I’ve had my sous vide wand for about a year and use it frequently. I used it last night for steak (130 for about two/three hours) without a problem, I’ve used it for carnitas before at 185 and once it stopped heading. I shut it off and it seemed to be fine when I started it again.
Well, this morning, I’m having the same problem. It reached 185 and then fell off to the high one 150s. Turned it off and on, but it doesn’t appear to be reaching the temperature. Despite finding the receipt on your serious eats site, is it just not designed to sustain 185? This is disappointing
Maybe the issue is that I had too big a pot. I heated the water on the stove and switched to a smaller pot and that seems to be working. But the pot wasn’t THAT big. still seems like a problem
Tony, maybe your wand problem isn’t pot sized related. There are occasional Community reports of similar wand malfunctions when cooking at high temperatures. You appear to have encountered that wand challenge which requires some other corrective thinking and action.
The most likely cause is the amount of water vapour being generated at an elevated temperature from an open vessel and messing with your wand’s solid state controls. Those controls are both moisture and heat sensitive. You don’t disclose if you have taken any steps to control or reduce the moisture from affecting your wand. If not, try doing it. It apparently solves that wand problem for most users.