Poll: What sous vide Hardware are you using?
PLEASE THINK ABOUT CASTING YOUR VOTE ON THE VOTE PANEL SITUATED ON THE SIDEBAR.
This is a sticky post check bellow for more recent posts.
I’m starting a poll. I wanted to have an idea of what cooking equipment is the most used by you guys. Check it out on the right sidebar.
You can do the poll and leave comments here about why you chose the hardware you chose. It could help other people make their choice.
English
French
I use a Sous Vide Magic ( I recently upgraded to the new 1500D model) to control 12 litre Tiger professional rice cooker.
I get very stable results.
I likewise have been using the Sous Vide Magic, from the 1500A through the latest 1500D.
The cooker ranges from a commercial Chinese 12 liter rice cooker (my day in and day out cooker) to a smaller Tiger unit used for cooking vegetables when the larger it is tied up, to an even small Chinese rice cooker as needed.
I have calibrated the SVM with an external thermometer that is NIST certified to 0.1 degrees F.
I’ve been using a SVM 1500 B to control a rice cooker, a deep fryer, a pelletier-effect cooking pot, and an electric smoker. Works like a charm, even though I don’t yet have good tuning parameters for the smoker.
Check this out: http://www.sousvidesupreme.com
I have two Sous Vide Magic units, the 1500C and 1500D. I use the 1500C in conjunction with a Black and Decker RC880 rice cooker, and the 1500D with the Fresh Meals Magic immersion heater/bubbler from Fresh Meals Solutions.
I use a consumer Foodsaver vacuum sealer (forget which model) which is adequate for my purposes, but of course dreaming of one day upgrading to a VacMaster or MiniPak (looking at prices, is it just me or have they become cheaper recently?)
I use SousVideMagic 1500B with a 9L 400W side-heater stockpot and an indoor fountain pump for everyday use at 55°C, and a SousVideMagic 1500D with a FreshMealsMagic (220V/2000W)for cooking at higher temperatures. Both are stable within ± 0.08°C or better with appropriate PID-settings.
I use the SVM 1500D with an Aroma “60-cup” rice cooker (I put the 60-cup in quotes because it’s really a 30-cup rice cooker). It holds about 3 gallons of water. I use a SINBO vacuum machine, which is like the Foodsaver, except it uses less expensive bags designed to be boiled.
We use the SousVide Magic 1500D w/ 12 L Water Bath and immersion air circulator. Very stable temps and excellent results!
I have Sous Vide Magic 1500D’s with the water oven rice cooker and also with the Immersion heater/air pump. I also have the 1500C with rice cooker. All are dead stable after about 5 minutes at set temperature.
I’m using the latest Sous Vide Magic 1500 D as well, have no had the chance to calibrate it but it works pretty well so far.
Hoping to get a professional vacuum sealer in the future so I don’t have to freeze my foods before I seal them.
I bought a Sous Vide Magic and use it with a very large rice cooker and I love it. I plan on making a cold smoker and using it with that as well. I love the flexibility it gives me and will likely pick up a smaller rice cooker for the times I don’t need to do a dozen chicken breasts. I love doing duck legs confit as well.
Thanks for getting involved in this survey. I see that Sous Vide Magic is leading at the moment. Did you all cast a vote on the survey form in the sidebar of the homepage?
I started with a Sous Vide Magic and a large soup warmer. It worked great. I then wanted to try to do a leg of lamb Sous Vide, and build my own large Sous Vide bath, with circulating water, and a PID controller. It works within +/- 0,1 degreee Centigrade. I have just done my second batch of Confit de Canard, ummm…….
would love to see some pics of your large Sous Vide Bath
I have just completed an exercise in building a bath, why
don’t you look at what in australia we call an esky ( brand name )
plastic cooler box. I build boats .so I improvise. A 40 ltr. cooler
with rear wheels is worth $90 to 150 bucks here, very well
insulated…..even I can’t build em for that
I use Roner Domo, which is available (at least) in Spain. You can see a video (not very good) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWKTkrKChiU.
Never seen this one before, is it stirred or unstirred?
SVM 1500 with a gigondo Black & Decker Rice cooker. Works a charm.
I thought you couldn’t control a deep fryer with a PID because the temps were too high, and the voltage too low. Was I wrong about that?
- aj
Frank can maybe answer this. I’ll be interested to know as well.
