Link to a manual, or perhaps dimensions for min/max water levels?
I bought one of these and I love it. You donât NEED a vacuum sealer to use it, although itâd make things easier. You can use just regular plastic bags, or you can get reusable silicone ones. My one problem with it is the only thing I have thatâs big enough to be worth it is an oval crock pot insert and the sides are too thick to clip the machine on to.
Thanks
The big danger is that after you buy this one and love it; youâll eventually want to get a more expensive model with its own bath. 
I have had one of these since the first sale on Amazon. It has been rock solid and works great. I bought a refirb vacuum sealer from FoodSaver for $35 and clone bags (FoodVacBags). I use a small cooler as my container. If you have any interest in Sous Vide, you canât go wrong here!
Well, for the price I figured I would finally try this ânewâ trend. When I say new, it seems all the raving about it has been in the last few years. But, do any of you recall the infomercials back in the late 70âs early 80âs? As I recall it was the deal a meal or something like that⌠You would seal a pre-prepared meal and a vacuum bag, then boil it in a pot on the stove to re-heat.
Guess they were on to something, just before their time?
We have an Anova and use this container with it. Also get the separate lid for holding in the heat. $30 total for both.
Personal choice, but I donât use a vacuum sealer. Just ziplocs and water displacement to force the air out. I could see a vacuum sealer being handy if I was prepping for meals to pop in the freezer though.
WTFâŚWhen did heating meals up in plastic come so popular. Iâm sure thereâs still some sort of toxins involved. I donât care what the experts say. Now, thatâs the truth. No thanks. I donât drink bottled water either!
Hate to break it to you, the âexpertsâ know a lot more than your gut feeling that there must be toxins involved. The most common âtoxinâ you are thinking of is BPA which is found in polycarbonate and epoxy. The FDA currently says that BPA is not harmful in concentrations that could leach into foods. Some studies have shown that prolonged exposure to BPA can have a negative impact on the brain and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. The most common bags used for sous vide are made of polyethylene which does not contain BPA.
So, thank you for not drinking bottled water as you are helping the environment. However, unless you are placing the meat in a polycarbonate container to sous vide, serving it to an infant or pregnant woman, and doing so every night, there is very little risk of any negative health effects.
Does this process really take two+ hours to cook a single steak?
Usually an hour for my sous vide. But the cool thing is that you can leave it in there for longer and the wellness of the steak stays the same (it wonât overcook)- then when youâre ready to eat , take it out and sear it on a hot pan or Grill.
Amazon show this unit as 800 watts. Way too little in my opinion.
I never cook food using something I canât pronounce.
Think of it as a slow cooker. Cuz basically thatâs what it is, but with an extreme amount of precision.
Itâs great for a thick cut of steak that is very difficult to get the internal temp up without ruining the outside. With a sous vide your steak is wrapped in a hot water bath that you use to cook through the entire steak to your desired âdonenessâ. Then you just touch it up on the grill for a few minutes to sear the outside.
Itâs also the bomb for tougher cuts like bottom round roast. This thing ended up SOOO tender:
We certainly donât use ours every week, but man Iâm a convert now.
My Anova is 800 watts- and I have no issues with it. I make everything from steaks to caramelizing condensed milk for caramel.
This is a great little device at an awesome price.
They sell plastic containers with lids for not much.