jaw

i don't doubt that's possible, but have you seen this implemented before? got any pics or links to specific parts? not trying to grill you, just genuinely curious. i thought about doing that, but i couldn't find any off the shelf solution. it would have been a lot of hardware.

yes

yes, it's only on/off. you adjust the temp and flowrate from the faucet (and leave the faucet on). i had some small doubts, but after using it, i love it. by default, i leave it warm-hot (but not scalding). it almost doesn't matter which temp anyways since i don't have a hot water recirculation system (is that the next project? lol), and i'm often not using the sink long enough for it to get up to temp. when i'm doing dishes, i set it to scalding once, and when i'm done, i move it back to warm. etc. i definitely touch the faucet way less. yes, but they aren't solenoids. no electricity. they're hydraulic valves, and the working fluid is tap water that automatically works its way into the control lines when you pump the pedal. using mechanical advantage in the pedal design, it doesn't take much effort from your foot to put enough pressure in the control lines to close open the valves. things that work well ARE beautiful! but there's also the euro (lever) style one i mention in the OP:

i've wanted foot pedal actuation for the kitchen sink (and every other sink, honestly) for a long time, and now it's set up! why? it's very convenient to be able to get a quick splash of water without reaching over to the faucet valve. imagine repetitive tasks like doing dishes. also, if your hands are dirty, you don't have to touch anything to rinse them off. after researching, i found that there are products available that can be used to retrofit existing fixtures. they work by placing remotely-actuated valves in series with the fixture supply shutoffs. i think i saw a few kinds of valve actuation: hydraulic (using tap water as the working fluid), solenoid, and tension cable. of these, hydraulic seems like the industry standard. it appears to be a tested technology that's been used in dental, medical, and other commercial applications for decades. i found two promising hydraulic manufacturers: https://www.tapmaster.ca/ http://autotap.net/ even though it was more expensive, i ended up going with tapmaster. seems to be of overall higher quality, and i like the design more (both of the foot pedal and the valves). if you end up getting one of these (or another brand), be sure to get one that lets you lock it on for continuous flow. sometimes, you'll want to bypass it and use it like a normal faucet if you're filling up a big pot or whatever. i got model 1750 which is the kick plate style (with locking mechanism for continuous flow): i chose that over the euro style because i think it's probably more ergonomic to use with repetitive tasks. with the kickplate, i don't even have to move my foot. i just have my toes resting against it, and i extend them forward a bit. with the euro style, i think you probably have to move your foot side to side a bit or pivot on your ankle. update: after looking at the euro's manual, it seems that you can actually actuate it by pushing the probe in any direction, including straight forward/inward assuming you have sufficient clearance so the probe doesn't bump the cabinet toekick. i thought it had to be to the side like they show in the vid i linked. if i had known that, i might have gotten it instead of the kickplate. oh well. i like solid, industrial things anyways. aside from looking way more conspicuous, a less obvious downside to tapmaster's kickplate style is it can be fiddly to tune the lock mechanism. mine wasn't right from the factory, and i had to adjust the clearance between actuator and the kickplate. if the gap's too small (or touching), the latch doesn't disengage. if it's too big, it won't stay latched. the manual suggests 0.02" of clearance. i tried to hit that spec using a feeler gauge (commonly used for adjusting valve clearance in an engine), but it was a waste of time. what worked for me was adjusting it bit by bit until it was perfect. in my case, i increased the clearance a half turn of the actuator's rear mounting nut at a time (take off the front nut and washers to make it easier). to make it easy to keep track of orientation, mark one corner of the rear nut with a sharpie. once i was in the ballpark, i found that repositioning by a quarter turn got me where i wanted. another quarter turn from there in either direction gave bad performance. i don't think the euro style needs this kind of fiddling. i felt it was a big waste of time, but whatever. all done now! overall, i'm extremely satisfied with the product. i love using it. here's my installation (control line fished under the cabinet): i'm also proud of that garbage disposal, lol. insinkerator evolution excel. 1 HP and very quiet! i bought my tapmaster from conservastore.com ($344) because i couldn't find a better deal. their site said "in stock", but it took them about two weeks to ship it (missing a deadline they gave). however, to their credit, they did have excellent communication. i can recommend them if you don't mind waiting. anyone else have a similar setup going?

