Customer Reviews

Brinsea Poly Hatch 42 egg incubator 240V Review by Sharon

Quality
Price
Value

I have used these for 7 years, at present I run two of them, one is two years old and the other is at least 8, I purchased it used so age is unknown.

The Polyhatch is a fairly large item, it takes about 42 large fowl eggs, I have just loaded one with 43 good sized duck eggs from Runners and Khaki Campbells, so it has an excellent capacity. I find this incubator very good with waterfowl eggs, chicken and bantam eggs, not so good with quail as you really need to use the quail troughs, I ended up with a lot of broken eggs as they got jumbled up.

The incubator lid is made of a thick fibre glass type material, which has excellent insulating qualities. Heat is provided by a thick,plastic covered wire in the lid, looks very old fashioned but lasts well, if it does fail then replacements can be purchased from Brinsea or distributors.

The base is made of black plastic material, and is very tough. The turner is fitted into the base plate, and has a seperate electric supply to the lid. It is a large base, and must be cleaned with care, to avoid water getting into the electrics. The turner motor moves a small plastic arm, which in turn moves the metal floor which the eggs rest on, this floor is suitable for large or small eggs. Depending on size of eggs, the floor has grooves cut in part of it, so regulating the amount of movement, very simple but it works. Egg spacing is by inserting rods into the grooves in the base, the floor moves and the eggs rotate gently against the rods. Eggs can jump up, so the incubator should be checked each day and some respacing may be required.

Temperature regulation is thermostatically controlled, temperature is recorded by a spirit thermometer and then you can tweak the temperaure externally to required level. It can be difficult to view the thermometer through the window in the lid, as you need to be at the right angle, personally I use a Brinsea Spot Check digital thermometer dangled through one of the ventilation holes as unless my varifocals are at the right angle I struggle to see the spirit thermometer reading, but anyone under 40 should be OK!

Humidity is provided by adding water to the troughs in the base. Clean water an be added by removing the end aluminium strips and pouring it in. It is not very exact, as you cannot see what water is already in there. I tend to place damp kitchen roll on top of the eggs as I can see if it is damp or dry, and it does not seem to affect turning, not scientific but works for me. My eggs are always very fresh so have good humidity levels to start, I add very little water to my incubators as in my opinion high humidity causes more problems than dry conditions. Most small humidistats sold are useless, and cause more problems than they solve. I recommend keeping a hatching diary, record how much water you are adding, room temperature and weather conditions. The incubator should ideally be sited in a room with fairly constant temperature, no draughts and without air changes, and out of direct sunlight.

I like the Polyhatch, it is a tried and tested bit of kit, has very little to go wrong and just goes on doing the job. The drawbacks are its size, the shape of the lid makes removing it tricky and you need space to put it down beside the base. Humidity can be tricky to measure, but I have never had a problem with it. I hatch in mine, and it is a safe environment for small hatchlings, the lid is easily wiped over and the base washed off in large sink, taking care not to get water in the electrics. We briefly had a problem with the turner motor jamming on the older one, but it was soon fixed by husband and did not need replacing. The lid seems to hold in the heat very well, and in power cuts covering it with blankets saved a hatch, it is also very tough and withstands knocks.

In summary, if you like Land Rovers and Morris Minors you will like this incubator, it is simple, reliable and if it does go wrong can be repaired. It requires very little maintenance, and even if stored for a while will still work, a bit like a trusty old car. (Posted on 11/24/11)