# wont cook - stuck **URL:** \ **Category:** First Cook Essentials\ **Created:** [March 28, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493 "2020-03-28T00:30:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ayoung816](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@ayoung816](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/ayoung816)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/1 "2020-03-28T00:30:37Z")
I tried anova nano for the first time today - hard boiled eggs. Was going to cook at 170 fro 20 minutes. Water got to 170, but then would go down to 168 and back up, the timer would stop (i am guessing because the temperature had gone down?) and after 15 minutes the timer only showed it cooking 2. What could be wrong? Thank you all for your help. This was a gift and I was looking so forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![Ember](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/ember/32/729_2.png) [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/2 "2020-03-28T01:23:15Z")
Welcome aboard. First question I have is are you using the app to set your device temperature and time or have you done it from the head of the unit? It is possible that reinstalling the app may solve the issue. Otherwise, I’d suggest you contact Support ([support@anovaculinary.com](mailto:support@anovaculinary.com) or the telephone number on the website) as they are probably the ones best able to assist you if there is something wrong with your IC. ---
**Author:** ![stevej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@stevej](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/stevej)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/3 "2020-03-28T01:25:41Z")
If you cover your cooking vessel with aluminum foil or plastic wrap it will prevent evaporation and heat loss (at that high temp my preference would be the foil). It will also help protect the electronics in your cooker from steam. I would also recommend some sort of insulator (dish towel, trivet) under your cooking vessel. ---
**Author:** ![ayoung816](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@ayoung816](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/ayoung816)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/4 "2020-03-28T03:13:29Z")
Thank you for responding. I did have it in a rubber trivet. There did not seem to be evaporation ---
**Author:** ![ayoung816](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@ayoung816](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/ayoung816)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/5 "2020-03-28T03:14:32Z")
I manually set the time and temperature on the nano - did not use the app. Thank you for any help. ---
**Author:** ![franck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@franck](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/franck)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 10:41am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/6 "2020-03-28T10:41:35Z")
I have noticed temp may fluctuate a bit in the beginning until it stabilizes after 1 or 2 min ---
**Author:** ![chatnoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@chatnoir](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/chatnoir)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/wont-cook-stuck/25493/7 "2020-03-28T11:50:45Z")
Angie, as a first cook SV eggs can be challenging although Hard-Cooked Eggs are the easiest. I finds steaming is significantly quicker and easier. What size or volume and material is your cooking vessel? If it’s too large it may be more than Nano can competently heat. Not likely though, your device may be faulty and the Anova folks will help you with that. Also, your cooking time appears short to me at that temperature. SV egg cooking is critically temperature dependant, not so much time. However, i defer to the eggsperts here for your better guidance.