Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment, 2012


rotuts

Recommended Posts

So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Charcuterer (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by ScottyBoy (log)

Sleep, bike, cook, feed, repeat...

Chef Facebook HQ Menlo Park, CA

My eGullet Foodblog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by rotuts (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Paul Eggermann

Vice President, Secretary and webmaster

Les Marmitons of New Jersey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

DSC_1969.jpg

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.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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,

Paul Eggermann

Vice President, Secretary and webmaster

Les Marmitons of New Jersey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by rotuts (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

pump.jpg

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.

tubing.jpg

Edited by paulpegg (log)

Paul Eggermann

Vice President, Secretary and webmaster

Les Marmitons of New Jersey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...