So the pots i have won’t be big enough to cook for a small party crowd
I was thinking of buying a container that can fit more water and more steaks in it :) Does any plastic container do the job, or the high temp might be high and unsafe to use with any container?
(for ribs, i use the 24H-185F, but usually i use the 1-2H-130F for all the rest)
I saw the Salma one from IKEA - it looks pretty big and has a fitting lid (that i may drill on to get the Anova to fit into) made of Polypropylene, will that be safe?
Polypropylene is fairly flexible. That container will deform from the heat and weight of water, possibly resulting in spillage or even dunking your SV circulator.
I’d recommend getting a 48-50 quart ice chest and cutting out one corner of the lid to allow you to open and close the lid with the circulator mounted. Fill with hot water (above the target temp) to make it easier on the heater in the Anova and that way when you put the cold meat in, it drops back down to about the target temp. This method makes it really easy on the heater, which, IIRC is only 1000W and only rated for 4 gallons.
I’ve used this method to cook eight 3-4 lb tri-tips (8 hours at 131F) - about 20-24 lbs of meat. And then finish over a mesquite grill. With the cold meat going in, it took about an hour for the temp to come back up. Once it did, it held temp perfectly for the rest of the cook.
Other popular containers are the the Lipavi containers and Cambro containers. Lipavi even offers lids that are pre-cut to fit the SV circulator. Both of these companies use polycarbonate, which is a hard plastic and offers ample support when full of water and a firm surface to clamp the circulator to.
Hello! I had seen the Ikea ones and look great at a couple of eur withbthe lud incl ? However, the same Ikea seller thought it could not take higher temos luke 80C for long.
The Lipavi container are great but they cost more than a 100 eur without lid How can it be, a plastic container cist slmost more than the Anova itself???
Maybe Anova should look into it closer.
Thanks for suggesting Cambro, I see they have different distributors in Europe!
There are other polycarbonate containers out there. As Ember suggested, camping coolers also work very very well - as they’re insulated, your APC will need to heat the bath less - causing it to use less power.
The advantage to the polycarbonate containers is that they’re clear - you can see what’s going on in your bath without removing the lid. (plus, if the lid locks, like the Cambro, it reduces the evaporation to virtually zero!)
That picture was lost due to the site migration that happened. Not sure which picture it was, but here’s two - one without the lid and one with - the latter cooking a batch of ribs.
If you find a local restaurant supply store close to you, they should have polycarbonate food containers that you can use.
Edit: One of the advantages of the Cambro container is the size - it can accommodate most sous vide racks and still have room for your APC. In the rib picture, that’s actually a Weber rib rack (meant for a BBQ) - it’s only chrome, not stainless, so it rusted at the welds each time I used it You definitely want to make sure all of your racking / support grates are stainless steel, not chrome - or you’ll have rust in your bath.
I use a poly-carbonate contain that I got from a restaurant supply store and cut a hole to fit in the lid. It will handle just about anything. I have attached my Sous Vide to a cooler for big jobs (6 tri tips) I got the aluminum roll insulation from the local hardware store and attached it with velcro tape. It use less power and works great.
How can it be, a plastic container cist slmost more than the Anova itself???
You definitely want to make sure all of your racking / support grates are stainless steel, not chrome - or you’ll have rust in your bath.