Dickey's Incubator with Review

[Araucana Nest]

Just plugged it in and it’s humming right along. Door took half the day but now it’s on and probably improved. I added a handle because the door hardware still just out a tad after sanding it down. Door has a very good seal.

I’m setting the wafer thermostat and it’s not the terrible ordeal I had feared. The video instructions were right on in terms of getting the temperature set.
So yes I am getting very excited. Just have to set the electronic thermostat now. My humidity is 46 with no water added.
Attaching a few photos of the minor issues that consumed my attention upon arrival.
The thermostat was set while I waited for the photos to load to this post. Quick and easy.

I like it. Probably won’t recall the frustration of the door in a few years.

 

[Ekck]

After waiting almost 3 weeks I contacted QC supply were I bought my Sportsman's 1502 to ask them for an update on the incubator I bought and was charged for. They answered oh yeah we're out, even though it says we had it in stock we didn't really physically have any.
So I'm never buying anything from QC Supply again.
Got a 1202E incubator ordered from Incubator Warehouse on Thursday, called Friday to make sure they got my order and if they even have the item. They answered yes your order is processing and we never sell things we don't have.
Incubator Warehouse is a company I'd definitely recommend doing business with. My incubator is supposed to be here Monday!

I ordered from incubator warehouse last night. Glad to hear they have good customer service!!

 

[Araucana Nest]

I ordered from incubator warehouse last night. Glad to hear they have good customer service!!

Did you receive your Sportsman?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I got my 1202E Sportsman but I haven't fired it up yet. I really needed it for Peahen and Turkey eggs and they aren't even laying yet, so I have a little time.

 

[Araucana Nest]

The final review after two very poor hatches. I didn't candle or assist the second hatch.

First hatch - 36 out of 84 eggs hatched.... many curled toes which straightened themselves within 24 hours... two died.
Second hatch - 11 of 36 eggs hatched... two died.

Something is wrong. I'm not understanding what else I need to do.

The turners turned well. The humidity increased and decreased as the water in the pan level fluctuated, just as it should. But the temperature fluctuated with the temperature in the room ( a guest bedroom inside my house which houses my brooders and is kept at 80 degrees but changes 1-2 degrees with the heat of the day or cold of the night). It appears that the internal temp goes up and down with the temp in the external environment. It doesn't maintain steady the temperature it is set at. Set at 99.7 at the door, the thermostat registered from 98.8 to 100.2. Inside the temperature registered over 102 at the top, decreasing to 95 at the hatching tray (granted I had to open the incubator to register those temps). The only change was the temperature in the room which changes slightly with the time of day.

I'll assume this incubator had a faulty thermostat and I'm just not mechanically or electrically gifted to change the thermostat or tinker with the wires.

Dickey is an old school incubator; built solid to last decades and with legendary reviews. I feel let down and also awkward in my experience. But, it's my experience. Your mileage may vary.

 

[pleasant pheasants]

I bought my Dickeys 2 years ago, same issue, no jig is used when they assemble the box and apply the latches and seals, so nothing is square. Less than 1 year later the egg turner quit working. I sent the whole mechanism as asked back and with COVID 3 weeks went by before anything arrived. Less ten a year later the timer went bad. I was asked to wait a day and check it again, a wasted day. I was promised my order on Wednesday or Thursday. I called on Saturday and was told she believes that the order was shipped yesterday (Friday). Nice people to talk to. To bad the service and the incubator don't live up to the nice talking lady.

 

[Dinoroar]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review and document your experience with your incubator. That’s terrible that you had to put so much work and money into it and it’s not been giving you good hatches.

I have a Dickey’s I bought 2nd hand but haven’t run yet. It has 2 wafers for thermostats and I actually had just emailed them a few days ago trying to find more information about their electronic upgrade because I was pondering if I should order theirs or a different aftermarket. I haven’t heard back from them yet but your thread answered my question. Like you, I assumed ‘electronic’ meant ‘digital’... like it would have a display, so if I do upgrade ill go with a herpistat or something. I think also after reading your review I’ll try running it as is before I put any more money into ordering upgrades.

It seems like a really big difference you had in temperature from top to bottom. I wonder if the fan isn’t positioned well or something.

 

[Araucana Nest]

I bought my Dickeys 2 years ago, same issue, no jig is used when they assemble the box and apply the latches and seals, so nothing is square. Less than 1 year later the egg turner quit working. I sent the whole mechanism as asked back and with COVID 3 weeks went by before anything arrived. Less ten a year later the timer went bad. I was asked to wait a day and check it again, a wasted day. I was promised my order on Wednesday or Thursday. I called on Saturday and was told she believes that the order was shipped yesterday (Friday). Nice people to talk to. To bad the service and the incubator don't live up to the nice talking lady.

The woman who answers the phone -Judy- is very service -oriented and down to earth to speak with. She made it a lot easier to call and speak though she isn’t the tech person. I was frankly afraid of speaking with the owner. He talked above me and told me to stop playing with the eggs (when I candled the first hatch at day 16 for the first time.).

 

[Araucana Nest]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review and document your experience with your incubator. That’s terrible that you had to put so much work and money into it and it’s not been giving you good hatches.

I have a Dickey’s I bought 2nd hand but haven’t run yet. It has 2 wafers for thermostats and I actually had just emailed them a few days ago trying to find more information about their electronic upgrade because I was pondering if I should order theirs or a different aftermarket. I haven’t heard back from them yet but your thread answered my question. Like you, I assumed ‘electronic’ meant ‘digital’... like it would have a display, so if I do upgrade ill go with a herpistat or something. I think also after reading your review I’ll try running it as is before I put any more money into ordering upgrades.

It seems like a really big difference you had in temperature from top to bottom. I wonder if the fan isn’t positioned well or something.

I’m glad the explanation helped you. The owner didn’t acknowledge the difference or appeared to not know the difference when I said it was not digital.

 

[Dinoroar]

I’m glad the explanation helped you. The owner didn’t acknowledge the difference or appeared to not know the difference when I said it was not digital.

I would be quite peeved to have ordered the electronic as an upgrade and still have to adjust it with a screw. I can stick with a wafer if I want to fiddle to adjust the temp.