N'Kobi Incubator Needs Repair

[SFWC]

Hey All,
I am with the South Florida Wildlife Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
We have a N'Kobi incubator that is used for baby animals for temperature/oxygen/moisture support.
I believe the manufacturer is no longer around, and I have no idea how long we've been using this incubator. It has been gunking up the filters pretty quickly and I'm not sure why. We had our A/C repair company look at it, and his solution was to replace the filter weekly....
The rehabbers are not happy with this "solution" and want to know why it's happening, if it's detrimental to our patients, and if it can be remedied. However, we do not know who to bring it to check it out that may have experience with these types of things.
Does anyone out there know of a repair company that is knowledgeable about incubators?
Thank you in advance!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Does it heat and turn adequately? If not, most electricians should be able to fix that, if they can find the parts. Parts are available on Ebay.
If the problem is filters associated with ventilation or fan, just pull them out and wash them or replace them.
That filter gunking is because it isn't meant to be a brooder. Dander and dust from the animals will clog that stuff up.
Have a purpose-built brooder for caring for baby animals and keep an incubator for hatching eggs.

 

[SFWC]

Does it heat and turn adequately? If not, most electricians should be able to fix that, if they can find the parts. Parts are available on Ebay.
If the problem is filters associated with ventilation or fan, just pull them out and wash them or replace them.
That filter gunking is because it isn't meant to be a brooder. Dander and dust from the animals will clog that stuff up.
Have a purpose-built brooder for caring for baby animals and keep an incubator for hatching eggs.

Hi, thanks for responding. It's not set up like an egg brooder, so it doesn't turn. It's set up as a walk-in where the animals can be kept in carriers and just be in there. And I'm sure it's a great idea to use a purpose-built brooder for the babies, but we are a non-profit and don't always have the purchasing power for such things.
It is warming adequately, but they rehabbers describe it as "spraying an oily substance" I guess from wherever the humidity comes into play, and the filter looks like it's covered in mildew. I will try to have my Rehab Supervisor respond here, she may be able to explain it better, as it sounds as though you know your stuff and may be able to make a good suggestion.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So this incubator is actually a walk-in room?
I didn't look up the name of it so I'm not familiar with it.

 

[SFWC]

So this incubator is actually a walk-in room?
I didn't look up the name of it so I'm not familiar with it.

Yes

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What species of animals are you wanting to brood in there?
Are you ever going to use it as an incubator?

 

[SFWC]

Okay, so we use two walk-in incubators. One is an avian only, and the other is for mammals (baby opossums, raccoons, squirrels). As we do not hatch eggs, only rescue existing wildlife, it will never be used for that purpose.
The one that is gunking up the filter is the mammal one. I do know this is a recent issue, and they have been using it for baby mammals for many years, so it's not necessarily how they're using it that is the issue. There just seems to be some problem with how it's functioning recently that is causing the filter issue.
I would love to find a repair person who specializes in medical devices of this nature, in South Florida, to take care of this for us. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't categorize it as a medical device and that isn't the type of person you need. You probably just need a regular handyman/jack of all trades. Anyone worth his salt should be able to analyze and correct the problem.