A few people have asked about my new immersion circulator setup. I started out with the most ghetto of rigs, but it's come a long way. These days it's still not a perfect setup, but it's a lot better. It's also quite cheap, and fairly easy, whereas many of the commercial solutions can cost quite a bit. Here's what I did.

I bought a cheap, full-size, 6" deep, regular temperature food pan and its lid, total cost $21 (but note, as explained below, that I have since ordered the 8" deep pan to replace the 6"). Then I cut the lid into two pieces. I wanted to be able to lift up part of the lid to add to and take things out of the water bath, without having to mess with the part of the lid that holds the circulator.

Once I had the piece that I wanted to attach the circulator to, I made sure to figure out the final position I wanted the circulator to be in in the bath, then cut out a hole for the heating coil and pump assembly to stick down through the lid and into the water. I used some plastic spacers on the end of the pump assembly so that the metal pump assembly wouldn't rest on the bottom of the tank (my circulator is the perfect size for the height of this pan).

In order to insulate the hole I cut in the lid, I used some closed cell foam tape (like weatherstripping, basically--available from hardware stores, Home Depot, etc.). And I used some plastic wedges to space the body of the of circulator from the lid (for noise and vibration reasons, and so that the foam insulation tape has enough space to expand and do its job--if you compress the tape it fails to insulate properly).

I positioned the lid in place on the circulator, then I drilled through the lid and into the "false bottom" plastic piece of the circulator housing. I used stainless steel screws and nuts, and nylon washers to attach the circulator to the lid piece. Done.

It's a great setup, but I wish it were a bit deeper so that the currents on the bottom of the tank wouldn't be as strong. As is, I can't really put eggs in without cushioning them in some way (like by leaving them in the carton). So, I just ordered the 8" version of the same pan in order to give it more depth and hopefully allow me to do eggs with less hassle.

As you can see in the pictures, I sometimes use clips on the corners of the tank, in order to further insulate it so that the water evaporates more slowly, and so that there is more temperature stability. This is useful because the plastic tends to bow slightly and not form a complete seal. I also sometimes drape a side towel across the split in the two lid pieces for the same reason. I plan on eventually using some kind of rubber strip to seal that break.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/10/24 @ 23:24 | Comments (3) | Equipment

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