Anova Sous Vide 800watt

[BillN]

I'm looking at getting the Anova Sous Vide 800watt unit. My question is I am also looking at purchasing a Rubbermaid Commercial Carb-X Space Saving Square Food Storage Container as a dedicated sous vide cook chamber, What size do you all recommend I start with the 12 quart or 18 quart or should I get both?

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Container-18-Quart-FG631800CLR/dp/B000VARW8C/ref=pd_sim_79_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000VARW8C&pd_rd_r=K90H3K0QGMA8NRTMRT60&pd_rd_w=MkdoD&pd_rd_wg=zawOX&psc=1&refRID=K90H3K0QGMA8NRTMRT60"]Amazon.com: Rubbermaid Commercial Carb-X Space Saving Square Food Storage Container, 18-Quart, Clear, FG631800CLR: Industrial & Scientific[/ame]

I was thinking of wrapping the container with foil lined bubble wrap when cooking. Also see there is a lid that is precut for the Anova unit, the lid will fit either the 12 or 18 quart Rubbermaid.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Cellar-Made-Cookers-Rubbermaid-Container/dp/B01M3VH3UK/ref=pd_sim_328_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M3VH3UK&pd_rd_r=QM77DPG3MB29RA689N2B&pd_rd_w=Wanvi&pd_rd_wg=Btww6&psc=1&refRID=QM77DPG3MB29RA689N2B"]Amazon.com: Cellar Made Sous Vide Lid for Anova Cookers Fits Rubbermaid 12, 18 and 22 quart Container 6523: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

Your thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[six501]

These are the exact two I use. I cut a whole in the lid for the Anova unit. I've never wrapped it in foil or anything and never had an issue maintaining temps.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R8JOUC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: Rubbermaid Commercial Carb-X Space Saving Square Food Storage Container, 12-Quart, Clear, FG631200CLR: Industrial & Scientific[/ame]

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VAUFD6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: Rubbermaid Commercial Plastic Food Storage Container Lid, Square, White, 12 Quart: Industrial & Scientific[/ame]

Cut it yourself. I used kitchen scissors. Charging that much for 3 minutes of effort is absurd.

 

[BillN]

six501 do you recommend the 12 quart?

 

[six501]

six501 do you recommend the 12 quart?

How many people do you cook for? How much are you planning to have in it at once? I normally do 1 or 2 steaks or some salmon and it is absolutely perfect without taking up TOO much space. I think the 12 is perfect. I could fit more in there, easily. I typically vacuum seal it and just put the edge of the bag in between the lid and container to hold it in place. With a little rack inside it, could fit way more.

 

[BillN]

I will expect that I will cook everything from individual steaks for the wife and I all the way up to medium sized roast and whole beef tenderloins. I don't have a vac sealer yet, do you vac seal or use ziplocs?

 

[six501]

I will expect that I will cook everything from individual steaks for the wife and I all the way up to medium sized roast and whole beef tenderloins. I don't have a vac sealer yet, do you vac seal or use ziplocs?

I've always used a vac sealer so, I can't comment on if ziplocks work just as well.

Used this one for a good year or so then it stopped working correctly and the warranty was useless:
[ame="https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FM2000-FFP-Vacuum-Sealing-Starter/dp/B01D5TMBE0/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1482003213&sr=1-6&keywords=food+saver"]Amazon.com: FoodSaver FM2000-FFP Vacuum Sealing System with Starter Bag/Roll Set, Black: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

Been using this ever since that, with no issues. I like it much much more.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Automatic-Sealing-SmartSeal-Technology/dp/B001E42R8O/ref=sr_1_54?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1482003241&sr=1-54&keywords=food+saver"]Amazon.com: FoodSaver V3835 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System with SmartSeal Technology: Vacuum Sealers: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

 

[Norm]

Here's what I use Bill.

I used a hole saw to cut a circle in the corner.

 

[Soybomb]

People go a little over the top with some of their sous vide setups (ping pong balls? really?) At least half my cooks are in a small stainless stock pot. The rest go into coolers of varying sizes I have sitting around. Plastic wrap or foil covers as needed.

 

[legendaryhog]

I'd go cooler. A lot cheaper and holds heat so element won't turn on as often. Attach a hole cutter to your drill and cut a whole out for the anova.

As far as vacuum sealer goes, I have one but don't use it for sous vide. I use the water displacement method to get the air out (google it for a short video, super easy) and clip the bag to the side of the vessel with a big black binder clip (like what you use for big legal files). As long as you use a name brand zip-lock bag I've never had a problem with a bag leaking in water. Much cheaper than using a vacuum sealer bag. Those things are darn expensive.

