Selecting the right resistor

[amdx]

"freshmeals" <freshmeals@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9d1ff4c8-92f7-4217-bbaf-ce53e18050d0@l18g2000yql.googlegroups.com...
On May 9, 11:23 pm, stratu...@yahoo.com wrote:

On May 7, 9:56 am, Jesse <je...@nospam.com> wrote:
I have a DIY cooking project with which I'd appreciate some
help.

I'm trying to hold several gallons of water at 130F with
minimal variation. A digital thermostat regulates the
temperature (to within .3C), an aquarium air pump provides
circulation, and a small immersion heater (Norpro 559) heats
the water. The latter draws 300W on a standard 110VAC line.

So far so good.

The problem is that even though the heater powers on for less
than a minute (out of even ten), when it turns off, the
residual heat overshoots the mark, causing twice the range in
temperature (.6C) necessary with the thermostat.

So I'd like to prevent the heater from getting so hot,
reducing the wattage by approximately half.

I'm pretty sure that wiring in a resistor into the hot lead to
the element would do it, but I don't know the specifics.
Resistors are available in a huge array of OHM values and
watts and what is utterly bewildering to someone like me is
probably mindlessly simple to many of the experts who frequent
this group.

Any suggestions?

Jesse

It's a resistive element with e thermostat? put it on a lamp dimmer
and dial whatever power level you want. Go really crazy and put it in
a servo loop. THAT would be a learning experience.

G˛

If you want to turn a cooker into a constant temperature bath just get
a SousVideMagic controller. It has been in use by thousands of users
over the world for over 3 years. It is the same controller is being
featured in Modernist Cuisine.

Dual Digital Display PID Temperature Controller.
$40.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PIM3R8?ie=UTF8&tag=kitchenhacker.net-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002PIM3R8

 

[George Herold]

On May 10, 3:42 am, Rich Grise <ri...@example.net.invalid> wrote:

George Herold wrote:
On May 9, 7:42 pm, Rich Grise <ri...@example.net.invalid> wrote:
George Herold wrote:
On May 9, 11:54 am, Phil Hobbs

Blech, boiled beef.  You have to caramelize it to make it taste good.
Roasted at 425F in a convection oven or over charcoal is the One True
Way.

Oh come on now Phil,  Certainly you like a nice pot roast.  Slow
cooked all day with lots of taters, carrots and onions.  Our 'secert'
family recipe calls for half a jar of horse radish spread on top to
the roast after it's browned.  mmmm, all this food talk is making me
hungry.

All the cooking shows that slow-cook beef say to first brown it all
over in a searing-hot skillet first, _then_ slow-cook it, and also
use the liquid from the sear in the stew or pot-roast recipe.

BTW, it's nice to see such a long on-topic thread. ;-D

Yeah, the whole point of pot roast is to turn the dripping's into
gravy.  You've got to know about rue, to make a good gravy.

Off topic??

Nah, I think we've got an unwritten agreement that if it's about food,
it's usually allowed - everybody likes good recipes.

And for that other thing,http://www.google.com/search?q=roux

It's essentially flour mixed in with the drippings, and cooked like
gravy or sauce.

Cheers!
Rich- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ahh, Thanks for the correct spelling. I always use butter and flour,
cooked very slowly over very low heat for ~1/2 hour.

George H.

 

[Rich Grise]

George Herold wrote:

Ahh, Thanks for the correct spelling. I always use butter and flour,
cooked very slowly over very low heat for ~1/2 hour.

That might be what distinguishes it from "sauce" - in my Betty Crocker

cookbook, it's got "white sauce" in the inside cover. 1 TBSP butter,
1 TBSP flour, heat until butter and flour are melted, then add 1 C
milk while stirring, then "cook quickly, stirring constantly, until
mixture bubbles and thickens." Gravy in an envelope has instructions
like that also. But this is the first time I've heard called out
cooking very slowly.

My favorite TV show, right after "The Big Bang Theory," is "Cook's
Country from America's Test Kitchen."

Cheers!
Rich

 

[George Herold]

On May 10, 7:07 pm, Rich Grise <ri...@example.net.invalid> wrote:

George Herold wrote:

Ahh, Thanks for the correct spelling.  I always use butter and flour,
cooked very slowly over very low heat for ~1/2 hour.

That might be what distinguishes it from "sauce" - in my Betty Crocker
cookbook, it's got "white sauce" in the inside cover. 1 TBSP butter,
1 TBSP flour, heat until butter and flour are melted, then add 1 C
milk while stirring, then "cook quickly, stirring constantly, until
mixture bubbles and thickens." Gravy in an envelope has instructions
like that also. But this is the first time I've heard called out
cooking very slowly.

My favorite TV show, right after "The Big Bang Theory," is "Cook's
Country from America's Test Kitchen."

