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Anova One - Product Safety Issue

billybon
billybon Posts: 213
in Off Topic

For Christmas of 2013, I purchased an Anova immersion circulator for my son and his wife. Last month, after 18 months, the unit had an electrical problem that resulted in a melted power cord at the female end of the removable power cord. I volunteered to see if I could fix the problem. The first thing I did was to check the fuse and it was fine. Thinking the power cord was defective I replaced it. That seemed to fix the problem for a while but the new cord soon melted at the connection and a spot melted in the side of the white plastic clamp housing mechanism. Again I checked the fuse and it was fine. Fortunately there was not a house fire. The next day I contacted Anova to see if our Anova One could be sent back for repair. I was advised that they would have replaced the unit if it had failed within 12 months of purchase and they would not try to repair the unit at this late (18 months) date even for a fee.

Rather than tossing the unit I continued to try and figure out the reason for the failure. I disassembled the white plastic clamp housing mechanism to expose the fused male power input module. The backside of the input module had signs of high heat exposure around one of the rivets. I assumed that the rivet connection was loose and electrical arcing was creating the heat.

It looked like a simple fix to replace the fused power input module with a new one. Again I contacted Anova and asked if they would sell me the part or refer me to another source for the part. My request was cheerfully received by Anova and then referred to the repair department. I was assured by the repair department that I would be contacted within 24 hours. 24 hours came and went with no contact from the repair department. I emailed again to remind Anova that I was still waiting but no help was offered. After several days passed I sent another email, the receipt of which was acknowledged, but no help was offered.

Nearly three weeks into my service request, I was asked to send a picture of the part. After sending the picture I received this email message from Anovaculinary.com:

   “Unfortunately, we do not replace that part. We can only replace fuse, power cord, screw and skirt. Not that part, my     sincerest apologies. Thanks for your understanding.”

Giving up on Anova customer support I went on Google and started looking for the part. I found a possible replacement in less than 15 minutes. The part costs $1.95 plus shipping. However, the supplier required a minimum order of $10.00. Still, $10.00 plus $2.50 shipping is better than tossing a $200 immersion circulator in the trash.

The part arrived and I was happy to see that it was the exact same size and specifications as the failed part. I removed the bad part and installed the new fused male input module and it works perfectly. NO THANKS TO ANOVA.

Although I was successful in salvaging my son’s Anova One, I began to question the general safety of the product.  I went to Anova’s web site and read the user comments only to find that other consumers had experienced similar electrical problems with the Anova One.  (See following comments copied from Anovaculinary.com.)

Good but Unit Broke

Rick O on Mar 16, 2015

I purchased a One last October and have used it several times since. Over all, I was impressed with the product's design and functionality. It was easy to work and did everything I needed it to do. About the only thing I noticed that I didn't like was that the temperature display and reading on my unit round to the nearest degree, while it seems that the current (don't forget my unit is only 4 months old and I noticed this a few months ago) units go down to tenths of a degree. In all honesty, however, I think that is false precision.

The real complaint I have is that last night it dropped the temperature (from 129 to 101), then started to smoke (electrical burning smoke and smell, not steam), then popped the circuit breaker. I inspected the unit and found that the plastic housing was visibly burned and have not plugged it back in.

So, I called for customer support -- could only get a voice mail message. So, I sent an email. I will rate the customer/ warranty support in an update to this, or separately if that is not possible, after the process is complete. (If you don't find an update or new review, it will mean either that the process is ongoing (today is March 16, 2015), or that my follow up was not published (that wouldn't be good).

Great cooking, but dangerous electrical short

Jim O'Donnell on Nov 24, 2014

I've had mine for about a year now and we used it several times per week, often for more than a day at a time to do longer roasts and tougher cuts. As far as cooking and temperature control go, it's very simple and works as advertised. Unfortunately, mine overheated several times in the past few weeks and won't turn on. There is a spare fuse, however the power coupling is extremely hot to the touch and has melted the cord at the connector holes and the white housing. I'm afraid to use it. It's a shame, because we'd come to depend on it. I have the model 1.

Works great when it works

Jack on Sep 23, 2014

I really enjoyed this Sous Vide cooker and used it often for 6 months. Seems to maintain a very constant temperature. After about 6 months it just stopped working in the middle of the night and my roast was cold when I woke up. I believe the problem with mine is a low quality fuse holder which loosens up over time. I opened the fuse compartment and the fuse fell out. I put it back in but I could see the clip was so loose the fuse would slide back and forth in the clip. I took the fuse out and bent the 4 fingers of the holder inward and reinserted the fuse. That seems to have fixed it - if it fails again I'll solder the fuse in place.

 


I find it interesting that the new version of the Anova has eliminated the removable power cord and the fused male input module.  I wonder if the design change was a result of known failures with the Anova One design. 

Prior to my son’s problem with his Anova One, I purchased another Anova One unit when Amazon had the $99.00 deal. However, I no longer trust the safety of the Anova One and plan to do a preemptive modification to the new unit by replacing the factory part that has shown a tendency to fail. I imagine it will void my warranty but I would rather be safe than sorry.





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