Hovabators? Trash or Treasure?

So I've heard about even for both sides of the story.
I've heard people say they are a waste of money and unreliable and you will regret having one.
I've also heard people say with slight tweaking they are worth it and work just fine.
So lets really get down to it... Did I waste my money or what?
Should I forget the thing and go spend some $100's on a new one? Or should I just invest in a new thermostat to back it up? Or should I risk possible life and limb attempting to build one out of the many free fridges that have popped up in the area?
I'm looking for personal experience stories and advice on this one guys As far as cost effect, short term and long term, reliability, success rate and ease of use and maintenance.
Thanks in advance for your inputs!

Hatched out 250 leos last yr, other than having to play with the control a few times when first pluged in I had no trouble at all . For 40.00 bucks , if your not doing alot of bigger eggs it's a good little unit.

I used Hovabators for years and hatched out hundreds of leo eggs.

So far the hovabator has worked for me. I'm gonna go get another one soon.

Depends on what you are doing with it. LOTS of gecko keepers use them & like them.
I breed snakes, and while I'll acknowledge that some people use them for snake eggs, I think they are crap.

Yeah, plan on snakes over here. I'm probably going to end up just getting a back up thermostat and hoping luck is on my side

I would think that as long as you plug the Hovabator into a high quality thermostat, it should be ok. I probably would not use one for a very valuable clutch of snake eggs though.

Haha, yeah, just spiders and cinnamons over here right now. Maybe next year I'll be bumping up to something else. Thanks for the input everyone!

I've used one for years and then needed more room. I then made a 4' x 2' x 2' box made out of 2" foam and traced the hovabator top and cut down about an inch and over an inch to then make an "L" all the way around for the hovabator top to fit in perfectly. Believe it or not it still works and maintains the temps.

This is what I recommend. I've lost clutches in Hovabators, but none in this......

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/6ad2/



My room in subject to drastic temp. changes, so the Hovabator isnt able to cool down, which is what I need for Chameleons. It works ok for Monitors that need high temps, but I've still lost 2 clutches of Ackie eggs this season using it.
Alot of Chameleon breeders use the mini fridge since it cools.......