Hova Bator Still/Thermal Air Incubator 1602N

Temp regulation is pretty primitive but the simplicity lends itself to stable temps with little input once properly dialed in. Not particularly intuitive immediately but this was my first incubator and was able to figure it out within about a half hour and has been going for months now at the same temperature I set it at. Most reviews recommend a second thermometer, the alcohol thermometer that mine came with seems accurate to temperature but I still maintain a second thermometer. A hygrometer is a must if humidity is a concern, which itself is quite easy to maintain with the cool little water troughs underlying the system.Definitely worth it at this price point.

I recently bought two of these and in both cases, the bolt only allows the temperature to go up to 98 degrees. I loosened the wing nut and yet the thing will not turn any further in order to increase the temperature. I bought one of these for a friend and that person also is having to return the incubator because they said the bolt is misaligned. I am really, really not happy at all. I have chicks hatching which were transferred to this incubator as a "hatcher/brooder" and I can't get the temperature up beyond 97 degrees. Previously, I'd gotten the temperature up in this incubator, but for whatever reason, the bolt is just stuck and won't turn the wafer. GQF, if you want to sell incubators, you actually need to have some kind of quality control. NO EXCUSES.UPDATE: This incubator has been giving off terrible smelling toxic fumes that smell like glue. I thought at first that the odor would go away but it has not, and it's been months. Almost every embryo has died! It's not like I have not incubated eggs before. I have 4 incubators and have incubated eggs for 20 years. I am getting "dead in shell" despite perfect temperature (multiple thermometers in there), perfect humidity and handling with clean hands. I am truly unhappy with GQF and their products. I would steer far away from any of their incubators.

I have hatched over a hundred birds in this thing in less than a year. I bought it to replace my Little Giant circulated air incubator with automatic turner because the temperature was so difficult to keep steady. This was the cheapest one I could find that held over ten eggs. Sure, I have to turn the eggs manually, but I don't mind--it lets me monitor what's happening. My hatch rates are around 90%, and I have hatched various kinds of chickens, Midget White Turkeys, guineas, Muscovy Ducks and Golden Layer 300 ducks. It takes a bit of patience to get the temperature set right, <and once it is don't move the unit, it's highly sensitive> and you have to monitor the humidity with a hygrometer yourself. Once the learning curve is over it's a gem.

Excellent value. Solid construction, very easy to set up and use. The windows are a good size which helps little ones like my 4 year old watch the action. The dual water areas are a good design and beats what I have used previously. Another good feature is the red plastic plugs you can remove to control humidity. Worked as advertised. The temp control is a little counter intuitive, going to the right decreases temp and counterclockwise increases temp. You get used to it though. Also the wing nut against styrofoam is not that great of an idea. Overall, for the money, great value and a great product. We hatched (6) mallards this weekend and have another (16) to go. Might even round up some more eggs from the property and hatch more as my son is really enjoying watching them grow.

Currently using for tortoise eggs. I used a very small amount of water (2 table spoons) and the humidity stays pretty high. I need it at 86 degrees with humidity around 76 and I have to open it at least 20 times a day to slowly release the humidity. The temperature I am adjusting about 10 times a day to keep it in the area I need it to be. An external gauge needs to be purchased separately. There is no way to tell what the temp is on the product. If you want a set it and forget it type of incubator this one is not recommended. I am constantly checking the temp and humidity. It does hold heat but gets too hot and I have to lower it. So far I have been using it for 3 days.Update: used for 12 weeks and was able to successfully hatch a tortoise egg. If you have never incubated an egg before there will be some trial and error but I think that would be true with any incubator. I will use it again if needed because I have it. The incubator stayed in a cool dark room so at night the temp would drop but I would assume this is acceptable, in the wild temps drop at night. Aslo ground temps don't stay at a constant temp.

1: I'm not sure why some people have trouble with temps and the thermostat. It is basic and idoit proof. It works like it should and maintains a temp of 99.5-101 degrees at all times. I do keep mine inside in a spare room where the temperature in the room averages 75 +/- 2 degrees.2: It is styrofoam... and it is breakable.... duh.... anything can be broken...3: Take a care of it and it will last a while.4: Start the thermostat off 1/2 way between high and low position and work up or down from that point. Mine was up and running in about a hour with no problems.( and not a single problem to date.)5: I manually turn my eggs and have no problem.6: The cheapo thermometer that is included is more than sufficient for a hobbyist. Good luck with your purchase. I strongly suggest this product.

I spent hours with two additional thermometers meticulously adjusting the temperature dial until I reached a tolerable range of 37.3 to 37.7 degree Celsius fluctuations. It ran fine like that for two days. Today I come home from work to see that it had spiked to 41.8 degrees Celsius and sustained that for a few hours. I had another incubator right next to it that held a steady temperature during that entire time so it could not have been a change in room temperature. Total loss of my entire batch of quail eggs! DO NOT ORDER THIS PRODUCT! You don't even save on this once you get their egg turner and everything it make it even functional. I repeat, DO NOT ORDER THIS PRODUCT!