Frustrated with Brinsea...

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I am VERY frustrated with my Brinsea. I bought the Octogon 20 with the auto-turner. The first one I bought in May took three weeks to get to me and came broken in the mail so I had to send it back and waited for an additional two weeks for the replacement. I already had eggs on the way so I ended up putting them into my Hovabators. The new Brinsea came to me in one piece but doesn't seem to be able to hatch chicks.



It came "preset" from the factory and have had two failed hatches. I invested in a very nice thermometer and it's reading that the Brinsea is running 4 degrees too cold (94 to 94.3)



I have adjusted the temps on it three times.



I tried restoring it to the factory settings, twice.



I finally had to pull out my two Styrofoam Hova-Bators and put my high-price eggs in there. Guess what? Now, the eggs are close to hatch. Almost all of the eggs developed and look great. This included some of my own stock and two shipments from other breeders.


When I called customer service, they tried to blame me and suggested that my eggs were not fertile. Then they said my chickens might be diseased. Then they came up with the idea that I needed to pay to ship back the incubator for them to test it and then send another payment to get it shipped back me once the issue(s) is/are resolved. This is at a cost of $80 ($40 each way for shipping). I already spent $300 on this thing and had to wait a total of 5 weeks for an unbroken (at least visually) one to arrive.

Now, I'm nearing the end of my hatching egg season (last eggs are being gathered for incubation starting this week) and this Brinsea is just a really expensive paperweight on my table.

 

[Arielle]

Sorry you are having trouble with your BRinsea. Clearly it is NOT the eggs, nor your ability to manage the eggs. I seem to remember someone having trouble with their machine, Mahonri actually, on the Easter hatchathon for 2012, it's been so long, I think it was the 3rd annual Mahonri Easter Hatcha long

My point is Mahonri had a LOT of difficulty getting the setting right. One of the setting is a reset button. I don't have one, so it all sounds like meyhem to me.
Perhaps you can find that thread and do a search within the thread to find the info. It has a lot of posts so you cannot find such info without an internal search.

SO while you will not be using this machine this year; perhaps this will help you be ready for the next hatching season.

GL

I will try to search too. Will let you know if I find info.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Sorry you are having trouble with your BRinsea. Clearly it is NOT the eggs, nor your ability to manage the eggs. I seem to remember someone having trouble with their machine, Mahonri actually, on the Easter hatchathon for 2012, it's been so long, I think it was the 3rd annual Mahonri Easter Hatcha long

My point is Mahonri had a LOT of difficulty getting the setting right. One of the setting is a reset button. I don't have one, so it all sounds like meyhem to me.
Perhaps you can find that thread and do a search within the thread to find the info. It has a lot of posts so you cannot find such info without an internal search.

SO while you will not be using this machine this year; perhaps this will help you be ready for the next hatching season.

GL

I will try to search too. Will let you know if I find info.

Thank you!

 

[ChristineR]

I am VERY frustrated with my Brinsea. I bought the Octogon 20 with the auto-turner. The first one I bought in May took three weeks to get to me and came broken in the mail so I had to send it back and waited for an additional two weeks for the replacement. I already had eggs on the way so I ended up putting them into my Hovabators. The new Brinsea came to me in one piece but doesn't seem to be able to hatch chicks.



It came "preset" from the factory and have had two failed hatches. I invested in a very nice thermometer and it's reading that the Brinsea is running 4 degrees too cold (94 to 94.3)



I have adjusted the temps on it three times.



I tried restoring it to the factory settings, twice.



I finally had to pull out my two Styrofoam Hova-Bators and put my high-price eggs in there. Guess what? Now, the eggs are close to hatch. Almost all of the eggs developed and look great. This included some of my own stock and two shipments from other breeders.


When I called customer service, they tried to blame me and suggested that my eggs were not fertile. Then they said my chickens might be diseased. Then they came up with the idea that I needed to pay to ship back the incubator for them to test it and then send another payment to get it shipped back me once the issue(s) is/are resolved. This is at a cost of $80 ($40 each way for shipping). I already spent $300 on this thing and had to wait a total of 5 weeks for an unbroken (at least visually) one to arrive.

Now, I'm nearing the end of my hatching egg season (last eggs are being gathered for incubation starting this week) and this Brinsea is just a really expensive paperweight on my table.

I have a Brinsea Mini Advance. I sucessfully hatched duck eggs in it, but have not had any luck hatching Seramas. I'll have to double check that the settings are reading accurately.

I am irritated with them right now because my EcoGlow brooder keeps tripping my GFI outlet, so I don't trust it anymore. Same as you - I have to pay to ship it back to them. They haven't mentioned anything about paying for shipping back to me, but I'll be super annoyed if I have to pay for that, when it's their defective product's fault.

 

[aoxa]

Just thought I'd mention that I love my Hovabator Genesis, and when my auto turner failed, they shipped me an extra without me having to send them any confirmation. I could have been pulling their leg. They were very easy to deal with, and my hatches have been fantastic. Maybe brinsea is not for you?

 

[Arielle]

Here's another thought--when you are talking to a company representtive and can't get what you as a customer wants, ask to speak to the supervisor. If that person cannot fill your wishes, ask for the boss of that person. Eventually you will get to the person who will get you what you want. Peons , sorry for bad spelling, are not authorized to grant your wishes, gotta get to someone with the authority to help y ou.

I found the general location on the easter hatch along, just have a few hundred osts to wade thru. Hope I can find it.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Just thought I'd mention that I love my Hovabator Genesis, and when my auto turner failed, they shipped me an extra without me having to send them any confirmation. I could have been pulling their leg. They were very easy to deal with, and my hatches have been fantastic. Maybe brinsea is not for you?

Yeah, maybe. I have two hova-bators left and they served me well. One, I've had since 2001 and I did put a new heating element into it and have a new auto turner but it's going strong. The other is a newer one I bought as a "still air" and converted it into a forced air. I just wanted something even more reliable to plug in, put eggs in and not have to fiddle with constantly....I also had a cabinet 'bator that held 150 eggs but now that I've downsized again, I didn't need it.

 

[aoxa]

Yeah, maybe. I have two hova-bators left and they served me well. One, I've had since 2001 and I did put a new heating element into it and have a new auto turner but it's going strong. The other is a newer one I bought as a "still air" and converted it into a forced air. I just wanted something even more reliable to plug in, put eggs in and not have to fiddle with constantly....I also had a cabinet 'bator that held 150 eggs but now that I've downsized again, I didn't need it.

I haven't fiddled with mine at all. From day 1-18 I let it be (no water added) and it has proved itself over and over again. The egg turner really helps.

I think brinsea is overpriced to be honest.

 

[Arielle]

DId you re-read the instructions on how to reset the incubator. I remember talk about that. I'm still looking.

 

[Arielle]

I'm getting there--maybe you can start here helping with the search.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/625456/mahonris-3rd-annual-byc-easter-hatch-a-long/5380

Look for the posts with the sunset/cactus avatar.