What Features/Benefits Matter Most?

ThreeGenerationHomestead

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Hey All,

Can I get some input on what matters if you were to either buy a new incubator or recommend one to a friend? I am particularly focused on which features matter and at what costs. Full disclosure: I hope to design a home-use focused incubator that can be the leading combination of features and benefits plus price, and I have my own concept of what that should look like.

In hopes of spurring conversation I have listed below what I would do if I had no input. Can you please offer some critiques?

Value Option:
  • Reliable Temperature Consistency
  • Reliable Humidity Consistency
  • Automatic Egg Turning
  • Easy to Clean
  • Phone App-Controlled Interface (to decrease the cost via no LCD display)
  • Ability to easily re-calibrate the incubator’s set points
  • Secondary parts to allow for easy calibration
  • Able to incubate multiple different options (chickens, quail, duck)
  • 7-Egg Size (chicken)
  • Spare Part Kits available for purchase
    • Note: this would not affect any warranty claims. This would be spare parts for pieces that the user may easily break accidentally.
  • 3 Year Warranty

Premium Option:
  • Reliable Temperature Consistency
  • Reliable Humidity Consistency
  • Automatic Egg Turning
  • Easy to Clean
  • App-Controlled Interface
  • LCD Display with Touchpad
  • Ability to easily calibrate the incubator’s set points
  • Secondary parts to allow for easy calibration
  • Able to incubate multiple different options (chickens, quail, duck)
  • 18-Egg Size (chicken)
  • Key Spare Parts Included in Shipment
    • Note: this would not affect any warranty claims. This would be spare parts for pieces that the user may easily break accidentally.
  • 5 Year Warranty Option (still working on validating this lifespan)
Thank You,

Three Generation Homestead
 
Personally I'd never buy an app-controlled anything.

I've found having enclosed sides and a flat lid that lifts off is better than the dome type incubators, both for maintaining humidity levels and keeping newly hatched chicks in the incubator when opening it. A lid that can easily be lifted off and replaced one-handed without any risk of it falling into the incubator and cracking an egg (something I've done before) would be good. Definitely need to be able to see inside without opening it, too.

Digitally controlled humidity is better than needing to tinker with sponges and vents and it should be possible to add water from the outside, with a clearly visible level gauge to avoid overfilling it.
 
I would suggest have some sort of display and then offering an app feature in addition to that. I wouldn't just have the app and only that. I would never use the app feature myself. Let's face it, never know the phone or Internet capabilities a person has.
 
After my first one, NR-360, the most important thing to me was automatic humidity. I wanted "set it and forget it" incubators.

I now have three Brinsea Ovation 56EX, all with automatic humidity. One has the app, and outside of it making it easier to make any changes if needed, one time I actually needed it. At the time, their app had preset 3 day lockdown. I do 5-day lockdowns. I was fishing in a boat out of state and told everyone I had to stop one moment. I grabbed my phone, stopped the turning, and upped the humidity to 70%. I then resumed fishing. I came home two days later and, of course, everything was fine. They've since fixed that so WE can set the lockdown date.
 

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