Immersion Circulator

[nightowl]

I have a Sous Vide oven that I like but looking at a Immersion circulator. Not sure which one to get. Amazon has a couple with prices marked down.
Any thoughts on these?



Is higher wattage better?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Higher wattage heats faster and recovers faster but is of no real value during the cook.
I have the Inova 900W. Works great...JJ

 

[Jonok]

I have a Joule, which works well, but one must run it with a smartphone. App works great, power to spare, but no way to run it without a device running the app.

 

[mike243]

You just stated the best reasons to have a higher wattage unit, I would go with the highest wattage in order to get to temp and stay there the easiest. the food is a big heat sink and the more of it the more heat you will require ,on short immersions you need the water temp to come up fast and stay there not just trying to get there imo ,depending on how much water/tank size you need the heat loss from the container can be a lot imo

 

[SmokinAl]

I have 2 of the Gourmia 1200 watt circulators & they work great.
I have the ones with WiFi, but never use it.
If you can get the 1200 watt model without WiFi for less money, then that's the way I would go.
Al

 

[chopsaw]

I have the Anova 800 and the 900 watt . They both work great .
Don't know if you watch or trust Americas test kitchen , but they tested these yesterday .
The Joule was first due to the size of the unit and the water level min / max range is 6 inches .
Anova was 2nd . What ever you choose , I'm sure you will like it .

 

[Winterrider]

Annova 900 watt here

 

[Norwester55]

I've got the 800 watt Anova. It gets to temp quickly enough for me and with the Everie tank and lid it stays there.

 

[daveomak]

Anova 900 watt and I love it...

 

[sigmo]

I have one of the older Gourmia 1200 Watt units with no bluetooth, etc. And it has been fantastic for years. I do open it and clean it fairly often, and I'm sure that helps.

I got two of the 800 Watt Anovas this past Christmas to give me more power if needed for a big job. They worked fine, but I've only used them that one time.

All of these have been amazingly accurate.

One thing I like about the Gourmia (and maybe the Anovas do this, too), is that it can be set all the way down to 32 degrees F (0 C).

That might sound stupid. but I've used it twice to safely but quickly thaw a frozen Turkey by filling a cooler with water and setting it outside when the temperature was below 40 F, and setting the circulator for 40 F. That way, the Turkey was kept at a safe defrosting temperature, but with circulating water transferring heat into it as rapidly as possible to thaw it.

I used a grate from my smoker and a weight to keep the Turkey submerged.

Don't try that if the temperature outside will possibly get above 40. And make sure the rig is in the shade so sunlight won't heat it unexpectedly. The circulator can heat, but it can't refrigerate, unfortunately!

Also, make sure the local critters can't get to your turkey!