alanz

Agreed, here is a chart that shows all the NEMA plug and receptacle configurations http://0.tqn.com/w/experts/Electrical-Wiring-Home-1734/2008/06/NEMA-Plug-Chart.gif

As for Christmas, my immediate family gave up on Chinese food... too many restaurant are closed on Christmas. So, on Dec 15 it's Thai food for us! However, for the last 40 years or so, my entire extended family gets together (usually around 2pm) to celebrate Thanksgiving at Chinese seafood restaurants. Snails, clams, crabs, salt-pepper shrimp, whole fish, peking pork chops, lots of dim-sum dishes, is on the menu, depending on the restaurant selected for the 14 to 20 people attending. We give thanks that no one has to cook for a crowd that day. Lauren and I cook a turkey (this year, the first time sous vide) for our immediate family, later in the week.

Rotuts, I forgot to mention that I had my second Anova unit in a 30 quart cooler in the kitchen, reheating all the items (to 130 degrees) that were previously cooked and sealed in vacuum bags, before bringing them to the steam table. Having the two units worked out perfectly for the party. The only items that did not come out of vacuum bags were the MC@H crispy chicken wings and creamed asparagus (made that morning), and the waffles, made to order by our guests. Oh, and of course, the eggs.

Yes, we all enjoyed it. I had an instruction sheet above the egg station. Putting down the two tiles worked out great, one protected the table from the hot pot, the other gave the guests (or me) a place to easily crack the egg. The complete assembly was a small bowl of toast, a ladle of creamed asparagus, topped with an egg. The guests were very impressed with the perfect egg to complete the dish. I was kidding with Lauren by saying next year we should just order in a couple of trays of ziti, chicken parm, etc. because that's what so many people are used to at parties. Of course, then they would ask "who are you, and what have you done with Alan and Lauren?"

Here's the buffet table we presented at our open house. Not shown is the Bo Ssam (it came out later), and the waffle maker (just to the right of the sous vide eggs, you can see the whipping siphon, but not the maker)

Go ahead and do as she asks... It does nice things for a roast. Be sure to eat the garlic!

None of our guests ate the chicken and waffles together (some did, last year) The only thing I had to keep a close eye on, was that no one knew how to use the ISI whipping siphon unless I showed them. Some folks inadvertently let the gas out of it, as they stared at it puzzled. It's likely residual experience from years of using Redi Whip cans. They did enjoy the whipped cream (just heavy cream, some sugar and vanilla) on the waffles... or fingers.

It was a busy day, and we are pooped. Total of 43 people came through here over an 8 hour period. They loved the food. I had great fun explaining sous vide to some guests. The SV eggs were a hit. Lauren decided to do the crispy chicken recipe from MC@H... Folks snarfed that up quickly. Oxtails were another favorite. Now we get to look forward to next year's party, an think about a new menu.

Hmmm, now I am considering adding black eyed peas to the menu. I have never cooked them before, but it looks like a fine candidate for the pressure cooker. We are using butter beans (Lima) in the oxtail dish, so legumes are already represented, but I like the peas-New Years tie in.

For a few years, we hosted an intimate New Years Eve party for a few friends. It usually centered around a large paella. However, it became apparent that over time, everyone wound up having conflicting plans for the Eve, so we changed course. For the last dozen or so years, we have had an open house on New Years Day. So people can sleep in after their late night, we tell folks to arrive after 2 p.m. We never quite know how many people will visit, because we never actually invite anyone (that way no one can be insulted that they weren't invited). We generally wind up with between 50 and 75 people wandering in and out. That's quite a stretch for our little home in NJ... fortunately everyone is very friendly. My bride and I cook, and every year we add new things to the menu... mostly to keep ourselves amused. This year the menu includes Bo Ssam (two 9 lb pork shoulders)Kalbi (8 lbs of prime sliced beef rib.. this is a recurring item, we have some people who threaten revolt if I don't make this)Sausages and potatoesOxtail (15 lbs)Chicken and waffles (we will fry the chicken, haven't decided how yet, might be MC@H recipe. Guests make their own waffles)Sous vide soft boiled eggs, served over rye toast and creamed asparagusSpaghetti carbonara (3 lbs pasta, lots of pancetta... NO CREAM... do it right with egg and Parmesan)Lots of riceVarious dishes brought by our guestsTo spend time with our guests, we're pre cooking as much as possible, and will reheat via sous vide, and serve in steam trays. We will have lots of fun showing the new toys to our guests. (Anova immersion circulator, Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker, ISI whipper, etc.) So, what's on your menu for New Years Eve or New Years Day?

