Which Incubator to buy?
- Thread starter TattooedMama
- Start date
@TattooedMama how are your eggs coming along? My 3 little eggs go into lockdown tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #173
I took a look last night, start of day 14, and they appear to be doing great!! They have some good growth and the 8 left are all alive and wriggling around. It was super cute, we were even able to see little baby chick feets pushed up against the side of the egg and moving around
I think I may have jumped the gun on raising the humidity. I have two eggs with normal air cells and the rest were wonky due to shipping. The saddled air cells looked HUGE but the other 2 looked fine. Depending on how well they hatch, I think next time I will judge the humidity based on those that fared the best during shipping. It is too difficult to judge the "amount" of air within the cell when it is such an awkward shape. I think the saddle shape may have been deceiving.
Also, any opinions on eggs developing at different rates? I have some huge looking babies and some that look further behind. I am suspecting that hatching may be staggered. I am nervous for them to hatch and trying not to hold my breath that all goes well-so many stories about them not hatching and it's been so long since I have done this. They will be some nice babies if they make it
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- Thread starter
- #175
I would have, and wanted to, but I did not have my scale back from my dad when i first got them and wasn't up for buying a new one. I also followed a thread on BYC where a BYCer weighed their eggs (40 at least) and changed humidity based off that. They documented everything and found that the weight method did not work for them at all. It was also suggested by a veteran member on that thread (I am tempted to say the one who wrote the Hatching 101 article? but i could be wrong) that she herself only eyeballed it and was highly suspicious hers lost more than that. All in all, for that person, the weighing made her neurotic about the process and in addition, did not work. I think she got maybe 13 to hatch and that was it. I will have to look for the thread but after reading that, I was glad I did not have a scale.
- Thread starter
- #176
@Sydney Acres here is that thread I was referring to https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/878773/attention-newbies-to-incubating
Well, I finally took the plunge and bought an incubator, an R-com Max 20. I still have some reservations about it, but unique circumstances required me to have one within the next 2 weeks, and preferably sooner. Before the urgency, I had narrowed it down to either the Incuview from Incubator Warehouse, or the R-com Max 20. Since this is my first incubator, I was feeling a bit ridiculous at considering the r-com, as it's likely more incubator than I need and fairly expensive, but it's what I really wanted. I decided to be more practical and got on the Incubator Warehouse website to order my Incuview, only to find that they're backordered until July at best. Well, that's just fate intervening, right? So the r-com it is!
My only concern about the r-com is the warranty. It is a unique product in that there were only two types of ratings among users/buyers -- the vast majority of people said it was the best incubator they've ever owned, and gave it 5 stars. But several people, both in the U.S. and U.K., said that they received a broken unit, or that the unit broke within the warranty period, and they could not get it repaired without shipping it back to the manufacturer in S. Korea, which was cost prohibitive. Those few people gave it a one star, saying is was a very expensive by useless box that now sits in their closet.
So I e-mailed or called four places I could find that sold them. I also spoke to a very helpful repair tech at Kemp's Koops in Oregon. While the R-com is advertised by all U.S. distributors as having a 1 year warranty, and I was told I could get the warranty doubled to 2 years if I register it online, there are no authorized repair places in the U.S., in the way that shoppers in the U.S. interpret the statement "authorized repair" shops. If I buy a car in Los Angeles and then move to Seattle while the car is still under warranty, I can take the car to a dealer in Seattle and get all warranty work done there at no charge, even though I didn't buy the car at the Seattle dealer. That can be done because the manufacturer of the car reimburses the Seattle dealer for the repairs, so the dealer is glad to do the work for me even though I don't pay him, because the manufacturer pays him instead. That's true of most products sold in the U.S. with a factory warranty, but not all. With the R-com, if you want to take advantage of the warranty, you have to get the broken product back to the manufacturer, which is in S. Korea. That's not an impossible task, but shipping isn't cheap, or quick. Another glitch is that because it's not a "written U.S. repair warranty," credit card companies won't provide you with extended warranty protection, which will double a warranty period for up to a year on most products. They will, however, allow you to dispute a charge if a product is unacceptable (i.e., broken and cannot be repaired without additional charges, like shipping to S. Korea), as long as the dispute is filed within 90 days of the charge being placed on your account. So there is the potential to test it on at least 3 hatches if you do them all in a row.
The 4 places I considered were:
1) Kemp' Koops -- They're a local business in Eugene Oregon with great expertise in incubators, and they have their own repair shop. I bypassed the sales person and spoke directly to the repair tech. They will repair any R-com incubator, whether they sold it or not, and they have all the replacement parts necessary for all models. If they sold it, they honor the manufacturers warranty and repair the machine at no charge even though they don't get reimbursed by the manufacturer. He said the incubator is incredibly reliable, and the vast majority of the repairs that he has to do are because the buyer accidentally recalibrated the machine when they meant to just change the settings. The cost of the unit through them is $419, but unfortunately there was also a $63 shipping charge, bringing the total up to $482, AND they were out of stock for 5-7 weeks. As much as I wanted to buy from them, the combination of the high shipping cost and the back-order made it prohibitive. But for anyone who is close enough to drive and doesn't need it now, I would highly recommend them. And they seem to have a very knowledgeable staff and adequately stocked repair facility, if anyone needs repair on their incubator. I did not specifically ask, but I suspect they would repair most brands, although there may be a delay in getting parts if it is a model that they don't repair often.
