What Sous Vide for a beginner?

[BuffettFan]

I've been contemplating this for a while and celrodtx's Turkey Porchetta kinda pushed me over the edge.
Looking at the Amazons, I see a lot of options.
What am I looking for?
I like my Inkbird thermometers and the fact the Ken's Sous Vide is Bluetooth, but I have a question.
Does my phone need to stay within BT range the entire time with a BT enabled cooker?
Anova is a name I've seen on this forum multiple times, is this a better option? Another brand?
What wattage should I look for?
I see the majority of the cooks being small, just for my wife and I, but may occasionally need to cook up a big batch of something.

Edjumacate me please!

[Jrogers84]

I have a small anova and love it. I recently purchased the inkbird as a backup but havnt had a chance to use it. Judging by the rest of their stuff im sure itll be great. Wen it comes to wifi/bt i dont really see the need. I never use the BT function on my anova. You walk over, hit a button and come back when your done. Pretty simple

[celrodtx]

Glad I gave you a push! I have used an Anova for the last three years and love it. The only issue I have ever had with it is the steam at high temps messes it up. This is easily solved, but be aware of it though.

[BBQ_MAFIA]

I can't tell you which one is better but I will tell you I love my Anova.
The results are incredible.

[sudsandswine]

I have one of the older 800w bluetooth only Anova's, I've used it quite a bit for years and it's been 100% reliable. I bought one of the Inkbird's recently and used it once, it did what it was supposed to do but having only used it once, I don't have the inherent confidence in it that I do the Anova...that has nothing to do with Inkbird other than I've used the Anova many dozens of times and the Inkbird just one.

[dward51]

I have both the bluetooth Anova and their Anova Nano. I love them both, but the bluetooth model (larger of the 2) is my goto unit. I got the Nano on the pre-production special order for a deep discount and it was a might as well purchase. I find I use it mostly in the travel trailer where size is an issue in storage.

Whatever model you decide on, look at the volume of water it is designed to heat. That dictates how much food you can handle. I will say the Anova units are spot on with holding a set temp and I would buy one again if mine failed in the future. Also unless you just have to get a unit with WiFi, the bluetooth only Anova is less expensive and can sometimes be found on even deeper discounts. They both cook the same, and I have never found the need to even use the bluetooth function on mine. I just set it and come back at the desired time.

[Stlsportster]

New ink bird sousvide is great. I got in on the 50% Brethren discount. It’s wifi. I can monitor while I’m gone from the house.

Worked great. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

[Kaptain Kadian]

Originally Posted by Stlsportster

New ink bird sousvide is great. I got in on the 50% Brethren discount. It’s wifi. I can monitor while I’m gone from the house.

Worked great. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

I did the same thing and I really like it. The inkbird seems to heat up the water faster and it is whisper silent.

[Gimmethecash]

What are you guys monitoring? I use a Sous Vide Supreme and find it to be very “fire and forget”.

[jimstocks53]

The wifi and bluetooth functions are primarily for set up and any mid cook changes. The units do not usually require that the phone stay in constant contact to maintain the setting. Personally, I set mine manually when I start and only touch it again when I turn it off.

[Titch]

Perfect place to ask a question

I use an Anova reasonably often ,just a bluetooth model and very happy with it.
Had it for a few years now and bought a few for presents when on special.
Simple to set up and use
sometimes we get power outages for seconds.
does the WiFi units reset themselves and continue cooking, my Anova does not.
I can understand the reasoning behind it, food safety I guess.
cant compare it to Inkbird as I have not seen one

[Huskres]

Clearance Walmart one for 13 bucks. Me and several people I know use them quite a bit with zero issues.

[Happy Hapgood]

I did this review on the Ink Bird Sous Vide:


https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/s...d.php?t=275794


If you can access your home network remotely you can work it from anywhere. Also I been doing steaks. WOW!



Check out this vid and site:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dee5FwKOnkM


This guy will make you a Pro in no time!


Good Luck and Enjoy!

[TravelingJ]

Another anova user here. I've picked up a few other brands over the years when I needed a second one for major cooks. #2 is usually whatever is cheapest and I find it too loud and after a single use it gets returned. A coworker bought the Anova Nano and says he prefers it over the full size version.

Mine might have bluetooth, or wifi, I forget. I've never once thought that I needed that feature.

[sliding_billy]

Here's my Amazon review of the Inkbird. Besides the fact that it is an inexpensive unit and works well, you can't beat the customer service that comes with Oksana being a regular on the site. Also, considering some of the stuff he has thrown our way I would be very hesitant to give my business to anyone else with a comparable product.
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Billy
4.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Perfect
October 20, 2019
I already have an 1100 watt immersion circulator that does well for me, but has to be put in a very large pot to keep from bottoming out where this one can clip onto a slightly smaller pot without touching the bottom. It's those little things that make a difference especially in the amount of water you are heating and moving or the size of the pot you are moving around and cleaning. Despite the power difference, preheat time was similar with the same amount of water. The preheat is not documented or controllable, but your time does not start until you hit the programmed temp. The one glaring miss in my opinion is that it does not shut off when your programmed time expires. It just sits on 1 minute indefinitely (it does not drop into seconds at the end of course either). The biggest thing I noticed was how quiet this device was. The water is moving albeit slower than I am used to, but the fact that I can barely hear it is a huge advantage. As for the app, it does what I expect it to. I like that it is WiFi instead of Bluetooth since I am not subject to distance to unit issues. Making it part of a smart home app is ridiculous, but once I got it sent up it is not something I plan on thinking about again. I have no interest in using app recipes, so others can discuss their usefulness and how using them impacts the app itself. Plus, it is easy enough to control manually from the device itself and without the app. This is a solid cooker and well worth the price.
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