New Sous-Vide Immersion Cooker perfect for mash water?

[modernlifeisANDY]

So, there's a new sous-vide style immersion cooker that just got funded on Kickstarter called the Sansaire (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seattlefoodgeek/sansaire-sous-vide-circulator-for-199)

It's a rad device on its own, but the homebrewing applications are super tempting. It's an immersion circulator with built-in temperature control for up to six gallons of water. It wouldn't be perfect for boiling (despite going up to 212 degrees) but for heating strike and sparge water (my personal hatred in terms of temperature control on a propane burner) it sounds amazing. It's a little pricey, at $200, but the applications seem to outweigh the cost, at least for me personally. The whole "set it and forget it" idea is mighty tempting!

 

[day_trippr]

Well, it does claim it can "circulate up to 6 gallons of water in a large basin!", but my guess is that claim is based on its vertical height alone, not on its heat output. Nowhere is there any claim about BTU output, and given its size I doubt it produces anywhere near enough power to be useful for generating strike and sparge water in a reasonable time...

Cheers!

 

[mforsman]

They claim 1000w heat unit. Not sure about how quickly it could achieve the right temps, but with some planning it might be nice to have. If it was $50 this would be a no-brainer. For $200, my beer already tastes great.

 

[Horseflesh]

I actually went in for one, because I love to cook, and somehow did not consider the homebrew applications. I wonder how fast it will heat water...

Wait, this can be done with math!

http://www.phpdoc.info/brew/boilcalc.html

It will take a long time to heat a few gallons of water up to the temperatures used in brewing.

But--I can see one use for this, for extract brewers. You have to steep at 152F, and the steeping liquid is pretty clear of particles as the grain is bagged. You can run up the temp on your burner, and then maintain it with this gadget, if you hate maintaining the temperature with gas.

I'd love to see a brew-friendly version, some big thing that sits in the pot, with slow mixing paddles and a heavy duty heater. That seems like it might be a lot easier way to hit mash/sparge temps than recirculating pump methods.

 

[mpcluever]

I doubt it produces anywhere near enough power to be useful for generating strike and sparge water in a reasonable time

Depends how you use it. I have a 1000W heat stick I use to heat strike water for 20 gallon batches. There's simple calculations that for a given wattage and start/end temps it should take this long to heat. Set a lamp timer to start at 3:00 AM while I sleep and I wake up to hot strike water within a few degrees of what I need.

Way cheaper than this.

 

[NathPowe]

^ This.

 

[Indian_villager]

For that money why not build a RIMS tube w/ PID controller and then rejoice?

 

[Horseflesh]

How can you build a RIMS tube with PID for $200?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Set a lamp timer to start at 3:00 AM while I sleep and I wake up to hot strike water within a few degrees of what I need.[...]

How long does it then take to heat up your sparge water? Another day?

Cheers!

 

[Ravenshead]

It looks nice but you can install a 1500W hot water heater element in a cheap 5 gallon pot and control it via a PID for a lot less:

Pot =$20
MyPIN PID=$20
SSR=$12
Element=$7
misc. wires and stuff~$10
Total:$69 or so

Add a cheap aquarium pump and air-stone and you're good.

 

[Horseflesh]

You are totally right, you can do it yourself, and I often do. In fact, I did for my first SV rig. It even cost $0 (sort of) because I already had everything on hand.

But I decided to spend the extra cheddar on a more polished product. I did not care for the rat's nest of wires in the DIY system. If I'm going to use a tool frequently, it's worth paying a bit more for something that's polished.

So $70 + my time for an effective but harder to set up, harder to store rig, vs $200 for a more polished "fire & forget" product... For something I'll use often, or other family members may use too, it's worth it.

Now if this was a year ago and all the commercial SV gear was $500, I'd be right there with you.

 

[mpcluever]

How long does it then take to heat up your sparge water? Another day?

I don't run my brewery electric, just want strike water hot when I wake up. Everything runs off propane. Heat HLT while mashing.
(and I have 2 electric heaters...) This is the heater I use http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/allied-precision-1000-watt-bucket-heater/0000000061372

 

[NathPowe]

I do the same thing with that heater. I typically set it to kick on about 1.5 hours before I wake up (give or take depending on water volume) and I'm at strike temp when I roll out of bed. Then I take the heater out and put it into a pot that holds the sparge water. By the time the mash/vourlauf/first runnings are done I'm at sparge temp. Simple, unbelievably convenient, and I save a bunch on propane.

 

[tracyk]

I use the same 1000 watt heater for my strike water and also set it on a timer so when I wake up, roll out of bed then it is turn on the pump and get ready to mash. Way to simple. Then usually go make some coffee.

 

[guavarex]

Since this thread has started, Nomiku (www.nomiku.com) has started shipping 110v versions of their Kickstarter-funded sous vide immersion circulator. The temperature range, precision, and water volume specs for the Nomiku are right in line with what would be needed to hold e.g. a few gallons of liquid at 66c for an hour. As mentioned earlier in the thread, partial mash would keep the grain in a bag and away from the submersed impeller on the Nomiku.

Has anyone here received a Nomiku and tried it with sugary wort? My only concern is the Nomiku's ability to stand up to "sugar water" as opposed to tap water, and I seek firsthand reports from brave brewers who also enjoy sous vide cooking.

 

[Indian_villager]

You are totally right, you can do it yourself, and I often do. In fact, I did for my first SV rig. It even cost $0 (sort of) because I already had everything on hand.

But I decided to spend the extra cheddar on a more polished product. I did not care for the rat's nest of wires in the DIY system. If I'm going to use a tool frequently, it's worth paying a bit more for something that's polished.

So $70 + my time for an effective but harder to set up, harder to store rig, vs $200 for a more polished "fire & forget" product... For something I'll use often, or other family members may use too, it's worth it.

Now if this was a year ago and all the commercial SV gear was $500, I'd be right there with you.

Wiring is only has hairy as you make it. To each their own. If you are more comfortable then go for it.