Received my precision cooker

Received my cooker and wanted to post some feedback. The packaging was a bit scuffed for something that is shipped directly from the manufacturer. Packaging is vertical and quite tall (24.25") and you have to dig the items out a bit. Once you get the cooker out it is sort of disappointing to see its small size next to the package (psychologically). Stainless skirt also has a few imperfections for something hot off the production line, but i am being picky. There was no documentation inside the box. I know what it is, but it is intended as a gift. The nondescript packaging makes it easy to wrap I guess, but someone opening it who is not familiar is going to have no idea and really needs some beautiful photos of sous vide and the process to get an instant appreciation.

Powered up OK. Haven’t tested heating yet. Cord length is 1m for those curious. Overall it looks nice but because of the few issues did not wow me out of the box. Maybe not a big deal, but some companies and people pay close attention to the OOBE.

I think they wanted to get the Anova’s shipping and they didn’t yet have the printed manuals ready to be put in the tubes. I was a bit surprised by the lack of documentation as well but a few days after I got my Anova I received the following message via email in reference to the manual:

“We’re still waiting for our operating manuals to be printed. We figured you’d want your system before then, so we shipped it without the manual. I’ve attached a PDF version of the manual. If you’d like us to send you a hard copy, please let me know and we’ll ship you one when they’re ready.”

I am not going to request a printed copy at all but it is nice to have the option. I don’t know about you but I think it’s ok that they didn’t hold back shipment of the Anovas completely while waiting for a paper manual to arrive. I have also noticed a trend with other things recently where they do not actually include a printed manual, but in those cases it usually has a slip of paper or writing on the box to tell you where to go to download the instruction manual.

I was not at all disappointed by the small size of the actual Anova compared to the size of the packaging because when I saw the tube size I was afraid it was going to be huge and unwieldy if it was close to the size of the tube. One thing I found funny about the Anova packing tube is it looks like they had to manually drill a hole in the bottom of the tube to allow air to escape since the foam padding created a pretty good seal thus making it hard to get the bottom piece of foam padding down to the bottom.

I see. Must have missed that mail. Even so, the manual as shown in the pdf doesn’t really do anything to immediately engage the uninitiated to the exciting world of sous vide. It’s not clear if the printed version will be color and glossy either. If you take a look at most cooking appliances, the buyer is engaged through rich images of food that stimulate the senses.

I wouldn’t want the device to be any bigger of course, but there is still a psychological effect of a short item in a tall box. Kind of like when a girl takes off her high heels. I did notice the hole as well.

Anyway, just some things to think about for the future. Glad it shipped.

I also just received mine with instructions, but I easily figured out how to use the product (in Fahrenheit) without downloading the manual. I made a butternut squash soup night one and it worked like a charm. I have since found the manual online and now know how to work the timer and change to centigrade. Woo hoo!

I was also relieved when the device was MUCH smaller than the packaging. When I got the box from FedEx, I was a little scared.

There’s really good feedback in this post. Thanks all!!!