7 eggs in and 6 out(wife dropped one while candling) it seemed ok, but started get blobs of yellow spots, and stunk! turn out it had a crack.
Since all 6 hatched, I'm calling it a 100% hatch. So I'm keeping the Brinsea.
It just comes down to the effort the folks at Brinsea have put in to the case design.
It has little to no bells & whistles, but does exactly what it is designed to do.

I still believe the NR360 is a good for the cost incubator, but it looks like a lot of the better reviews are from the first gen, as to current model did not give me confidence on longevity. FYI, I already had to buy a new fan for the NR360.