rotuts, with respect, i don't see the word "bluetooth" anywhere on the APO's spec page. afaik, that's just not going to happen for you. a suggestion... why not just plug in your "router" but not use it as a router? either disable its router (e.g. NAT) functionality or just don't plug anything into its WAN port. all you need is a wireless access point and probably a DHCP server to provide clients on your WiLAN with IPs. if you just plug it into a power supply, you get these features out of the box no instant grams, no face books. but you can get your in-home gadgets talking to each other.

going back to the topic of fissler valve pressure from years ago... despite being told that US models aren't being sold anymore (see a few posts back), i received a 10L vitavit premium directly from fissler usa's online shop with US stamped on the lid (handle is removed in this pic): i'm guessing 2919 is a date code, but i don't know how to interpret it. perhaps day 291 of 2019? the GB/EU manual says: on a european parts shop, i found a picture of the underside of the main "traffic light" control valve: if you look very carefully, you can see it's stamped 75 kPa which references "Setting 2". the printed USA manual that came with my cooker says: curiously, the underside of my control valve is stamped 60 kPa: this suggests that my valve's high setting is probably: Setting 2: 60 kPa, 113°C (8.70 psi, 236°F) which disagrees with the manual provided. maybe someone will find this interesting. ok, and now for the million dollar question: should i actually care that my shiny new pressure cooker only goes to 60 kPa / 8.7 psi (or if the manual is correct, 50 kPa / 7.25 psi)? does food really take that much longer to cook? conversely, could the lower temperature actually be a good thing (degrades delicate volatiles less)? i guess i could always order a spare 75 kPa valve from europe if i really want.

i got my fissler stuff. haven't used it yet, but it looks very nice! ^ btw, the handle swap was a success.

i see. well, i looked carefully at all the images i could find online (including in the instruction manuals) and decided to make a $75 gamble on it. i bet i can make it work. will update when i receive it. it's the metal rim that has to match as i'll be replacing the handle. but i get that yours are in two different sizes. thanks for taking a look for me anyways!

hi JoNorvelleWalker, is there any chance you could snap some pics? also, are all of your fisslers made after 2010? because i think there was a redesign in 2010, so that may add a layer of incompatibility. so for example, if you're looking at a vitaquick made before 2010 and a vitavit made after 2010, i know for sure those aren't compatible. this page shows what i mean: https://myfissler.com/manuals.php i'm still holding out hope for converting a new vitaquick bottom into a vitavit premium bottom, lol.

aside from the handle shape, does the actual bottom of the vitaquick and vitavit look identical? i'm looking to get a vitavit premium 10.6qt and also a vitaquick / vitavit comfort Pressure Skillet (only) 4.2qt which is the bottom only. i'd like to use it with the vitavit premium lid. comparing vitavit premium vs vitqauick/vitavit comfort, obviously the handles are different: https://www.fissler.com/us/products/product-detail/vitavit-premium-pressure-skillet-with-lid-1/ vs https://www.fissler.com/us/products/product-detail/vitaquick-pressure-skillet-8-7-inch-2-7-qt/ but i'm thinking maybe i can change the handle out on the pressure skillet bottom: https://www.fissler.com/us/products/product-detail/vitavit-premium-pot-handle-for-pressure-skillet-26-cm/ obviously this only works if there are no other differences except for the handle. i asked customer support, but they didn't get back to me. not yet at least.

i almost bought a famag 10 from PHG earlier this year, but they were having stock issues due to covid. phew. yes, from what i've seen, the breaker bar is pretty important. i wouldn't buy a spiral that doesn't have a breaker bar. but then again, i'm pretty handy, so maybe i would. i bet i could add a breaker bar onto most spiral mixers. also worth a read: https://wheatbeat.com/famag-spiral-mixer-update/

i actually didn't order yet, but since i've got the discount going, i was thinking of grabbing some other stuff. i'm considering getting a spare gasket and a glass lid to use it like a normal pot. i bet the spare gasket would last a long time in a cool, dark place. maybe i'll save some money in the long run by buying one now, idk. haha. hard to say. are you guys fans of other stuff by fissler? anything else i should look at?

