Buying a incubator, does this look like a good one?

[doxies1]

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The only thing I see more advanced about the Brinsea is the plastic over the Styrofoam. I don't like the curved plastic see through top. The visibility is not nearly as good as the picture window Hovabator. I wish someone had told me this before I bought my eco 20.
Just my opinion.

 

[al6517]

I agree with all the other posters, avoid an LG at all cost you will be better off for it.

AL

 

[ginbart]

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I agree with Lifesong Farm. I had a LG and my temps went up and down. One morning I got up and the temp was 110. I just got a Hovabator for Christmas and I would not change it for anything. I got mine for the same price around $114.00 on eBay it was a dealer selling them. Once I had the Hovabator set I didn't need to touch it again. It came with a turner also. So if you can get a little better one you will be glad you did.

 

[Petej]

I have an LG and a GQF here at our place.

HATE the LG, nothing but issues with it.

Temp drops, temp spikes, impossible humidity control.

The Hova-Bator (#1582) OTH, LOVE IT!!

I have it dialed in and I could probably hatch rocks with it!

The GQF incubators (Hova-bator or sportsman) and the Brinsea Incubators are the best to use.

 

[debilorrah]

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Yes, avoid it PLEASE!

 

[debilorrah]

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I think Brinsea is overpriced for what it does. Does not hold many eggs and does not have any way to secure them if the line of them is not full. I've got a eco 20 with turner and I'd trade it for cirrculated air hovabator, If any one wants to.

I would be more than happy to buy it from you. 24 eggs is great for me, and a sponge (dry) works to hold it up. Now for the big question, if 24 is too small, why don't you have enough eggs to make a line??

I'm just playing with ya.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

If I don't have enough eggs to hold up a line I just grab a piece of printer paper, tear off a chunk, crumple it, and put it in as a stopper. Anything inert (no ink, chemicals, etc.) will work, though - you could use a small clean rock in there or anything.

What completely sells me on the Brinseas versus the Hova-Bators, besides the obvious fact that I don't have to soak the Brinsea in bleach in my bathtub to know that it's clean, is the air volume. The Brinseas are built with minimum air over the eggs. That means when you open them and close them again, the air gets warm and wet fast - I usually have complete recovery of temp and recovery/improvement in RH within about ninety seconds. When you open and close one of the styrofoam incubators, which have a huge amount of air over the eggs, it takes many minutes to recover and, even if you've got enough water in there, because so much air has to be wetted and warmed it will take the warmth and the water from the eggs as well. By the time the temp and humidity have stabilized the egg has a deficit to make up, which it often can't do if it's already pipped. The whole religion of lockdown, and the practice of leaving chicks in the incubator long after they've hatched - which is not great for them, regardless of the fact that they have a yolk sac - is based on the way a styrofoam incubator works.

During the last three days of incubating in a Brinsea, I can open it multiple times a day to renew water, scoop out new chicks, and even do a quick top-candle to check on eggs. I never leave it open more than thirty seconds or so, but I CAN do it without risking the rest of the hatch. That right there immediately makes up for the fact that it holds fewer eggs.

And, for your $99, you get rock-solid temperatures, comparable to a 1588. I won't stand for "almost no" temperature spikes. I don't think there are any sub-$100 incubators that have solid temperature control except the Brinsea.

I know that everybody has their preferences, but I think the Brinsea is just so much better engineered, and shows a better understanding of what incubating eggs need, that I am completely on board. (And when I need a second one, I got another Eco, rather than ordering a Hova-Bator.)

 

[gryeyes]

What BlackSheepCardigans said.

You can also buy (or use something similar) foam strips in the egg rails, which will both cushion the eggs AND keep them from moving. I have the Advance EX models of the Octagon20 and those foam strips came with 'em.

Very quick recovery, the ability to see down to the side, eye level with the hatched chicks inside, AND easy, peasy clean up. Love 'em.

In my "Oooh! Oooh! Look, another style 'bator to buy" frenzy, I bought a Reptipro500 with one auto-turner and I am testing it with some eggs. ("Testing?" I am incubating some eggs.) I am kinda annoyed with myself at buying it, but two features really caught my attention and I barged ahead with the purchase. It's made from a small wine cooler fridge type unit, and has a FULL glass/plastic window, plus an interior light to turn on and off. It's not made for an air exchange, so I will have to open the door a couple times a day, I guess. There is a fan, but because the unit cools as well as heats, it isn't made to draw in room air, just move the air inside around.

I absolutely love my 3 different, small Brinsea incubators: MiniAdvance, MiniAdvance EX and Octagon20 Advance EX. Still don't really know why I succumbed to the other purchase.....

 

[Sumatra503]

Versitility and space is my main persuasion toward a Hova Bator. I can hatch any eggs at any ammount without problems. I can set in dividers for hatching different eggs and separating batches and I can even set in a bowl of warm water for higher humidity with waterfowl eggs.

I once hatched 12 button quail eggs, 30 coturnix quail eggs, 7 goose eggs, 7 duck eggs, and 10 chicen eggs all at the same time and had an 80% percent hatch. Most of the eggs that didn't hatch weren't fertile. I had baskets dividing the quail eggs from the rest. The Geese were able to stand up without hitting the heating eliment and had plenty of room to hatch in. My next endever is an Emu egg. The Hova Bator fits two comfortably.

 

[aprophet]

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this is close to what I do less the geese I am really happy with my 1602 I got it used for $20 off craigs list.I always forget to tell folks but the plug that come out of the shipping foam for quail eggs are the right size to replace the red plugs when you lose them ,but my HB has done some seriously staggered hatches this past season normally averaging 70-90% fertility/ hatches. mine was the reptile version they were selling the plastic pan is different then most I have seen more little places to put water RH is a snap with this pan . and mine has a wafer t-stat and has worked well this past year it helps a lot to keep the ambient temp the same