Generic incubator?

[gorillamama]

Do they work as well as brand name? I've decided I need a second incubator so I can have staggered hatches. One turning and one on constant lockdown.

I have a hovabator now, I've pretty much decided that it's going to be my lockdown one and I'm wondering if I should spend the money or if I could get away with something a little cheaper like this for my turning one.

 

[FarmerMac]

I bough one similar to the one in the picture (Chinese made) except it was a 48 egg not a 96 egg capacity. I had a few problems with it, The temperature and humidity readings were all wrong. I learned the hard way on the first batch of eggs. Kept loosing heat as the walls are thin, had to place it in the Styrofoam container it was shipped to main constant temperature. The heat element burnt on the second hatch, luckily I had a spare incubator where I move the eggs until I replaced the heat element. It works but I would have not bought it knowing what I know now.

 

[gorillamama]

I bough one similar to the one in the picture (Chinese made) except it was a 48 egg not a 96 egg capacity. I had a few problems with it, The temperature and humidity readings were all wrong. I learned the hard way on the first batch of eggs. Kept loosing heat as the walls are thin, had to place it in the Styrofoam container it was shipped to main constant temperature. The heat element burnt on the second hatch, luckily I had a spare incubator where I move the eggs until I replaced the heat element. It works but I would have not bought it knowing what I know now.

Good to know thanks! I'll have to spring for another quality one then

 

[dheltzel]

I decided to make a "coolerbator" for my hatcher and it works great! I bought the biggest, most rugged cooler I could find (cost about $70), it claims to keep ice frozen for a week in the hot sun.. They I bought an STC-1000 for about $20 and a heating element from ebay. 2 large 12 volt computer fans and an old "wall wart" power supply from a cell phone (or something). I put the fans and heating element inside a hardware cloth cage at one end, mounted the sensor on the back wall and wired it all into a plastic box with the STC-1000. Holds temps well and I put plastic trays in the bottom for water. I have a set of 2 plastic lids just under the lid so I can open it without any air flowing in. The lids slide over each other so I can slip my hand in to remove chicks without dumping all the moist air out of the incubator, like always happened in a Hovabator.

It was cheaper, but more importantly, mush more effective than another incubator. If you want something less "do it yourself", buy a kit from incubator warehouse. The main drawback of a cooler is that the commercial auto turners never fit, but no turners needed for a hatcher.

 

[FarmerMac]

I decided to make a "coolerbator" for my hatcher and it works great! I bought the biggest, most rugged cooler I could find (cost about $70), it claims to keep ice frozen for a week in the hot sun.. They I bought an STC-1000 for about $20 and a heating element from ebay. 2 large 12 volt computer fans and an old "wall wart" power supply from a cell phone (or something). I put the fans and heating element inside a hardware cloth cage at one end, mounted the sensor on the back wall and wired it all into a plastic box with the STC-1000. Holds temps well and I put plastic trays in the bottom for water. I have a set of 2 plastic lids just under the lid so I can open it without any air flowing in. The lids slide over each other so I can slip my hand in to remove chicks without dumping all the moist air out of the incubator, like always happened in a Hovabator.

It was cheaper, but more importantly, mush more effective than another incubator. If you want something less "do it yourself", buy a kit from incubator warehouse. The main drawback of a cooler is that the commercial auto turners never fit, but no turners needed for a hatcher.

I also bought the STC-1000 and like it, easy to install and use on DIY incubators.

 

[grama bailey]

i got a generic incubater from china for christmas and it worked okay for 6 days now i cant get it to stop beeping and flashing L. any ideas will be greatly appreciated. [email protected]