Innovators, your day has come. We've seen your crazy awesome hardware ideas floating around the forums and we know you've got more. Please share your thoughts and feedback on device features and improvements to help us build the biggest, baddest hardware wish list these forums have ever known. While we won't be commenting on future product plans or features, we will be responding and taking part in the discussion to compile your suggestions.
See an idea you like? Vote it up so we know which features people want the most!
If you're not okay with contributing your ideas knowing that they could potentially be used by Anova to help shape the future of precision cooking and the world itself, please refrain from posting.
We look forward to hearing what you've been dreaming up for Anova :)
Here’s a couple from the top of my head, hope this helps!
- Integrated water direction cap: sometimes mine falls off and I have to keep checking to make sure that the bags don’t get stuck in the blades.
- Shield to keep steam from messing up the Anova unit: mine has beeped randomly whenever I don’t cover the water to deter water loss, it gets pretty irritating after a couple times hearing the loud beeping go off
- More dedicated buttons: holding the |> button to change C to F or to turn on the timer is cumbersome after a while
- More display area for the current temperature, target temperature, and time. It would be great to be able to see them all at once and access them all seamlessly
- Functionality to set when the cooking time started and when it should stop
- Low battery warning sent to phone via bluetooth or WiFi before low water beeping starts
- More features built out for bluetooth and maybe WiFi
@iM1 Thank you - great list of feedback! Will share with the team
Have you tried insulated the tank / pot you cook in? It will help with the water loss and keep your device quiet in the meantime, even a sheet of foil can help. The steam hitting the device’s interface can make it angry and cause beeping too if it gets too hot!
I have to agree on the water direction cap being a potential failure point. Mine hasn't fallen off, but it does collect lint. (Probably from dust in the air collecting on top of open pots during cooking sessions) I have also had one of the arms on the cap that holds it on break. I was on the site today to see if a person can buy this (or any other part for the anova) separately, but I can't find it.
Another things that would be nice is a combined shield/washer for the device. Basically a plate with a hole in it for the Anova to slide into. While I have made my own topper to use with a cooler, it is hard to make a hole the right size to hold up the Anova without the device sliding right thru, and that also means the steam is now focused right on the electronics of the device.
@drtwolittle Ahh, that’s not good, can you snap a photo and send it to our support team at support@anovaculinary.com so they can get this taken care of for you?
I heard a great suggestion from @Simon_C about a ring for the Anova as an alternative holder for DIY vessels like the coolers. It would also help seal out any steam coming up from the extra space around the skirt if the hole is a bit too large. Would that be something of interest to you?
I would like to see the Max and Min water marks printed in a high contrast color all the way around. Depending on the vessel I am using and where I am cooking I often have to hunt for the marks
I would like to be able to turn the unit on and control temperature from anywhere. Wireless connectivity so I can have hot water waiting when I get home.
Have water direction method integral to unit. I do like the plastic for resting on the bottom of smaller vessel.
Incorporate a fast heat mode. Getting up to temperature for vegetables takes a long time even with hot tap water. Automatically throttles back when water is close to set point.
I like the idea of more buttons especially timer and °F to °C. I have yet to use the timer provided.
You should sell some accessories like a device that would fit in a cooler or Cambro to hold bags under water. Insulated Vessels of a few sizes with perfect holes in the lid for the not so crafty owners.
Make the attachment screw a quick release kind so you do not have to waste time on odd shaped lips (Like 5 gallon Cambro)
In addition to the above, have the scroll wheel light up blue when the devuce is warming up, red when it is over temperature (if you’re cooling the tank to go from veg to meat for example) and green when at target temperature.
Anova branded bag weights - waterproof weights the size of scotch rocks with an integrated clip, colour matched to your Anova. You can attach as few or as many to each bag as needed.
Wifi instead of bluetooth. A bright flashing light as well as a beeper for the estimated one in ten of us with a hearing disability. LEDs in the shaft of the Anova to light up the water bath (ooh pretty!) plus ultra-violet LEDs to help keep the water sterile.
A heating unit and control unit that detach from each other (joined by a cable) so you can fully submerge the heating unit and have the control unit on the countertop next to the pot. No clamp needed then, and you could use water vessels otherwise unsuited to clamps.
An app with the ability to control multiple APCs at the same time, for anyone lucky enough to have one for meat and one for veg, or for restaurants with a few set up for different entreés.
A desktop/laptop PC app (for the Wifi APC) for easier graph/keyframe temperature control, web integration for recipe website scraping, programming and bookmarking, maybe a Google Chrome plugin to do the same?
