nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Post your DIY here with product info please!

Mason_Perry_34060

Calling all geeks, nerds, dorks, and DIY'ers! I LOVE DIY POSTS SO MUCH! I have saved literally THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of dollars from DIY's posted on forums (mainly fixing my wifes BMW X5) but I love doing stuff myself to save money and learn and do more stuff to become more knowledgable and experienced and to be a more well rounded person. From home improvement to mechanics to maintenance I have done everything I can DIY (ok minus sous vide, but that time has come!) and I need your help. (Isn't cooking all home cooking just a bunch of DIY recipes for you to follow? Which makes everyone here a DIY'er......) Anyway the more you contribute the better this can be! Now to the point.

Ok so in Feb i am going to be building a DIY bath (for fun cause I am a nerd and I would like a second bath) Please post your DIY setup if you have one, PICS are really worth 1000 words here, if you can list any product info or where you sourced it (prices would be nice if you aren't shy about that) and most importantly WHAT WORKS! WHAT DOESN'T! what would you change and how would you change it (this can be theoretical... IE I wish I could circulate more water but I can't find or afford a pump that will do that) ALL input is GREATLY appreciated as I hope to learn from your experience.

Thanks in advance Mason

Part of this is to get a good baseline as I will be making a very detailed "How to DIY" for people interested in starting for HOPEFULLY a LOW cost, and the more input we get the better we can make this!

Find more posts tagged with

Equipment

Comments

seijoed

This is what they look like

http://forum.chefsteps.com/discussion/59/my-current-diy-baths

The pump solution for high temperatures and a shut of float switch would be the only two things I really want to improve on.

Shopping list :

2 project boxes http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032276

Amazon :

1 of: Waterproof PT100 RTD Thermocouple for PID Temperature Controller (2M)

Condition: New

Sold by: lightobject (seller profile)

$15.00

1 of: Dual Digital Display PID Temperature Controller. Great for Sous vide

Condition: New

Sold by: lightobject (seller profile)

$34.50

1 of: 25A SSR DC-AC Solid State Relay w/ Heatsink

Condition: New

Sold by: lightobject (seller profile)

$11.50

1 of: Nylon 6/6 Hex Nut, 1/4"-20 (Pack of 100) [Misc.]

Condition: New

Sold by: Amazon.com LLC

$4.21

Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

1 of: Nylon 6/6 Flat Washer, 1/4", 0.26" ID, 0.562" OD, 0.062" Thick (Pack of 100) [Misc.]

Condition: New

Sold by: Amazon.com LLC

$6.19

Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

Items Ordered Price

1 of: Camco 02143 RV 1500 Watt Screw in Element [Automotive]

Condition: New

Sold by: Amazon.com LLC

$8.55

Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

1 of: Camco 7223 Universal Adapter Kit [Tools & Home Improvement]

Condition: New

Sold by: Amazon.com LLC

$7.51

Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

Items Ordered Price

1 of: Du-Bro 993 1/4-20 x 3" XL Nylon Wing Bolts (4-Pack) [Misc.]

Condition: New

Sold by: Best Service Stores (seller profile)

$4.95

Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

Mason_Perry_34060

From the pictures you just have wires run to the heating element/thermocouple and the PID's are in external boxes?

seijoed

I have an AC cable going from the output to the second box, that second box is only used as a bridge for the heating element, so nothing electronic above water.

It started out as coffee cup warmers, 3 of them, the 1500W element is fantastic.

I also have a different thermocouple that I run straight from the electronics box.

The only thing that is in the second box in my setup is the element, no thermocouple, logic or anything DC powered.

Also powering the pump via the variable DC doesn't really rock my boat either (from the SSR)

Mason_Perry_34060

Gotcha, I also saw Brendan's pictures from his build, do you know how he is circulating water?

seijoed

@Brendan and I have been discussing the pump for a long time now, he has also burned a few of the dc pumps and I think he was using the same pumps I do right now.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I just ordered another high temp pump from lightobject because I need something to circulate for my dinner this weekend but I'm still in search of a good impeller design.

