exo-terra incubator issue...

[sdheli420]

So i bought an exo-terra digital incubator a few months back (4 months ago to be exact) and i had it fail..it was working great for those few months..(i had it empty just because i was afraid of this happening) well it was on for three months working fine, keeping superhatch moist and at 73 degrees (give or take a few degrees, back and fourth...witch in it self is a lil weird)..but otherwise was doing great..well i came home to an incubator at 86 dgrees..tried turning it down, nothing..turned it up..it heats, just wont cool down.....so as i thought about how im expecting to put a batch of panther eggs in it, i got pissed.that would have cooked my eggs, and lost me potentially ALOT of money..so i called..they where really nice, and sent out a return request immediatley..fed ex picked it up two days ago..they said it wont take long, and i will have a brand new unit..however..im freaked about it..i want to buy insurance on my eggs damnit!! lol

anyone have good news for me??please tell me you have one and its rad, works perfect, produced the biggest most awesome chameleons, ect ect...cause im worried and need good news..

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

From what I've heard alot of people have issues with the cooling part breaking. Someone told me about a better one. Let me go find it in my PMs.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

repti-pro 5000.

 

[sdheli420]

repti-pro 5000.

its actually the same unit...just repackaged and renamed..

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Someone told me it was different, that they've never had a problem with it, and I looked it up, it costs a bit more.

 

[sdheli420]

Someone told me it was different, that they've never had a problem with it, and I looked it up, it costs a bit more.

haha thats funny..well yeah they are in fact the same unit..even both have the good and bad reveiws...went for the exo-terra since the 5000 is based in china and have really bad customer service..

 

[jessica]

I had the same exact thing happen except the first time it cooked my Nosy Be eggs. They replaced it and well the replacement did the same thing . Difference was I noticed the temp rising and got my eggs the hell out of there!
No more incubator for me I just use my closet in the coolest room of the house.

 

[millerman6401]

I had the same exact thing happen except the first time it cooked my Nosy Be eggs. They replaced it and well the replacement did the same thing . Difference was I noticed the temp rising and got my eggs the hell out of there!
No more incubator for me I just use my closet in the coolest room of the house.

What a save!!! hope they turn out okay!

 

[sdheli420]

I had the same exact thing happen except the first time it cooked my Nosy Be eggs. They replaced it and well the replacement did the same thing . Difference was I noticed the temp rising and got my eggs the hell out of there!
No more incubator for me I just use my closet in the coolest room of the house.

i was hoping that wouldnt happen to me..i figure i will prepare the old sterilite containers again for the closet..just thought it would be neat, functional, and completing to my freerange system with everything..sucks..i wanted everything all clean and organized in one small corner...well if this new one goes bad im just gunna get another replacement till i find one that works..

 

[Seeco]

Jeez I had the same problem with the original MR 148 fridge. If the fan in the back dies the conductor can not shed heat fast enough and starts cooking itself creating a disastrous feedback loop as it fails to cool the inside.

I have the exo-terra one now just because of the 3 year warranty. But it has only been in use for a few months. I can not see any other way to incubate K. multituberculata. I have luckily managed to sneak many successful clutches in between incubator failures

Somebody smart please suggest a way that a rheostat or 2 could be used to safeguard against both over heating and over cooling please.

 

[kongchi]

They are awesome, but ours broke the same way, just a week ago too. Which number did you call? Because they didn't send a return request for me, but rather, insisted that I send it back, and sending it back cost me $60.

 

[sdheli420]

Jeez I had the same problem with the original MR 148 fridge. If the fan in the back dies the conductor can not shed heat fast enough and starts cooking itself creating a disastrous feedback loop as it fails to cool the inside.

I have the exo-terra one now just because of the 3 year warranty. But it has only been in use for a few months. I can not see any other way to incubate K. multituberculata. I have luckily managed to sneak many successful clutches in between incubator failures

Somebody smart please suggest a way that a rheostat or 2 could be used to safeguard against both over heating and over cooling please.

ya i dont mind disassembling mine to make modifications, im excellent at soldering(and basic electronic set up)..as long as there is some kind of fix, like maby parallel a second fan or somthing??!!

 

[Seeco]

ya i dont mind disassembling mine to make modifications, im excellent at soldering(and basic electronic set up)..as long as there is some kind of fix, like maby parallel a second fan or somthing??!!

Cool -- hey PM me if you want to experiment on my old one with the busted fan. How does $40 sound?

 

[xxflowersxx]

dont throw those eggs away!!!!!!!!!!!!my mom just hatched 16 babys and her incubator stopped working and was all over the place.just leave it plugged in around 78 degrees(even if the temps are unstable they could still make it)...it takes a long time for them to hatch

 

[sdheli420]

dont throw those eggs away!!!!!!!!!!!!my mom just hatched 16 babys and her incubator stopped working and was all over the place.just leave it plugged in around 78 degrees(even if the temps are unstable they could still make it)...it takes a long time for them to hatch

mine, when it went out..was stuck at 84-87 degrees..waaaay too high..my closet incubates better than a broken digital incubator..

 

[JTAYLOR]

The Exo-Terra incubators are NOT reliable. Same thing happened to me, only the cooling mechanism didn't shut off and I was away for two days. In the meantime, temp went down to 43 degrees. Not sure how this will affect the clutch, but this was actually a replacement of a prior incubator that had also failed. I called Hagen and they are refunding my money because I told them I didn't want another one of their incubators. DO NOT trust your eggs to this piece of crap!

 

[chameleonneeds]

Hey I don't know if this is a great help but I have the same incubator that has been working for about 5 months. Though it isn't the exo terra, its the same model just repackaged as a coca cola mini fridge with a cooling and heating element. What is says on the box is that it must be switched off for about 5 minutes before switching it from a moderately cool temp to a much warmer temp or vice versa. And then it also says something like it must be turned off for a bit after 48 hours of it being operating then it can be turned on again...I tried doing that in the beginning but I keep it on all the time now. I keep the eggs at 23 degrees but on the incubator it will say its at 26 to 27. But yeah its working for me just trying to keep the humidity up...

 

[Seeco]

Hey I don't know if this is a great help but I have the same incubator that has been working for about 5 months. Though it isn't the exo terra, its the same model just repackaged as a coca cola mini fridge with a cooling and heating element. What is says on the box is that it must be switched off for about 5 minutes before switching it from a moderately cool temp to a much warmer temp or vice versa. And then it also says something like it must be turned off for a bit after 48 hours of it being operating then it can be turned on again...I tried doing that in the beginning but I keep it on all the time now. I keep the eggs at 23 degrees but on the incubator it will say its at 26 to 27. But yeah its working for me just trying to keep the humidity up...

interesting