Incubators

[Guest]

John,

I saw that you use a leahy incubator and was wondering if you knew where to find out information about it. We were just given one and would love to get it running. We were also given one alittle smaller that is made basically the same way, but the only information we can read on it is the dealer that sold it (superior incubators), any ideas?
Thanks,
Michelle

[John]

I had a Montgomery Wards #800 incubator that I sold a year ago and it still had the instruction manual.  I believe the Wards and Sears incubators were made by Leahy.  I don\'t know were you can find an instruction manual if that is what you are after.  I don\'t think you need one.  The booklet A Guide to Better Hatching may be helpful to you.  I think it has all the info you need to operate your incubator.
I\'ve made a lot of changes to the Leahy #1200 that I have.  Years ago when I first got it I replaced the trays with a fabricated automatic turning unit.  Last year I replaced the old style wafer thermostats with an electronic thermostat (use the rotary ones for old incubators).  I also added a second electronic thermostat to control a heating coil that I placed in the top-rear section of the incubator.  
If folks can justify it I always recommend getting a new GQF.  They don\'t look much different than the old GQF models at a glance, but many changes have been made over the years.    

[John]

Here it is.

[Guest]

Thanks, that is probably what we will end up doing, just upgrading it. We already have 2 GQF incubators, 1 GQF hatcher and a home made hatcher with the GQF parts. We just thought it would be cool to have the old ones running.
Michelle

[John]

I used to use the Wards #800 as a hatcher.  My big Leahy is great now because of the upgrades, but the GQFs are great as they come from the factory.
If you don\'t need to use the Leahy you could just keep it as an antique.  

[John]

Kelli said:

I\'m also excited about the addition of a sportsman at some point this spring. I\'ve been saving my pennies (literally and figuratively) for over a year now...

I was fortunate to find a used GQF 1505 a couple months ago for $350.  The seller had it for less than a year and had about $600 into it along with the plastic egg trays that he also bought.  
The prices go up each year and sometimes during the year.  There have been many small changes to the GQF Sportsman incubators over the 20 or so years that I\'ve used them.  The newest ones have:

...an accurate digital thermostat with LCD display of Temperature and Humidity. An on-board computer monitors systems and the environment every second to keep itself updated and to share this data with you.

Some dealers will still have the ones for sale that don\'t have the most up-to-date improvements, so be sure you know what you are getting.  Those units without the LCD display should be cheaper.

[Guest]

I didn\'t know about the LCD display.  I don\'t think I\'ve seen any advertised with that, so I will have to look.  

[John]

They have even changed the front door design to include a \"window\" in it, so you can see inside without opening it or buying the optional expensive acrylic door.  From what I  understand the doors now look like the doors on mine that I\'ve customized myself (see photo).

and a standard easy view door

https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=68