IncuKit - Who's using one and who has had one fail?

[Goin Quackrrs]

I have two tabletop incubator/hatchers built with the Incukit.

One failed today. Luckily I caught it before I had any losses. I went in to retrieve a newly hatched gosling and it was cold. Looked and the electronics were dead. The last egg due to hatch got moved into a warmer place and the hatched baby went in the warm brooder.

I just consider myself lucky that I caught it before I had any casualties.

So I just wanted to see if anyone else out there has had issues. I'm on the fence about replacing the unit right now. Part of me really wants another one, since the rest of the bator is already built and it would be plug and play, but I'm afraid of buying another one and having it self-destruct.

The other hatcher I have built with an incukit almost ended in tragedy as well. We didn't realize that when it was shipped to us that one of the wires had shaken loose. That thing got burny hot! Glad I was just testing it when we discovered the problem.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

I realize this is an old thread but I just got an incukit mini this spring. I have had the unit shut off on me three times out of three hatches, around day 13-14 each time.
First time I thought I had unplugged it by mistake when I put the lid of the incubator back on. Second time I wasn't sure how the power to the unit failed, everything was plugged in but the plug seemed loose. So I taped the wires to the lid so they couldn't loosen thinking that would fix the problem.
Third time same thing. Even with the wires taped it shut itself off. No power failure, it was just the incukit. I think the problem is the jack and receptor are mismatched, the fit is too loose and wobbly. I am not pleased and am going to contact them. Their customer service is good so I hope they can fix this problem.
On the other hand my plug and play hygrostat has worked perfectly. I'd recommend buying that but next time I am going to purchase a thermostat that's separate from the heater. The heater is underpowered in this unit, no way it compares to a 40 watt light bulb in heat output.
I really wanted the chicks from this hatch, the eggs were expensive. I don't think the incukit mini is reliable enough for me to try a fourth hatch.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Here's an update- I contacted Incubator Warehouse, they immediately sent me a new power adaptor, and I tried a hatch but it failed again after day 8. This time I damaged the incukit (the plug got stuck and I pulled too hard I guess, and broke off the plug). I 'm done incubating for this year but I plan to take the incukit in to a local computer repair store to have the plug fixed, and try again. I still don't know why it just shuts off.

 

[lpatelski]

Sorry for your loss. I just lost 30 Dark Cornish eggs with the IncuKit Mini with a display that said: V4+ IW12 ED reset. I am heartbroken. If you read the site info, it states if your cooler is a little too large or the unit stays above it's 65% mark more than it should, the unit will over-heat. I read someone did a hack and put second fan on theirs. Mine just went into a fatal loop and stopped heating.

I went to the Rush Lane Poultry site on his incubator page and built a second unit with a water heater thermostat for putting the 18 day still eggs in for hatching:

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[CanadianBuckeye]

Sorry for your loss. I just lost 30 Dark Cornish eggs with the IncuKit Mini with a display that said: V4+ IW12 ED reset. I am heartbroken. If you read the site info, it states if your cooler is a little too large or the unit stays above it's 65% mark more than it should, the unit will over-heat. I read someone did a hack and put second fan on theirs. Mine just went into a fatal loop and stopped heating.

I went to the Rush Lane Poultry site on his incubator page and built a second unit with a water heater thermostat for putting the 18 day still eggs in for hatching:

​

Thanks, that sounds very plausible- the incukit is too small to heat the cooler. I figured I'd be OK because it's insulated with 1" dense blue styrofoam and Reflectix, I thought that would be enough insulation.
I gave up on the incukit for now, but plan to try again- hatching season is approaching!! (only four months). I did have a second small fan in the incubator- but what I'll do is add a 15 watt or so light bulb to see if that fixes the problem. I still have to see if the incukit is repairable. Ipatelski that's a good tip, perhaps it was overheating- looks like it failed at night each time and maybe that will solve the problem. In the meantime I picked up a new-to-me Sportsman incubator that holds about 180 eggs but I want a back up. Big plans for 2016!!!!