How I love those beeps…

Anova Support
1

As I’m typing this, I’m sitting here at my kitchen table with the Anova on the bench. It’s heating six small mason jars with egg bites. I have the cooker set to 85 C. As you would expect, the temperature fluctuates around that a little, between maybe 84.5 C and 85.5 C. (There is no lid on the pot, so evaporation cools the water quite quickly.)

So far, the Anova has beeped at me about eight times. Every time the temperature gets back up to 85 C, it seems. Not great :frowning:

At least it’s only a a 25-minute cook, otherwise I’d throw either the Anova or myself out of the window…

Michi.

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2

May I suggest the far less drastic solution of covering the pot in a sheet of aluminum foil formed around the cooker so as to inhibit the temperature fluctuation-inducing evaporation?

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Plastic wrap (aka cling film) also works quite well for this, although for the high temp cooks like egg bites I tend to prefer the aluminum foil solution.

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4

Ping Pong balls work great too.

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michihenning - Sorry if this off-topic, but may I ask you if any water infiltrated into the Mason jars while cooking due to light fingertip tightening of the jar lids? I assume that your Mason jars are the 250 mL (8.5 oz or 1 cup) size and were entirely submerged?

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michihenning - If your beeps are due to insufficient water level, I suggest you increase your water level to, at least, midway between MIN and MAX (regardless of temp and time). I’ve experienced a similar beeping condition when my uncovered cooking vessel was placed in a draft near an open window. Water can evaporate quickly when uncovered, under certain conditions. Covering the pot with foil or ping-pong balls should definitely eliminate any evaporation problem.

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@DParker: :slight_smile: Sometimes is not that convenient to have to cover the pot. And I’m not that keen on using alfoil only to throw it away 25 minutes later. But you do have a point: throwing the Anova out the window is less drastic than throwing myself out the window :wink:

@ANDRE1D: No, problem wasn’t due to low water level, which was about an inch above the low water mark. No water got into the jars. I used 120 ml jars for the egg bites, and the jars were completely under water.

A minute after my original post, the beeping stopped. Blissful silence. For about three minutes. Then the Anova found its second wind and beeped with renewed enthusiasm. Three short beeps spaced anything from about 15 seconds to a minute apart.

Overall, I’d say it beeped about 25-30 times during the 25-minute cook.

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michihenning- Beeps: Weird. Perhaps a call or email to support is in order?
Mason jars: Thank you for your reply concerning the 120 mL jars under water. You have instilled in me the courage to experiment with Mason jars. I’m curious about adapting a few Instant Pot bread and pressed ham recipes from IP to SV via 500 mL Mason jars.

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How keen are you on the inability to maintain a steady temp? In any event, there’s no need to throw the foil away. Let it dry, fold it up and use it again another time.

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Making egg bites at 85 °C, I can tolerate fluctuations of ±0.5 °C. The beeps are harder to tolerate.

It would also be nice not to have to use alfoil that I then need to dry, fold, and store to reuse it later, assuming that, once having wrapped it around the edges of the pot and the Anova, the alfoil would still be in good enough shape to have these things done to it.

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Yeah, I’m worn out just reading about all that work. Especially the drying, which involves letting it sit on the counter for a bit.

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Me: Sets temperature to 85 °C and turns on Anova.
A few minutes later:

Anova: “BEEP! Your water is at 85 °C!”
Me: “Thank you. Time to put the jars into the pot.”

A few minutes later:

Anova: “BEEP! The water is back at 85 °C now.”
Me: “Thank you, that’s good to know.”

45 seconds later:

Anova: “BEEP! The water was at 85 °C and then briefly dropped down to 84.5 °C. But I brought it back up to 85 °C for you again.”
Me: “Thank you, that was very diligent of you.”

25 seconds later:

Anova, with a proud intonation: “BEEP! Water temperature adjusted back to nominal after brief 0.5 °C drop!”
Me, patting the Anova on the head: “Good work Anova, atta boy!”

50 seconds later.

Anova: “BEEP! It’s happened again! But don’t you worry, I’ve taken care of it for you.”
Me: “Yeah, right, thanks.”

20 seconds later:

Anova: “BEEP! I’m still looking after your water temperature for you.”
Me: “Right, that’s your job. It’s why I bought you. Keep doing it please. No need to keep telling me about it. I trust you!”

17 seconds later:

Anova, wagging its tail: “BEEP! Still doing my job, in case you were wondering…”
Me: “Ok, listen, you really can just do all this without telling me each time. Please don’t.”

Five minutes of blissful silence.

Anova: “BEEP! It’s been a long time since we had a chat. Are you sure you are not getting lonely? By the way, I’m still keeping your water warm for you…”
Me: “I didn’t buy you to keep me company. Now shut up, please!”

33 seconds later:

Anova: “BEEP! Despite being offended, I’m still doing my duty, like you asked.”
Me: “Right. One more beep from you, and you are going to the planet of the mis-designed appliances (right next to the planet of the ballpoint life forms), and I’ll cook my eggs on the stove from now on.”

12 seconds later:

Anova: “BEEP!” … “BEEP!” … “BEEP?”

No answer because hypertension caused by the exchange made me pass out due to a ruptured brain aneurysm…

2 Likes
13

While on the topic of beeps…I get driven crazy when at the end of the cooking cycle I get notified that the cooking has ended (which starts a series of “reminder” beeps), then beeps don’t stop even if I turn off the Anova. I find that I have to completely unplug it to have it stop. Anyone else experiencing this?

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Yep. BEEP!

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Nope.

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See here for a more detailed account:

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Why not simply reset the timer when it starts to beep. Reset it for 30 minutes or so and I won’t bother you until that time is up.

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Well, it doesn’t seem to work all that well: My experiences after a few weeks - #6 by michihenning

The incessant beeping is just too annoying. If it would beep, say, once every 30 seconds for two minutes, and then back off to beeping once every five minutes for the next hour, and then back off to beeping once an hour thereafter, it would be much more user-friendly.

I’ve given up on the built-in timer, and I don’t use the app anymore. I start the Anova with the start button, set a kitchen timer or a timer on my phone, and stop the Anova directly at the device again once I get the reminder. That works every time, and I don’t get beeped eternally while I’m the middle of a conversation or otherwise occupied with something. And, instead of a beep, I get a nice sound clip of my own choosing.

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Life is too short. Get yourself a Cambro (or similar polycarbonate container) that supports a locking lid - and, yes, camping coolers will work just as well (or better as they’re insulated). Though, I, myself, like being able to see my cook without having to pop the lid (plus we have an ongoing electricity surplus in Ontario, so using electricity is somewhat guilt free) :slight_smile:
…then drill a hole in the lid to have evaporation-free cooking (and no more beeps!!!) :slight_smile:

So worth the price!

https://www.staples.ca/en/abc/product_1639752_1-CA_1_20001
https://www.staples.ca/en/abc/product_1639754_1-CA_1_20001

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Yes, that seems to be the only option. (I’m not worried about electricity consumption. The savings due to insulation are not worth it, IMO: Sous Vide Koozie - anyone tried it? - #4 by michihenning)

Sad, isn’t it, that I have to use a special container with a lid to stop the beeps:

  • The Anova is designed to be attached to a pot with the clamp that comes with it.
  • The Anova’s job is to heat water and to keep that water hot.
  • Hot water emits steam.
  • The Anova, by design, sits directly above the hot water.
  • The Anova has vents that allow steam to enter.
  • Steam that enters the vents confuses the electronics.

Am I the only one who sees the irony of this?