Discount Aoyue 937+ Digital Soldering Station - ESD Safe includes Spare

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List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $54.99
Today's Bonus: 45% Off

I normally don't do reviews unless I really like a product.

I was looking around at the Wellers and Hakkos soldering stations and there reviews when I found the Aoyue 937+ Digital Soldering Station. I looked at all the reviews and was thinking that the Aoyue 937+ soldering station sounded good. I did some research and found out that all the soldering tips that fit the Hakko 936 fit the Aoyue and that it was easy to get replacement parts such as a replacement pen and heating elements. That made me feel real good because I wanted to get a soldering station that would last me a long time. This setup seemed to be a good match.

When I first got the Aoyue 937+ in the mail I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised. Up to this time I have been using Radio Shack irons for all my projects such as small ham radio kits and RC helicopters and airplanes. The build quality of the Aoyue was very nice and didn't seem cheep at all. The cord for the soldering iron seemed to be of very good quality. The rest of the unit seemed to be very tough and didn't feel like it was cheep at all. Everything worked as expected.

I have not owned any other soldering stations but I have been shopping for a while and looked at some in some hobby shops and stores and this Aoyue 937+ soldering station looked and felt about the same but the other soldering stations I have looked at were much more expensive than this one. I feel I got a real good deal. I have use it to build one CW Ham radio kit so far and I loved it. Heats up very quick and holds the temp nicely. I don't see how you can go wrong with the Aoyue 937+ soldering station. Get it! I think you are going to like it.

There was some stuff that I didn't like about the station but they were nothing big to me.

1 The temp is digitally displayed in celsius and there is no way to switch to fahrenheit.

2 The sponge is to thin. I wouldn't use it anyway. I only use water free tip cleaners like the Hakko brass wire ball. Works awesome for me.

3 The rod that holds the "solder roll" on the soldering iron holder stand is nice but the two caps at the ends of it came out so I used super glue to hold them in. Now that I did that I found that I never use the rod anyway.

4 The power cord is a bit short for my liking. At some point in time I'll order another one that is longer. It looks like the same cord that plugs in to computer power supplies.

Other than those 4 small things the Aoyue 937+ soldering station is a keeper and the quality is as good as the other I have looked at and coast much less than the others :-)

Update 06-20-10 = I just got done doing another small kit and I like this soldering station a lot.

I have been using both the Hakko and Aoyue tips and yes the Hakko tips do work like I stated but I found that there is a flanged metal tube inside the iron that is used as a spacer. It is spaced perfect for the Aoyue tips but it is just a bit short for the Hakko tips. When you put in the Hakko tip there is slightly more than a 1mm space between the tip and spacer. That makes the barrel of the iron kind of move a bit. I also didn't want to tighten the retaining nut to much because I thought it may damage the ceramic element. I also did try to file part of the ceramic elements end to make the tip fit but under the ceramic part of the element is metal so I didn't want to go any farther. I am now going to purchase some more Aoyue tips and keep the Hakko tips for backup. When I used the Aoyue tip the shaft of the iron was nice and tight and did not shift or move at all. I did use the Aoyue tip that came with the unit (I think it is a "S4" tip) and it has worked very good but I prefer the "TI"or the "TB" tips for every day use. Only time will tell but so far so good. The tip is holding up nicely. All in all I am very impressed :-)

Update 08-13-10 I have been soldering up a storm and I think I have done at least five or six different kits sense the last review. This soldering station is awesome and I really didn't know what I was missing till I got it. Why spend more money when you can have this gem of a soldering station.

Update 09-09-11 The soldering station is still working like new! Man I got my moneys worth out of it. No problems with it at all.

Update 09-09-12 Still going strong! I just got done doing two different projects with no problems. Still heats up fast. I am interested in the new iron stand that they have out. I may get the new station just for the stand. My nephew is in to electronics now and I think I may give him this unit for his projects. I'll keep the new one for myself :-)

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I just bought this item, so this isn't a long-term review. However, I have to say that I am VERY impressed with this soldering station thus far.

The iron heats up quickly, and the led displays the actual temp of the iron. I had no trouble soldering some heavy gauge speaker wire with this, and no trouble soldering very fine gauge battery leads. This is a very powerful and versatile tool that should definitely be on the list for electronics people who are on a budget.

The only drawback I've experienced is that the barrel of the iron gets warm (but not uncomfortably so). I think an extra bit of hi-temp foam should handle that problem.

PS I'm am in NO WAY related to or associated with SRA, we just happen to have the same last name!

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This iron heats up very quickly and works beautifully. Comes with an extra ceramic element just in case the one you have somehow goes bad.