nice, that's a good deal. i'd feel good about it. yours has the same fw version as mine: i can say that your fw is older than fall 2019, but unless you are seeing a "communication error", there's no need to update. and just fyi, you can't update without sending it in because they changed their policy and no longer provide users with fw updates. btw, i found your auction and saw the pics of your display issue. if you're handy, i bet you could take it apart and fix it pretty easily by fiddling with the data ribbon.

sup guys, admittedly, i didn't read all 21 pages of this topic yet, but i've decided to get a fissler vitavit premium 10 L (10.6 qt). however, from googling and reading their website, i didn't understand some things about their lineup, so i emailed them. here's my personal little FAQ in case it helps someone. this info was obtained from fissler usa: Q: what is the warranty on the vitavit premium? i see lifetime on your website's FAQ section, but the instruction manual PDF says 3 years. which is it? A: The warranty for our pressure cookers is lifelong for the stainless steel cooking vessels. The warranty for the handles is 3 years. All maintenance parts (valves, gaskets, membranes) are not covered by warranty. Please see the attached document that details our warranties. Q: do i need to purchase from an "authorized retailer" for the warranty to be valid? if so, where do i find a complete list of authorized sellers? A: In order to claim warranty you have to buy from an authorized seller. Please go to fissler.com for a list of those sellers. Please know that you can always contact us for questions and issues with or about your product. We are always here to help our customers. Ordering over Fissler.com is safe and easy and because we do have all the information we can directly help you. Q: what pressure does the vitavit premium reach? do the USA and EU models differ in this regard? i've heard rumors that the USA model reaches a lower pressure. if that's true, what is the reason for this? A: We have discontinued selling the US models and are only selling the European models. The difference in pressure - if there is one at all - is minimal. Q: what is the difference between vitavit premium and vitavit edition design? is it only the shape of the handle? A: The difference between vitavit premium and edition design is - as you have stated - mainly the looks of the handle. Please see the attached comparison sheet that compares the various pressure cooker models. Q: what is the difference between the vitavit comfort and the vitaquick? is vitavit comfort just a new name for the vitaquick? A: The vitavit comfort is a model that is positioned in between the vitaquick and the vitavit premium. It is a series by itself. Please refer to the comparison sheet to see the differences. btw, they gave me a coupon code when i emailed. it was good enough for me to purchase directly from them. this also conveniently assures me of a valid warranty i'd share it, but i'm basically positive it's a one-time-use code. cheers Warranty Fissler.pdf

i just got this fancy new induction range: but my stainless pressure cooker doesn't work on it. a magnet barely sticks to it, and it won't couple to the cooktop. who makes a really nice one? thanks

i thought about it, but frankly i don't think they'll listen to me. first, they don't even provide firmware upgrades to end users anymore. why? this is all pure speculation, but i would guess that they've determined that their target demographic is not technically proficient enough to carry out the procedure, and providing that as an option to people just makes more trouble on their end than it's worth. also, depending on how they designed the firmware upgrader, it could even result in bricked machines if people do it wrong. second, this product is relatively mature. it's been out for a while and works great. they have zero history of adding features to it despite the fact that there is (imo) room for improvement that could be implemented purely in software, so i don't see why they'd start just because i ask. third, i generally haven't been impressed with their customer support in the past. using their contact form on their site, i never got a response. using phone support, i got bounced around back and forth between breville and PSC and maybe some other company. the only way i received satisfactory support was by hunting around online and finding an employee's email address. to their credit (or to his credit, rather), i did at that point receive excellent support. finally, the economy is fucked. i'm sure their business is hurting, especially since it's directly coupled to an industry that's in real pain. i don't think they're going to set their engineers to work on things that aren't going to directly make them money. they're probably on maintenance / life support mode. imo, the fact that they're doing a free-trial promotion to clear out refurb machines could be seen as evidence of this. maybe. but i think the CF is a great product, so i'll send David @ PSC my suggestions just for the heck of it. maybe i was being too cynical. you've convinced me, Teo.