Many SVM users make constant temperature baths out of fryers with great success, but they mainly use water as the heat transfer media. 220V SVM can control heater rated for 3300W. In North America, turkey fryers are particularly popular for use with SVM.
Andrew may be thinking of using oil as the heat transfer media.
Water can not reach temperature over 100C but oil can.
The current sensor is designed for sous vide cooking. If users want SVM for high temperature use, they need to order special high temperature sensors(rated for 200C). I don’t know what Andrew meant by “voltage too low”. SVM is voltage universal and can run from 90V to 240V. It can handle any heater within the prescribed voltage range provided it does not draw over 15A AC.
Casquett, SWID is an Immersion Heater Circulator and SVM is a PID temperature controller. For comparison with SWID, one need to pair SVM with FMM bubbler heater which is totally submersible whereas SWID is only partially immersible. FMM can be only purchased via direct contact with freshmeals@gmail.com. It is available in two models (110V/1500W or 220V/2000W).
Thank you for your interest
Frank -
When I asked someone about oil media I was told this: “The problem is that a 120V fryer can only get 1800 watt maximum power, it is impossible to maintain the temperature after food is dropped in. There is just not enough power to bring back the temperature even if it is at full power”
Is that not the case?
When I asked someone about oil media I was told this: “The problem is that a 120V fryer can only get 1800 watt maximum power, it is impossible to maintain the temperature after food is dropped in. There is just not enough power to bring back the temperature even if it is at full power”
________________________________________________________________
This forum is about voting for who uses what (equipment)for sous vide cooking.
You can post this question to our newly launch SVM community portal:
http://getsatisfaction.com/sousvidemagic. It is in beta but you can test drive it.
I try to keep it short here.
Your fryer is already sized with the appropriate heater so it should be already capable of maintaining set temperature with its own built-in temperature controller.
If you use SVM to control the fryer instead of its own built-in controller (It usually uses the cheap thermostatic control), I don’t see why not. The power does not come from SVM which merely controls it through PWM (Pulse Width Modulation/zero voltage crossing). The only limitation is that the fryer is not drawing more than 15A through the SVM and not at full power for more than 45 minutes.
I hope this is helpful to you.
I’ve been using SVM1500 for a year or so, I had a sensor problem, and Frank replaced the entire unit for me with the latest model.
Good product, and service ( luckily we are only a few blocks away )
It seems that Sous vide Magic is ahead at the moment, still the begining though, let’s see how it evolves when the Polyscience users wake up and vote.
I’ll be interested in testing the SMV. To see how it compares to my SWID.
N.
I purchased the Sous Vide Magic 1500 and built myself a large insulated stainless steel (20″ X 16″ X 20″ high) water oven with an air pump for circulation.
Because it’s so large, it takes a while to get to temperature, but it is absolutely stable, thanks to the temp. controller.
I’ve been using a SousVide Supreme for a few months now, and it’s been terrific. Prior to that I’d been using a circulator — jerry rigged with another appliance for the bath.
Had a lovely cumin/cinnamon infused chicken last night….
i use the auber temp. controller with a crock pot and fish tank bubbler. prior to that, i did it with just the fish tank bubbler and turned the crock pot on and off to keep @ 140 degrees. sometimes i had to add ice or take the top off, etc., but it is possible to sous vide without buying something that already isn’t in most kitchens.
I use the Sous Vide Magic, with a big Black and Decker rice cooker. I seal meat with a seal-a-meal machine. I confess I don’t use a bubbler. I cover the cooker with a towel to reduce the heat ‘flow’ from heater to lid.
I also cook my slow-cooker meals this way, using an inner sealed pot as a kind of totally immersed bain-marie; but this isn’t a recommendation as I’m concerned about the dependence on initial temperature, and the thermal conductivity of the pot and the sauce itself.
SVM does it for me.
The professional kit is way too expensive for the home kitchen.
If any manufacturer is looking for an idea, please make a vacuum chamber for the domestic market (foodsavr doesn’t do liquids)
I use the SVM 1500B in conjunction with a Foodsaver vacuum press.
The SVM does a great job for both sous vide cooking and controlling my electric smoker.
I have no hesitation in recommending this great bit of kit.
Norman
I am using the SousVide Supreme with fantastic results. Highly recommended for consistent performance with everything from Duck. Steak, Scallops, Shrimp, and Lobster. Superb for vegetables, as well.
