Anova Sous Vide Circulator (Part 3)

[gfweb]

I either use the SV supreme for long cooks and Anova+ cambro knock off for shorter. 

[weedy]

Even without a lid or other means of minimizing evaporation, with typical SV temps I've only noticed about an inch water level drop over 24 hrs ... so if the container is filled to the maximum fill line on the circulator, it's not going to be anywhere near stalling out after 24 hrs.

 

I'll use a smaller volume cambro for smaller items, but still fill to the max line

[paulraphael]

Do any Anova 1 users notice a sticky residue on the rubberized parts, like the clamp assembly? Mine has had this for a year or two now. I don't want to clean it too aggressively because I don't know if it's stuff that stuck to it, or if it's the rubber itself getting breaking down. If the latter, I'd be afraid of scraping it off accidentally and making it worse than before.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, paulraphael said:

Do any Anova 1 users notice a sticky residue on the rubberized parts, like the clamp assembly? Mine has had this for a year or two now. I don't want to clean it too aggressively because I don't know if it's stuff that stuck to it, or if it's the rubber itself getting breaking down. If the latter, I'd be afraid of scraping it off accidentally and making it worse than before.

 

 

 

No.

 

(Just got up to check.)

 

[weedy]

no for me

[paulraphael]

Should have added that I'm asking for a friend 

[kayb]

No probs here.

[boilsover]

On 4/4/2018 at 1:56 PM, rotuts said:

It still seem to be working well if I keep the water  1.5 " above MIN

 

I would also mark the MAX fill...

[palo]

12 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Do any Anova 1 users notice a sticky residue on the rubberized parts, like the clamp assembly? Mine has had this for a year or two now. I don't want to clean it too aggressively because I don't know if it's stuff that stuck to it, or if it's the rubber itself getting breaking down. If the latter, I'd be afraid of scraping it off accidentally and making it worse than before.

 

 

Well from out in left field...I recall having some fishing equipment develop a sticky residue on the plastic parts due to having applied a mosquito repellent. Not suggesting you did this but perhaps the offending chemical was in another product.

 

p

[ElsieD]

Amazon.ca has a sale price of the Anova Bluetooth version of $132.99 down from $199. Can someone tell me what the minimum depth of a pan would be that I could use with the Anova?  I have the Polyscience Professional but wouldn't mind a smaller circulator that I could use for cooking sous vide smaller items like a piece of fish.  When I use my current equipment the smallest pot I can use is a Stockpot.  By the way, Amazon.com has it listed at $110.66.

[THS]

7 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Can someone tell me what the minimum depth of a pan would be that I could use with the Anova?

The marking for the minimum water line is located at ca. 7cm. So if your pan is 10cm deep it would work.

But if you position the clamp so low you might need a counter weight (If you have more than 1-2l in your pan you will  be fine) because the Anova is then top heavy. 

Edited April 9, 2018 by THS (log)

[ElsieD]

@THS  Thank you.  I appreciate the reply.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I do a lot of cooking at 55C which is, I would say, a rather critical area.  Since I'm pasteurizing some eggs at the moment I took the opportunity and measured the bath against my new Thermoworks.  The anova reads 55C and the water measures 55.15C.

 

Better, I guess, a little high than a little low.  I wonder though if it's worth trying to adjust the anova so it matches the thermometer?

 

 

[paulraphael]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I do a lot of cooking at 55C which is, I would say, a rather critical area.  Since I'm pasteurizing some eggs at the moment I took the opportunity and measured the bath against my new Thermoworks.  The anova reads 55C and the water measures 55.15C.

 

Better, I guess, a little high than a little low.  I wonder though if it's worth trying to adjust the anova so it matches the thermometer?

 

 

 

The Anova's thermocouple should be more accurate than than the one on the Thermoworks. If you have doubts, write to Anova tech support. They generally implore us not to try to calibrate the circulators using home thermometers. If you have reason to believe the thing is really out of whack, they can calibrate it using their lab instruments. If I remember their support article right, it suggested the only really good reason to calibrate to your thermometer is if you mostly care about them agreeing.

