SOUS VIDE WITH A BEER COOLER

[Triple Zero]

Yeah, I could probably find one of those at the "dollar" store equivalent for five bucks or so. They don't usually have a thermostat, though.

I kind of expect to find something similar inside my old coffeemaker if I took it apart. If not, I'll get one of those things. The coffeemaker heating element might not be waterproof either, I just realized. My original idea was to use it in a terracotta clay plant pot to build a sort of smoke chamber, which would also be cool to have.

I hope the electronics guys at the Young Researchers will have some good ideas about the thermostat part. Maybe something like this ?

Complete sous-vide systems are, like many fancy "hi tech" kitchen products, ridiculously overpriced starting at $300, so it really pays to see if I can construct something myself. After all, it's just a device that keeps water at a constant temperature! Though I believe those sous-vide devices also got some built-in vacuum sealing gadget, but I don't quite see the point, because if you carefully submerge a ziploc bag with a chunk of meat in it, the water pressure pushes the air out anyway ..

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

It's also possible that a crock-pot with a "warm" setting would work.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yeah, I could probably find one of those at the "dollar" store equivalent for five bucks or so. They don't usually have a thermostat, though.

I kind of expect to find something similar inside my old coffeemaker if I took it apart. If not, I'll get one of those things. The coffeemaker heating element might not be waterproof either, I just realized. My original idea was to use it in a terracotta clay plant pot to build a sort of smoke chamber, which would also be cool to have.

I hope the electronics guys at the Young Researchers will have some good ideas about the thermostat part. Maybe something like this ?

Complete sous-vide systems are, like many fancy "hi tech" kitchen products, ridiculously overpriced starting at $300, so it really pays to see if I can construct something myself. After all, it's just a device that keeps water at a constant temperature! Though I believe those sous-vide devices also got some built-in vacuum sealing gadget, but I don't quite see the point, because if you carefully submerge a ziploc bag with a chunk of meat in it, the water pressure pushes the air out anyway ..

An analog rheostat and a cooking  thermometer should do the trick if you don't mind manually adjusting the setting. Plug the heating device into the rheostat, and fiddle with settings while checking the water temperature every couple of hours until you find a setting that keeps it at the desired temperature. You could do the same with a crock-pot, an analog rheostat, and a cooking thermometer.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The thermocouple is just a sensor and would need to be plugged into a thermometer or controller.

[Triple Zero]

Maybe I also need a crock pot, anyway.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Maybe I also need a crock pot, anyway.

They're pretty cheap, here; I have a vintage one I got for like $3 used, but I was thinking about getting a new one and a pretty big one would only be about $25. A decent analog rheostat can be had for $15, so with just a bit of fiddling there's a sous-vide oven for $40.

[Triple Zero]

Yeah I noticed your cast iron Dutch ovens are also very reasonably priced. I want a really big one (at least 12 inch) which are nearly 100 euro, but in the USA I saw one (in a reasonably nice kitchen store) for only $60 or so (or maybe the biggest one was $70). Unfortunately big ass cast iron pots are difficult to take with you on a plane, nor did the shop feel very much for shipping one overseas

Although, given that a good one will last me a lifetime (and longer), maybe I should just suck it and spend the 100E.