Sous Vide Water Baths vs. Immersion Circulators: Which Should You Buy? | The Tool Shed

Sous Vide Water Baths vs. Immersion Circulators: Which Should You Buy?

To start cooking sous vide at home, you need to invest in either one of two crucial pieces of equipment, a water bath, or a sous vide circulator.

The one that is right for you will depend on a number of factors, such as what you’ll be using the machine for, how much you’re going to be cooking, your budget and kitchen space.

Thankfully, sous vide technology has become much more affordable in recent years, so chefs have much more choice over whether they opt for a water bath or circulator, but we’re going to break down each to see which one might be best for you.

Capacity

Firstly, you’ll have to decide how much space you’re going to require for your sous vide cooking.

Water baths come in varying capacities, and here at Sous Vide Tools we stock baths from 9L up to 56L.

In reality, a home foodie probably won’t need that much capacity as they generally won’t be cooking for large numbers of people at once, and a 10L water bath will usually be enough.

On the other hand, in a smaller commercial kitchen, one of our larger water baths may be more appropriate, as you know you’ll be catering for much larger numbers on a regular basis, and should have a lot more counter space to keep the machine.

Whether at home or in a professional kitchen, if you do want more capacity, however,, this is where the immersion circulator really comes into its own.

This is because immersion circulators can simply clip onto any container, whether it be a normal cooking pot, one our own specialist sous vide containers or anything else your food will fit into really. We’ve even seen drinks coolers used to sous vide with an immersion circulator clipped onto the side!

Either way, when estimating what kind of capacity you’ll require, bear in mind that you’ll need to leave some space between your vacuum packed bags for the water to properly circulate.

We recommend only ever leaving your bath or container about half full, so this is something to bear in mind.

Temperature Stability

The precise control of temperature is exactly what makes sous vide so effective, so you need to ensure that the temperature of your water can be controlled right down to a fraction of a degree.

Looking firstly at water baths, their immediate advantage is that they have a lid, which reduces water evaporation, and provides better insulation than an immersion circulator, which will usually be used in a pot or container which will provide no insulation (although you can solve this problem by purchasing a container with a custom cut lid).

On the downside, water baths can develop hot and cold spots in the water, meaning an uneven cooking temperature, which compromises the sous-vide method, whereas a circulator will constantly pump warm water around the container.

However, for commercial chefs, there are self-stirring sous vide machines which eliminate this problem.

Available Worktop Space

No matter whether you’re a home chef or a pro, kitchen space always seems to be at a premium, and it’s important that you make effective use of the space available to you.

This is one of the main disadvantages of a water bath, as they’re bulky products, even if you’re only using a smaller one.

In addition, they still take up a lot of space on the counter, even when they’re not in use, whereas an immersion circulator is a lot smaller, and can be stored away when you’re not using it.

Being able to attach your circulator to a normal cooking pot is another big advantage, meaning that they probably make more sense in a home kitchen, where you don’t have as much space, however there’s no denying that

Price

While both water baths and immersion circulators are becoming more and more affordable, the price is still an important consideration.

Here at Sous Vide Tools, our water baths range from £250.00 to £399.98 for home machines, and £323.99 to £1,199.99 for commercial grade versions, and our immersion circulators range between £99.00 and £149.99 for home and £395.99 to £659.99 for professional thermal calculators.

Due to the fact that immersion circulators are more affordable, they’re definitely a more appealing choice for home chefs if the cost is a big factor in your decision, but for a more experienced chef or a commercial kitchen, the extra outlay for a water bath may be worth it, depending on what your needs are.

There’s no simple answer as to whether you’d be better off buying a sous vide water bath or an immersion circulator, but for first timers and home chefs, while a small water bath will probably serve your needs, there are also plenty of reasons to go for a circulator, whether it be the price, the versatility to use different containers depending on how much you’re cooking, and the fact that it will evenly distribute heat around the container.

For professional chefs, a larger water bath may be suitable, but if you’re cooking in really large quantities, a circulator and a large container may be the best route to go down!

It all depends on what you’re going to be using the sous-vide machine for, but both options have their qualities!

Don’t forget that we’re here to help! If you need any assistance in selecting the right products; why not give us a call on 0800 678 5001.

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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