As a professional...

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Sous Vides

MasterAndo

EricWacker

Mar 29, 2017

As a professional geek, I was extremely disappointed to find out that the Anova couldn't handle my strong Wi-Fi password. (No more than 18 characters and NO SPECIAL CHARACTERS.) I had purchased it at my local Best Buy and after working with tech support, ended up returning it. After a tip from a friend, I ended up buying the ChefSteps Joule and it's fantastic. It's more energy efficient, heats up water faster, is smaller and easier to pack up and throw in a drawer, has a magnetic bottom for sticking to the bottom of a metal pot (well, any with the requisite iron in its alloy), and the app is about a billion times better than the Anova's. If you want to control the Anova while away from home, you have to buy the more expensive Wi-Fi unit, and it requires a different version of the mobile app, which currently doesn't have developmental parity with the bluetooth version -- it's not as up-to-date, has less features, and crashes a lot. Trust someone who's had both -- the Anova is NOT the way to go on this one until they fix some problems.

partypants

Jun 6, 2018

EricWackerAnova's support team helped me set up my guest wifi network so I didn't have to compromise my main wifi network's security. I haven't found that your assertion about the app is true either. I've used the app for my friend's bluetooth Anova and my Wifi Anova interchangeably. I also cook mainly in a cooler so the thermal efficiency is very good (but that means the magnet on the Joule is worthless to me and I hear the clip doesn't attach well to thicker vessels). The deal-breaker for me was the lack of a screen on the Joule. I don't have to use my phone to set my Anova, so I can do it while running around and prepping like a mad-man.

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EricWacker

Jun 7, 2018

partypantsTo be fair, I'm pretty sure I left this comment well over a year ago, and a lot can change during that time. I have not kept track of how Anova has improved their software or whether they've improved their compatibility with Wi-Fi networks with stronger security. While it's nice that they helped you set up a separate SSID from your primary Wi-Fi network (and in fact such an approach is a good idea for IoT devices) it still does not excuse Anova from having had that problem in the first place. Secondarily, while I can appreciate the upsides of being able to control the unit with buttons that are located *on* the appliance in question, I still prefer having a smaller unit that is easier to pack up, the ability to fire it up and get the water heating as I leave the office, and knowing exactly *when* the water reached target temperature (even though I already threw the food in) from the notifications history on my phone. Different strokes for different folks! As far as cooking in a cooler, I don't personally do it, but there are many people who do that with Joule as well. You can cut a hole in the top of a cooler for just about any size immersion circulator. :-) Good luck with the sous vide-ing!

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