2) Strombergs Hatchery -- Several large hatcheries had this incubator available, but Strombergs was having a sale, and I have been very happy with their customer service in the past, so I called them. As luck would have it, Janet Stromberg, the owner of the company, answered the phone. She had it in stock, it was the newer model (without the sponge), and while she could not repair it onsite, as the seller she would stand behind the guarantee. If there was a problem she would have me ship it back to her, and she would get it back to the manufacturer for repair. We did not discuss how long this would take, but I suspect that she would have no control over that timetable and therefore would not be able to answer that question. The cost for the unit is normally $445, but they were on sale for $425 with free shipping, and I would have it in 5 business days.
3) Direct from the factory in S. Korea through R-com-Hatcher.com. The cost is $395, with free shipping to the U.S. Shipping time was expected between 7-10 business days. The warranty time is listed as 2 years (instead of one year with the option to register for an additional year online), and the buyer pays shipping costs for warranty repair. They take all the usual credit cards and PayPal.
4) Through Steven Rericha at Incubator Inventory.com, or e-mail at [email protected]. His price is $379, with free shipping anywhere in the U.S. It is my impression that he doesn't have any in stock, but acts as the intermediary and has them drop shipped directly from the factory to you, with 7-10 business days for shipping. His web site says that he takes MC, Visa, BitCoin, and PayPal, but as you go to check out the only option is BitCoin or PayPal. PayPal is easy, and you just pay it with your MC or Visa anyway, but if you pay through PayPal you only have 45 days from the date the charge goes on your account to dispute a charge instead of 90 days with MC or Visa. That can be a huge difference if you want to test out an incubator through more than one hatch. I also had some concerns with the security on the website, as there was no display of the "https" or the little padlock when I went to check out. (Please note -- I'm not saying that the website was insecure, or that there would be any problems ordering through here, I'm just saying that I personally didn't see the security features that I'm used to seeing, and I became uncomfortable.) I attempted to call the phone number on the website, but got a busy signal, and no voice mail, three times. When I e-mailed Steven about my concerns about how to utilize the warranty and had very specific questions as to what needed to be done if I purchased a machine from him that needed repair, he replied that he would contact the manufacturer and get back to me. Huh??? He sells them and doesn't know how the system works?
Anyway, there may be other options, but private incubator businesses, large hatchery or poultry supply resale facilities, factory direct, or independent drop-shipper where pretty much the only places I found, other than eBay/Amazon sellers. In the end I decided to order from Strombergs. It was $46 more than the cheapest option, but the reputation of the company, the level of personal service I got with my phone call today and with other purchases in the past, the ability to have the machine so quickly, and the 90-day period to dispute the charge with Visa, as opposed to only 45 days with PayPay, made the extra $46 worth it. So I guess I'm now committed -- I've got to start hatching out birds to pay for this thing!!
My only concern about the r-com is the warranty. It is a unique product in that there were only two types of ratings among users/buyers -- the vast majority of people said it was the best incubator they've ever owned, and gave it 5 stars. But several people, both in the U.S. and U.K., said that they received a broken unit, or that the unit broke within the warranty period, and they could not get it repaired without shipping it back to the manufacturer in S. Korea, which was cost prohibitive. Those few people gave it a one star, saying is was a very expensive by useless box that now sits in their closet.
So I e-mailed or called four places I could find that sold them. I also spoke to a very helpful repair tech at Kemp's Koops in Oregon. While the R-com is advertised by all U.S. distributors as having a 1 year warranty, and I was told I could get the warranty doubled to 2 years if I register it online, there are no authorized repair places in the U.S., in the way that shoppers in the U.S. interpret the statement "authorized repair" shops. If I buy a car in Los Angeles and then move to Seattle while the car is still under warranty, I can take the car to a dealer in Seattle and get all warranty work done there at no charge, even though I didn't buy the car at the Seattle dealer. That can be done because the manufacturer of the car reimburses the Seattle dealer for the repairs, so the dealer is glad to do the work for me even though I don't pay him, because the manufacturer pays him instead. That's true of most products sold in the U.S. with a factory warranty, but not all. With the R-com, if you want to take advantage of the warranty, you have to get the broken product back to the manufacturer, which is in S. Korea. That's not an impossible task, but shipping isn't cheap, or quick. Another glitch is that because it's not a "written U.S. repair warranty," credit card companies won't provide you with extended warranty protection, which will double a warranty period for up to a year on most products. They will, however, allow you to dispute a charge if a product is unacceptable (i.e., broken and cannot be repaired without additional charges, like shipping to S. Korea), as long as the dispute is filed within 90 days of the charge being placed on your account. So there is the potential to test it on at least 3 hatches if you do them all in a row.
