Anova's countertop combi steam oven is out

[K_F_o_l_e_y]

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[K_F_o_l_e_y]

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[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Sous vide cheesecakes cooked in APO (176°F/SVM/100%/Full x 90m, starting with a cold oven). Not having to fool with a water bath and all that “finger-tip tight” nonsense (which is wrong) is great too.

No recipe?

[K_F_o_l_e_y]

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[Matt_Allen]

These are on sale. Does anyone know if a second generation model is just around the corner?

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

These are on sale. Does anyone know if a second generation model is just around the corner?

Not that I’ve heard of. They have been making continuous improvements to it over the past year+. For example, it now has a different racking system, and they’ve solved the cracking water tank issue. Dozens of updates to firmware and app.

How is the racking system different?

[K_F_o_l_e_y]

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[Guillermo_M]

Said it on the other Anova thread but FYI they’re running a 25% off sale applicable to the oven with code SUMMERSALE. Just bought mine.

[Gil_Bauer]

The 25% off helped me pull the trigger on one of these. Now I will have to re-read what people love doing with them.

[Guillermo_M]

Considering the crowd, I imagine the answer will be “I distill my own water” using some contraption or other, but are you guys using distilled water as the manual says and, if so, are you buying it or what?

(I’m not sure how many gallons of distilled water I have space for and having to buy a couple every time might be a pain. Not to mention the plastic.)

[MChang]

I just use filtered water from my dispenser

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Considering the crowd, I imagine the answer will be “I distill my own water” using some contraption or other, but are you guys using distilled water as the manual says and, if so, are you buying it or what?

(I’m not sure how many gallons of distilled water I have space for and having to buy a couple every time might be a pain. Not to mention the plastic.)

I use distilled but I’m not a heavy user. ZeroWater works to remove solids. Brita is worthless for removing solids.

[Robert_M_yers]

Use it daily and have never used distilled water without any problems yet. Honestly didn’t know we were supposed to.

[Eric_Michels]

Use it daily and have never used distilled water without any problems yet. Honestly didn’t know we were supposed to.

I suspect that the issue is that many people have very hard water, which will do a real number on anything water-related but especially on a steam boiler. Noting that the oven requires distilled water gets Anova off the hook for all the people that have issues after the hard water deposits clog or burn out their oven. Depending on the hardness of your tap water, you could be fine or you could have major issues. We used a Cuisinart Steam Oven for years with very hard water before installing a water softener and have never had issue with it.

[Robert_M_yers]

Use it daily and have never used distilled water without any problems yet. Honestly didn’t know we were supposed to.

I suspect that the issue is that many people have very hard water, which will do a real number on anything water-related but especially on a steam boiler. Noting that the oven requires distilled water gets Anova off the hook for all the people that have issues after the hard water deposits clog or burn out their oven. Depending on the hardness of your tap water, you could be fine or you could have major issues. We used a Cuisinart Steam Oven for years with very hard water before installing a water softener and have never had issue with it.

Asked my wife and apparently she was using distilled early on. We don’t have hard water though so hopefully it won’t cause a problem with deposits down the line. Thanks

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

I had a Behmor coffee maker that was susceptible to hard water. I had been filtering with Brita and one day it just stopped working. Behmor replaced it but I switched to zero water. We have hard water about 200 ppm.
I doubt the APO is that sensitive.

[Guillermo_M]

In theory, using the descaling process every 30 hours of use, as the manual says, should be a suitable replacement for distilled. It certainly makes no sense with distilled. But it just seems like something else to keep track of. Not sure if the oven notifies you it needs descaling like good coffee machines do.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

In theory, using the descaling process every 30 hours of use, as the manual says, should be a suitable replacement for distilled. It certainly makes no sense with distilled. But it just seems like something else to keep track of. Not sure if the oven notifies you it needs descaling like good coffee machines do.

There is notice supposedly after 30 hours of use.

[Guillermo_M]

For anyone interested. Some notes on first usage learnings.

I had a prime filet mignon (from Costco) ready for this. Dry brined for a couple of days.

I like my steak medium usually (140F).

I set the sous vide mode, humidity 100%, and the temp to 140 F. Set the probe to 137F because I planned to sear it on a pan. Once the probe reached 137 I programmed it to drop temp to 137 to keep it constant.

I waited a few minutes after the second stage launched just to see how the program executed. Then I seared/crusted the mignon in oil and butter in a very hot pan.

I used my handheld probe meat thermometer once I plated: 142F. So I overshot by 2 degrees (and to be frank maybe I actually like my filet halfway between medium and medium rare so I’m never too happy about overshooting).

Likely lesson, pending confirmation: for steak that will get a final pan-crusting, set the probe 6 degrees below the target temp (134F if the target temp is medium 140F). Set the oven temp 3 degrees below the target temp (3 above the probe temp).

Also pleasantly surprised at how little water the steam function used. Maybe buying 5 gallons of distilled water was too much.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Chris Young did a YouTube on overshooting. I think it’s referenced in the Ultimate Thermometer thread. The one on thicker cuts may not have been released.