[barista]

On 06/04/2018 at 10:25 PM, paulraphael said:

Do any Anova 1 users notice a sticky residue on the rubberized parts, like the clamp assembly? Mine has had this for a year or two now. I don't want to clean it too aggressively because I don't know if it's stuff that stuck to it, or if it's the rubber itself getting breaking down. If the latter, I'd be afraid of scraping it off accidentally and making it worse than before.

 

 

I was just about to post this same question, as I'm having the exact same problem. I would like to know how you rectify this.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

54 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

 

The Anova's thermocouple should be more accurate than than the one on the Thermoworks. If you have doubts, write to Anova tech support. They generally implore us not to try to calibrate the circulators using home thermometers. If you have reason to believe the thing is really out of whack, they can calibrate it using their lab instruments. If I remember their support article right, it suggested the only really good reason to calibrate to your thermometer is if you mostly care about them agreeing.

 

"Out of whack" is not the best expression.  More like "very close but not quite right."  The Thermoworks is rated accurate to plus or minus 0.05C.  If so the 55.0C bath is most likely between 55.10C and 55.20C.  The supplied certificate of calibration says plus or minus 0.06F, plus instrument resolution.  At the 104.00F calibration point the Thermoworks is off 0.03F.  At the 158.00F calibration point it is off 0.04F.

 

For fun I also tried the Thermapen MK4 while anovaing my eggs.  It read the bath as 55.1C.  While my new Thermoworks waterproof with penetration probe read the bath as 54.9-55.0.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

16 minutes ago, barista said:

I was just about to post this same question, as I'm having the exact same problem. I would like to know how you rectify this.

 

I do not have any such sticky residue problem with my anova.  I suggest you reach out to their tech support.

 

[paulraphael]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

"Out of whack" is not the best expression.  More like "very close but not quite right."  The Thermoworks is rated accurate to plus or minus 0.05C.  If so the 55.0C bath is most likely between 55.10C and 55.20C.  The supplied certificate of calibration says plus or minus 0.06F, plus instrument resolution.  At the 104.00F calibration point the Thermoworks is off 0.03F.  At the 158.00F calibration point it is off 0.04F.

 

For fun I also tried the Thermapen MK4 while anovaing my eggs.  It read the bath as 55.1C.  While my new Thermoworks waterproof with penetration probe read the bath as 54.9-55.0.

 

I think it's worth talking to Anova. I had some concerns about the accuracy of my circulator a couple of years ago (it didn't match my thermocouple). The tech guy suggested that I get either a thermometer designed for calibration ($$$) or an ovulation thermometer from the drugstore (cheap). The latter is very accurate and reads to 0.1°F, but only over a one or two degree range right around body temperature, so you can't test linearity. I went with this anyhow. It showed the Anova was within 0.1°, and my other thermometers were off. 

 

Anova may have other suggestions now ... this was a while ago, and with their first model. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, paulraphael said:

 

I think it's worth talking to Anova. I had some concerns about the accuracy of my circulator a couple of years ago (it didn't match my thermocouple). The tech guy suggested that I get either a thermometer designed for calibration ($$$) or an ovulation thermometer from the drugstore (cheap). The latter is very accurate and reads to 0.1°F, but only over a one or two degree range right around body temperature, so you can't test linearity. I went with this anyhow. It showed the Anova was within 0.1°, and my other thermometers were off. 

 

Anova may have other suggestions now ... this was a while ago, and with their first model. 

 

My anova is not the original model, it is the one that has provision for calibration in firmware.  I used to communicate with @Anova Jeff although I've not seen him around for a while.  @rotuts has a theory.

 

I'm not using a thermocouple but if you know of any measuring solutions more accurate than what HP or Thermoworks have to offer I'd be interested.  Unfortunately however I've blown my thermometer budget for the month.

