Anova Sous Vide Circulator (Part 2)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My Anova came!  Truly beautiful design and packaging.  Whoever wrote the manual has a sense of humor.  Whether it actualy works or not has yet to be determined.

 

Oh, and on the black unit I received the ring is not red, it's orange.  Collage colors.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

So far so good.  Everything I can say about the Anova is positive.  My first experiment is lamb shank cubes, which are cooking at the moment.  I am using a stock pot with foil on top and ziplock bags, since my chamber vacuum sealer won't be here for two more days.

 

It turns out I put way more water than necessary in the ziplock bags.  Live and learn.  It shouldn't hurt anything I hope.  I have the Anova set for 58.0 deg C and my Agilent thermometer is reading 58.2 deg C with the probe between the bags.  I think this is within the error limits of the Agilent but I am too tired to look it up.  I would be happier if they were reading both the same.

 

The Anova is quiet.  I am very pleased, and it did not take long to come up to temperature.

 

The stock pot is too crowded.  I really need a bigger container but I am confused with all the choices.  I'd like to find a container that I could fit an hotel pan into for purposes of cooking ice cream base.  Suggestions would be most welcome.

 

Meanwhile, my baguette turned out most beautiful tonight and I'm about to go find out how it tastes.

[lesliec]

Sounds like you're doing fine, Jo. Sous vide is so good for lamb.

[michoutim]

Enjoy, Jo Norvelle,

 

We are also making our own baguettes, and they are really nice. We never buy bread.

[paulraphael]

What size containers are people finding most versatile? I've got an Anova on the shopping list and am considering either the 12qt or 18qt square camwear container. Also probably a cooler for long cooking.

[SleeperService]

the 12qt size is good for two or three good size steaks, I recommend the carlisle, not camwear, it's got straight sides not stepped ones, so the anova hangs free, instead of bumping on the side, and the lid is *much* easier to notch to fit.   I've also heard good things about the rubbermaid 12qt.

 

I've looked at the 18qt square, but can't think where it'd be a big advantage.

 

I've got one of the 12x18x9 boxes (rubbermaid brand) for longer things, though I've not used it (yet) and have also thought about, but not gotten, a cooler for really big things, or really long cooks,

 

I made 'sweaters' for my coolers out of reflectix and aluminum tape, double thick on the bottom.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

sounds more like fedex doesn't exist....

 

a deep enough stock pot is fine, I wrapped a towel around the first things i was using till I got some reflectix and made a blanket for my carlisle food box.

 

towel around and some foil over the top, you'd be set. 

 

I seem to have misread this advice.  Before I went to bed I put a towel over top of the foil.  When I checked on the progress of the cooking a few hours later I found the wet towel in the pot.  In retrospect I think a plastic cutting board over top of the pot would have been a good idea.  But the temperature as measured on my Agilent has stayed between 58.1 C and 58.2 C, with the probe between the two bags of meat.  No problem with the water level (except for the matter of the towel).

 

I reecho paulraphael's question about containers.  I would prefer a rectangular shape rather than square.  And based on my experience with the stockpot, I think it better to err on the slightly larger side rather than too small.

[rotuts]

Coolers.  'Beer' coolers.  cheap.  all sizes.  some circular. 

 

save energy  save stress on your SV'der.

 

done.   once you become a con·nois·seur, you will find a way to insulate the top.

 

only for con·nois·seurs

[gfweb]

I use aluminum foil and a stock pot for short SVs.

 

Shiny side down.  Maybe a side towel on top of t hat.

 

Connoiseur-like, no?

[SleeperService]

just to throw in a bit of science... doesn't matter which side you use with foil. the only reason that there's a shiny and a dull side is that the last run through the squeezing rollers, the foil is so thin that they have to use a double layer, the outside of the double gets mashed by the smooth rollers, and comes out shiny, the inside gets mashed against the other sheet of foil, and comes out dull.

 

use it however you want

[Martin Fisher]

I sometimes inflate a gallon Zip-Loc bag and a quart bag or two (whatever will fully cover) so they're a couple inches thick and put a towel over them...makes for some nice insulation.

[paulraphael]

the 12qt size is good for two or three good size steaks, I recommend the carlisle, not camwear, it's got straight sides not stepped ones, so the anova hangs free, instead of bumping on the side, and the lid is *much* easier to notch to fit.   I've also heard good things about the rubbermaid 12qt.

 

I've looked at the 18qt square, but can't think where it'd be a big advantage.

 

I've got one of the 12x18x9 boxes (rubbermaid brand) for longer things, though I've not used it (yet) and have also thought about, but not gotten, a cooler for really big things, or really long cooks,

 

I made 'sweaters' for my coolers out of reflectix and aluminum tape, double thick on the bottom.

Is this the Carlisle you mean? It's 8-1/4" deep. That's deep enough for the Anova?

[SleeperService]

Is this the Carlisle you mean? It's 8-1/4" deep. That's deep enough for the Anova?

 

yes, that's the one, I got it from acemart:  http://www.acemart.com/prod9214.html, a carlisle 1072407, almost the same part number as the webstaurant store has...  you may be able to find an acemart locally, they're kinda all over.  this is the lid: http://www.acemart.com/prod4668.html  notice the flat, not notched front and back faces, (and the blue lettering)

 

yes, it's quite deep enough, the anova is about 7.7" from base to the lip of the clamp, so it fits great.