David
At ClubCulinaria we use a SousVide Magic with a (~180$) Bain Marie (original thermostat has been removed), enhanced by a little pump to circulate the water (as used in home aquariums). Works perfectly.
SVM 1500D here, with Tiger 12L and FoodSaver 2840 (really like these older models; the newer “auto” ones don’t allow nearly the control…a bad design move IMHO).
Anyway, absolutely fantastic results, consistently.
Can’t mention enough how unique Frank Hsu is, too, about customer service…he goes far above and beyond…if more small business owners responded personally and promptly and generously like he does, the world would be a much better place!!! He is a gem.
-P
I have a Sous Vide Magic 1500D which I use with a 14L w’ air pump and 9L “Magical” cookers from FreshmealsSolutions, and just bought another 1500D and 9L cooker to use in another location. The 9Ls have an inner ceramic insert for stews which has also worked well with the SVM controller.
The SVM is a terrific controller, and the flexibility with PID settings makes switching cookers easy. I am getting perfectly stable results.
I have to reiterate what other respondents have said: the owner of Freshmealssolutions and I believe also the designer of the SVM, Frank Hsu, has been wonderful to deal with. For a while when I was getting started, he patiently answered my daily email questions, and helped all along the way. This week, he’s sending me a replacement sensor for one that started behaving erratically.
This personalized customer support is unprecedented in my experience.
I used a Sous Vide Magic 1500D with a 20-cup rice cooker & a small water pump — Actually, I’ve used it once and got great results, but then over-torched the steak (I got a little carried away with the blowtorch).
I just bought the 18 liter kit with the 1500d PID controller offered by fresh meal solutions. It seems to be a quality product without all the cost usually attributed to the so called professional equipment only used by chefs in a high end restaurant.
I like the fact that the units (PID controller, submersible heater and the circulation(bubbler)are separate components.
The design of this water immersion bath was totally fabricated with the home cook in mind without all the cost.
Thank You
I have been doing some tests on my Auber Instruments
WS-1500C PID controller
(http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=44).
To check the temperature, I have used the Extech EA15
(http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=64&prodid=408)datalogging
thermometer to determine the accuracy of the sous-vide equipment I
am using. I tied the 2 EA15 sensors to the PID temperature sensor
to ensure they are all monitoring in the same area – and left it
running for 15 hours. The PID controller was set at 64 deg C. The
readings from the EA15 thermometer data logger once the temperature
“stabilised”** ranged from 62.1 through 63.8. Remember, all the
temperature probes were tied together. The 2 temperature probes
attached to the EA15 show a maximum difference of .2 deg C. At no
time did the water temp actually reach 64C ** Stabilised = the
temperature on the Auber PID did not change. According to the
datasheet of the EA15 – which is apparently a very accurate
thermometer, the “accuracy” of the temperature reading at 64 deg C
should be +- .8C; the full range of readings are therefore
potentially 61.3 through to 64.4 – a 3 degree difference which to
me, makes the results of sous vide cooking with this kind of PID
controller a little unpredictable – if you’re looking for accurate
and repeatable results. A lot of recipes call for .1 deg accuracy.
I’d be interested to hear about whether anyone has done any similar
tests.
Greg:
1500C has display resolution of 1° in contrast to 1500B and 1500D with 0.1° resolution. So “stabilized” means 64°C ±0.5°C. Maybe some PID-tuning might bring you better stability. What is your cooker? Do you have forced circulation (fountain pump or bubbler)?
Better stability is definitely possible with a SousVideMagic 1500D PID-controller, see http://egullet.org/p1777743 . Also with 1500B and 1500C I can achieve stability better than ±0.1°C either with a VEGA 400W stockpot with fountain pump or with FreshMealsMagic.
Greg, I’ve been using the 1500C with a Hamelton Beech Roaster Oven (6 mos) with excellant results. I always begin with about 140f water, place the meat in the water bath and then turn the PID on. Last night the PID was sensing 240-250 temps. I placed a digital thermometer next to the sensor and it was registering the correct temp. Would incorrect sensing be due to a bad sensor or did something get out of adjustment with PID?
I have a Sous Vide Magic connected to a Butterball XL turkey fryer. The fryer is rated at 1675 watts and works great with the SVM. It holds 5 gallons for sous vide cooking. I got it on clearance at Home Depot or Lowes after Thanksgiving for $59. Our Sears is going out of business and saw them there but did not check price.
Thinking of insulating it.
Chef