We sell a variety of different incubator thermostats, all of which will ultimately get the job done. Two of our most popular thermostats are the IncuStat Basic and the IncuStat Advanced. They come as an individual units or part of the IncuKit XL for 
cabinet incubators. A common question we receive is “Well which one should I get?” They both automatically regulate the temperature; they are both accurate, both digital… So what’s the difference? The main difference is in the way they regulate the temperature.
The Basic thermostat is considered an on/off thermostat. It will simply give full power to the heater when it is under the set temperature and then cuts the power to the heater when it reaches the set temp. Because of this there are generally some temperature swings. BUT the thermostat will generally keep the average temperature at your set temp.
The advanced thermostat regulates differently. It is a “proportional thermostat.” What this does is instead of just switching the heater on and off it will actually give partial power to the heater as it needs it. For example: let’s say you turn on your 
incubator using the advanced thermostat. The thermostat will give 100% power to the heater until it gets within a few degrees of the set temp at which time it will start tapering the heater percentage. Once the set temp is reached the thermostat will only give a portion of power to the heater. Well what’s the benefit of this? The benefit is that it prevents large temperature swings. The thermostat is designed to keep the temperature hovering right around the set temperature without any significant up or down swings. Because the advanced thermostat, comes with optional fan and egg turner controls and is overall more…well… advanced it does come with a larger price tag.
So the short answer to the question of which one you should use: …*drumroll*… it really comes down to your hatching needs. If you have some expensive eggs or eggs that are more sensitive to temperature swings it would make sense to invest more in a thermostat that will perform to those needs. In this case the Advanced would probably be the one for you. If you are a casual hatcher that would like to save money and are not so concerned about temperature swings but are ok with a solid average temperature then the Basic would be for you. Click Here to see our full line up of incubator thermostats.