Hovabator Genesis Owners BEWARE!

[oscartame]

hello everyone... If you own a Hovabator Genesis BEWARE. I had bought mine brand new and had only used it a few times when it died on me during the last few days of a hatch. What happens is the humidity screws with the computer somehow and the temp all of a sudden sets itself for 59.9F. The last time it happened I managed to catch it right away and was thankfully able to save some of the eggs.

When I contacted GQF they advised that it was a known problem that was happening in 1% of the Genesis bators and that if I was able to get the temp controls to go up any higher I'd be okay, the bator would start working again. Well after nearly a full week of trying that and it not working whatsoever it finally worked and I was able to get the bator back up to temps. hurray problem solved right?

wrong.

Last night I went to bed and checked the bator temps as I always do and everything was fine. Then this morning I went to check and they had plummeted down to 59.9F and with how cold the eggs were I think it had been at that temp for awhile. The computer does not respond when I try to raise the temperature and I'm quite upset as I have almost for sure lost this hatch of 40 eggs.

I just want other people to know about this problem so that if it happens to you, you know that first of all you're not alone, this is a problem with the design.

I've owned quite a few GQF products before, all were bought used and have never ever had a problem so I think it's almost funny that I splurged on buying a brand new top of the line Hovabator product only to have the absolute worst time with it.

Ihave been talking to GQF and I am really hoping they can help me out. This has been very frustrating.

 

[Michael OShay]

Interesting and good to know! I've had several Hovabator incubators and never had a problem with any of them.

 

[GAQuail]

hello everyone... If you own a Hovabator Genesis BEWARE. I had bought mine brand new and had only used it a few times when it died on me during the last few days of a hatch. What happens is the humidity screws with the computer somehow and the temp all of a sudden sets itself for 59.9F. The last time it happened I managed to catch it right away and was thankfully able to save some of the eggs.


When I contacted GQF they advised that it was a known problem that was happening in 1% of the Genesis bators and that if I was able to get the temp controls to go up any higher I'd be okay, the bator would start working again. Well after nearly a full week of trying that and it not working whatsoever it finally worked and I was able to get the bator back up to temps. hurray problem solved right?


wrong.

Last night I went to bed and checked the bator temps as I always do and everything was fine. Then this morning I went to check and they had plummeted down to 59.9F and with how cold the eggs were I think it had been at that temp for awhile. The computer does not respond when I try to raise the temperature and I'm quite upset as I have almost for sure lost this hatch of 40 eggs.

I just want other people to know about this problem so that if it happens to you, you know that first of all you're not alone, this is a problem with the design.

I've owned quite a few GQF products before, all were bought used and have never ever had a problem so I think it's almost funny that I splurged on buying a brand new top of the line Hovabator product only to have the absolute worst time with it.

Ihave been talking to GQF and I am really hoping they can help me out. This has been very frustrating.

How high did your humidity get to cause your 1588 to malfunction. This is not the first time I have heard of this. There is another thred somewhere on this web site concerning high humidity causing condensation in the digital display which causes the thermostat to fail.

I'm also curious as to what the room temperature was where your 1588 was located? Did the actual temperature in the incubator actually fall to 59 degrees? My 1588's don't function well in room temperatures below 70 degrees.

 

[oscartame]

How high did your humidity get to cause your 1588 to malfunction. This is not the first time I have heard of this. There is another thred somewhere on this web site concerning high humidity causing condensation in the digital display which causes the thermostat to fail.

I'm also curious as to what the room temperature was where your 1588 was located? Did the actual temperature in the incubator actually fall to 59 degrees? My 1588's don't function well in room temperatures below 70 degrees.

Our house temps were 59.9 or somewhere around there for sure. Didn't think to check the room temp but yeah it wasn't too warm in the house, 15C or so. Interesting about them not working well below 70 degrees.

The built in hygrometer was saying 75-80% humidity the first time before it died but I rely on another hygrometer for checking humidity and it was only around 64% humidity. I honestly barely pay attention to the computer reading of humidity, I was told it's pretty unreliable so I've always stuck to my trusty old hygrometer.

 

[oscartame]

I can't tell you guys how disappointed I am, it looks like I'm completely screwed here. GQF has brushed me off and will not be helping despite this being a known problem with these incubators. They admitted that they are aware of this problem but yet won't do anything to help. I do understand that they apparently only have a 30 day warranty but really!? This problem did not show itself until after a couple of successful hatches so there's absolutely no way I would have known the bator was faulty within the 30 days.

I'm very upset. I'm holding out hope that the feed store I bought it from can help me with this but the guy didn't seem too sure.

I forked over $300 to use the dang thing a couple times. Kind of funny because I needed my bator to be reliable and thats the only reason I splurged on a brand new hovabator. at least the guy at the feed store thought that was funny too lol. I've always bought used GQF products and I am kicking myself in the butt about this now. I could have bought three older generation Hovabators for the price that this one faulty new one cost me.


I guess I expected GQF to at least send me a replacement computer part, I'm not very handy but I'd try to put it together if it means I don't have to junk this $300 paper weight.

Buyer beware. If you have the choice of a much cheaper older model Hovabator I would choose it over the Genesis. It's just not worth the risk. I have now lost two hatches to this incubator and since this is the hatching season I am out quite a bit of money, had to tell customers "sorry my incubator died on me." I bought brand new from a trusted name to avoid that very thing from happening.

 

[GAQuail]

$300 for Hovabator 1588! Where in the world did you buy this from? You can buy a 1588 from gqfmfg.com directly for around $135 plus shipping. GQF products per their web site have a 1 year warranty.

The high humidity issue is a known problem with the electronics. Some members of this forum have reported that GQF replaced the incubator top including the electronics due to this issue at no charge and with overnight shipping. My newest 1588 has a warning in fine print right below the digital display that says do not exceed 65% humidity.

Just to make sure that you are dealing with the "real GQF people their website is www.gqfmfg.com There is another website www.gqf-incubators that sells GQF incubators but they are not the manufacturers of GQF incubators. Many people get this confused.

Hope you can get this resolved!