@jordan please feel free to edit/delete this post if anything crosses into your plans.
@jordan, this one might be controversial, but this is the world of Big Data so here goes . . .
Have the app ask what is being cooked, log the temperature and length of the cook, then ask for a quality and satisfaction rating after cooking has finished, and upload that data into Anova’s database. Anonymously of course.
In the software, allow us to a) create our own local recipe collections that can be used with the device, and b) make them sharable via the cloud or some other storage paradigm so that I can browse other people's collections and download those that look appealing. For years I used a recipe program named Yummy Soup on my Mac, and one of the features it had was the ability to publish selected recipes to cookbooks stored on your Mobile Me account (the precursor to iCloud); once published, any other user of the program could subscribe to your cookbook, and would be able to automatically get your updates, and transfer those that interested them to their local storage.
Add the ability to program in multiple steps, i.e.: I might want to cook a chicken thigh at 150 for an hour or so, then drop the temperature down to, say, 130 to keep it warm without dropping into the danger zone.
Add a water level sensor to the cooker that interfaces with the wireless/bluetooth interface that will notify the app user if the water level gets close to the bottom water level line during long cooking sessions. On a related note, I second the motion to mark the water level lines with indelible ink to improve visibility (and will be doing so to mine shortly).
When I finally go to cut a hole in the top of my ice chest, I doubt I'll have a perfectly sized hole saw in my workshop. I'll probably end up using a keyhole saw or a jig saw, making the hole just a bit too big and not entirely round, so I'd like to see a fitted pass-through port made available that would permanently fit over the gap and a) improve the seal to keep hot, moist air from escaping, and b) make my amature cutting job look professionally done. If it also included a cap or plug (removable or captive) then the ice chest could still function as a, well, an ice chest. If possible the assembly should include both top and bottom port rings and an integrated sleeve – think giant plastic grommet – so that the lid maintains it's integrity and so that moist air cannot enter in and cause mold growth. I'm at work, so I don't remember the actual diameter of the Precision Cooker, but if it's bigger than a soda or beer can the plug for the port could act like a cup holder when the cap is installed.
@jimsteph sounds like the flexible silicone gasket/skirt idea I floated past Anova a while back. It should be easy enough to DIY if you have a sheet of flexible silicone and a sharp knife, but I would love the option to buy an Anova one when buying the APC.
I had a brain-flash while at work last Friday - a pot wet-suit! A sheet of neoprene (the stuff wet-suits are made of) big enough to wrap around most large stock-pots with a strip of velcro to fasten to itself. Neoprene is stretchy enough to allow for various sizes especially if there’s enough overlap. The idea is that any insulation is better than no insulation, and neoprene is inexpensive enough and versatile enough (easy to roll up and store when not in use) to make an ideal quick fix. In Australia we use neoprene bottle holders to keep our beer cool in summer, and it’s always summer. Another checkout addon or third party after-market accessory.
I love Simon_C's thoughts: WIFI instead of Bluetooth with a desktop app that can control multiple units. Being able to control units when away from home. Lighting the water with color LEDs in pretty cool too!
An affordable GOOD vacuum chamber sealer. You made an immersion circulator affordable- so why not this? I already took the plunge on an expensive one and it makes a big difference.
Now that I have both models a few more things come to mind for the next version.
I like the removable cord.
I like being able to select either time or temperature from one point. I don’t care for the wait 8 seconds on the new unit.
The 1KW unit heats the water faster as I would expect. This makes me want a 2 stage unit even more. Fast high power for heating; low power for maintaining temperature.
Be sure and keep the new clamp or a derivation of it.
Would it be difficult to make the impeller motor variable speed?
2. Apple HomeKit certified, so Siri can set everything for you.
3. Longer (detachable) cord. 5 -6 feet.
4. Cordless (rechargable) version.
5. Hard (plastic) lined (foam) storage case, to protect unit when not in use.
6. Scroll wheel starts out being blue when unit is first turned on and water is cold. Turns yellow as unit is heating the water up. Turns white when correct temp is reached. Turns red when water is over required temp. Turns green (and flashing, with audible beep) when unit is finished cooking and in “keep warm” mode.
7. For professional model, unit cools water to 40 degrees and acts as refrigerator, so you can leave food in container until it’s (programed) time to start cooking.
Sleeves! Like phone cases that you can change, how about swappable plastic sleeves to snap on to the unit so you can change the colour and design of your APC. Dammit, I want a Hello Kitty APC!