Edited March 16, 2014 by SleeperService (log)

[jst0rm]

Hello everyone,

 

My research of the anova brought me here months ago.  I purchased a sous vide cooker at the end of last yer and have been using it 3 times a wekk since.  I havent done any cleaning to the unit till tonight.  I removed the steel skirt and cleaned it in the dishwasher but now when I put it back on the impellers rattle against the side of it.  I worry I must of bent these when removing or putting it back.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I sent a email to anova but I'm hoping for a quick fix that wont require shipping.  I was going to use the unit tonight to hold a beurre blanc but I'm afraid I will damage the motor running it in this state

[JoNorvelleWalker]

You may not have the skirt locked on properly.  Otherwise I think they say to bend the impeller slightly so that it doesn't rub.  I don't think you'll need to send it back.  But don't run it if it's rubbing.  I've taken mine apart, washed the skirt in the dishwasher, reassembled it without problem.

[Martin Fisher]

Yes, I've had the same problem.....try to reattach the skirt.

[SleeperService]

unscrew the bottom disk, so you can see what the impeller is doing, spin it and make sure it's not wobbling, if it's wobbling, then you bent the shaft. gently straighten it.

 

take the skirt off, and put it back on, with the bottom disk removed, make sure you twist the skirt till it clicks past the detent, if you don't have it twisted on all the way, it may not align properly.

 

once the skirt is firmly attached, and the impeller is spinning freely, (even though it doesn't have to be centered in the hole) then screw the disk back on, and point the hole in whatever direction you want.

[jst0rm]

Thanks.  I'll give all of this a try.  I did end up getting it to work last night.  It seems the skirt has a bit of play in its movement even with it clicked into place.   I did do a water change at the end of the night and without changing the skirt the rattle came back so I will need to mess some more.

[cschweda]

I use my Anova several times a week and love it, but I'm having an issue with the low water sensor. Even when the water is clearly not low, the sensor beeps and the unit shuts down. I power it off, back on, off, then on -- and it works fine.

 

Anyone else getting false low water readings? I've tried disassembling it and cleaning it, but there's not much to clean -- just wiping down the heat elements, giving the propeller a little spin -- and that's about it.

 

Does Anova have good warranty service? I really don't want to buy another one, but I don't particularly want to go without for a week -- or several weeks.

 

Any advice? Anova -- are you part of these forums?

[SleeperService]

did you clean the sensor?  it's the long and short small straight rods.   the bent rod in the middle of the heating element is the temp sensor.

 

running it in some vinegar, or CLR solution will also clean things up nicely.

[cschweda]

Okay, I'll try the cleaning in vinegar tonight. Thanks for the tip.

[pbear]

Got my Anova about a month ago.  This is my third low temp unit, so the Anova hasn’t gotten as much of a workout as it would if it were my first.  (The other two are an Auber PID-controller I use with a 6 qt slow cooker and a Sous Vide Supreme, both of which are still going strong.)  I will say I’m seriously impressed with the design and engineering of the Anova.  Solid construction, easy to set up and use, reasonably quiet, and holds the set temp perfectly (according to my Thermapen).

 

That said, I’ve noticed something which bugs me.  To be fair, this may have little or nothing  to do with the Anova as such but rather be a characteristic of circulators in general.  What I notice is that, depending on buoyancy, bags tend to do one of two things: sink to the bottom of the bath or cluster against the sleeve (which, of course, is the intake for the circulator).  ISTM the effect of either tendency should be to reduce the efficiency of heat transfer.  That is, bags on the bottom will be heating mostly from the top side only, whereas clustered bags will be insulating each other and/or impeding the flow of water around them.  By contrast, the SVS uses a rack system which keeps the bags off the bottom and separated from each other.  Even without a circulator, the SVS system seems to me more efficient..  (The issue doesn’t arise with the PID controller, as I use that only for large pieces of meat in one piece and place a silicone hotpad with ridges in the slow cooker to act as a sort of bottom rack.) 

 

So, I have several questions.  First, do others observe the same phenomena with the Anova and other circulators?  Second, do you worry about it and, if not, why not?  Third, is there some trick to set-up that I’m overlooking?  I’ve tried the Anova in a 12 qt stockpot, a 16 qt and even the SVS (used as just a bath).  I’ve tried every configuration I can think of for directing the circulator output.  No matter what I do, I get sinking or clustering.  Suggestions?  Fourth, is the solution to replicate the SVS rack system?  It’s the only thing I’ve found that works.  As it happens, the 16 qt stockpot is also my water bath canner, so I have a bottom rack for it.  Also, I have an extra SVS vertical rack which I use for handling bags on the counter.  Using both with the Anova works but seems a bit kludgy, especially as I’ve not seen any authorities (e.g., Douglas or Nathan) recommending such measures.  Nor does the Anova manual.

 

Thoughts?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Using my Agilent temperature probe (soon to be known, horrible marketing, as Keysight) between the bags, the Anova temperature holds even when the bags have clustered together.  I am not worried.

[SleeperService]

I bought a couple of the svs racks off their site and often use them, vertically or horizontally, depending, all depends on what I'm cooking or what I'm cooking in.

 

I got those because they were relatively cheap, and all stainless.

[EnriqueB]

SVS racks are not that expensive and very useful, I bough a spare one (plus the one that came with my demi) and also their baking rack, and I always use them with my circulator and my eiPot.