I own two Gast 4.5 cfm rotary vane vacuum pumps. I use one for a vacuum chuck on my wood lathe, and the other for wood stabilization. I put a VP112 in my kitchen last summer, nice unit, reasonably priced. I am a tinkerer, so I look forward to whatever you come up with.

Right you are. Likely the most common use of this type of device is in the lab with an Erlenmeyer flask. Replicating the volume of a typical chamber vacuum might be a challenge. A closed system would be interesting because you would have to bring the waste water back up to pressure for it to be effective during recirculating. If a pump is involved to bring it back to pressure, it might not be any better a solution than a conventional vacuum pump. I look forward to hearing/seeing the results of your exploration.

One important question with a faucet vacuum aspirator is how much water and how much time would it take to evacuate a chamber and bring it to (and hold) an acceptable vacuum for sealing. I have tried faucet based fluid pumps (in lieu of an electric sump pump) and the results were pretty dismal. Perhaps not having to actual move fluid might render these devices more viable, perhaps not.

Leslie, the way you described is the way I made mine. That was before I got a look at the inside, and saw how easy it would be to fill with foam before cutting. Then it's a simple cut without having the wrangle the foam, so I am changing the approach for the next one. I will mention both approaches when I make the video.

The Kill-a-watt is likely the best solution. I bought two of them from HomeDepot... I got them when I was determining appliance power draw when hooking up to small generators.

Greenmonk,I might get to do it this weekend. I need to get another cooler for the video, and there is an additional feature I want to add to the polycarbonate lid. My process for the cooler lid will be this: Mark the area that you want to cut outDrill a hole or two in the area that you will cut outInsert the nozzle of a can of expanding foam and try to fill the area around the cutout Let the foam cure overnightCut the top (this area should now have a foam core) with a coping saw, jig saw, band saw, etc.Sound reasonable?

I have used our smoking gun to add a little smoke to unsliced steaks that have been cooked sous vide and then seared with a butane torch. The results were good, but obviously the smoke affected only the outer crust. Have any of you added a light smoke to sliced steak before serving? I wonder if the increased surface area is good thing or not for the smoke flavor.. I will give this a try tomorrow night with some nice bone in rib steaks (prime), and wondered if anyone has already tried it.

Adam, I do my best to stay off camera... the shy, demure creature that I am <s> And as a reminder, the new URL for the updated video (not the one you quoted) is www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTrYNEeH03I

Thanks for the kind words about the video. When I make a video about cutting the lids, I'll have to show alternate techniques to the one I used (I have a 14" bandsaw that I suspect others do not). So I'll attempt to show using a coping saw, fret saw, or jigsaw to make the cuts.

I just updated the video... I'd forgotten include the footage that shows how to set the timer. The new link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTrYNEeH03I

Here's a video that shows a few configurations I'm using with my Anova units https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29KEuAFzAA I'm don't know how to (or if it's possible) to display the video directly in this thread

My first unit came (ordered in August) with a silver usb thumb drive. My original unit was miscalibrated, and its replacement (arrive in late October) came with an orange credit card shaped drive. I ordered a second unit that arrived this week, it had a printed manual, no thumb drive. I just completed editing a video showing how I have configured my two Anova units. I will post it here as soon as it has finished rendering and I have uploaded it to YouTube. Hopefully some folks may find it useful/entertaining.

15 amps at 120 volts should be able to handle 1800 watts.

Having multiple units in the same tank would likely allow for maintaining circulation and costant temperature in a greater amount of water. In a page about pharmaceutical applications of their immersion circulator (http://polyscience.wordpress.com/tag/immersion-circulator/) They mention in a response about the capacity of thier unit "In some situations, you may be able to use multiple MX Immersion Circulators (one on each side of the tank, for example) or your application needs may be better met with a different model."

I don't think the question is about overloading the electrical circuit (you could connect to two different circuits) but it is about how the two units would interact. If the water is below target temperature, then both heating elements would turn on until the target temperature is reached. The water should reach target temperature more quickly than with one unit. In the simplest case, the question becomes which, if either of them, is more sensitive to temperature drops... It would be the one to turn on first. Whether the second one turns on at all, and when, would be a question. This may get much more coplicated when you take into account the programming that may be present in the units that facilitate achieving (but not overshooting) temperature. I have two Anova units, and kill-a-watt meters... I may do the experiment, but don't know of the results would actually be useful.