Mason_Perry_34060

WORKING ON IT!

seijoed

Hmm , I squirrel paint mixer and a fan engine would be cheap.

Mason_Perry_34060

Nope I am looking at premade, UL listed 110v, pre wired, made for a moist environment and low capacity/long run times. Oh and most importantly CHEAP!

Mason_Perry_34060

Ill scrape some stuff together this week as I think I may have some time on Weds.

Brendan_Lee_56950

your like a mean older brother who knows what I got for christmas but won't tell me! haha

Mason_Perry_34060

^ Only child

Brendan_Lee_56950

figures.

Mason_Perry_34060

How much are these pumps you are burning up anyway?

Brendan_Lee_56950

$16 for the high temp one from lightobject. But I didn't burn that up because of heat, I accidentally let it sit on the bottom of the bath and the intake got covered and it burned out that way.

Mason_Perry_34060

AH makes sense, what is the flow of that guy?

Mason_Perry_34060

Freakin awesome website they have btw!

Brendan_Lee_56950

29GPH

Mason_Perry_34060

THanks

borgech

I have to

apologize to many people for the delay of this post. But after @Chris’s

suggestion to put it on the forums, I decided it was time to take the time and

write it up. The inspiration to build my rig was actually when Chef Steps started,

and I knew I needed a immersion circulator to keep up with the class. I didn’t

exactly have the spare $500 to spend on a Poly Science Unit, and to be honest,

I kind of wanted the experience of building one myself (I would appreciate it

more!). I also had a friend who was electronically gifted, and he was

instrumental in building this. The base plans were from Seattle Food Geek (http://tinyurl.com/yk2ygt8) as well as iterations of

his work from http://tinyurl.com/blufnpq, http://tinyurl.com/l6c6oha and http://tinyurl.com/ksg7dcx. I’ll list

the parts we used, and then note where some ideas came from. This truly was a

hybrid of other people’s DIY projects, and I would encourage anyone thinking

about doing this to incorporate ideas from many plans, not just one.

Parts that

worked:

JLD612:

$32.50

Water

resistant PT100 RTD 0.1 degree sensor probe: $16.50

25A SSR DC

in AC Out: $8.50

Heart sink

for 25A SSR: $4.25

Above from LightObject.com, shipping: $13.03

Acrylic

container 4”x4”x7”: $5.99

Camco 02143

RV 1500 Watt Screw in Element: $8.52

Power cords

(to strip out 15Amp wire) $10

Belkin 6ft IEC320 Male Cord: $5.27

Amico IEC320

Female 15A: $3.00

Amico 15A

lighted rocker switch: $3.00

Practice

ping pong balls for insulation: $10.00

PP120 : 120 GPH,

Submersible, Statuary Pump - 6W: $14.00 (2x, the glue that holds these together

melts around 70*C. I don’t go higher than 65*C to be safe) (the pump is not

wired into the heating element electronics, rather, I just plug it in to

another outlet on my power strip)

Excellante

Full Size Deep Polycarbonate Food Pan: $22.00

Thin aluminum

sheet w/ holes and 90*L shaped aluminum sheet: $10.00 (the sheet was used for

the heating element platform and the L-shaped sheet was used for the bracket

that suspends the electronics and heating element above the water bath)

Misc (nuts,

washers, bolts, wire ties, butt splices,

spade terminals, heat shrink, parafilm, electrical tape, etc.):

Estimated $35.00

Above from Amazon.com, Home Depot and local hardware store, shipping: $0.00

Parts that

failed on us:

High temp.

DC 6V 1L/min mini H2O pump $13.50

Inlet male

power socket with fuse switch 10A 250V $4.71 (x3 before we realized this was an

issue (Amp rating wasn’t high enough, needed a minimum of 12.5A)

Here is the

breakdown of what we used from each site:

Seattle Food

Geek:

General

ideas, wiring and parts.

