Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment, 2012

[Joe Blowe]

I see you guys are already on it!

Engadget -- Nomiku's immersion circulator makes low temperature cooking available to the masses, we go hands-on

[Kerry Beal]

I see you guys are already on it!

Engadget -- Nomiku's immersion circulator makes low temperature cooking available to the masses, we go hands-on

Fair bit of vitriol in the comments!

[jmolinari]

I see you guys are already on it!

Engadget -- Nomiku's immersion circulator makes low temperature cooking available to the masses, we go hands-on

Fair bit of vitriol in the comments!

And a whole lot of ignorance.

[gfweb]

Lots of ignorance!

But that applies to almost everything. People think that they know way more than they actually do. The average person who has never studied a subject truly deeply has no idea of the depth of knowledge in most areas. They do not know what they don't know and are arrogant in their ignorance.

But in any event, bless their hearts.

[Charcuterer]

Isn't the internet wonderful? It gives uninformed people the forum to make that ignorance public!

The Nomiku device looks like it would be a great product if it makes production. The form factor would be useful for smaller pots than my Sous Vide Professional. I have to admit that I'm considering pledging so I can get a second IC.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Charcuterer (log)

[ScottyBoy]

Yeah I pledged since it looks perfect for taking on-site to a house instead of my SV Pro.

[gfweb]

What are you pledging?

[pep.]

I think their heater is way underpowered at 750 watts, especially compared to the 5 gallons (= 19 liters) maximum vessel size that they claim.

Edited June 21, 2012 by pep. (log)

[ScottyBoy]

I did the $59 for a ticket to a dinner here in SF. 100k already, this thing is getting funded for sure.

I'll wait until the final product gets feedback and they come out with the second gen before buying.

Edited June 21, 2012 by ScottyBoy (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I did the $59 for a ticket to a dinner here in SF. 100k already, this thing is getting funded for sure.

I'll wait until the final product get's feedback and they come out with the second gen before buying.

Perhaps you could volunteer to help with the cooking - so get a chance to try one out before the crowd.

[ScottyBoy]

Oh this is a good idea, maybe I could get in touch. Try to trick them into thinking that I know what I'm doing!

[Chris Hennes]

I think their heater is way underpowered at 750 watts, especially compared to the 5 gallons (= 19 liters) maximum vessel size that they claim.

I disagree: while you won't get great response time with it, 750 watts is capable of heating and maintaining temp in a 19L bath. Start with hot water if you don't want to wait.

[philadining]

How much was the SideKIC Chris?

$170 USD.

So much more reasonable - wonder why they are unavailable - perhaps too popular?

I noticed that the SideKic indeed seemed to be chronically unavailable, with no indications of it coming back in stock, so I emailed the company. They replied that they just can't keep them in stock, and that they should be available again soon. And sure enough, after checking a few more times with no change, suddenly they were back in stock, I ordered one, it showed up today, so they do exist in the real world.

So it's not as dire as the Amazon language makes it seem, they do appear, then sell out, so just stay vigilant, if you want a SideKic...

I do like the shape of the Nomiku though, it looks like its deeper reach would avoid some of the water-level/evaporation problems that the SideKic can have.

[Chris Hennes]

I mentioned my solution to the SideKIC depth sensitivity in our discussion here, but here's a photo of tonight's dinner-in-process:

[rotuts]

is this the type of heating element in the SideKic?

http://www.amazon.com/NORPRO-559-Immersion-Warming-Liquids/dp/B000I8VE68/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1340309608&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=immersion+heater

thanks

[pep.]

I think their heater is way underpowered at 750 watts, especially compared to the 5 gallons (= 19 liters) maximum vessel size that they claim.

I disagree: while you won't get great response time with it, 750 watts is capable of heating and maintaining temp in a 19L bath. Start with hot water if you don't want to wait.

Of course its doable, but a hassle. Personally, I think my Polyscience circulator is a bit underpowered at 1100 watts. I need a second circulator to do two different temperatures at the same time (especially for vegetables). At the moment, the SWID seems like the best value for money (in Europe). The new version has a 2000 watts heater, so getting to the necessary 85 °C should be easier.

