Brinsea - Eco or is the Advance really worth it?

[ZooMummzy]

I have the advance and love it but I with I had bought the EX now. The humidity is really difficult to control and maintain during lockdown if your environment is dry. I will be purchasing the pump over the summer before I do anymore hatching. Other than this I really love my Advance and feel it was very worth the month. I will never hand turn eggs again! It has totally spoiled me.

 

[vpeterson]

I have 2 brinsea octagon 20 econ that I use for incubation.. They are fabulous. I am using a LG for a hatcher and it is driving me crazy with constantly babysitting it for temp and humidity. I am trying to decide whether I should get another econ for hatching or just get the more expensive Advance. I have found it hard to maintain humidity during hatching with the econ. Do the alarms sound on the Advance when the humidity gets too low or just for temps?????????

 

[happyhensny]

Quote:
The Advance is twice the price-I keep going back and forth if ithe Advance is really worth $300 vs the $150 for the Eco.

 

[thefamilyflock]

I think it depends on how often and how 'hands on' you would like to be. I just finished my first hatch in the Eco 20 with the turner. The temp never varied and humidity was easy to manage. I did spend $5 on a hygrometer and spent the time to calibrate it. I had 20(shipped) eggs go into lockdown and 16 hatched!

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
Just for the temps...if there is an alarm for the humidity I haven't found out how to set it yet. I never had an alarm go off at all, thankfully. I was very pleased with the way it held the temp. I just had issues with the humidity - it really was all over the place the whole time. This last hatch was very dismal because of it which is why I am going to invest in the humidity pump. But overall, I really like it and I'm glad I spent the extra money. I used to be very hands on, but after letting the Advanced do all the work for me, I can't imagine going back to hand turning. For me, I think it helps me be more hands off the whole time. I used to get antsy and would candle all the time. It's more difficult to do that when you have an auto turner.

I have an LG for a hatcher too and I don't like it. It requires way too much babysitting.

 

[rarely bored]

Quote:
That, I think sums it up. With the eco, which I've done one hatch with, just started #2, I am encouraged to look at the bator 3 times a day, when I rotate it. I'd be afraid, if I had the advanced, that I'd toss the eggs in and forget about checking it regularly. But that is my easily distracted brain... you know yourself much better.

 

[beesong]

Quote:
That, I think sums it up. With the eco, which I've done one hatch with, just started #2, I am encouraged to look at the bator 3 times a day, when I rotate it. I'd be afraid, if I had the advanced, that I'd toss the eggs in and forget about checking it regularly. But that is my easily distracted brain... you know yourself much better.

You wouldn't forget about it. I look at mine all the time, just to gloat to myself about how perfectly the temp and humidity are holding.

 

[dsqard]

Quote:
Have you checked into tubing for aquariums? I wonder if you could find the same stuff (size and flexibility wise) in supplies for aquariums. I bet it would be a lot cheaper!
I found 20' of silicone tubing for an aquarium on Amazon for only $8. The only information I can't find is the size (diameter) of the tubing that Brinsea uses. Does anyone know what it is? I looked in the owner's manuals and on their web site but the size of the tubing isn't listed any where.

 

[vpeterson]

Do you find that you need to add sponges during lock down if you don't have a humidity pump with either the Econ or the Advance?

 

[enggass]

Quote:
Good question... I live in the Northeast where right now it is pretty dry - and COLD...

My eggs are on day 8 right now so lockdown is 10 days away.
I have both wells filled currently and am averaging around 34% humidity.
Can anyone with experience in low humidity environments give me some advice as to how much 'wicking' I will need to do to get my humidity up to around 57% on day 18?
Sponges? Paper Towels? any ideas appreciated.
This is my first hatch. I am using the Eco 20.
Thanks.