Cheers!
Rich

OK forget the milk. You melt the butter* and add flour until it's a
thick paste.
Something like spakling compound if that helps.

You want to let the butter cook the flour slowly, as low a heat as
possible. If you see any bubbling reduce heat and remove. Once the
ruex (sp) is cooked it can be set aside (or stored in the frig.) You
should try tasting it as it cooks. The idea is that cooking the flour
removes the floury taste.

You then get whatever liquids are going into the gravy, separated from
the rest and into a sauce pan. Heat the liquid and add beef base and
seasoning to taste. (ya gotta taste the sauce!) When it tastes
great, turn up the heat and get it just near boiling. Now add the
some ruex and whisk the sauce, a little bit of ruex thickens alot, but
it's hard to describe exactly and ya just gotta do it. You need to
keep it right near boiling, but don't let it boil. Once the ruex is
into the sauce, boiling it will cause it to separate.

You can always practice with milk, making a white sauce. Once the
ruex is made heat the milk and add some slowly.


George H.

*(in a restaurant you'll have access to clarified butter, which is
just the pure fat with milk solids removed.)

 

[Jesse]

"amdx" <amdx@knology.net> wrote in
news:ca263$4dc92827$18ec6dd7$21259@KNOLOGY.NET:

"freshmeals" <freshmeals@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9d1ff4c8-92f7-4217-bbaf-ce53e18050d0@l18g2000yql.google
groups.com... On May 9, 11:23 pm, stratu...@yahoo.com
wrote:

<snip>

If you want to turn a cooker into a constant temperature
bath just get a SousVideMagic controller. It has been in
use by thousands of users over the world for over 3 years.

Thanks, freshmeals, for the tip.

I was aware of this option. The reason I didn't pursue it was
that this controller & heater/bubbler system was almost $300.
I thought the probability that sous vide would produce food
that would be remotely interesting was so low that I believed
I'd be better off assembling a test rig - which I did for less
than $60 - to satisfy myself that the whole thing was just a
waste of time.

I was amazed to discover that THIS TIME the reality actually
lived up to the hype.

So, having built my present configuration, I was trying to
tweak it to get the temperature just a little more stable.
Thanks to the good folks in this group, generous with their
insights, I should be able to keep the temperature to within
..3°C - more than adequate, I think, for my purposes.

"amdx" <amdx@knology.net> wrote in
news:ca263$4dc92827$18ec6dd7$21259@KNOLOGY.NET:

Dual Digital Display PID Temperature Controller.
$40.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PIM3R8?ie=UTF8&tag=kitc
henhacker.net-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&crea
tiveASIN=B002PIM3R8

Thanks for the link, Mikek.

Now that I know what I know, if I had it to do all over again
I would be tempted use this controller. Others have found that
it keeps the temperature almost rock solid. I've only just
discovered that it has an auto tweaking mode to set the
various PID parameters.

Still, having already bought the (far simpler) STC1000
controller, I don't want to obsess over tiny temperature
fluctuations (right Peter?) so I'm content to simply add a
rotary dimmer to lower the heat and thus reduce overshoot.

Another tweak pertains to water circulation. Bubbling air thru
warm water is not only cooling it, it's evaporating it at
about a quart per 24 hours. Acceptable most of the year, it
might be annoying in the summer.

So I'll not only cut the heat by half with the dimmer, but set
the bubbler on the controller as well. So as a first try, both
will be on for about two minutes out of ten and hopefully the
currents already in motion will adequately distribute the
residual warmth in the heater. Adjust things as I may, maybe
it'll work, maybe it won't.

If not, perhaps I'll take my chances on a little fountain
pump. Others have found that some tolerate the 55°C water
quite well.

Perhaps some who have followed this thread will have already
done some reading on the subject via the links I supplied in
an earlier response.

I think sous vide cookery shows real promise. After only a few
attempts, I've gone from skeptic to convert. I don't see that
it will be of much help to vegetarians, but it works real
magic in making cheap and tough but flavorful meat cuts
tender. Another area of interest is in pasteurization. Eggs
can be made safe IN THE SHELL, for those concerned about their
use in Caesar dressings or meringues. Hamburgers, now urged to
be cooked well done, can be similarly pasteurized and still
served medium rare.

I've open a new thread on alt.binaries.multimedia.cooking on
sous vide, using my usual nick in that group. Anyone who'd
care to participate is warmly invited to do so.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

You guys are great.

Jesse

 

[Jesse]

Rich Grise <richg@example.net.invalid> wrote in
news:iqcgfk$5m8$3@dont-email.me:

<snip>

My favorite TV show, right after "The Big Bang Theory," is
"Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen."

In case you're not aware, these are regularly posted to...
alt.binaries.multimedia.cooking
along with America's Test Kitchen and lots of other cooking
shows.

I've opened a thread in that group on sous vide. Please see my
response, in this thread, to amdx / Mikek.

Jesse