yes, i think you're right. i quickly paraphrased what the guy told me without thinking, so i assume he just made a mistake and meant to say "set it to ~140°F if you want 150°F". edit: to be clear, it's not just a time lag thing. of course there is one because heat takes time to transfer, but at steady state, there will always be a temperature difference. even if the pan temp is stable at 300°F or whatever for an hour, the temperature below the glass where the sensor is will always be lower than the pan temp. the temperature at the pan and below the glass will never be the same. that's why compensation is needed, either in your brain or via software.

also, here are my general thoughts on the CF.. i short, i think it's amazing, but here is my feature wishlist: first of all, it blows my mind that there isn't a "dumb mode" for classic cooking without temp feedback. sometimes, i don't necessarily want or need to think about temperatures, and i just want to cook like i'm on an old-fashioned cooktop. i want fine granularity of power output, which would be a breeze to implement given the full-color graphical LCD and physical knobs. something like 100 steps (0-100% power output) would be great. i've tried to hack around this by setting the temp to something really high and only adjusting the power output, but with only three power output choices (slow, medium, and high), this does not work well at all for me. next, i would really like both pan temp and probe temp (if inserted) to be shown at all times. there's plenty of room on the LCD for that. for some reason, if you put it into probe-control mode, the contact-sensor temperature is no longer displayed. i think this is genuinely useful info to display at all times! finally, i wish there were a 240V model available in the US for higher power output. i know i might be able to buy an international model (depending on power frequency) and just adapt the plug, but i'm guessing i'd be out of luck on the warranty and service front.

i emailed vollrath about their 4-series temp control (when not using a probe), and this is what i learned: they do sense cookware temperature and support closed-loop temp control in this manner when not using a probe. how does it work? it seems there is a contact-based temp sensor below the glass, so it relies on heat being conducted from the cookware, through the glass, and into the sensor. this is a cookware-air-glass-sensor interface, so there's some appreciable thermal resistance. this is fairly reliable but not super accurate, and i was told compensation is not attempted in software. they even told me that if you want to shoot for 140°F pan temp, you might try choosing a setpoint of 150°F or something. compared to the CF, this 4-series cookware temp sensing is inferior imo. first of all, the CF contact sensor is spring-loaded, ensuring solid contact with the cookware. also, the intermediate material in the thermal interface is metal instead of glass. these factors mean less thermal resistance, and therefore less temperature drop between the pan and the sensor. furthermore, in my testing, i've found the CF pan temp control to be pretty damn accurate, which surprised me, so i'm sure they're doing compensation in software on top of that. also, the time response will be faster -- temp change should be detected more quickly on the CF. still, i would love to try a vollrath unit. the 'expanded field' feature is interesting. supposedly the cookware continues to be heated even when it's lifted a bit above the surface, giving it a more gas-like feel. not exactly a killer feature, because on the CF, cooking is paused for a moment until you set it back down on the surface. i'm not sure pausing heating for a moment while you flip something in the pan is a problem. but still, that's pretty cool if it works as advertised. https://www.vollrathfoodservice.com/products/countertop-equipment/cooking-equipment/induction-ranges/4-series-induction-range/mpi4-1800s https://www.vollrathfoodservice.com/products/countertop-equipment/cooking-equipment/induction-ranges/4-series-induction-range/mpi4-1440s even though the MSRP on the 4-series is higher than the CF ($1650 vs $1500), it seems the 4-series can, in reality, be had for much cheaper than the CF: https://chefstoys.com/40642/vollrath-mpi4-1800s-4-series-countertop-induction-range-1800-watts-40642 https://chefstoys.com/40643/vollrath-mpi4-1440s-4-series-countertop-medium-power-induction-range-w it's about $875 on this site. so from a price perspective, the vollrath seems pretty attractive compared to the CF. also, it's interesting that the 1800W and 1440W models are the same price. i don't think i'd like that touch interface slider on the 4-series though. real knobs are much more appealing to me. so, in summary.. here's my take on the CF vs the 4-series: the CF costs almost twice as much as the 4-series they probably perform similarly in probe-control mode the CF comes with a superior probe clip (that awesome rubber ball thing) the CF's pan-control mode (contact-based cookware temp sensing) is almost certainly superior to the 4-series in both accuracy and speed the CF's UI is more capable with several soft buttons, knobs, and a graphical color LCD. this lets you display more info on the screen at once, like timers (count-up or count-down). the vollrath has only a simple numerical segment display, and i don't think it's possible to view both pan and probe temp simultaneously. the probe models have a touch-based temp slider (probably capacitive sensing), and the non-probe models have a knob instead; i wonder why? the vollrath lets you run it in "dumb mode" without temp feedback if you want. you can pick power output from 0-100% or something. unbelievably, the CF does not have such a feature! you can choose from three power output settings (slow, med, fast), but it is always bound by a temp setting. sometimes i just want to cook "classic style" and not think about temperatures, and frustratingly, the CF doesn't let you cook like that!! they both have a program mode, but it's not clear to me yet which is superior. imo, the CF's is not very useful, but you can program it without a PC, and the superior UI and display would in theory would allow for more possibilities. the 4-series has an "expanded field" which supposedly continues heating without interruption if you lift the pan a bit to sautée or flip something. on the CF, it pauses for a moment until you return the pan. unlike the CF, the 4-series is available in the US in 240V models at up to 3800W!

