Egg Incubator - Setter / Hatcher - CT120 SH

CT120 vs Brinsea Ova Easy 190
I purchased the CT120 SH to replace my 11 year old Brinsea Ova Easy 190 cabinet incubator. I should mention that the Brinsea product has paid for itself many times over, and worked flawlessly for many years. Since the Cimuka is still untested for durability and reliability, I’ll restrict myself to first impressions of it.

1. Cabinet quality. This is a weak area for the Brinsea, and the most noticeable difference between the incubators. Rust began to appear on the floor of the Brinsea cabinet within a few years, and is quite advanced at this time. Cleaning this surface after hatching is difficult and unpleasant. The insulation level appears weak compared the the CT as the walls are not as thick. The cabinet seemed to grow unstable when moved, and the door seal became compromised over time as the door no longer aligned squarely with the cabinet. In contrast, the CT makes intelligent use of rust-free aluminum and plastic, and the cabinet seems vastly superior in stability and strength. The provision of a back door is ingenious and makes post hatch cleanup a snap. I’m optimistic that the CT will prove more durable.

2. Turning mechanism. This is the failure that required me to replace the Brinsea. It’s unclear whether the problem is mechanical or computer related, but after replacing the turner motor the problem grew worse, and the turner fails to work automatically. Because the design calls for a single motor to turn three trays, it is inherently subject to total failure. I believe that over time, three trays fully loaded with turkey eggs proved too much for it. In contrast, while my initial impression of the Cimuka turners was negative due to their resemblance to the turners supplied for cheap styrofoam incubators, the build quality is much higher than those. Plus, the eventual inevitable motor failure will not be catastrophic. I plan to order a replacement motor to have on hand.

3. Humidity control. The Brinsea requires an add-on humidity pump which supplies a drip to a reservoir. This was effective but slow to rebound after opening the door. It is passive humidification compared to the active humidification of the CT. Additionally the tubing had to be tensioned perfectly, and I would spend a bit of time tinkering with it every time it needed replaced. However, I do have some concerns with failure of the CT heater, and will also order a backup. However, overall I am extremely impressed with the design of the CT over the Brinsea.

4. Electronic controls. Re-calibrating the Brinsea is extremely complicated, requiring calls to their technical support. They were helpful in walking me through the lengthy process. I will hope for an easier time should the CT require recalibration.

5. Price/Value. Six years ago I paid about £750 for my Ova Easy 190. Similar to what I just gave for the Cimuka. The Brinsea is now much, much higher than that. Given the durability issues of the Brinsea I’m confident the CT is a much better value.

Summary. My initial impressions of the CT120 are very positive. Perhaps it’s unfair to compare it with an 6 year old Brinsea, but the Brinsea’s progressive failure has led to a lot of frustration. I don’t like drop hundreds of pound on a product that has inherent design and durability flaws. At the least, the integrity of the cabinet itself should never become an issue. The CT120 seems built for the long haul. Especially, the design and integrity of the cabinet itself seems very high. The controls are intelligent and accessible. The components are easily accessible for replacement. The value compared to other high quality small cabinet incubators is exceptional.

I had a very well loved and old (40+ years) cabinet incubator I was using- called My Favorite. It did a great job but it was lousy on electric usage, had no turners, hard to regulate temp and humidity and was LOUD- not to mention cleaning was not something I looked forward to. After buying other products from crescentquail and being super happy, Iread more about review stating Replacement for a 40 yr old incubator decided to upgrade to a much nicer user and energy friendly incubator: the CT120SH. It arrived well packaged and was easy to assemble, essentially just plug a few things in and your ready to go. It is so quiet compared to what I was used to. Its well insulated, easy to clean, nice doors (on both sides), the turners slide in and out easily to switch between turner and basket, and you can run multiple hatches at the same time. The controls are a breeze as well. I'm kicking myself for not buying the bigger one.

This incubator is a very good value. All of the other cabinet incubators I looked at were twice the price, and not a lot more features. Overall, this is a good buy.

Excellent incubator.
After extensive search on incubators i finally found a product that suit my needs, it was worth the wait! This incubator is extremely easy to use, and of the 4 hatches I was able to get through, I had 90-95% hatch rate on all fertile eggs. Very pleased with these results, can't wait to use it all season this spring!