Anova Precision Oven: Features, Accessories, Troubleshooting, and "Should I Buy One?"

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My oven has been sitting downstairs for four hours while I try to summon the energy to do something about it.  What is four hours when it's been four years?  Meanwhile I hope no one steals it.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Update:  my arms are shaking and I'm sitting down to rest.  The oven is in position and the latest firmware is installed.  Some initial observations...

 

The oven is large.

The oven is heavy.

The oven is capacious.

My kitchen counter was filthy.

The provided pan is flimsy, several steps below that of the CSO.  One step above tinfoil.

The racks on the other hand seem sturdy.

There is no clock.

 

While technically not required, I would say the app is necessary.  For one thing you cannot update the oven firmware without the app.  And as we all learned from the WSJ article, the oven cannot cook artichokes with the initial firmware.  I've written product firmware in my time but nothing that involved artichokes.

 

An annoyance with the app is that it is a native iPhone app.  I use a tablet.  For me the app displays upside down.  Even the Paragon induction app is better.  Which is not to say the functionality of the anova app is bad.  I hear it postpones dementia to read things upside down.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Further observations:  the provided pan does not even fit the slots.  It is too small.  I am confused because some of the anova media shows what looks like a pan fitting in the slots.  (Of course they also depict a perforated pan.)

 

Fortunately my Teamfar 16x12x1 sheet pans fit better than the anova supplied pan and unlike the anova pan the Teamfar pans are sturdy.  Though the Teamfar pans still require use with a rack.

 

http://amzn.com/B07JQ398MH

 

 

Also most of my Le Creuset pots are accommodated.  The ones that aren't are too heavy to lift anyhow.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Unfortunately my half inch baking steel bends the rack.  It worked fine in the CSO.

 

[gfweb]

Does it speak android?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

Does it speak android?

 

Yes but I have no droids to translate.

 

[JasonsCookingAdventures]

To comment on what Jo has noticed:

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the pan is flimsy. I followed their Garlic Bread recipe in the app, putting the pan from ambient into the oven that had been heated...POP goes the pan into a warped zone. Their Facebook group has others with this problem. I have some pans for testing coming Thursday-Saturday supposedly of this week.

 

The oven racks do warp under weight. See my post yesterday on that. I'm glad to hear the result of the baking steel test, though I wish it was a different result. I hadn't had a chance to test with an actual baking stone yet. The challenge is on now to find a sturdier rack that won't bend under pressure. If anyone finds one, please let us know so we can all benefit. They have a recipe in the app with a 6.5 pound roast on a pyrex pan. I didn't test the weight in a pan, but I'd imagine similar warping results. They even recommend it being on rack 2, which would put it in direct contact with the descale pipe if the rack bends any. And Cole (representing the oven) says a 14 pound give or take turkey would work.

 

I would agree the app is necessary. It is the only way to control the fan speed and have top/rear burner on simultaneously. Unfortunately, if I start the oven from the oven, then try to view it from the app, it frequently crashes. And when it crashes it shuts the oven off. I need to do more troubleshooting to ensure that is the sequence that causes the problem, but this really doesn't work. And now that I've typed all this, in looking for something specific to share here, I see the app has an update. I guess I'll update and try again.

 

I'm using it on Android, so yes it does speak Android.

 

Peter Tulk posted this image in the Anova Facebook group. The pan fits in the rack slots. Unfortunately, he found it at Goodwill. I won't admit to how many pans I've looked at online, but I didn't find this one anywhere. It's here as a reference point in case someone can.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I found that by wedging both racks into one slot the combination is sturdy enough to withstand the weight of my 1/2 inch baking steel.  Nonetheless that is not ideal and I think I'll order a thinner piece of metal.  We are talking bread, not pizza.

 

[Barrytm]

Jason's ,  I would not blame the bending pans on the oven,  I have the same issue with my combi and normal flat hotel pans.  The deep ones - like the 2 1/2 or inch ones don't warp,  but the flat ones normally warp once in the oven at high temp, then come back to normal shape when cool.  

