I am on my second batch of eggs with this machine. I spent countless hours researching prior to buying this unit and had my heart set on it really from the beginning. After my first hatch, I was a bit irritated I spent so much on it. It is amazing in its ability to maintain stable temperatures and if you need to open the incubator, it resumes temps within minutes. This alone is a fantastic feature and likely the best thing about it. Unfortunately it utilizes a separate cord for the heating unit and the turner. If you buy the humidity pump, that's a THIRD plug you will need. Additionally, the turner is of questionable quality and looks cheap; mine had to be replaced by the end of the first batch of chicks due to an odd light clicking noise. It was still working just making an odd noise and it smelled burnt out. Customer service was great, took only a few rings, went right to a person and no questions asked I had new parts for my turner in my mail within days. I was not asked to return anything and so it took me only the effort of a phone call to get my turner fixed. I will say there were no instructions with the replacement parts and someone less savvy may have been more flustered.
For this second batch I did need to manually turn the first several days while waiting for the parts and that was super simple. Because of the octagon shape, I only had to turn the entire machine a few times each day; no need to open the bator and fuss with each egg. I think the unit is small for hatching and could not imagine having 24 eggs in there at once hatching. There is only one tiny vent. The metal bars are a bit concerning and hard to fit eggs in, some fall and I wish it came with the foam covers that are included in the Octagon 40 model.
BOTH hatches I had the most aggravating experience attempting to get the humidity high enough for hatch. This machine has a very poor water reservoir design. Despite there being ample room for at least 3, there are only 2 very narrow reservoirs for water. With both filled, the machine can get no higher than 50% humidity at best (I'm in Southern California). My experience was also that humidity lowered within a few hours. I resorted to using a wet paper towel as suggested by another BYCer to increase surface area for the water to get a higher humidity level. I have yet to accomplish the 80% in this batch which is the recommendation for turkey eggs. For this reason I would guess that, though sold separately, the Octagon 20 Advanced and the Humidity Pump are intended for use together. The Octagon 20 on its own simply cannot reach even moderate levels of humidity needed for hatch time and while this can be remedied through tricks etc., its a poor design, and something I find unacceptable for an incubator that retails at $400. It feels as though you are being cheated since you are led to believe you can use the incubator without the addition of the humidity pump.
With all that said. The incubator works and I had a great hatch rate my first go around. Eggs were shipped from TN to CA with bad air cells and I had 8/8 fertile eggs hatch. I currently have 10 left of 13 shipped turkey eggs from WA, 2 clears and 1 quitter(only bad air cell), in lockdown. With the humidity pump I would imagine this machine would be extremely efficient.
For this second batch I did need to manually turn the first several days while waiting for the parts and that was super simple. Because of the octagon shape, I only had to turn the entire machine a few times each day; no need to open the bator and fuss with each egg. I think the unit is small for hatching and could not imagine having 24 eggs in there at once hatching. There is only one tiny vent. The metal bars are a bit concerning and hard to fit eggs in, some fall and I wish it came with the foam covers that are included in the Octagon 40 model.
BOTH hatches I had the most aggravating experience attempting to get the humidity high enough for hatch. This machine has a very poor water reservoir design. Despite there being ample room for at least 3, there are only 2 very narrow reservoirs for water. With both filled, the machine can get no higher than 50% humidity at best (I'm in Southern California). My experience was also that humidity lowered within a few hours. I resorted to using a wet paper towel as suggested by another BYCer to increase surface area for the water to get a higher humidity level. I have yet to accomplish the 80% in this batch which is the recommendation for turkey eggs. For this reason I would guess that, though sold separately, the Octagon 20 Advanced and the Humidity Pump are intended for use together. The Octagon 20 on its own simply cannot reach even moderate levels of humidity needed for hatch time and while this can be remedied through tricks etc., its a poor design, and something I find unacceptable for an incubator that retails at $400. It feels as though you are being cheated since you are led to believe you can use the incubator without the addition of the humidity pump.
With all that said. The incubator works and I had a great hatch rate my first go around. Eggs were shipped from TN to CA with bad air cells and I had 8/8 fertile eggs hatch. I currently have 10 left of 13 shipped turkey eggs from WA, 2 clears and 1 quitter(only bad air cell), in lockdown. With the humidity pump I would imagine this machine would be extremely efficient.