Honest reviews on Aoyue 937+ Digital Soldering Station - ESD Safe includes Spare

I purchased this soldering station 6 months ago as an upgrade for a Weller WLC-100, planning to use it once or twice a week for hobby tasks. I like the adjustable digital temperature control, and it worked well a few times, but not long after I got it the unit started to flash "=8=" on the display all the time and would not work anymore. I'm very dissapointed in this tool after spending good money on what I thought was a better product. I also felt the cord running from the station to the iron was really too short, I would have liked it to be at least another 2-3 feet longer.

Update Before sending the device back I decided to follow the testing procedure in the manual with my multimeter and found that the sensor on the heating element was faulty. The device comes with a replacement heating element in the box, so I disassembled the handle and replaced the heating element. Note this requires a soldering iron to do ironic. Took about an hour, reassembled the handle and tested it again back in business. I've improved my rating from one star to three, but I really think the heating element should last longer than 10 hours of light use before needing to be replaced, and the other shortcomings are still problems. Buyer beware.

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this is a great iron. i had trouble out of the box. the temperature selection buttons did not function at all. a quick note to the seller and it was RMA'd and taken care of no problem. iron heats up in a matter of seconds and it holds temperature well through many consecutive solders. i've used more expensive stations but i'm not missing a thing with the aoyue.

CT100 Standard Tamper Proof Thermostat Review

Customer Ratings:

We installed this at one of our plants in the locker room. The guys seems to get the temp over 78-degrees quite easily and it is hot and a waste of energy..... now that is all a thing of the past. Took 5-min to install and setup all of the programs. Now it is 68-degrees and even if they bump it to the maximum 72-degrees in the winter within 3-hours my program kicks in and it resets it back to my set point of 68-degrees. The best part is that it will prevent them from just going hog wild with the thermostat. The next one is going to be in the office, but that one will be the bigger unit so that we can control the actual limits--Definitely would recommend this one if you need a non-changeable max and min set point.

Update! So it has been a couple of weeks since we installed this thermostat. It is interesting how people can crank the heat when it is available to them and complain the whole time, now with the max temperature limited there is not one complaint! I even have it set on a schedule and at a max of 68-degrees which is perfect. One down and we are most likely going to install the larger CT2001 in our main office.

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Johnson Controls A19AAT-2C Freezer Temperature Controller Reviews

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Since my chest freezer dials only allowed for temperatures of freezing and below, or 50 and above, I had no way of keeping my kegs cold enough to where I like my beer (35-40 degrees).

But this device has been outstanding. To limit the frequency of which it turns on, I placed the thermometer in a glass/bottle of water. That way, when the liquid gets to cold, that's when the thermostat kicks in and turns the freezer back on until the liquid is at the desired temp. Also saves the compressor so it's not kicking on as much.

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This works!

My hubby and I live 100% off grid, we are using a small solar system, we needed a way to refrigerate our food without draining the battery bank (or our financial bank), in the beginning we simply used a small dorm sized cube refrigerator but that used a lot of power, we didn't use it very often.

I learned about converting a chest type freezer into a refrigerator using an external thermometer and decided to give it a try. We purchased this external thermometer here on Amazon (it's one of the cheapest prices I've found), we already had a small chest type freezer, we hooked it up and in the beginning it ran quite a bit, but once it got down to the temp I set, it shut off and now only runs about a couple of minutes an hour.

The way it works is simple, this is an external thermometer, you place the probe (that copper colored thing) into the freezer box, I placed mine about a foot from the bottom. Next you plug the freezer into the external thermometer, then you plug the thermometer to your power supply, set the temperature of the thermometer and you are good to go. I originally set it on 40F, then later dropped it down to 35F, I have used a point and shoot laser thermometer to test the inside temps of the freezer once it reached my set temp, and it is pretty accurate. Be careful with the probe, it can get kinked, carefully unwind it and place it inside your freezer box, some chest freezers have a drain hole in the bottom, you can run the probe through that, mine didn't have a drain hole so I just ran it in the back through the door opening, the copper wire is small and doesn't interfere with the door closing.

This works great for us, I decided on the non-digital thermometer because typically digital items don't like being hooked up to modified sine wave inverters (though this setup might not be a problem, it's digital timers that really have trouble), and it wouldn't take any extra power or need a separate battery in the unit, I set it on 35 degrees F and it works like a charm. There have been a couple of nights when we didn't have much power (several cloudy days in a row), our system ran low on power and we had to shut it down for the night, the freezer box kept the food plenty cold enough overnight, the next day when the sun came up, we turned it back on and had no problems.

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. It works great, the unit runs for a few minutes each hour. My dorm-sized cube refrigerator would run for 5-10 minutes every half hour (+/-), more often if I opened the door...

2. It's efficient, since it's a chest type freezer, when I open the lid, the cold air stays inside the box, and being a "freezer" it's much more insulated, think about grocery stores with their open freezer and refrigerated chests, cold air sinks and even without a lid, the food stays cold.

