Hi all,
Both of my devices are struggling to reach temperatures over 183F (needed for veggies). The devices seem to reach the target (or close to it) then wildly fluctuate before beeping like crazy and disabling themselves.
I see other forum posts on here with the same issue. Does anyone have a resolution?
I’m not sure if I can post YouTube videos here, so if I can, here is a sample. The device in the video is brand new; This is the 2nd time it is used (Bought Nov 30, 2017).
At those Temps, you are putting off a lot of Steam which can be seen in the video. My guess is that Steam is impacting the electronics on the Head of the APC. I would try a couple of things, either drill holes through lid of your cooler (2 3/8" Hole Saw) for your APC’s to fit through the lid snugly so the lid can be fully closed OR use either Ping Pong Balls or Sous Vide Balls to cover the surface of the Water bath to hold the steam down
Here is some of the behaviour.
Hi rcbuenger,
I agree with your assessment about the heat impacting the electronics. However, not the part about the steam. When I first ran into this issue with the WiFi device (the one in the back) I was using a metal, open-top, Stock pot. The device was unable to reach the temperature of 183 under those conditions. It had the same/similar freakout of beeping and shutting down.
I went out and bought the cooler, as you see it in the videos above, and my NEW device (bluetooth as shown in the videos above), shows the same behaviour.
Yes, there is a little steam, but there should be sufficient space for that steam to escape as the cooler lid is not sealed on either side.
I do believe the devices are over-heating while trying to get to the temperature of 185F. I do believe that heat is affecting the electronic circuitry inside. I do NOT believe that this is caused by calcium buildup (as suggested by support) because the devices are new or “in new condition”.
Jordan,
I see what you are saying but IMO, take it for whats its worth :), the reason your devices are having issues getting past 183 is the Steam impact on the APC’s. After much trail an error on my part, for everything that I use a water bath over 175, the container is covered fully and tightly to minimize and Steam loss and Overheating the Control Head of the APC, as the overheating of the control head directly impacts the ability of the APC to work correctly.
If you were having this issue with just one of your machines and the other was working normally, I would think is may be the machine, but with both having the same issues in the same water-bath, my guess would be issues caused by overheating due to Steam impact
Experienced the same thing. It was definetly steam that had condensed inside the plastik head with the electronics. Please observe there is a ventilation opening in the head to prevent electronics from geting too hot.
Drying it on mild heat made the issue disappear.
You should use a lid to prevent too much evapouration (and save some electricity.
Cheers
Armin
Thanks rcbuenger.
I had the same issue with two units (one from May 2017, one new Nov 2017). They were in different water baths (uninsulated and insulated).
I’ll give your theory a test. A tightly fitted lid is in the works… but I haven’t built it yet. I’ll give it a try. Thanks!
Yes, and part of the room available for the steam to escape is the air around the control heads.
I disagree. The reason is the Anova’s botched design. It’s meant to be near hot water, so it should work under those conditions.
DParker, there will always be space around the control head because otherwise the plastic will be in contact with the heating element shield. The device is designed to be directly above the water in which it is heating, and explicitly states it can handle temperatures up to 210F.
I do not know what the cause of the problem is; However, if it is overheating, or steam, affecting the control heads then that is a flaw that needs to be resolved.
You’re not really disagreeing with his assertion, as his statement and yours are not mutually exclusive.
I don’t think anyone is disputing that it’s a design flaw. However, that does not mean that it isn’t the problem…and the fact that you have multiple people telling you that they’ve experienced the same symptoms and that they’ve been able to work around it by redirecting the hot water vapor away from the control head ought to suggest that there’s likely some merit to the diagnosis.
JordanH - Until you have the time to “renovate” a lid for a tight fit and no steam exposure you might consider some plastic kitchen wrap directly under and around the Anova to simply prevent all rising steam from reaching the Anova’s control head. It is an easy and cheap temporary fix that might work for you. Good Luck!
Agree with the comments that it’s steam and exhaust causing the heads with the electronics to overheat. Also appears this is placed under a cabinet? (appears there’s cabinets just overhead) - if so, then you have hot, moist air building up there before it moves higher in the room. (contributing to the problem due to poor air flow).
You only need 1 APC for that size of a vessel…just cut one hole and keep that vessel sealed while you’re doing your cook and you’ll be fine.
Ran into this the first couple of times cooking with an open bath - was quick to get a vessel I could have a sealed lid with.
Thanks fischerd,
I’m not disagreeing with you but to clarify a couple points;
In the case of the malfunctioning device, when they were malfunctioning, including the videos above, the problem device was not covered. (In the above videos the rear device is covered, but I don’t usually run two. You can see that I lift the problem/front device straight up.)
As for 2 vs 1 device, I generally run one device. But after these problems surfaced, I didn’t trust the old device alone and the new one was added as a ‘failsafe’. You can see some sweet potatoes cooking ; but the last thing in the bath was a 12-hour rack of ribs which I didn’t want to fail in the middle of the night.
So… I will build a lid and test this out again. Bone-in prime rib for xmas eve is planned… maybe I’ll find some veggies to test this out as well.