If you plan on hatching multiple times a year and are planning on doing more than 1 or 2 dozen at a time I would HIGHLY recommend spending the extra coin and getting a Cabinet Incubator.
I had never incubated before and I really wanted a GQF Sportsman 1502 but I didn't want to spend that much money. I was in the process of building a cabinet incubator when I ran across a steal on 4 pretty old GQF cabinet incubators. I bought them and sold 2 to my buddy. My GQF 1266 is probably 20 years old and it works like new. GQF makes replacement parts for every single piece of the incubator. Also the design practically hasn't changed at all in 20+ years.
The GQF Sportmans are probably the most common "commercial" incubators in use today (especially by "average Joe" hatchers). Everyone that I know that raises quail/chickens to sell has one or two of them.
I could have started out buying a cheap $50 still air styrofoam incubator first. This would require me turning my eggs by hand multiple times per day. As long as I paid constant attention to the temp and humidity I could have decent hatches with it. Then I could have upgraded to a $200 forced air incubator with an automatic turner. As long as I pay a little bit of attention to it I could have decent hatch rates.
But if you buy a GQF Sporstman 1502 the first time you save yourself the $250 plus all the headaches of fluctuating temps and humidity. You will have a "commercial grade" incubator that will accommodate more eggs than you should ever need. If you ever do have a problem with it there will always be replacement parts you can order.
I've been EXTREMELY pleased with my very old GQF 1266. After owning it I would not hesitate to buy a brand new 1502 and I believe it is worth every penny. I do not mind paying extra for quality, reliable equipment that is made in the USA. Just make sure you also order the GQF Water Reserve System. This way the water fills automatically from outside the incubator and you do not have to open the door during the incubation process. Another plus is theses incubators are always in high demand. If you ever wanted to get rid of it it would not take long to do so.
Here's a pic of one of my 1266. My first hatch ever was a couple weeks ago. I hatched 30 of 36 fertile eggs. Two days ago I hatched 50 of 50 fertile eggs. I currently have 200 eggs that are supposed to hatch at the end of the month.