3. It doesn't take up much room, that's important when you live in a small sky castle...

Cons:

1. Being a chest type freezer, opening from the top, it is more of a challenge to store food inside, no shelves, I use plastic baskets, 2 medium sized stacked together and 2 smaller ones stacked together for the bottom of the unit. I just have to get creative about how I put my food in the box.

2. Another drawback to opening at the top, you can't stack anything on top of the unit, at least not for any length of time, you will have to move anything on top before you can open the lid. I placed a table next to the freezer that is the same height, that way I have somewhere to put things that I am placing in and removing from the freezer.

3. Condensation, these freezers do create condensation on the inside, so from time to time I have to take everything out and wipe it dry. I tried keeping towels in the bottom, but that was a mistake, the towels make a great substrate for growing mold and that smells horrible, so no more towels, I just wipe it out once a week or so... I also try to remember to wipe the sides when I'm getting something out of the fridge.

Wretha

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I bought this to control the temp of my mini-fridge that I use to lager beer in. Basically you plug this unit into the wall and plug your fridge's power plug into it. The thermostat probe is placed inside the fridge and basically shuts off the power to the unit when a certain temp is reached. Because of the way this unit works, you have to set your fridge to the coldest setting. This unit would also be great to turn a deep freezer into a fridge.

Keep in mind if your fridge isn't capable of getting to the temp you set then it will run all the time and possibly damage the compressor on your fridge. Also keep in mind the probe placement is important. If you put the probe in the fridge next to where the cold air blows into the compartment, its going to kick off the fridge before the entire compartment has reached the right temp.

Honest reviews on Johnson Controls A19AAT-2C Freezer Temperature Controller

This thermostat control is very easy to use. You just plug your refridgeration device of choice in -I am using a small wine refrigerator that I am using for aging hard cheese that I make -and set the desired temp on the dial. I have a digital thermometer monitoring the temp inside, and the temp stays just where I want it, within 3 degrees of the set temp. This control unit seemed to have the best price point when I was looking for this product.

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I'm not using this for home brewing, but to use a chest freezer as my regular household refrigerator. It's much more energy efficient, partly because the cold air stays in place when you open it, and partly because it's better insulated. Until manufacturers start making home refrigerators in the chest configuration, the best you can do is trick a freezer into operating at higher temperatures. This product does the job. I stuck the outdoor sensor of my digital thermometer inside to check the temperature, and the dial was right on, with maybe three degrees of fluctuation each way.

If you use a chest freezer as your main refrigerator, be sure to get one with lots of baskets! Another issue is condensation. Upright fridges typically catch the water and drop it into an evaporation pan. Freezers don't have this, but they do have a drain hole. I keep the drain hole open all the time and stick a rag where the water comes out, and then use the rag to clean the floor.

Review of Fireplace Blower with Power Cord Fbo-75

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List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: Price Unavailable
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

The fan does move the air, but not near as much as the original blower. This unit is smaller and lighter then the old unit. It is so light that they send "sticky tabs" for the bottom of the unit so that it does not vibrate out of placement under the fireplace gas logs. Air movement is probably about 1/3 the movement as the old unit. Plus the cord to plug in the new unit needs to be about 12-18 inches longer. This unit cost about half of what a new more powerful unit runs. And the saying is true you get what you pay for. In the future I will go back to the original type fan and pay the additional amount.

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This blower is small but quiet and moves enough air to heat a small room. Fits almost under any fireplace. You need a thermostat switch in order to make it automatic.

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This works very well. I only gave it 4 stars because it is a bit noisier than I thought it would be. We have grown accustomed to it and don't notice so much anymore. Still this product works very well to move the heat from our gas fireplace.

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The blower unit for my fireplace insert was perfect. Fit like a glove and it came with all the parts needed for an easy install!

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was nerves about ordering it, but it works great and was easy to install now the whole room is warm.

Review of DeLonghi DCH1030 Safeheat 1500W Basic Ceramic Heater - Gray/Black

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List Price: $42.00
Sale Price: $24.99
Today's Bonus: 41% Off

I had a little heater fan from DeLonghi (DFH132), and it was fine but a little weak. I tried out a few heater fans from Honeywell (HFH5555 [worked, but blew a fuse] and HEH8001-U [worked but more fan than heater]) but ended up returning them.

This little heater puts out a good bit of heat. It's sitting behind me right now, in the same spot the heater fan used to occupy, and it puts out much more heat. It's also about twice as loud, but that doesn't bother me. The grille on the front gets hot, but I haven't left my hand on it long enough to see if it will burn me. I can make only so many sacrifices for Amazon reviews...

Quite happy with this item.