 

My Thermoworks reads to 0.01F but as I said it is only accurate to 0.06F, except at the calibration points.

 

[barista]

On 25/05/2018 at 11:50 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I do not have any such sticky residue problem with my anova.  I suggest you reach out to their tech support.

 

Thanks. Ya, I think I'll do that. I got mine (twin bundle) from their Kickstarter program.

[paulraphael]

All the Anovas are user-calibratable ... the company has just recommended against it. 

 

Have you looked at Basal thermometers? They claim accuracy to 1/100°F and usually cost under $20. Mine is an analog one from the drugstore.  I'm skeptical that they're really this accurate, but they should be good enough to check a circulator. I don't know if I'd actually use it for calibration, since it only gives a reading in a single range. But if it shows your circulator's off by more than 1/2 a degree you'd reason to call tech support and get their advice. They may tell you to send it in for a factory calibration, or maybe they'll say you can use the basal thermometer or thermoworks to calibrate.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 hours ago, paulraphael said:

All the Anovas are user-calibratable ... the company has just recommended against it. 

 

Have you looked at Basal thermometers? They claim accuracy to 1/100°F and usually cost under $20. Mine is an analog one from the drugstore.  I'm skeptical that they're really this accurate, but they should be good enough to check a circulator. I don't know if I'd actually use it for calibration, since it only gives a reading in a single range. But if it shows your circulator's off by more than 1/2 a degree you'd reason to call tech support and get their advice. They may tell you to send it in for a factory calibration, or maybe they'll say you can use the basal thermometer or thermoworks to calibrate.

 

No, the older units are not user-calibratable without returning to the factory for an upgrade...ask @Kerry Beal

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/145431-anova-sous-vide-circulator-part-1/?do=findComment&comment=1930394

 

My anova is firmware version 2.02 and I verified tonight that I can get to the calibration screen.  Temperatures can be adjusted plus or minus in 0.1C steps but I am not clear exactly what this means so until I figure it out I left the settings alone.  In other words if I adjust the setting 0.1C cooler does that mean the bath heats 0.1C cooler or the readout reads 0.1C cooler?  I suspect the former but I am not sure.

 

No, I have not looked into basal thermometers because I seldom cook humans or at human body temperatures.  To my experience such thermometers do not come with certificates of calibration.  Though now that you mention it I was running a fever last night.

 

I thought rather than testing at 55.0C I should also test at a couple of the calibration points of my Thermoworks.  My unit reads slightly high.  At a calibration temperature 40.00C it reads 40.02C.  At 70.00C it reads 70.02C.

 

With the anova stabilized at 40.0C the Thermoworks read between 40.11C and 40.12C.  With the anova stabilized at 70.0C the Thermoworks read between 70.28C and 70.29C.

 

I don't worry too much about the highest accuracy at 70.0C but it looks like my anova is off by about 0.1C at the temperatures of interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yiannos]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 In other words if I adjust the setting 0.1C cooler does that mean the bath heats 0.1C cooler or the readout reads 0.1C cooler?  I suspect the former but I am not sure.

 

It is the former, I have the old model with that firmware too and have done the Thermoworks experiment. Works just like calibrating an oven with that feature, set for your desired temp, measure actual temp with an external thermometer, and then use the temperature adjustment on the calibration screen to correct any deviation.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 minutes ago, Yiannos said:

 

It is the former, I have the old model with that firmware too and have done the Thermoworks experiment. Works just like calibrating an oven with that feature, set for your desired temp, measure actual temp with an external thermometer, and then use the temperature adjustment on the calibration screen to correct any deviation.

 

Thanks!

 

[paulraphael]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No, the older units are not user-calibratable without returning to the factory for an upgrade...ask @Kerry Beal

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/145431-anova-sous-vide-circulator-part-1/?do=findComment&comment=1930394

 

 

Ah, ok. I have the earliest hardware but it must have newer firmware

 

<<I seldom cook humans or at human body temperatures.>>

 

It's never too late.