 

[airedale]

Are you sure you need a dedicated chamber? We don't have the space for that.

Our Anova fastens easily to our Instant Pot and there is enough volume to do a couple of steaks, a small roast, etc. for the two of us. If I need more volume I will use a stainless boiler left from when I was making beer. There are also a couple of poly buckets.

Re he insulation, I have never tried the 190deg bath used for things like vegetables but the Anova in the Instant Pot heats the water bath into the 130-140deg range very quickly.

I'd suggest experimenting with whatever you already own before going off to buy something special.

 

[Norm]

If you are doing short cooks in the SV there's no reason to buy anything special. I get lots of tough cuts (top sirloin) when I have a cow butchered. 24hrs in a SV with the cooler is easier for me.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-16-Quart-Excursion-Cooler/dp/B00GZQ80BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482019837&sr=8-1&keywords=coleman+excursion+16+quart"]Amazon.com : Coleman 16 Quart Excursion Cooler : Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

 

[BillN]

Thanks for all the reply's, lots to think about, I do have plenty of stock pots ranging from 12 to 22 quarts. Coolers are cheap enough and easy to pickup anywhere. Still thinking about a vac sealer as can be used for freezing meat and leftovers. Wish the chamber sealers were not so expensive.

 

[Meatguyver]

I primarily use ziplock style bags and found they work perfectly. The ones I use are HEB brand (TX based supermarket) and they are pretty thick, so I would suggest freezer bags as they are just as thick, definitely don't skimp because you want ones that wont fail. As for the vaccum sealer, I use my food saver and it has worked great. The Team Chefsteps guys suggest you use thicker bags when cooking at high temps and when cooking meat with bones. Plus if you seal you can add your seasoning and be ready to go. I have gone as far as cooking from frozen (pre seasoned sealed meat) and got amazing results.

 

[OferL]

I'm still on the fence re Anova. I've rigged a makeshift SV using an electric cooker , a pump and a digital thermostat. the cooker is 8 liter which is ~8.5 quarts. It fits 4 steak at a time but not much more.
I use food grade zip lock bags. Still I agree using a vac sealer is probably easier and useful for other tasks like freezing food.

 

[Bperkins01]

I use the Anova in the Carbx all the time.. no wrapping or cover or anything..
No problem....

If I was doing something longer than an hour or two.. I might wrap a towel for insulation.. But it does a great job as is...

 

[AZRaptor]

I have the CarbX 12-, 18- and 22-quart for my SV vessels, but I use the 12 for the majority of my cooks. While I have the advantage of being able to use the same lid (I bought a plain lid and cut my own hole) for all three containers. Having used these for a while now, for the larger volume cooks I would prefer to go wider than deeper. I rarely us the 22 because I'm not sure how well the water circulates vertically.

For bagging the food I used to use a FoodSaver sealer but it died on me about a month ago and I've been using the ziplock-water displacement method. It definitely works, but I prefer the vac sealer, so I just ordered a chamber vac sealer last night. They are pricey though so I would suggest starting out with ziplocks (or the reusable Waring Pistol vac bags to see if you like SV first.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Waring-Pistol-Professional-Vacuum-WPVS2000SA/dp/B00AP3PLCE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482071435&sr=8-1&keywords=waring+vacuum+sealer"]Amazon.com: Waring Pro Pistol Vac Professional Vacuum Sealer System WPVS2000SA: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

 

[charcoal4brains]

1.) I use Ziploc ® bags, it's the only brand I know of that isn't made with BPA - a possible carcinogen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A


2.) The more insulation around a SV vessel, the less it costs to run (up to a point.) I have about 6"-8" around my homemade SV cooker. But then, most of my SV cooks are chuck roasts - 131F for 36 hours.

 

[cowgirl]

I use stock pots and zip lock bags with no problem. I plan on rigging up a cooler like Norm's in the future.

 

[sbramm]

stock pots for me along with foodsaver and ziplocs have been fine.

gonna follow the lead on a dedicated cooler for larger/longer baths in the future.

 

[m-fine]

I have a 33 quart Coleman stacking cooler for the bigger cooks. It was under $20. I have a plastic Cambro and a variety of pots for smaller cooks. You will want at least take sizes, one for a couple of steaks or reheating leftovers, and another for larger items, but you don't need to get fancy or expensive.

Coolers are great, you can cut a hole in the lid or just cover with plastic wrap. A lid is a bit better but the biggest gain is stopping evaporative cooling. You can use towels to add insulation to pots or plastic bins as well. The bigger or longer the cook, the more insulation matters.