The Moonshiner's Bootleg Incubator Reviews And Discussions

[CastielH]

I was unaware of this feature

so was I until 2 in the morning when it woke my whole family up, let me tell you they were not big fans of that feature but it was getting into the low 60's high 50's in that room at night so I think that's the only reason it went off

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

so was I until 2 in the morning when it woke my whole family up, let me tell you they were not big fans of that feature but it was getting into the low 60's high 50's in that room at night so I think that's the only reason it went off

My first one from china had a low humidity feature that beeped...and we were also unaware until it woke us up in the middle of the night

And since it never held a good humidity level..... well you can only imagine...I didn't sleep well for 4 days...till I bought a new one and made the switch!

 

[The Moonshiner]

I also had the Janoel/Magicfly 12 incubator,

I'll be getting to this one down the line.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My first one from china had a low humidity feature that beeped...and we were also unaware until it woke us up in the middle of the night

And since it never held a good humidity level..... well you can only imagine...I didn't sleep well for 4 days...till I bought a new one and made the switch!

That was my experience too with the chinabator I had. I'd go to bed at 11-12, and get up at 3-4 to try and keep it from getting so low it went off while my parents slept. Didn't help I was in school during that whole fiasco

 

[The Moonshiner]

With the quantity you hatch, do you prefer having multiple smaller incubators or one big cabinet incubator like the sportsman for the same number of eggs? That's something I was looking into recently as I'd like to upsize in the next few years but I don't know if I want to shell out (no pun intended) for a cabinet or just get another regular-sized incubator. Definitely following for the reviews of other models, regardless.



As far as incubators I've used, I'm the odd one out here it would seem, because I have two Brinseas and I love them a lot. But, my only other experience with incubators has been one cheapo styrofoam model from TSC (I don't remember the brand) that I absolutely hated. Quite frankly, when I left it out in the sun to dry after washing it the only time it was used years ago and my free-ranging chickens found and ate it, I was glad to be rid of it. In comparison, the Brinseas are wonderful. Mine are an Octagon 20 eco (my favorite) and an Ovation 28 eco.

I can see going either way. Way back in the day I did the jump to a sportsman. I loved it. It was back when they were redwood or at least wood painted red.
Back then the hovabators and other smaller incubators didn't have available turners. I loved the cabinet turning the eggs for me. I mean I really loved it. From then till now I've honestly felt hand turning turned out a little better results but the convenience has always outweighed that for me.
One thing about a cabinet is you're literally putting all your eggs in one basket. If it fails or goes down it takes all your eggs with it. Having multiple smaller ones safeguards against that. I also think the smaller ones get better overall hatch rates. My experience with cabinets whether store bought or made is the bigger you get the harder it is to keep everything stable throughout.
I'm sure everything is gonna depend on what incubators you get quality wise. When I decided to go bigger I knew for me the best option was to build my own. Using the Pepsi cooler was ideal and I was lucky to have scored it. Anyone that knows my big incubator probably has no idea exactly what went into it planning and tweaking wise. I winged it with the build but was very aware of the basics. Temp, humidity,, ventilation and airflow.
One of the reasons for my experiment with the newer different types is to see how all these things are accomplished and how well everything works as a unit.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

That was my experience too with the chinabator I had. I'd go to bed at 11-12, and get up at 3-4 to try and keep it from getting so low it went off while my parents slept. Didn't help I was in school during that whole fiasco

I basically held the same hours..just for work...and it was not good...I can't imagine trying to focus on school!!

 

[casportpony]

Farm Innovators 4250

Pros

• Holds lots of eggs

Cons

• Dents easily
• Huge temperature differences across the incubator

The sensors were placed together to calibrate them against each other. Xiaomi sensors are numbered Xiaomi 1-4 from left to right.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I can see going either way. Way back in the day I did the jump to a sportsman. I loved it. It was back when they were redwood or at least wood painted red.
Back then the hovabators and other smaller incubators didn't have available turners. I loved the cabinet turning the eggs for me. I mean I really loved it. From then till now I've honestly felt hand turning turned out a little better results but the convenience has always outweighed that for me.
One thing about a cabinet is you're literally putting all your eggs in one basket. If it fails or goes down it takes all your eggs with it. Having multiple smaller ones safeguards against that. I also think the smaller ones get better overall hatch rates. My experience with cabinets whether store bought or made is the bigger you get the harder it is to keep everything stable throughout.
I'm sure everything is gonna depend on what incubators you get quality wise. When I decided to go bigger I knew for me the best option was to build my own. Using the Pepsi cooler was ideal and I was lucky to have scored it. Anyone that knows my big incubator probably has no idea exactly what went into it planning and tweaking wise. I winged it with the build but was very aware of the basics. Temp, humidity,, ventilation and airflow.
One of the reasons for my experiment with the newer different types is to see how all these things are accomplished and how well everything works as a unit.

A lot of things I didn't think of and that make a lot of sense. Thank you for the detailed response!

The autoturner is the one thing that I really love about my Ovation over my Octagon. The autoturner for the Octagon models was terrible and I read so many horror stories of them failing catastrophically and dumping the whole incubator over so I never even bothered to get one. The Octagon has the advantage with hand turning in that you can 'hand turn' without ever opening the incubator, the whole unit rotates. But it's still manually rotating it, so I have to remember to run up to the room the incubators are in and turn the thing so many times a day, which really becomes a big inconvenience after a while. The Ovation autoturning was therefore the best thing ever when I got that model after only having the Octagon for so many years, and especially this year when I suddenly started hatching significantly more than I ever have before in the interest of advancing my newly-established breeding groups. So I definitely hear you on the autoturners being a game changer!

Eager to see how other models perform for you and others!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Farm Innovators 4250

Pros

• Holds lots of eggs

Cons

• Dents easily
• Huge temperature differences across the incubator

The sensors were placed together to calibrate them against each other. Xiaomi sensors are numbered Xiaomi 1-4 from left to right.

You posted a graph.
You ever just like low tech anything?

 

[casportpony]

You posted a graph.
You ever just like low tech anything?

I live with a software engineer, so it's kind of hard to do some things low-tech. Though today, we put up a pen for the call ducks, and that was pretty low-tech. Hardware cloth, 2x4 welded wire, zip-ties, t-posts, etc.