Anova Sous Vide Circulator (Part 1)

[Shalmanese]

- The generic 3-prong AC cord provided with mine does not fit snugly into the Anova, and is easily dislodged, cutting off power

I have the same problem.

[rotuts]

if you are careful you might be able to very very slightly bend the two non-circular electrical connectors in the device to widen them just s bit.

better yet email or PM them for a solution.

I cant wait to get mine. well Im waiting a bit as i don't really need it yet.

Edited September 10, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[OliverB]

very tempting unit! I have a Demi and it works great, but sometimes two machines would be useful. With a unit like this, storage is a much smaller problem and the price is certainly great!

it's still cook on fire time here for a couple months, but come "winter" I'll be looking at this closely :-)

[AzHP]

I just got mine and am ready to test an egg when I get home. To get a 63.3C egg, do I set the bath to 63.3C or to 64C? Also, how long should I cook it for? I will post my results and a pic of the egg once it's done.

[ojisan]

I just got mine and am ready to test an egg when I get home. To get a 63.3C egg, do I set the bath to 63.3C or to 64C? Also, how long should I cook it for? I will post my results and a pic of the egg once it's done.

Bookmark these pages:

- http://www.douglasbaldwin.com

- http://forums.egullet.org/topic/136274-sous-vide-index/

[Anova firmware 1.19 - received 9/6/13]

[PedroG]

See also "http://wiki.egullet.org/index.php?title=Sous_vide#Cooking_eggs" and "http://forums.egullet.org/topic/140320-still-looking-for-sv-eggs-with-whites-set-my-tests-with-pics/#entry1910741"

Edited September 11, 2013 by PedroG (log)

[AzHP]

Thanks guys. The egg came out almost exactly like how pictures of a 63.3C egg describe. Might have been a little cooler but I consider it an acceptable variance. After the egg I made 132F breaded pork chops with the anova along with 180F corn in my sous vide supreme demi for dinner. My only complaint is that there's no beep that I noticed when the anova is up to temperature. Other than that, it seems like a quality piece of kit. Will be making 24 hour pork spare ribs in the next few days to see how the anova holds up to long cooking times.

[Robenco15]

Thanks guys. The egg came out almost exactly like how pictures of a 63.3C egg describe. Might have been a little cooler but I consider it an acceptable variance. After the egg I made 132F breaded pork chops with the anova along with 180F corn in my sous vide supreme demi for dinner. My only complaint is that there's no beep that I noticed when the anova is up to temperature. Other than that, it seems like a quality piece of kit. Will be making 24 hour pork spare ribs in the next few days to see how the anova holds up to long cooking times.

So what did you set the bath at, 63.3C?

Keep us updated and thank you!

Edited September 11, 2013 by Robenco15 (log)

[greenmonk]

Will be making 24 hour pork spare ribs in the next few days to see how the anova holds up to long cooking times.

I'm attempting skirt steak right now. Put it in at 9pm tonight, so we'll see how it turns out tomorrow. It's a big thick piece of steak. I have it in a cooler and covered with aluminum foil, so we'll see how it does overnight. I'll check it in the morning and let you guys know. I was reading that around 20 hours should be good for it, so I'm planning to have it for dinner if it works right. The PolyScience website gives a recipe that calls for 16-24 hours, so we'll see. Crossing my fingers I don't screw this up!

Edited September 11, 2013 by greenmonk (log)

[greenmonk]

Will be making 24 hour pork spare ribs in the next few days to see how the anova holds up to long cooking times.

I'm attempting skirt steak right now. Put it in at 9pm tonight, so we'll see how it turns out tomorrow. It's a big thick piece of steak. I have it in a cooler and covered with aluminum foil, so we'll see how it does overnight. I'll check it in the morning and let you guys know. I was reading that around 20 hours should be good for it, so I'm planning to have it for dinner if it works right. The PolyScience website gives a recipe that calls for 16-24 hours, so we'll see. Crossing my fingers I don't screw this up!

Just got up and checked on it. Still running strong after 12 hours, so I'm not worried about it hitting the 20 hour mark. And my water level doesn't seem to have dropped at all while in the cooler covered in aluminum foil.

[rotuts]

most of the skirt steak ive done is actually fairly thin, unless you roll them up to make pinwheels.

Im hoping you might share a pic of your finished steak.

drool.

[AzHP]

Thanks guys. The egg came out almost exactly like how pictures of a 63.3C egg describe.

So what did you set the bath at, 63.3C?