[Chris Hennes]

is this the type of heating element in the SideKic?

http://www.amazon.co...mmersion heater

thanks

Yes.

[Chris Hennes]

Of course its doable, but a hassle.

Sure: to a point more power is always going to be better. But at $300, I think 750 Watts is very respectable, and will be completely adequate for nearly all residential sous vide uses. You can buy a lot of Nomikus for the price of a PolyScience unit.

[rotuts]

I use the immersion heater(s) all the time now in my 'smaller' set-ups: 9 qt and 16 qt. insulated 'beer' coolers I use a stiff piece of styrofoam insulation that fits on the ridge along the inner top that has 2 - 3 holes drilled in them to accept 2 - 3 of these which i then connect up to my SVM PID. they cost 8 $ at Bed and bath and i get two with their ubiquitous 20 % coupons.

what ive found is that if I lift the holder out of the water and do not turn off the power first, the heaters heat up quite quickly. I sometimes do this to move the bags around. On replacing the heaters in the water they easily short out and then become useless. I asked an engineering friend about this and he though as these heaters are so cheap and used for cups of water, the short-out is meant to protect the user from improper use. Ive replaced 3 over a years various use. No big deal at that cost point.

I only mention this to avoid unnecessary failure with the SideKic unit if this is the case with the wiring on the heating element in this unit. I have no way of knowing of course. It may have been rewired. But for me $5 is no big deal for a new heating unit.

Edited June 21, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[paulpegg]

I think their heater is way underpowered at 750 watts, especially compared to the 5 gallons (= 19 liters) maximum vessel size that they claim.

I think 750 Watts is respectable at this price point and capacity. I use a 1000 Watt bucket heater in my DIY system that I set up in 2010 and it keeps a large beer cooler at temperatures up to 95C for days with no problem.

[rotuts]

thanks for the DIY .pdf. i thought about the bucket heater should my current system fail for my large beer cooler: How do you keep the heater away from the plastic of the cooler? I noted the wooden block. does the circular metal sleeve on the heater get warm? would plastic bags be damaged if against it? how far from the bottom of the heater does the actual heating element extend that needs to be submerged?

thanks for sharing a fine set up!

[Chris Hennes]

Since I posted the in-process shot above, here's a completely gratuitous plated dinner shot:

0.75% salt, 0.25% black pepper, sealed up rested in the fridge for five days, then SV@133°F, seared for a few seconds per side, served with Maître d'Hôtel Butter. It was a stunning piece of meat to begin with, just trying not to screw it up here: it worked.

[paulpegg]

The metal sleeve does not get hot so it can come in contact with the cooler and the bags. The wooden block is just to keep the heater from sliding down into the cooler. The coil is centered inside the metal shield and is 5 inches long, the shield is 7 inches long.

I have changed the pump since I wrote that article. I now use an external centrifugal pump that pumps 110 gallons per hour and is rated up to 95C. The aquarium pumps all fail above 65 or 70C. I bought two in case one failed but the first one has been going strong for over a year.

Thanks,

[rotuts]

thanks so much. can you give a ref. to the pumps you now use?

how might a 'bubbler' external for the pump with a few 'lava' bubblers in the water work?

appreciate it!

Edited June 21, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[paulpegg]

You can buy the pump here. I also had to buy a 120 vac to 12v dc transformer. These are readily available for less than $10. I am using some high temperature silicon tubing and metal tubing to keep everything in order. It looks like this now.

The tubing is attached to two pieces of metal tubing and clamped to the side of the cooler so it stays in place and cannot fall out. i had the return side fall out once and the pump emptied the cooler to the floor in a few minutes. That was not a good scene.

Some people have used bubblers to good effect but I like the circulation that the pump provides. The water really moves and the temperature is the same throughout the cooler.

Hope this helps.

Edited June 22, 2012 by paulpegg (log)