Small Golden

Sceptre:

Specific connections

to the JLD612, general ideas of what did and did not work.

Tom Ordway:

General

ideas, wiring and parts. Also a great example of working neat.

Oh my

puddin:

Heating

element platform.

It was a

great experience building this from scratch. I am sure that I struggle with

technical issues more than Poly Science owners do, but I look at this as a

learning experience.

Leigh_Jones_66597

My do-it-yourself sous vide cooker is built up around a Rival SCV-700B 7-qt oval (black) CrockPot. I originally bought it for $17.99 on sale at Walmart. It ran too hot to be used for cooking meats, so after babysitting it through cooking one roast by propping the lid open and running it on the warm setting with a meat thermometer inserted, I used it only rarely for making French onion soup until I added a PID controller, and an aquarium pump and airstones to produce a usable sous vide cooker.

I am going to discuss the change I made moving away from the PID controller first, then the advantages of the 7-qt oval CrockPot.

After numerous successful meals, my cooker evolved after some sporadic short power outages caused tge loss of some of my roasts. The JLD-612 PID controller is vulnerable to a sort of power interruption that occurs at least an average of once per month in my neighborhood. Usually, the power mains are off for only a fraction of a second, but computers, clocks, etc., all need to be reset. Typically these problems are either associated with winds or summertime air conditioner peak power usage.

Most of my cooking is done on weekdays with the sous vide cooker running while I am at work. Whenever the JLD-612 suffers a tiny power glitch, it shuts off until someone restarts it and dinner is ruined.

The Johnson Controls A419 has a relative immunity to the power glitches, recovering nicely to continue cooking as if nothing has happened.

I was initially concerned with the behavior of the A419. I had envisioned using it in some kind of back-up role, but that didn't work out, it was either use the thermostat or the PID controller. So I experimented with the A419 and discovered that its tendency to cycle the water bath temperature periodically more than the JLD 612 did had little or no effect on the temperature of the meat's core.

A meat probe inserted into the core of a roast is rock steady while the temperature measured for the water bath fluctuates due to the thermostat's behavior. And the results, in terms of tender beef and observable coloring of the meat, are completely identical to the PID controller.

So I have continued to use the thermostat and it has proven itself more reliable in my environment.

The Rival SCV-700B has also proven itself through this. I must say that running a heating element on a thermostat can be abusive -- we like to call this "off label" usage because it is different from the manufacturers intended usage. Cycling power on and off like this has to stress the cooker more than leaving it on all the time. But so far there have been no signs of problems, no cracks developing in the stoneware or the glass lid, no breakdowns.

The advantages of this sous vide cooker vs. a cooker with cold walls, or a cooker without water circulation, are profound. Food bags that contact the walls or the air are at the same temperature as the rest of the water bath. No dividers, or spacers are needed. The water transfers its heat more quickly to the food with circulation, so I'm successful with larger pieces of meat.

The stoneware can be removed easily for cleaning. Usually the only cleaning needed is swabbing the inside and the lid with a few drops of lemon juice on a paper towel. This takes hard water deposits right off, leaving the CrockPot shining.

About 500 successful meals in a row are pretty good evidence that the equipment is performing as it should.

I have alternative cookers as well as alternative temperature control equipment. For very large meals sized like Thanksgiving turkeys I have a 28 quart cooler heated by an electric water heating element. But for most meals this provides no advantages. The size and shape of the oval CrockPot seem about optimum.

I own a rice cooker, but I am not tempted to use it as a sous vide cooker. One reason is that it has a slide switch for turning it on that automatically powers it off after the rice is cooked. I could imagine that it may turn off and leave a roast cooling to rotting temperatures while I leave it unattended. But the real reason I shouldn't cook sous vide in it is that it doesn't have much chance of enduring the amount of use that I have made of the CrockPot. It draws more current off the AC mains than the CrockPot so is unlikely to survive the temperature cycling that the CrockPot.