Keep us updated and thank you!

I set it to 63.3C and put the eggs in for an hour. The yolk was just beginning to set but still runny.

Word of warning, if your bath is small and your anova touches the bottom, it will suck in the eggs and they will bump around next to the circulator. The shells did not crack, but I can see it being possible that they could.

Side note, other people have mentioned either being concerned or not concerned with the noise. I find the sound noisy but tolerable, but my kitchen and my roommate's work space are connected with no doors or walls between them, so I would worry about it being too noisy if I leave it on for a 24+ hour cook. It's no noisier than a range hood fan, so if your kitchen has a door/wall between it and a room you will be in I can't see it being a problem.

[greenmonk]

most of the skirt steak ive done is actually fairly thin, unless you roll them up to make pinwheels.

Im hoping you might share a pic of your finished steak.

drool.

I got some grass fed skirt steak at the store. They didn't have many cheap steaks to choose from, so I got this one. The steak is actually ~2 lbs of meat in not a very flat piece, so that is also why I am letting it go a long time. It's a chunk of meat. We'll see how it turns out really soon. Fingers crossed! The Anova is doing great though!

[Robenco15]

Thanks guys. The egg came out almost exactly like how pictures of a 63.3C egg describe.

So what did you set the bath at, 63.3C?

Keep us updated and thank you!

I set it to 63.3C and put the eggs in for an hour. The yolk was just beginning to set but still runny.

Word of warning, if your bath is small and your anova touches the bottom, it will suck in the eggs and they will bump around next to the circulator. The shells did not crack, but I can see it being possible that they could.

Side note, other people have mentioned either being concerned or not concerned with the noise. I find the sound noisy but tolerable, but my kitchen and my roommate's work space are connected with no doors or walls between them, so I would worry about it being too noisy if I leave it on for a 24+ hour cook. It's no noisier than a range hood fan, so if your kitchen has a door/wall between it and a room you will be in I can't see it being a problem.

So a 63.3C egg doesn't quite give the yolk a creamy/honey texture. Or, I guess you said you don't have a way to measure the temperature so it may be off a little bit since eggs are so tempermental?

Thanks for the info. I will be using a tall small cooler so I will be putting the eggs in a salad spinner insert.

My apartment is small and the kitchen and bedroom have a door between it, but that's it. But, I could put the cooler and sous vide anywhere in my apartment as long as there is an outlet. I could put the cooler and unit in the shower if I really wanted to.

[Robenco15]

most of the skirt steak ive done is actually fairly thin, unless you roll them up to make pinwheels.

Im hoping you might share a pic of your finished steak.

drool.

I got some grass fed skirt steak at the store. They didn't have many cheap steaks to choose from, so I got this one. The steak is actually ~2 lbs of meat in not a very flat piece, so that is also why I am letting it go a long time. It's a chunk of meat. We'll see how it turns out really soon. Fingers crossed! The Anova is doing great though!

That's awesome. It sounds like the Anova is doing its job so I'd be really interested to hear if somehow it doesn't turn out how it should and why that would be, as related to the Anova.

Are you using the timer on the Anova unit?

[Anna N]

Just so I'm clear though, an oven timer does not shut the oven off, right? Isn't there more of a hazard letting food slowly cool in a waterbath when the circulator turns off ten it not turning off and the food staying at that safe temperature.

Either way, it doesn't matter. Curious why my idea of the timer seems to be a minority though, haha. Look foreard to hearin about your Demi!

Meant to answer this earlier. When time is up on the Demi it beeps once and then the timer light blinks until you attend to it. The unit does not switch off.

[Robenco15]

Just so I'm clear though, an oven timer does not shut the oven off, right? Isn't there more of a hazard letting food slowly cool in a waterbath when the circulator turns off ten it not turning off and the food staying at that safe temperature.

Either way, it doesn't matter. Curious why my idea of the timer seems to be a minority though, haha. Look foreard to hearin about your Demi!

Meant to answer this earlier. When time is up on the Demi it beeps once and then the timer light blinks until you attend to it. The unit does not switch off.

Ah. Now that makes more sense. Thanks for letting me know!

[ChrisBau]

Just so I'm clear though, an oven timer does not shut the oven off, right? Isn't there more of a hazard letting food slowly cool in a waterbath when the circulator turns off ten it not turning off and the food staying at that safe temperature.

Either way, it doesn't matter. Curious why my idea of the timer seems to be a minority though, haha. Look foreard to hearin about your Demi!

