New Brinsea Octagon 20 - Turner Help Please

[Kyzmette]

I just received my new Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance with the automatic turner, and I'm totally boggled by how these connecting rods are supposed to work. I slid them into place and started tightening the screws, but the screws won't tighten all the way and they do absolutely NOTHING to cause the plastic pieces to expand in order to hold the metal rods in place. Now, I'm pretty much a DIY'er all the time, I repair my own car, replace my own water heater and ductwork... if it needs to be done around the house, I do it, so I don't think I'm totally ignorant of how to connect a rod to a plastic base when the instructions are right in front of me.

What am I doing wrong??? Has anybody else had this problem?

I can't believe the amount of money I just paid for this thing, and I'm thinking of holding it together with bungee cords!

 

[Poppyduck]

My Octagon turner has two hollow rods which slip over the plastic knobs that take the screws. It was very difficult to fit together! The screws on mine don't do up all the way - if I remember correctly, I had to really try my hardest to tighten them and they did eventually hold the rods in place but still had a bit of screw thread sticking out the head end - hope that makes sense!

Would it help to contact Brinsea direct? www.brinsea.com If all else fails, would a couple of rawlplugs help?

I love my Octagon to bits but I do find the clear plastic parts somewhat brittle. It is an expensive incubator but for me - a complete hatching novice - it's brilliant!

Good Luck!

 

[Kyzmette]

Okay, that's the same issue I'm having with mine. I emailed brinsea, but no reply yet. I could probably wrap the knobs, but how much sense does it make to have to juryrig something you paid that much for? I guess I'll end up wrapping the knobs and applying a bungee cord just in case... if the base came apart while it was full and broke all the eggs, I would have some seriously ugly words for this company.

 

[Kyzmette]

Oh, and thanks tons for the reply!

 

[Kyzmette]

Okay, in case anybody else has this problem... No matter what I did, I couldn't get this turner to assemble properly. The screws just didn't fit. They appeared a little blunt for the intended purpose to me, so I pulled out some standard 3/4" wood screws and tried them and *presto* they worked like a champ! At this point I'm convinced it's either really bad design on Brinsea's part or they packed the wrong screws.