Reptipro 5000 Hatch-A-Long (=

[sixpugs]

I have gotten a lot of shipped eggs since this past summer.. some were good hatches and some weren't so good. So in all I have about a 50% hatch rate on shipped eggs in general. So if half of the emu eggs hatch out I will be surprised. And to be quiet honest I have already reserved 3 more eggs from one breeder for the end of this month to go in one of my Brinsea incubators.. and will try to get another 3 for the other one (so hopefully 12 emu eggs total).

Since you have both a Reptipro & Brinsea incubators, which do you prefer? I have been looking at the Brinsea Octagon Advance 20 & the Reptipro with 2 turners. I raise bantams, so I need something safe and reliable. The warranty on Brinsea is really good. The Reptipro seems to be no so much. It does however have some features I really like. After fighting with 2 old Hovabators with turners, I need to seriously upgrade.

Oh and since you are in TX, do you generally dry-hatch?

 

[yinepu]

Since you have both a Reptipro & Brinsea incubators, which do you prefer? I have been looking at the Brinsea Octagon Advance 20 & the Reptipro with 2 turners. I raise bantams, so I need something safe and reliable. The warranty on Brinsea is really good. The Reptipro seems to be no so much. It does however have some features I really like. After fighting with 2 old Hovabators with turners, I need to seriously upgrade.

Oh and since you are in TX, do you generally dry-hatch?

That's a tough call

I LOVE the size of the Reptipro (plenty of headroom for the emus should they hatch out) plus the fact that it cools.. which is a major plus here in Texas when the summers are insanely hot and we don't use AC
with the Brinsea last summer I had to have fans blowing across the incubators to try to keep them cool when the house temps hit over 115.. (was lucky none of the eggs fried)

the biggest drawbacks of the reptipro (in my opinion) is that you can only set the thermostat to whole numbers (97, 99, etc) where with the Brinsea you can fiddle with it (I don't have the advance) and really fine tune the temperatures. And there is a temperature gradient of 3 degrees from the top to the bottom of the Reptipro (that was checked with a half dozen accurate thermometers with nothing in the incubator.. and again with just the shelves inside). Supposedly they fixed that problem.. but I just got mine at the end of December/beginning of January of this year and mine still has the temp gradient.

During the winter I dry hatch.. during the summer I have to add water since where I live the air is very dry most of the summer (especially when we have a drought like last year).

with 5 emu eggs in the Reptipro right now the humidity is right at 33%.. so it's a dry hatch for them.. no need to add any water.

 

[sixpugs]

Thanks Yinepu. Of course, I'm still going back and forth!

It sounds like more and more people are liking the Reptipro units, with some problems being the heat variant from bottom to top. I like the Shape of the thing, for space concerns. It also looks attractive and I like the interior light and big window.
I need to decide and soon! But you gave me alot more to consider. Which model of Brinsea do you have? I think it's awesome you're hatching emu's. A few years back, there was a gal who made etched egg trophies for a goat show I attended in CA. They almost looked like a lazered pattern and the light green really glowed against the dark surface of the egg. Can't imagine trying to blow all of the interior out of those suckers! Maybe they had huge omlets!

 

[yinepu]

Thanks Yinepu. Of course, I'm still going back and forth!

It sounds like more and more people are liking the Reptipro units, with some problems being the heat variant from bottom to top. I like the Shape of the thing, for space concerns. It also looks attractive and I like the interior light and big window.
I need to decide and soon! But you gave me alot more to consider. Which model of Brinsea do you have? I think it's awesome you're hatching emu's. A few years back, there was a gal who made etched egg trophies for a goat show I attended in CA. They almost looked like a lazered pattern and the light green really glowed against the dark surface of the egg. Can't imagine trying to blow all of the interior out of those suckers! Maybe they had huge omlets!

I have 2 of the Brinsea Eco 20's (both with auto turners) and 1 Brinsea mini

So far I haven't had any problems with the Brinsea incubators breaking down.. though I did have 1 of the autoturners die after the first use. I also had a problem with an Eco glow 20 brooder (first one had a bad electrical short with exposed wiring and had to be replaced). For candling I have an Ovascope High Intensity light which worked fine at first but now has a few issues with a short in the wiring. In my experience their customer service has started going downhill.. it seems as if they don't want to bother standing behind their products even though everything I have has had the extended warranty and the products that died did so after normal use.
Even though Brinsea products are pretty good.. my husband has lost all faith in their durability over several hatches.
Having said all that would I still recommend them?... hmm... maybe the incubators themselves.. but not so much for their other products.

