My immersion circulator almost started a fire during dinner service

Last Saturday night, right in the middle of a busy 7 PM rush, I smelled something burning from the back corner of my kitchen. I ran over and saw smoke coming out of my Anova immersion circulator that I had set up for a 24-hour short rib bath. The water level had dropped below the minimum line and the heating element was glowing red hot. I yanked the plug out of the wall and dumped the whole rig into the sink. Turns out the seal around the top had been leaking slowly for hours without me noticing. Now I check the water level on every long cook every hour, no exceptions. Has anyone else had a sous vide unit overheat or fail during service?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley_fox9222d ago

24 hour cook with no auto shutoff when the water gets low?

wadebailey22d ago

Stick a meat probe in there that runs to a remote alarm, @wesley_fox92, and you can actually sleep through the night without worrying about it running dry on you. I learned that one the hard way after a brisket turned into charcoal.