That Quail Place Forum
Raising Gamebirds => Incubation => Topic started by: NH/Pete on July 19, 2008, 12:54:37 PM
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Has anyone used the R-COM 20 incubator from Brinsea?
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I've been using the 2007 R-Com20 since last April as my main incubator and love it :grin:
'07 model has a few little niggley thing that let it down, such as the humidity waffles only last 2 incubation's and expensive to replace, sometimes the float gets stuck or the little brass sensors gets covered in limescale resulting in the digital display reading lower than it actual is (all easly fixed by taking machine apart and a little wire wool, just fiddly to do with eggs in it) ... so I just keep a check on its calibration with a little digital hygrometer, but I found it was best to run it nearly dry until pipping anyway ... but I believe all this has been amended when they changed the humidity system in the newly released R-com's.
Even with these annoying little kinks I cant recommend the R-Com high enough ..... so far this year my hatch rates have been over 95% of fertile eggs hatching, If I had the money I'd upgrade to the '08 model in a heart beat :wink:
Suz
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Wouldn't distilled water be cheaper than new wafers? That might require a couple of modification. Can those wafers be cleaned, with white vinegar? That might cost a lot more in labor. I spend 3-4 hours per hatch cleaning my humidifiers (different brand), but I can remove one at a time, and continue incubation.
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Link to help explain what the waffle's look like lol - http://pandtpoultry.co.uk.uk2.clientproof.co.uk/product/categoryid/77/productid/1094?sessionid=1216496169201ea854d9d0e6029533fd7012b6dcee (http://pandtpoultry.co.uk.uk2.clientproof.co.uk/product/categoryid/77/productid/1094?sessionid=1216496169201ea854d9d0e6029533fd7012b6dcee) I boil it after each use, but they just disintegrate after a while, but I do cheat when incubating Jap eggs and use a thin cleaning sponge cut to fit and it works well enough
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What are the dimensions of the wafer? Does the wafer wick, or soak the water from below, or does water trickle down over it?
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The waffles are just over 8.5cm2 and 0.2cm thick but expand ever so slightly when wet. Water is drawn from the first large reservoir through a pipe attached to a float into the second reservoir, where it sits about 1.5cm deep. The waffle fits into a slot and soak up the water from the pool. There's 2 brass conductors running up the second reservoir which has contact with two tiny retractable pins/sensors that control the humidity (these sometimes get bunged up with either limescale or the pinch of salt I add to the 2nd reservoir to aid the flow of charge) ....... but like I said this has all changed in the '08 model so a doubt it'll be a problem in NH/Pete's swanky new machine :grin:
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Oh just as a PS :?: I don't know about in the States but Brinsea UK is no longer the distributor for the R-coms over here.
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Thanks for the replies.
Can I use RO water?
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Thanks for the replies.
Can I use RO water?
What is RO water?
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Its water purification using high pressure to separate the particles, improving water quality (I've got a unit for my fish tank not trying to be a smart a*** :grin:) ..... I can't see any reason not to use it in your R-Com
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Thats what I thought. Thanks Suz
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Reverse Osmosis
Wonder why I couldn't get that (even from my seat in the back of the short bus)?
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I plugged it in for the first time last night. I'm trying to calibrate it now. Temp no problem.
The humidity is giving me a tough time.
I think it's because the room humidity is so high. Need to give it some time to settle in I guess.
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I would guess that they were designed to operate at 40%-50% humidity, and 65F-75F (ambient).
Do you think the supplier will respect you in the morning? Aren't they a bit pricey, for the capacity?
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I did a bit more research. There are a couple more steps to getting the humidity calibrated.
Wildergamebirds, They are a bit pricey. The capacity will be perfect for me though. 52 quail eggs.
Quality seems great can't even compare this to my Little Giants. The LG seems like a toy. Definitely a jump up.
And it was a gift from the wife :grin:
I'll try some eggs in a couple days. See how it goes.
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Yes, everything I've heard, goes something like, if they don't hatch in a Brinsea, they wouldn't have hatched anywhere. Or maybe that's the company's ad. Either way, they certainly seem to do the job.