Brinsea Eco 20 As A Hatcher Only

[sixpugs]

I hated to start a new thread, but I haven't really located one with this exact scenario.
After weeks of limping along with older styrofoam incubators, modifying them with fans etc.

I decided to invest in a better bator, as I was just not having good hatches. Anyway, I've researched for weeks and short of buying a GQF Sportsman (which for my operation at this point, seemed a little excessive), I've decided on the Brinsea Octagon series. I want the Octagon 40DX for sure. However, after reading as much material as I could find, I've concluded that I want to have a seperate bator to hatch in. It was almost a toss up between the GQF Genesis & the Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco. I am thinking the Octagon 20 Eco model without the turning cradle would work nicely & I'm a little reticent to use the styro's anymore. Since I've never used any of their (Brinsea) models, I thought I would ask the community for feedback on the Eco 20 model as a hatcher only. I know the fans tend to get alot of fluff in them etc. But how are they for humidity (my biggest problem) and how are they for overall ease of operation?
Thanks for any and all contributions!

 

[cva34]

Brinsea is good stuff.Should work fine.Beware postage from England is awful.Shop around our advertisers .You may save some BUCKs....cva34

 

[sben451]

I have two Eco 20's. Very easy to operate, easy to keep humidity, easy to clean. Don't think I'll ever go back to a styrofoam incubator. The bottom can been washed and cleaned with some bleach in water. I usually take 4 screws out of inside of the top, wipe all surfaces down and finally use canned air (like you use to clean a computer keyboard) for the area where the fan and heating element are located. I love the Brinsea Eco 20.

 

[sixpugs]

I have two Eco 20's. Very easy to operate, easy to keep humidity, easy to clean. Don't think I'll ever go back to a styrofoam incubator. The bottom can been washed and cleaned with some bleach in water. I usually take 4 screws out of inside of the top, wipe all surfaces down and finally use canned air (like you use to clean a computer keyboard) for the area where the fan and heating element are located. I love the Brinsea Eco 20.

The ease of cleaning is important, but the humidity at hatching is my biggest problem.

The later spring/summer humidity is often hard to keep low, but this time of year, I can't get it to stay up. So that is very good to know. I really can't wait to get something that will work and not require constant stress and tinkering.

Thanks!

 

[sixpugs]

Brinsea is good stuff.Should work fine.Beware postage from England is awful.Shop around our advertisers .You may save some BUCKs....cva34

The are in the USA, Florida and while shipping is still a pain, my other option was to travel about 500 miles round trip for a completely refurbed Sportsman. Only problem is, the guy sells them so fast, that it's difficult to catch one available when you are ready to make the trip. Of course the 200 plus egg capacity seems a bit much for someone with less than 50 total chickens!

I need some sort of self control measure here!

 

[sben451]

Get a good hygrometer and set up the incubator before you put the eggs in the bator. In the Brinsea Eco 20, I would keep the two troughs in the bottom filled with water. During the last three days, to get the humidity up a little higher, I would place folded paper towels on the bottom of the incubator, letting the edge of the paper towel dip into the water. That raises the humidity.