Sous Vide Units

Deek1997

What type/brand of Sous Vide units does everyone use?

Secondly, I’m assuming a Foodsaver bag works? Or are there special bags?

paqman

I use foodsaver bags

Deek1997

What cooker do you have?

theyolksonyou

Anova here.  WI-FI sucks. Doesn’t work.  It rattles.  Sent the first one back because the water sensors crapped the bed first use.  Other than that it’s fine. 


Foodsaver bags are fine. 

bgebrent

Foodsaver works well but ziplock bags work just fine.  Anova (what I have) and Joule are the most common and both function well.  The head of the Anovahas to be protected from too much steam or it malfunctions or shuts off.  Simple planning eliminates that problem.  There are others.

Mattman3969

I have a Chefman that I’m happy with.  The needs to be shielded from the steam as well. 

I found a knock knock of brand of vac pac bags that work great for SV.  The brand escapes me now. 

RRP

My sv brand is the popular ANOVA - none of that blue tooth stuff - just the plain ol plug in, set and forget model! As for bags - Food Saver if already in them after thawing, but if not just plain ol' inexpensive plastic bags from Kroger called 1 gallon twist tie food bags.

Deek1997

I don’t know if it was my lucky day, fate or the fact that I’m not on Amazon enough, but it just so happened there was a lightning deal on a cooker that I ended up pulling the trigger on. 1000 watts for just over $50. Normally it was $76.

Now, I’ll have to search this forum for some ideas and tips. 

Thanks!

NorthPilot06

The joule is killer, imo. Very happy with my purchase, been going strong for multiple years

nolaegghead

Polyscience Professional, Sous Vide Demi, Anova, Home made unit

jamesj

Anova wifi model just because it's more powerful, never used the wifi. Used about 15 times never had a problem.  Got it because I did not want to have to use a phone to control it, adjustments made right on the top. 

Toxarch

Mine is a Joule. They are bluetooth or wifi only. Only a power button on the unit. Works great. Didn't know the Anova doesn't like steam. I've covered the tub with the Joule and it bathed in steam and never had an issue.

I use foodsaver bags. It is not recommended to use zip lock bags because the edges can fail from the heat. 

ryantt

I have an Anova Bluetooth model that we picked up at target for $27 on clearance. We’ve used about a dozen times without issue.  I like it for 2inch pork chops, I do not always use a food saver, sometimes we just use a ziplock freezer bag.    

jtcBoynton

Foodsaver bags are fine. 

Anova and Joule are two popular brands. I prefer Anova because it can be operated without a phone. 

lkapigian

I have Anova, use it FAR more than i ever imagined, no I have not cooked a meal with it, but use it to Pre Cook for events and such. It can get noisy if the water level is low, I have not had any WI Fi issues as of yet

OhioEgger

SousVide Supreme. Back when I bought it over seven years ago there was nothing better available, and it's still great. I've been very happy with it, but if I were getting one today I might go for the Joule, although I'd still consider the SVS.

Kent8621

i have the anova, but i have never used it.  its been in the box for a 1yr and a half.

thetrim

I have an anova.  Although the foodsaver bags work well, I prefer water displacement method and ziplocks for short duration cooks.

ShadowNick

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

Skiddymarker

Two ANOVAs pipe 1 and pipe 2. Zip lock leaked at higher temps, but never issue with Foodsaver. Foodsaver is ideal for ribs and pork tenderloin, you can prep, seal, freeze then right into the tres booblay. 

NorthPilot06

ShadowNick said:

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

I do this all the time ^^^^

jeponline

NorthPilot06 said:

ShadowNick said:

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

I do this all the time ^^^^

How long does it take to go from ice water to the temp you choose?  Are you confident that's not too much time in the danger zone?

lkapigian

I think this is ^^^^^^^^^^ Is hard on any Sous Vide, I have heard of people doing this this as well but can't think of a a time I would that, I always preheat my water to desired SV Set Point give or take

HeavyG

jeponline said:

NorthPilot06 said:

ShadowNick said:

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

I do this all the time ^^^^

How long does it take to go from ice water to the temp you choose?  Are you confident that's not too much time in the danger zone?

