Cleaning sous vide equipment

I know this has kind of been covered but I received a message from a fellow forum member and thought this might be a good thread to start, and get input.

I have hard water as we are on our own well, so every week or so I run a batch of about 25% vinegar in a water bath with no food at a fairly high temperature. I let it run for an hour or two and all the scale that has built up is completely gone from the unit, the ehating element and the tank itself. I keep the level fairly high so it covers any part taht the regular water was covering. It can smell pretty bad at HOT temperatures and I noticed that at about 150F it still did an excellent job of removing all of the scale build up. The next time I am not cooking I will snap a picture of the scale build up and I will also take some pictures of the next time a clean it for some before and after shots. I let it cool and drain the vinegar then rinse the circulator and then wash the tank and lid with soapy water. I wouldn't use any descale chemicals as vinegar has proven 100% effective. (I even used some old apple cider vinegar last time as it was expired and I was going to throw it out anyway, it worked as well as regular white vinegar.)

If you have any other questions or comments please feel free to ask as input is always welcome.

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michaelnatkin

Great info! Maybe we can migrate it to our FAQ section.

Mason_Perry_34060

Sure whatever you think is best, I will add pics sometime this week.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Mason I do the same, I actually do it more often, about every second or third day, I get a lot of buildup that you can see around the tank edge.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Johan I would do it more often but it seems to always be filled with food!

Mason_Perry_34060

Ok dirty circulator pictures, this was like 4 days but I did some veg at 85C and some other stuff so it was pretty much on straight through. I have well water from our own well not a chlorinated water system like public water so my build up is probably on the more extreme end of the spectrum, no worries as vinegar works wonders. These are obviously the before pictures and it really looks worse in person, in the picture of the heating element I had to scratch some of the scale build up off so you could see a difference. I am running vinegar in now with fresh water at 85C for about an hour and then I will take it down to about 65C for a few more hours. I fill it higher than I normally do when I cook as to make sure the vinegar water gets in contact with any surface the normal bath water does, lid on too. Tomorrow I will clean the vinegar out and post some after pictures.

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

I have a Culligan reverse osmosis drinking faucet installed in my kitchen sink. it costs about 26 a month but I never have to clean my circulator. It takes everything out of my water. There is never any build up what so ever. In the long run it is worth it to me.

Mason_Perry_34060

I was thinking about using distilled water in my bath, would only be 4 dollars a fill up, but vinegar is still cheaper....

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

Thoughts anyone?

Mason_Perry_34060

Ok I have the after pics, these were all taken either with the vinegar still in the bath or after it was dumped but pre soap wash, so this is how clean just vinegar can get it after that much scale build up. This time it was like 10% vinegar or less but still excellent results, even the baby tiger wanted in on the action. As you can see from the last picture this thing doesn't get much rest... 24 hour chuck roast just went in.

Adam_Hosman_63149

Same thing happens to mine on tap water, if a little less extreme. It turns into a mess after only a few days, and then it's time to dump a litre of vinegar in there, which works but doesn't smell great and the whole process takes some effort. So I made the switch to distilled water last week. Zero buildup since then, and I only have to top it off occasionally – unless some garlic or unlucky choice of meat penetrates the bag and stinks up the water. The cost is about the same or marginally higher, but the unit is always clean.

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

@Adam Hosman I posted this earlier on this thread, but I have a reverse osmosis setup to my sink with a separate faucet and never have to clean my circulator, and its been months now. Worth it to me. I have a Culligan water setup which cost about $26 a month for the RO water. Just thought I'd mention that to ya!! Plus I have and issue with drinking tap water!! I have a little OCD when it comes to cross contamination, and things of that nature in the kitchen. Good Luck!

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Tucker, I pushed that up, I do the same.

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

@Johan Thanks for that. I greatly appreciate it!!!! It just makes sense. Right?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Tucker - yep it does!

Adam_Hosman_63149

@Tucker Yup, that's worth looking into! BTW, I'm also considering replacing tap water in my cooking/drinking, but the available info on the health aspects is very confusing. This conversation is the most comprehensive I found so far, but it's still not exactly conclusive or impartial. http://youtu.be/t5f2a-aIzlw

elie_nassar_13710

CLR works great BTW. I think even the manual that came with Polyscience Creative recommends it. Just put some CLR in the water, run the circulator for 30 minutes and it's as sparkly as new.

raypage5_virginmedia_com_437637

I note in your text that you mention a circulator. Is it a plastic circulator or is it made of stainless steel?

John_Stoll_509716

I had a bag rupture. I took off the back an did see some residue from the chicken grease but not much. The instructions say to clean with a no suds dishwasher detergent. Any suggestions on brands? Are the instructions referring to something like Cascade?

Firgosdu_1093549

The most important parameter when choosing an air purifier for home is the area of the room. It is one thing to clean 3 meters (in a toilet for example) and quite another to clean the air in an apartment of 200 meters. The power of the device depends on how large the area is that must be cleaned. I chose Levoit LV-pur131 review for my home and I think it was a great decision because it has 3 filters and many other cool features.