FAQs at The Incubator Shop

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Service & Repair

How do I service my own incubator?

 Please follow this general guide on how to service your incubator:

  1. Locate and read your incubator instructions. If they are missing, then download them from the product feature tab on our website.
  2. Clean around heaters and fans with a soft brush or damp cloth using incubation disinfectant. Allow the incubator to dry fully before switching on.
  3. Replace tubing, humidity pads and other consumables.
  4. Visually inspect any parts that may be showing wear and replace if necessary.
  5. Switch on your incubator and run for a few days to check that all is working well before setting your eggs. If you suspect that your machine is out of calibration then only purchase reliable calibrated thermometers/hygrometers and re-calibrate or compensate your incubator settings to match your calibrated instrument.
Do you repair incubators?

We only repair incubators purchased from ourselves. To proceed with a repair, we'll ask you to provide proof of purchase, as well as the incubator's unique serial number. This will allow us to check if the repair can be undertaken by ourselves.

Note: Any product to be returned for repair or servicing MUST be returned clean and disinfected. This is particularly important to help combat the spread of diseases such as bird flu and is a requirement under DEFRA regulations. Unclean products will not be accepted and will be returned at the customer’s expense.

Do you repair incubators out of warranty?

We only repair incubators that customers have purchased from the Incubator Shop. We'll ask you to provide proof of purchase and the incubator's unique serial number.

We'll always provide you with an estimate of cost before undertaking any work.

NOTE: Any product to be returned for repair or servicing MUST be returned clean and disinfected. This is particularly important to help combat the spread of diseases such as bird flu and is a requirement under DEFRA regulations. Unclean machines will not be accepted and will be returned at the customer’s expense.

Do you offer guidance on how to repair an incubator myself?

Yes - if you bought the product from us, we'll always aim to offer you the best advice and guidance on how to repair it.

Most parts on high-quality incubators, such as Rcom, Brinsea, and River Systems ET incubators are easy-to-fit and instructions can be supplied to assist you.

Note: Unfortunately we're unable to offer advice and support on products not purchased from ourselves. We will, however, try and point you in the right direction to another company who may be able to help you with your specific repair.

If you need help you can contact us here. 

Do you service incubators?

We actively encourage our customers to clean and service their own incubators. It's a very simple process and instructions on how to do so are generally in the product instructions.

There are many benefits in cleaning and servicing your own incubator. These include: cost savings, reduced downtime, increased reliability and improved hatches.

 

Note: We can provide servicing quotes on a 'case by case' basis if your machine has been purchased from ourselves. In order to proceed with a service quotation, we'll ask you to provide proof of purchase and the machines unique serial number.

If you need any help servicing your machine you can contact us here. 

I need a replacement part for my incubator. Do you stock it?

We try to stock as many spare parts for all the incubators we stock, as possible .

All the spares we stock for each brand can be found on our spares section below.

We do not stock spares for incubators that we do not stock, so if you can't see the brand name you require listed in our spares section; the chances are that we won't stock it. That said,  you are always welcome to contact us to doublecheck. 

We do stock a large amount of Brinsea spare parts. If, however, you would like to have a Brinsea incubator repaired or serviced, we advise that you contact Brinsea direct. We would also advise contacting Brinsea if you are looking for parts such as heating elements, printed circuit boards and fans for some incubators. We don’t stock these parts and always advise buying parts like these direct from Brinsea. 

If you are unsure about the part you need or can't find the part you need, you can contact us here and include as much information about the incubator as you can, including make, model, age of machine and, if possible, it's serial number. 

What water should I use in my incubator? The instructions advise against using tap water...

Where possible do not use tap water in your incubator. Tap water - even if you are in a soft water area - will cause limescale to build up inside your incubator, especially in incubators like the Rcom 20 MAX, which have automatic pumps or heated humidity units. 

What we - and the manufacturers - advise is to use distilled or deionised water. Distilled and deionised water has had all the minerals in the water removed. This prevents that scale build up from occurring in your incubator. 

Even purified water or boiled water which has been cooled will still contain a trace amount of minerals which will cause a scale build up. Over time, if it is left to build up on sensors and humidity units, lime scale can cause the incubator to fail. Additionally, the presence of lime scale will also mean that you'll have to replace the tubing on your pumps more often as it will build up in the tubing and cause a blockage.

Some manufacturers will not cover the repair of the incubator if it fails and you have not been using distilled or deionised water.

Ensuring you are using the correct water in your incubator is especially important.

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