how? infrared pyrometry? has anyone here used one? i'm wondering how it compares to the CF's contact sensor..

https://polyscienceculinary.com/pages/control-freak-loaner here's the real link for anyone who doesn't want the tracking also, as of this writing, here's the terms/discount: so you get a refurb unit for 15% off ($1274.75 instead of $1499.95), or $225 off the price of a new unit. the way i'm interpreting this is they have accumulated a bunch of refurb units they want to get rid of and don't mind loaning them out towards that end. imo, they should have knocked off more than 15%. if they did, i'd buy one....

vollrath doesn't have a contact sensor to read cookware temp though, correct? it only has probe temp?

here's my cleaning experience so far: until i started deep frying on this thing, i never had any issues with cleaning. i just cleaned with a sponge and soap and water. no problem. but the CF is imo a very nice deep frying tool. loving the probe control. if any oil dribbles down the side of the pan, immediately stop what you're doing and wipe off the oil thoroughly from the pan side, bottom, and the CF glass surface. this will save you later on some cleanup effort. but still, any oil residue that ends up on the pan bottom or CF surface under the pan will polymerize into a difficult-to-remove substance very quickly. and so began my cleaning troubles. i haven't tried acetone, but 90%+ alcohol softens it a bit. not enough to dissolve it, but it softens up for easier mechanical removal. not very effective though. i finally broke down and used a razor blade to scrape it up. this worked fine, but i slipped up and left a couple of small scratches on the glass. i also stupidly used a green scotchbrite on part of the surface. this did a great job on the residue, but it obviously left some fine micro scratches on the surface. finally, i used baking soda paste (baking soda with a bit of water) and a paper towel. this gentle abrasive -- with some elbow grease -- will remove polymerized oil and doesn't seem to scratch the glass. or if it does scratch the glass, the scratches are too tiny to see. i wish i would've tried that first. but now that there's a few scratches on the surface, i know i won't give a shit about future scratches. so i've got that going for me. anyone have a better technique?

you can hear the fans running, and depending on the type of cookware used and its positioning, you can hear various high-frequency noises like ringing or buzzing. however, i would not say it's loud.

i'm specifically asking about their heritage hams. it's not the same as their normal stuff. just wondering if anyone here's tried it since i can't find any reviews anywhere on it. according to the description, it's more prosciutto-like.