Brinsea - Eco or is the Advance really worth it?

[happyhensny]

I have two styro bators now and actually they work just fine but, I mentioned to DH that I want to build a cabinet bator and knowing that I may need his help he replied "how much to just buy a new one?" So, looking at the Brinsea line I cannot decide if one is really worth twice the price of the other. Or, is there another brand I should look into?

Thanks!

 

[dsqard]

I own the Brinsea Advance and I love it. I don't have to worry about temperature spikes, humidity or turning. As for is the price worth it, it is for me. I work full time and I know that I would probably forget to turn or check the water in the trays. Are all the extras necessary? No, if you want to hand turn it is not a problem since you just rotate the entire body of the bator. I really like not having to worry about humidity though since the pump automatically comes on when it gets below a set limit.

 

[happyhensny]

On the Brinsea site the prices are:

20 Advance EX $399

20 Advance $299

Eco $99 + Turner $49 =$150

Big money difference.

 

[Stacykins]

I went with the eco and I love it! Really, it is pretty darn easy to set and forget, well, if I hadn't skipped the turner, so I needed to turn the eggs by rocking the unit.

 

[aveca]

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I agree, these products are designed to take the worry out of hatching..I am still hanging in there with the styro bators for now..but plan to buy one in the near future..Bought the brinsea candler, what a world of difference..you can see everything with that small candler. you could probably give an anatomy class with the bigger brinsea candler or see through those tough to see dark brown and green eggs..no more guess work with flashlights...the concentrated beam makes it so easy to see throu brown eggs.. . could see a baby bouncing around in the egg this morning..great products . I am the same at work fretting did I turn the knob too much? husband is better at it than I am but I need to take the worry out of it..

 

[featherz]

I have the advance and I love it. It's idiot proof and I like that. I just set the humidity I want and off it goes. My only complaint is that it's a bit small and that the replacement tubing is a bit pricey (from brinsea, I haven't found another source). Other than that it's awesome!

 

[jmmre31]

I have the advance and just finished my first hatch in it. Second hatch ever. I kept going back and forth with the price....I'll admit. I'm cheap and don't want to waste money. It came down to me being a perfectionist. My first hatch I used a Lyon? incubator from a friend. It was a very good incubator, but you had to keep a watch on temp & humidity. I was driving myself nuts checking 10 times a day. Then the turning of the knob..did I turn it too much, maybe not enough. Like I said, a little compulsive. I did find a facebook code that got me 10% off. I'm not sure but i think it was something like fb10 or fb2011. It is a lot of money, but I didn't drive myself as nuts over temp/humidity. Only checked it about 3 times a day

It was very easy to use. It took a little time to set up. I thought it would come out of the box ready, wrong! But still not too hard.
I really think it comes down to personality and how much you will drive yourself nuts making sure everything is perfect! The advance you can make perfect and walk away.

My hatch was 14 Hatched
2 Pipped and died
2 died fully developed
6 unfertilized or died really really early

Hope this helps!

 

[jenlynn4]

omg....YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got 2 of the eco's and for the price you cant go wrong! I am on day 19 with my first one and so far so good....temps have been dead on..no spikes and dips. Humidity has been great...now its standing at 65% for the hatch I will probably bump it up a tiny bit more tonight to maybe 70%. I cant wait to see how many babies are going to hatch sunday!

 

[happyhensny]

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How are ya! You have the Eco right? How are your hatches? How many so far? Seems like they are on sale now so I should decide soon.

 

[happyhensny]

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Please come back and post your chicks!