I also have success with my LG. I can't really keep enough more birds to justify buying an expensive incubator, but when we have more land you bet I'll invest in a "good" bator that holds a ton of eggs!
For now, every hatch has been as good as the eggs I put in it. When I put in old eggs I got a bad hatch, but the eggs weren't fresh I don't think it was the incubator's fault now was it??
My first hatch I got 17/20 and that was my first attempt! Right now I've got 19/20 developing in a still air LG (one egg quit early). I actually have used 2 still air LGs, same model and everything, except one is older - given to me by a friend. I accidentally let my chicks eat a hole in my first one that I got new. The thermostat and/or controller dial on the older model is definitely better
The only thing is that they are sensitive to ambient temperature changes in the room and they don't automatically adjust to compensate. If you have a stable ambient temp, it's pretty easy! The less adjusting you have to do, the better. Best to get it running at where you want before adding eggs.
There was a thread on here about adding window seal insulation to the edges to hold temperature better, and of course some people add fans and stuff to improve their chances. I personally add mason jars of 100*F water to add thermal mass as a heat sink. My temps have been pretty solid since I started this and it didn't cost me a thing. I read a thread about one person who bought a reptile thermostat and plugged the incubator into that to bypass the tricky built-in thermostat system and they said it worked beautifully! Course the thermostat upgrade cost more than the incubator itself. Some people like spending a little time and money tweaking with things, it is a hobby after all.
For those who want to set it and forget it you might be better served simply buying an expensive incubator.
To each his or her own!
