New Incubators and which one should I buy?

I was acutaly wondering the same thing. I would like to get an incubator also. And I was wanting to know which one would be best to get.

 

Hello, I bought a R-COM 20 incubator and had hatched my first batch last week. I have had many many different incubators including a Octagon 20, and I can say I really like the R-COM. The only thing I would be careful of with my experience with this unit is to make sure it is calibrated. What I mean is to do it yourself and not rely on what Brincea says! ( They told me it is calibrated at the factory and is ready to go) I was incubating these eggs with a 45% humidity setting. As incubation continued I candled every few days but the air cell wouldn't grow as needed. I purchased some accurate thermometers and found the humidity to be actually 65% on the 11th day, so I had to run incubator dry the rest of the time till pipping. It is digital and easy to use, easy to calibrate and easy to clean. I think it is the best small incubator out there right now, though it is expensive!

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I set 8 eggs, all were fertile! Humidity was way off most of the inc. period, temp was 1° lower than actual, ran dry till pipping occured and managed to hatch 6 out of the 8!

 

Not sure where to post this so many people will get it..
Just purchased the Genesis Hovabator at Incubator Warehouse.com
Price 119.99, cheapest I found.
Turner 42.99 , also the cheapest I found.
plus a thermometer/ hygro. digital 9.99
plus shipping 13.99
total 186.00 or there abouts.

Many had the just the incu for that total price.

Just thought you might like to know.

 

MissPrissy,
I statred with the LG still air - hated it! Horrible hatches. The forced air thing is a MUST!

I went to the Hovabator 1588 with a turner. it was really good and fairly cheap - compared to some of the others. This year I went looking around for a different one - maybe upgrade but The one I saw were smaller, less eggs and twice the cash(if not more!). It is honestly the best buy if you're not wanting to spend a bunch of money until you figure out if you want to hatch more. Plus, I am super super cheap...I mean frugal! So I couldn't see spending upwards of $300 for a 20 or less egg incubator.

As for the pre-set temp thing, I wouldn't trust any of them to be correct until you test it out. I found mine ran a consistant 99.9 degrees and the humidity was easy to adjust by water addition. The 1588 is fairly easy to adjust if the temp is off from what I have read, as well. I wish it was better to clean though. The tray liner comes out fine and can be scrubbed up, but the styrofoam does tend to absorb and stain. I dont' like seeing the stains even though I know I've scrubbed and bleached it.

Other than that, it's a good deal. I bought another one for this year. I had a turner that I bought a replacement motor for and so I didn't spend a ton of money on a new one. The 1588 is $127, I think, from the factory with out the turner.

Oh, and an FYI I was not impressed with the customer service at the fatory from my experience last year. I got my second one from eggcartons.com this year and paid like 2 dollars more but I figure then they can deal with the manufacturer!! Just my experience......

Sarah

 

I also use a Genesis 1588 with auto.turner and I love mine.The temp.was very accurate right from the factory and I have found them very easy to use.

I'm just finishing up a hatch in mine and I heat with wood.The humidity in my home is at 30%.All I did was fill the center trough with warm water and this
gave me a constant 42% inside the incubator.I needed to refill every 4 days.For days 19-21 I filled 2 troughs and this gave me a constant 62% and again, no
more refills needed.I use a plastic tube down through the top plug hole,along with a 60ml.syringe for water refills and it works out great.

I am glad you have decided to put the past behind you and try again.Good for you and I wish you the best of luck.

 

This post is almost 3 years old. Miss Prissy is now a hatching genius and I believe she has quite a few bators including several she has made, hovabators and my all time wished for bator...the Dickey cabinet bator.

 

I have a Brinsea 20 advance that has performed flawlessly IF!!! calibrated. In my experience it would be foolish to trust eggs to any system without doing a basic calibration out of the box and then with each hatch. Keep a good thermometer and hygrometer in the unit to make sure it stays reasonably close to the desired numbers.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of an rcom suro 20 that is due in a couple of weeks. The humidity pump and current sale price of $250 were too much to resist. It will be interesting to compare these 2 units that are so similar in design and capacity.

 

This is a really old thread.