I had posted this before in a similar discussion about that method a year or so ago. Good read if you are interested - https://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-cooking-blog/more/experiments-to-determine-how-long-will-a-sous-vide-ice-bath-keep-food-safe

NorthPilot06

jeponline said:

NorthPilot06 said:

ShadowNick said:

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

I do this all the time ^^^^

How long does it take to go from ice water to the temp you choose?  Are you confident that's not too much time in the danger zone?

Yes, 100% safe, 0 time spent in the danger zone.  I routinely check my water bath temperatures remotely on the joule app (during the day), that's the beauty of the app and wi-fi connectivity.  Then you're never guessing if there's still ice (32 degrees) or venturing into the danger zone.

Time to heat up to temp with ice?  I don't know, add 5 minutes to how long it would normally take.  Generally *most* of the ice has melted by this point and it takes very little thermal energy to melt the rest.

NorthPilot06

lkapigian said:

I think this is ^^^^^^^^^^ Is hard on any Sous Vide, I have heard of people doing this this as well but can't think of a a time I would that, I always preheat my water to desired SV Set Point give or take

Hmm, not sure why you say it's hard on any SV.  The heating element doesn't warm up to a higher temp just because there's a little bit of ice in the bucket, it just adds a slight amount of time (< 5 minutes) to the heating time.

caliking

jeponline said:

NorthPilot06 said:

ShadowNick said:

O.G. Anova, works great.  Looking at picking up a Joule though.  I thought the wifi phone control stuff was a gimmick as you don't need to change temps during a cook, then I heard about people who filled the bin with ice water and put the meat in there in the morning, and then a few hours before coming home use the phone to start up the Joule, and food is ready for searing when you walk in the door.

Foodsaver and ziplock bags

I do this all the time ^^^^

How long does it take to go from ice water to the temp you choose?  Are you confident that's not too much time in the danger zone?

I think the Anova app has an ice bath mode, where it sends an alert when the bath temp hits 40°F and you're then supposed to fire up the unit. The same can be achieved with the Joule, by monitoring the temp of the bath , then firing up the unit after 40°F.

The "danger zone" is supposedly >4 hrs between 40°F and 140°F (I think). There is no way any decent SV unit takes even close to that much time to heat up to target temp, provided the setup is operating at room temp. 

lkapigian

NorthPilot06 said:

lkapigian said:

I think this is ^^^^^^^^^^ Is hard on any Sous Vide, I have heard of people doing this this as well but can't think of a a time I would that, I always preheat my water to desired SV Set Point give or take

Hmm, not sure why you say it's hard on any SV.  The heating element doesn't warm up to a higher temp just because there's a little bit of ice in the bucket, it just adds a slight amount of time (< 5 minutes) to the heating time.

@NorthPilot06 , it's probably just me and stuck in my mind that way, not from a food safety stand point , but a repeated 0 to 200 MPH....its probably fine but my mind says it's easier on the equipment by starting closer to desired temp...My mind says it's not a water heater but a precision cooker that heats water ....I....I know, same thing ...

HeavyG

lkapigian said:

NorthPilot06 said:

lkapigian said:

I think this is ^^^^^^^^^^ Is hard on any Sous Vide, I have heard of people doing this this as well but can't think of a a time I would that, I always preheat my water to desired SV Set Point give or take

Hmm, not sure why you say it's hard on any SV.  The heating element doesn't warm up to a higher temp just because there's a little bit of ice in the bucket, it just adds a slight amount of time (< 5 minutes) to the heating time.

@NorthPilot06 , it's probably just me and stuck in my mind that way, not from a food safety stand point , but a repeated 0 to 200 MPH....its probably fine but my mind says it's easier on the equipment by starting closer to desired temp...My mind says it's not a water heater but a precision cooker that heats water ....I....I know, same thing ...

Easier on your electric bill but probably no harm to the unit. I assume all of these when they first kick on and the delta t is more than a few degrees use max wattage to ramp up to temp as quickly as possible. Probably only throttle back when within a few degrees and then when just cycling to maintain temps.

TylerLane

Count me in the Joule camp, and all I’ve ever used is ziploc’s.  Works great!

Skiddymarker

Have never understood the app based units. I can see that for novice folks the settings for rare/med rare/medium for a steak might be helpfull, but once you’ve done it once, it is pretty simple. Then again, I have lots of time and even though I tend to wander off, sous vide is pretty forgiving when you forget about it.