[rotuts]

for such an ' expensive ' item , and from a supposedly fine company

 

its a major mistake to supply flimsy racks .  Major.

 

can the App work on an iPod ?  i dont have an iPhone.

 

@JoNorvelleWalker 

 

"  I hear it postpones dementia to read things upside down. ""

 

it does , until one learns UsideDown.    its easier to learn than Sanskrit .

 

takes a few hours , then that's all the dementia time you are going to save.

 

also try writing w your non-dominant hand .   same thing.

Edited October 6, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

@Barrytm 

 

interesting points

 

pans are one thing , racks quite another .

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker 

 

a few points ,when you can get to them :

 

does the ASO  do ' Self-Clean ? '

 

maybe w a wipe down after that ...

 

and how large is the ' drippings '  container

 

below ?

 

cheers

[Yiannos]

12 hours ago, JasonsCookingAdventures said:

I would agree the app is necessary. It is the only way to control the fan speed and have top/rear burner on simultaneously.

 

Why, why, WHY? I mean, I know why, but still, WHY?!?!

[rotuts]

@Yiannos 

 

too many burned Butts

 

in Bora-Bora 

 

Id say 

 

Skney dipping is only interesting 

 

before  you get your Butt Burned.

 

just saying

[Robin G]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

takes a few hours , then that's all the dementia time you are going to save.

also try writing w your non-dominant hand .   same thing.

Wow, is your non-dominant handwriting actually legible with a few hours of practice? Maybe it's worth a try then.

[Robin G]

On 10/4/2020 at 6:07 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I found it interesting anova had to update the firmware to address artichokes.  Richard Olney still says not to steam them.

Artichokes are best made in the microwave, in my opinion. In a covered container, it takes 6-7 minutes for a huge one, and it steams itself. Heretical, I know.

[rotuts]

@Robin G 

 

yes   a few hours n, maybe more for wome

 

then you have to move on to something else

 

just raining.

[Robin G]

19 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Update:  my arms are shaking and I'm sitting down to rest.

OK, if you can do it so can I. Never mind the instructions that say two people are required!

[JasonsCookingAdventures]

@Barrytm

Thank you for the data point. It more surprised me than anything else. You are correct it is back at its normal shape now.

@rotuts

There is no prescribed "self-clean" mode, but you could run it with 100% steam and then wipe it down after.

The drippings container has a 1 hour capacity according to Anova. It's a thin tray about an inch wide that runs the length of the entire front of the machine

@Robin G

I managed to move it myself. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't the worst thing I've had to fanagle onto a counter. If you can move a Kitchenaid Mixer up to a counter and your arms are wide enough to pick it up, you can probably do it. Of course, two people would be safer

[JoNorvelleWalker]

26 minutes ago, Robin G said:

OK, if you can do it so can I. Never mind the instructions that say two people are required!

 

They also say wear closed toes shoes.

 

After the Vesta blast freezer it was easy.

 

[chefmd]

Mine has arrived today.  It’s big.  Way bigger than CSO.  I have downloaded the app.  The plan is to cook previously sous vided duck confit legs with potatoes.  Oh, it preheats fast.

[JasonsCookingAdventures]

This does fit in the oven directly in the rack slots

 

Hamilton Housewares Stainless Steel Cooling Rack

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H94EPJ2/

 

You could use it as a perforated pan of sorts I would think

 

If you have another half sheet pan cooling rack, it might fit as well. Many, but not all, of them will fit.

[Robin G]

@JasonsCookingAdventures, do you think that cooling rack is sturdy enough to use as a shelf/oven rack?

[chromedome]

6 hours ago, Robin G said:

Wow, is your non-dominant handwriting actually legible with a few hours of practice? Maybe it's worth a try then.

My late wife encouraged me to adapt to left-mousing, on the same premise of dementia-avoidance. I don't know how much help it'll be on the dementia front, but mousing ambidextrously certainly helps me avoid repetitive stress injuries and is also a great convenience when using multiple computers on the same desktop (as I sometimes do).

[Robin G]

I also have learned non-dominant mousing for RSI prevention.