The 4 places I considered were:
1) Kemp' Koops -- They're a local business in Eugene Oregon with great expertise in incubators, and they have their own repair shop. I bypassed the sales person and spoke directly to the repair tech. They will repair any R-com incubator, whether they sold it or not, and they have all the replacement parts necessary for all models. If they sold it, they honor the manufacturers warranty and repair the machine at no charge even though they don't get reimbursed by the manufacturer. He said the incubator is incredibly reliable, and the vast majority of the repairs that he has to do are because the buyer accidentally recalibrated the machine when they meant to just change the settings. The cost of the unit through them is $419, but unfortunately there was also a $63 shipping charge, bringing the total up to $482, AND they were out of stock for 5-7 weeks. As much as I wanted to buy from them, the combination of the high shipping cost and the back-order made it prohibitive. But for anyone who is close enough to drive and doesn't need it now, I would highly recommend them. And they seem to have a very knowledgeable staff and adequately stocked repair facility, if anyone needs repair on their incubator. I did not specifically ask, but I suspect they would repair most brands, although there may be a delay in getting parts if it is a model that they don't repair often.
2) Strombergs Hatchery -- Several large hatcheries had this incubator available, but Strombergs was having a sale, and I have been very happy with their customer service in the past, so I called them. As luck would have it, Janet Stromberg, the owner of the company, answered the phone. She had it in stock, it was the newer model (without the sponge), and while she could not repair it onsite, as the seller she would stand behind the guarantee. If there was a problem she would have me ship it back to her, and she would get it back to the manufacturer for repair. We did not discuss how long this would take, but I suspect that she would have no control over that timetable and therefore would not be able to answer that question. The cost for the unit is normally $445, but they were on sale for $425 with free shipping, and I would have it in 5 business days.
3) Direct from the factory in S. Korea through R-com-Hatcher.com. The cost is $395, with free shipping to the U.S. Shipping time was expected between 7-10 business days. The warranty time is listed as 2 years (instead of one year with the option to register for an additional year online), and the buyer pays shipping costs for warranty repair. They take all the usual credit cards and PayPal.
4) Through Steven Rericha at Incubator Inventory.com, or e-mail at [email protected]. His price is $379, with free shipping anywhere in the U.S. It is my impression that he doesn't have any in stock, but acts as the intermediary and has them drop shipped directly from the factory to you, with 7-10 business days for shipping. His web site says that he takes MC, Visa, BitCoin, and PayPal, but as you go to check out the only option is BitCoin or PayPal. PayPal is easy, and you just pay it with your MC or Visa anyway, but if you pay through PayPal you only have 45 days from the date the charge goes on your account to dispute a charge instead of 90 days with MC or Visa. That can be a huge difference if you want to test out an incubator through more than one hatch. I also had some concerns with the security on the website, as there was no display of the "https" or the little padlock when I went to check out. (Please note -- I'm not saying that the website was insecure, or that there would be any problems ordering through here, I'm just saying that I personally didn't see the security features that I'm used to seeing, and I became uncomfortable.) I attempted to call the phone number on the website, but got a busy signal, and no voice mail, three times. When I e-mailed Steven about my concerns about how to utilize the warranty and had very specific questions as to what needed to be done if I purchased a machine from him that needed repair, he replied that he would contact the manufacturer and get back to me. Huh??? He sells them and doesn't know how the system works?
Anyway, there may be other options, but private incubator businesses, large hatchery or poultry supply resale facilities, factory direct, or independent drop-shipper where pretty much the only places I found, other than eBay/Amazon sellers. In the end I decided to order from Strombergs. It was $46 more than the cheapest option, but the reputation of the company, the level of personal service I got with my phone call today and with other purchases in the past, the ability to have the machine so quickly, and the 90-day period to dispute the charge with Visa, as opposed to only 45 days with PayPay, made the extra $46 worth it. So I guess I'm now committed -- I've got to start hatching out birds to pay for this thing!!
Thank you. I will read through it.
You weren't kidding about trying to keep the humidity up in the Brinsea! I locked down this morning and have had to open the incubator 4 times to wet sponges 
that's with both reservoirs full. The humidity in the room is 40% so I don't know why it would dry out so fast. I really didn't want to buy the humidity pump and have to plug in another cord! The temp does stabilize really quickly after putting the lid back on, but I really don't have time to sit on top of the incubator and monitor the humidity. I don't even have this problem in my styrofoam bators. Ugh.
that's with both reservoirs full. The humidity in the room is 40% so I don't know why it would dry out so fast. I really didn't want to buy the humidity pump and have to plug in another cord! The temp does stabilize really quickly after putting the lid back on, but I really don't have time to sit on top of the incubator and monitor the humidity. I don't even have this problem in my styrofoam bators. Ugh.
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You weren't kidding about trying to keep the humidity up in the Brinsea! I locked down this morning and have had to open the incubator 4 times to wet spongesthat's with both reservoirs full. The humidity in the room is 40% so I don't know why it would dry out so fast. I really didn't want to buy the humidity pump and have to plug in another cord! The temp does stabilize really quickly after putting the lid back on, but I really don't have time to sit on top of the incubator and monitor the humidity. I don't even have this problem in my sturofoam bators. Ugh.
bummer have to tryed misting the walls of the bator with a spray bottle?
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