Why Build a Sous Vide Cooler?
A sous vide cooler makes it easy to cook for days (literally). The reason? Insulation. By insulating your sous vide container, you can prevent evaporation, increase efficiency, and maintain precise temperatures in even larger vessels. The Precision Cooker is listed with a maximum vessel capacity of 20 quarts/5 gallons/~19 liters of water, but you can actually exceed the recommended max capacity and maintain temperature just as well with proper insulation. In fact, Anova can maintain down-to-the-degree temperature control with as big of a container of water as you can find. Our customers have found success with 33-quart coolers and up due to how well the insulation helps things. That’s bananas!What You Need For Your Sous Vide Cooler AKA Frankencooler
First things first, you'll need your Anova Precision® Cooker.
While your Anova can cook massive amounts of ridiculously good food, it's also a handy tool when building a DIY sous vide cooler. You'll want to use the adjustable clamp that comes with it to trace an outline at the spot where you plan to drill the hole....and a cooler you are happy to slightly disfigure.
This can be an old cooler or a new cooler, as long as it doesn't leak and keeps insulation sealed. Our Frankencooler for this time is a Coleman 25 Quart Party Stacker Cooler from Amazon. The lid is removable, which is key for removal while cooking without making a mess. We also chose this size to allow for excess room for water displacement.And a 2 ⅜” Hole Saw
The diameter of the chassis, or cooking extension cover, on the Anova is 2.375”/60.325mm, or 2 ⅜”. We need to make a hole at least that big, and adjust with sandpaper if necessary.An electric drill
Pretty standard, I have a $15 Coleman from the hardware store.Medium-grit sandpaper
This helps gently widen the hole where necessary for your Anova sous vide cooler.Safety Glasses
It’s best to protect those peepers whenever you’re working with potentially flying shards of plastic, so we recommend these.How to Create a Homemade Sous Vide Container
Your Sous Vide Cooler Setup
Don't feel like going full–out DIY, but still desire all the benefits of cooking in a container? We've got you covered.
The Anova Precision™ Cooker Insulated Container is what one user calls "hands down the best sous vide container ever." Stainless steel double-walled insulation improves heating efficiency by up to 70%.
Another great option is the Anova Precision™ 16L Container. Its lid features a rubber seal to lock in heat and ensure that no steam escapes. This means virtually zero water loss to evaporation and even more precise cooking temperatures.
Smaller in size but still a great cooler for sous vide, the Anova Precision™ Cooker Container was designed with our patented HemiFlow™ design. It utilizes smooth, curved edges to help water circulate more efficiently and heat your water faster than any of the squared-off container competition to get you cooking quicker.
You really can't go wrong with any Anova sous vide cooler. Join the #anovafoodnerd family and build the ultimate cooler for sous vide with the Anova Precision™ Cooker.
2 comments
Sous vide circulators have markings for minimum and maximum water levels on the tube. They are designed to circulate water and will beep and shut down when just in air.
Do you need to have the cooker sumbmerged in water, or could you use this setup as a food warmer to hold food at temperature in just air?