 

[sixpugs]

I have 2 of the Brinsea Eco 20's (both with auto turners) and 1 Brinsea mini
In my experience their customer service has started going downhill.. it seems as if they don't want to bother standing behind their products even though everything I have has had the extended warranty and the products that died did so after normal use.
Even though Brinsea products are pretty good.. my husband has lost all faith in their durability over several hatches.
Having said all that would I still recommend them?... hmm... maybe the incubators themselves.. but not so much for their other products.

Wow, that is disappointing. I always thought Brinsea were one of the better, high-end outfits. I found some pet shop online, which gave the Reptipro an A+ rating. They had a great video to show it off, which was quite helpful. Of course, they were touting it for it's original intention....hatching reptile eggs. However, before I found this thread, I had located them on ebay and considered the possibilities for poultry. Then viola! BYC has a thread and I am soaking it all up! I loved that Chris came online and cleared up some questions and problems. Hopefully, they will keep upgrading the quality and customer service to keep customers happy. Almost a lost art in todays throw-away mentality.

 

[yinepu]

Wow, that is disappointing. I always thought Brinsea were one of the better, high-end outfits. I found some pet shop online, which gave the Reptipro an A+ rating. They had a great video to show it off, which was quite helpful. Of course, they were touting it for it's original intention....hatching reptile eggs. However, before I found this thread, I had located them on ebay and considered the possibilities for poultry. Then viola! BYC has a thread and I am soaking it all up! I loved that Chris came online and cleared up some questions and problems. Hopefully, they will keep upgrading the quality and customer service to keep customers happy. Almost a lost art in todays throw-away mentality.

I was really happy with Brinsea at first.. sent a lot of business their way. However as time has gone by I found that their customer service leaves much to be desired. When the auto turner broke down they tried to charge me for replacement parts even though it was still under warranty. My husband believes that the only reason they replaced the brooder so quickly was because i told them that he felt the exposed wires were a fire hazard.
The first Reptipro 5000 I got had a few issues due to mishandling during shipping. As soon as Chris got my email he sent me out a replacement that same day.
So if I had to compare customer service between the two companies.. Reptipro would get 5 stars from me for being more willing to stand behind their products even though Brinsea has a "better warranty".

 

[JenBirdRansom]

For me, one of the real draws of the ReptiPro was that it seemed to be a bit more "Solid". I have 2 kids under 3 and a Styrofoam incubator seemed like it would surely be monkeyed with. The ReptiPro gives them lots of viewing space, a light, and isn't as fragile looking. I really like the way it looks actually....pretty stylish. I got 2 turners for mine so that I wouldn't have to remember to turn them...my work schedule and memory are both a bit inconsistent. Hey, I've been sleep deprived for 3 years....I'm consciousness compromised.

 

[ReptiPro]

Thanks for speaking so highly of our incubators. We have a new unit coming out in Feb that will be called the ReptiPro 6000. I think we have worked out any and all kinks with this new unit and it will work like a dream. I am so excited about this new unit as we have listened to our customers and have made the appropriate changes to address their concerns. The new unit has a much better finish and that fan in the back is recessed. Also the power converter that is on the power cord is now built in to the back of the unit. The shelves are now a nice crystal clear plastic and there have been some design changes to make it look much nicer. The electronic controls and components inside are all redesigned as well and we should see much better life out of these.

Here is a couple pics




Our units say they have a 30 day warranty on them as we had a ton of scammers who would use the units for one hatch and then return them saying they were broken. Upon receiving some of these type of returns we tested them and found them to be fine. Also had one guy who used it and then clipped a wire in the back and covered the ends with electrical tape. As if we would not take a peek to diagnose the issue.

If anyone ever has a problem with our units please just call or email us and we will fix or replace the unit free of charge. One month or even one year later. We are trying our best to be a wonderful company who treats people how we would like to be treated. If you email and don't get a response please call us at 1-800-259-9755 m-f 9-5 EST. If it is after that time then just leave a message and I will call you back personally.

I don't have as much time as I would like to keep up with posts here on BYC so if you see someone else who has an issue please pass along the message that we are here to help and that they should just give us a call.

 

[ReptiPro]

 

[sixpugs]

For me, one of the real draws of the ReptiPro was that it seemed to be a bit more "Solid". I have 2 kids under 3 and a Styrofoam incubator seemed like it would surely be monkeyed with. The ReptiPro gives them lots of viewing space, a light, and isn't as fragile looking. I really like the way it looks actually....pretty stylish. I got 2 turners for mine so that I wouldn't have to remember to turn them...my work schedule and memory are both a bit inconsistent. Hey, I've been sleep deprived for 3 years....I'm consciousness compromised.

I wanted to get the 2 turner model. But oh my gosh, talk about throwing me for a loop now...........they're going to debut the Reptipro 6000! NOW WHAT???????? DO I WAIT OR TAKE THE 5000 PLUNGE?????

I wonder if there will be much difference in the price?? Oh me oh my...........