Might a case be made for ISP damaging IoT ANOVA Precision Cooker?

Anova Precision® Cooker
1

My ANOVA PC has been brick reliable for 14 months.

For the past week my last mile network connection has been horribly flaky, unreliable connection and slow when connected. I haven’t used my ANOVA PC for the week, until today, making yogurt.

Working in the scullery, where the PC tub is, I noticed that it was OFF (blue ‘light’ OFF) and temperature indication was flaky - even worrisome as it seemed to display cyclic and random numbers in ACTUAL and TARGET temperatures.

Now I am upstairs at my desk but monitoring the ANOVA PC app and watching the connection come and go. While the connection is made indications are as I expect. Frequently I’ll look up to see ‘problem. try again.’

I must imagine that the heat load of 185ºF TARGET temperature plus high duty cycle of the WiFi transceiver is high.

Just looked up again to see, Something isn’t right. Try Again. GRRR! I hate to think …

2

Not clear exactly what the issue is you’re describing, but there is no way issues with your ISP could damage you Anova.

3

I have an idea of what you’re seeing, as I have the same model. The earlier models (mine is some years old) will have flaky readings when steam gets into the vents, these vents are on the opposite side of the readout and are just above the mounting ring if you use that. Apparently the PC boards were not passivated (coated with a non-conductive surface), so that steam could condense on the PC board, thus causing some signal cross-talk or an electrical short (not bad enough to cause damage). According to the Anova people, the modern ones are passivated. Anyway, you need to (1) let the unit dry out, then (2) place something to divert the steam away from the vents. At first I would tie a handkerchief or napkin around the unit, but Anova suggested it would be better to leave the vents open and to instead divert the steam. What I do is to angle the vent to the edge of the container, then place a sheet of plastic wrap across that edge, then all the steam goes out elsewhere. Certainly, 185 F will generate a good bit of steam. I’ve used this method with good results for ducklegs (185 F for 5 hours) and brisket (155 F for 36 hours).
Also, high temperatures and long cooking times may leave hardness deposits on your active surfaces; you’ll need to periodically clean off the scale for proper operation.
Let us know if this works.

4

Thanks. I had no idea that the interior was so well ventilated. I will have another look.

As to cleaning, I have to be careful to not be obsessive about cleaning.