In the market for an incubator

[Mattisonmandi]

From your experience what is the best incubator to buy?

 

[HuffleClaw]

I’ve gotten two incubators (1 MagicFly [loved it] and 1 hovabator incubater) from EBay. Now, you can go and spend nearly twice as much at Amazon, but if I ever wanted another incubator I’d buy it from EBay!

 

[lazy gardener]

homemade with STC 1000 thermostat. I save my money for stuff I can't make.

 

[oregonkat]

Had this discussion on another thread just yesterday between Incuview and Genesis. Both are pretty good. My vote went to the Genesis because it is what I have and it works for me. Whatever you choose, be SURE to get an independent, calibrated (by you) thermometer and hygrometer so you can know for sure what is going on. The instruments in the less expensive bators are notoriously wrong which can lead to sadness with failed hatches.
Depending on what kind of money you want to spend, Brinsea, are really, really good and people love them but they can be quite spendy.
If you are handy, like LG, you can make your own.

 

[sumi]

I had (and loved) my Brinsea incubator. They are expensive, but they work great. When I shopped for an incubator years ago I found the members' reviews of the different brands and models here very helpful:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/category/egg-incubators.9/

 

[Mosey2003]

GQF HovaBator 1602n with fan and upright turner all the way for me. Plus two dial meat thermometers, calibrated both in ice water and boiling water, and the hems cut out of some old cotton t-shirts. Once you get that wafer stretched out and burned in, I've found it extremely accurate and reliable, plus it only takes a minute or two to recover after opening the lid.

I like buying from Incubator Warehouse, have had excellent customer service.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you are handy, like LG, you can make your own.

I must give credit where credit is due: Rush Lane Poultry has excellent how to videos with step by step wiring instruction. And my hubby does my wiring!!!! It helps to have a friend/spouse who is a jack of all trades.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

this is my favorite simply because a friend recommended it, I got it, and it has worked for 6 years for me with nice results - only thing I have to do for 25 days is to make sure the water stays full and refill as it evaporates - then take egg turner out and put eggs in on flat surface when hatch is expected and fill more water to increase humidity

I also got the thermometer and love it! using it in the coop since it records highest and lowest temp and humidity since last reset, so I know what happened overnight or when I am away

http://incubatorwarehouse.com/hova-bator-genesis-1588-advanced-kit.html

http://incubatorwarehouse.com/incubator-remote-thermometer-hygrometer.html

I have no comparison to other incubators, so I don't know if there are better and less expensive ones out there - when I got another one, I reordered the same because I am so happy with it and know how to use it

 

[Mosey2003]

I also have a HovaBator 1588, it's actually running right now. I bought it gently used, and hated it at first. I could NOT get it to come up to temp in less than 16 hours, and it didn't rebound well at all either. I used it that first time out of desperation, and while some of the chicks hatched, I was not happy at all.

When I was cleaning it after the hatch, I noticed there was enough fluff and scurf in the lid that it was worth my while to walk it upstairs and use the vacuum hose on it. There is a small hole with seemingly a small probe sticking out of it and it was really full of fuzz, so I vacuumed over that especially, and wouldn't you know? The next time I plugged that bad boy in (out of curiosity, I was going to mess with it until I was happy or sell it if not) it came right up to temp and has been performing nearly as well ever since.

I simply wouldn't choose to buy the 1588 over the 1602n because I patently do not trust digital thermometers and displays, especially when they're running for 3 weeks at a time in such a humid environment; I'd prefer to stick to analog. But I got the thing because I needed a unit NOW and it was the sort of deal where I needed to get on someone's good side, and they offered it, so it was in my best interest to buy it. So now it functions basically as an overflow unit, and I plan to use it as a hatcher unless something goes iffy with it.

 

[mill-j]

Hmm I don't see a price range anywhere

For me, it's a GQF Sportsman 1502. Second hand of course, but an awesome machine. Brand new they aren't very awesome to the pocketbook though