4 replies to this topic

[DougOLis]

I'm looking to buy my first Immersion Circulator and I'm leaning towards the Julabo brand right now over Polyscience but I'm having a hard time deciding if I should go with one of the newer consumer oriented models or one of the more lab/professional models. Here's sort of how I see them broken down:

Julabo Consumer:
fusionchef Pearl - $1,189/$1,444 for Pearl Z - 68F to 203F; .05F accuracy; up to 15.32 gallons; 3.7 gal/min; 1.2kW heating capacity
fusionchef Diamond - $2,500 - 68F to 203F; .01F accuracy; up to 15.32 gallons; 3.7 gal/min; 1.2kW heating capacity; programmable memory

Julabo Professional:
EH - $1,246 - 150F to 302F; .05F accuracy; up to 13.2 gallons; 4.0 gal/min; 1kW heating capacity

Polyscience Consumer:
Sous Vide Professional Chef - $800 - 59f to 212F; .07C accuracy; 8 gal capacity; 3.2 gal/min; 1.1kW heating
Sous Vide Professional Consumer - $500 - 59f to 210f; .1C accuracy; 5.3 gal capacity; 1.6 gal/min; 1.1kW heating capacity

Polyscience Professional:
Model 7306/Classic - $1,022 - ambient to 302F; .05C accuracy; 8 gal capacity; 1.3 gal/min; 1.1kW heating capacity

Nomiko:
$369 - up to 212F; 0.2C accuracy; 5 gal capacity; 2.6 gal/min; 750W heater

So right now I've more or less narrowed it to the fusionchef Pearl, Julabo EH, and Polyscience 7306 with leaning towards the 2 Julabo models. How often do you use it for heating anything beyond 203F? I was thinking about using it for homebrewing in the future which would require at least boiling of water, but I'm not entirely set on that.

[Charcuterer]

I have the Polyscience Professional and use it between 3 and 5 times a week. It is really well made and efficient. I have a couple cambro containers in different sizes with the lids cut to accommodate the circulator and they work great. I can't imagine that .02 degrees of accuracy would be a problem. I have never had my circulator set above 180*.

[Dexter]

I've got the Polyscience Sous Vide Pro Chef, and use it about 4 times a week, on average. At work, we've got the Julabo Pro's, and honestly I can't tell a difference at all in their efficiencies. Both of them are great machines, and I think you'd be equally happy with either.

These machines really don't boil water efficiently though. Over about 90C, they just stay cranked up, and you end up with fairly close to, but not quite boiling.

[GlowingGhoul]

The Julabo Pearl and Diamond aren't really "consumer" level devices like the plastic Polyscience SVP's. They are designed for commercial kitchens, very heavy duty, all steel construction. If you get one, I recommend springing for the integrated insulated water bath, which saves a tremendous amount of energy and eliminates evaporation during long cooks. Get the retention grids which hold floating bags under water very nicely. The EH doesn't go low enough in temperature for Sous Vide.

I've had Polyscience SVP Chef and now the Julabo Diamond, and there is no comparison in terms of build quality. The Julabo's feel like they'd literally last a lifetime.The Julabo pumps also seem to move much more water than the Polyscience, despite only about a 20% difference in the specifications.

The extra $389 for the Pearl vs the SVP Chef is well worth it, IMO, since it's construcuted just like the Diamond. The Diamond is nice if you want to develop new recipes since it supports an external food temperature probe, as well as software monitoring and control.

[DougOLis]

Thanks for the tips. Do the insulated baths actually make that much of a difference? Is it really worth paying $1,000 more? Would wrapping it in a blanket and using ping pong balls be sufficient?