Hi. My name is Alex Wiltschko.
This is my internet log.
1 December, 2011
Homemade Sous Vide Machine
Here are the pieces of my homemade sous vide machine, and some notes on what I used to put it together.
First off, other folks have put together much nicer DIY posts, and I based my machine somewhat off their words. The main departure I take from other methods is to use a bucket deicer as the heating element, not tiny little heating coils. It's more expensive, but it works faster and can get much hotter.
Here's my bucket list:
- A PID controller. $40. (that's not the exact one I used, which I can't find for sale anymore).
- K-type thermocouple. $4.
- Bucket heater. $55.
- Solid-State Relay (SSR). $9.
- Aquarium pump. $7.
- Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer (optional, but it sure makes things convenient) $70.
( Plus, some stuff from your hardware store, or that you might have laying around )
- Wire to connect an outlet plug to the SSR ( speaker wire works just fine for me ).
- AC plug
- Beer cooler, or a bucket, or something that can hold enough water for you to cook what you want.
Alright, so let me break it down:
First off, the PID controller is the brains of the system. It stands for proportional-intrgral-derivative controller, and they cost about $30, and they take temperature information from a thermometer (well, technically a "thermocouple"), and decide when to turn on the heating element to keep the water bath at a stable temperature. My Uncle had a couple extra PIDs, and gave me one of his (he builds glassblowing furnaces, but this one still works in the non-glassblowing temperature range). I couldn't find the one I have for sale on Amazon, but just make sure that it's compatible with a "K-type thermocouple". They're cheap and good.
On the one I have, the top number is the current temperature detected by the thermocouple (see the next picture for what the thermocouple looks like), and the bottom number is the destination temperature.
Get a thermocouple. This little screw-looking thing is the thermometer that the PID uses when deciding to turn on or off the heat. The wire it's connected to is flexible, but holds its shape, so you can bend it over the lip of a cooler to bucket to keep it nicely suspended.
I keep a separate digital thermometer handy to check that the whole contraption is working. I've had a couple instances where the thermocouple was positioned poorly, and it ruined a dish. This was before I started using larger water baths (moved from a 10 gallon bucket to an Igloo beer cooler) and before I got an aquarium pump to keep the water circulating constantly. It's still a nice precaution and sanity-check.
A solid-state relay and an outlet. The PID directly controls the solid state relay, which controls whether or not electricity flows from the wall to the outlet plug. That black cord in the AC plug goes to the water heater, in the next picture.
A bucket deicer. This is the best heating element for the money that I've been able to find.
And, if you hook everything up right, and vacuum pack some pork butt and cook it for three days at 155°F, this is what you get:
(download)
I don't have pictures of the pork preparation process, but it's simple enough. Check it —
- Cut pork butt into about 1.5" thick slices.
- Cover each side liberally with salt, black pepper, rosemary and thyme.
- Vacuum pack the slices with a Foodsaver, or by dipping a ziploc bag into water until all the water is squeezed out, then sealing it. I've done it both ways, and it was delicious both times.
- Cook the pork in the water bath for few days at 155°F.
- Take it out, of the bath, open up the bag, pull it apart.
- Strain the juices out to make a gravy.
8 October, 2011
Photos of mountains at sunrise from Schwabacher Landing outside of Jackson, Wyoming
I took some photographs this morning. I hope that you might like to look at them.
1 September, 2011
Reliable and easy timed callbacks in Python
AKA, "An easy-to-use repeating timer in Python"