Meant to answer this earlier. When time is up on the Demi it beeps once and then the timer light blinks until you attend to it. The unit does not switch off.

Ah. Now that makes more sense. Thanks for letting me know!

I used the timer on the anova yesterday. When time is up it beeps once and turns off. I can see myself using this for short cook times where I will be in the kitchen for the whole duration. For long cook times, I'll stick to using my phone as timer.

[AzHP]

New discovery about the noise level! If your water looks turbulent and the sound of the anova is loud, you just need to add more water. It seems like if the water level is too close to the impeller you will get a louder sound. I added more water to my cooler just now and the sound level is now extremely quiet. Barely a hum.

[EnriqueB]

I used the timer on the anova yesterday. When time is up it beeps once and turns off. I can see myself using this for short cook times where I will be in the kitchen for the whole duration. For long cook times, I'll stick to using my phone as timer.

I find that a really bad design choice. None of the 5 different sous-vide units I've used behave like that (i.e. they don't turn off).

[ChrisBau]

That was the first time I used the timer function of any sous vide machine. For me the timer is just not important. But somebody described the timer of the swid adelice here, it seems to have the best functionality.

[greenmonk]

New discovery about the noise level! If your water looks turbulent and the sound of the anova is loud, you just need to add more water. It seems like if the water level is too close to the impeller you will get a louder sound. I added more water to my cooler just now and the sound level is now extremely quiet. Barely a hum.

I found that having the water high plus the top of my cooler covered in aluminum foil caused the sound to drop dramatically. The noise never bothered me before, but it got so quiet that I found myself checking on it a lot to make sure it was still on and didn't turn off.

[wangjt]

New discovery about the noise level! If your water looks turbulent and the sound of the anova is loud, you just need to add more water. It seems like if the water level is too close to the impeller you will get a louder sound. I added more water to my cooler just now and the sound level is now extremely quiet. Barely a hum.

I found that having the water high plus the top of my cooler covered in aluminum foil caused the sound to drop dramatically. The noise never bothered me before, but it got so quiet that I found myself checking on it a lot to make sure it was still on and didn't turn off.

How high is high? I also have the top of my cooler covered in foil, and have the water level up so that it's 1/2 way between the two lines on the stainless steel housing. There is a noticeable hum... like the sound of a microwave when it's on... but it's a tad quieter. It doesn't really bother me but I can hear it across the room when I'm watching tv.

Also, when I took the stainless steel housing off, I noticed they used some sort of silicon/epoxy to seal the gap around the metal bars of heating coil and the main body. My first thought was they do this to protect main body from moisture. But mine isn't sealed completely. There is an area that is missing sealant. Will this going to be a problem later on?

[AzHP]

Got up in the middle of the night (for an unrelated reason) and noticed the water level had dropped considerably, maybe 2 or 3 cups (enough to make it noisy again, I filled it up until it stopped being noisy). Then when I got up in the morning I'd say it lost another 2 or 3 cups, which I again refilled. So I'd say it loses about 1 cup every 2 hours. My setup is a ~4 gallon cooler filled to maybe 2.5-3 gallons, with the lid closed as much as it can be without touching the anova. This morning I decided to cover it with aluminum foil, which I'm not as concerned if it touches the anova directly. Hopefully when I get home from work the water level will not have dropped considerably and I will have delicious pork spare ribs to have for dinner!

Edited September 12, 2013 by AzHP (log)

[PedroG]

Got up in the middle of the night (for an unrelated reason) and noticed the water level had dropped considerably, maybe 2 or 3 cups (enough to make it noisy again, I filled it up until it stopped being noisy). Then when I got up in the morning I'd say it lost another 2 or 3 cups, which I again refilled. So I'd say it loses about 1 cup every 2 hours. My setup is a ~4 gallon cooler filled to maybe 2.5-3 gallons, with the lid closed as much as it can be without touching the anova. This morning I decided to cover it with aluminum foil, which I'm not as concerned if it touches the anova directly. Hopefully when I get home from work the water level will not have dropped considerably and I will have delicious pork spare ribs to have for dinner!

Evaporation of roughly 100 ml/h looks like a bath without a cover, see "http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144275-sous-vide-recipes-techniques-equipment-part-7/page-13#entry1758780". Maybe you better cut a hole in the lid of your cooler like "http://forums.egullet.org/topic/136295-all-about-sous-vide-eggs/page-5#entry1908629", but fitting the Anova as snugly as possible.