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We are an HVAC contractor in Northern Virginia. We stock up on these every year to loan to customers without heat because they are safe and reliable. We have been very satisifed with the performance.

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I gave this heater 4 stars. Let me explain....

First, to be realistic about my pros and cons, I know I wasn't getting a top of the line model being that this heater was under thirty bucks. I only needed this to provide a little warmth boost in my 1-year old sons 14' x 12' room.

Pros:

-Pushes a lot of heat for being so small This was surprising. I have to keep the temp turned only about 1/3 of the way up with the lowest fan setting or else my son's room turns into a sauna.

-Very nice size it's not tiny, but it fits nicely on my son's chest of drawers along with an alarm clock and piggy bank.

-1 fan, 2 heat options there is a fan option(no heat), a low and high heat setting. I use the low and imagine that the high setting would push qhite a bit of heat.

-Thermostat very nice option for what I use it for, once you get it right (see cons). I keep it up about 1/3 of the way and it keeps the room at a semi-constant temp.

-Stays cool to the touch on perimeter if you put your hand directly in front of the heating element, it's hot (duh), the rest of it stays nice and cool. This was a major concern for me since it stays in a childs room and space heaters having such a bad safety rep.

-Sturdy I originally had it on the floor and moved it up on a dresser. Neither place was I afraid that it would tip over on it's own

-Overheat switch It's an option, but I gladly haven't had to see if it works

Cons:

-Slightly noisier than expected I expected a little noise since it is a little heater but this small fans puts out quite a bit of noise. It's not loud enough to wake my son when it kicks on during the night, but it is loud enough where I had to relocate the baby monitor because it was driving my wife and me crazy.

-Thermostat this was a pro for having the option alone. The con is that it took me about a week to get it to maintain an even temp exactly where I wanted it. One time it would be too hot, I make an adjustment, then too cold, repeat about 15 times, and it's just right.

If I could give 4 1/2 stars I would. My pros are definite pros, but the cons may be a little petty given the product. I think for a few more dollars DeLonghi could put in a digital thermostat and maybe a slighly quieter fan.

Overall, I highly recommend this.

Honest reviews on DeLonghi DCH1030 Safeheat 1500W Basic Ceramic Heater - Gray/Black

My wife and I bought 2 of these to give our utility budget a break this winter.

This heater puts out alot of heat. The On/Off/Heat Settings switch, along with the Thermostat switch, feel very solid for a ceramic heater this inexpensive. It has a handle so it's easily transportable. Power light goes off when the unit is turned off (unlike others in this price range). Can be turned off (Some other similarly priced heaters need to have you pull the plug for the heater to go off). If it gets too hot, it will shut itself off (Safety feature). It's not whisper quiet but it is certainly not overly loud, as some others have complained. It also has an anti-freeze setting, if that is why you need it.

For the money, I can't see how you can get a better deal on a ceramic heater. I checked out all the similarly priced ceramic heaters here on Amazon, and quite frankly the combination of features, efficient ceramic heating element, solid design and inexpensive price make this a "no-brainer" as far as inexpensive ceramic heaters go. Get 2 and give the gift of ceramic heating efficiency this Christmas. OOPS, politically incorrect. TOO BAD!!!

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I am living Iowa city, and the weather is getting colder and colder. So, I bought this small heater to get extra heat for my bedroom. It actually runs very loud, which is quite annoying for me. Moreover, I don't believe the "thermostat" works at all. The manual delusively says that the "thermostat" can be used to maintain the temperature. It is not true. I have to turn it on and off manually... However, it is cheap. For that reason, we probably should not have high expectation.

Review of Honeywell QuietSet Whole Room Tower Fan

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List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $59.99
Today's Bonus: 14% Off

I received the product on the 19th and assembled it on the 20th hoping its usage will help knock my high energy bill down from its perennial crazy height of $178(?) for a 2 bedroom with minimal use of the A/C, haaa! At first i liked this fan, i think i still do if only i have one that is really functional. Yes, it has 8 speed control which i found very useful in the 2+ days it worked for me. Sometimes the air that blows from my very reliable Lasko tower fan (very sturdy and does what its meant to do-blow air) can become a bit uncomfortable and cold even on its lowest speed like in the early hours of the morning,say from 3am onwards. In using this Honeywell fan, one comes to appreciate those varied speeds of sleep,whisper,calm,white noise and relaxwhich has been the highest speed i attained while using it. The higher speeds are refresh,cool and power cool.

At the whisper and calm speed, the air is neither too little or much but just appropriate to keep you quite cool and not uncomfortable-when the fan is working!

Alas, twice i woke up to find myself sweating. The fan is oscillating quite well...but NO AIR. At first i thought maybe my skin has become toughened like an alligators' and so cannot feel its coolness, so i held a paper in font of it, nothing, nada,zip air. To compound the ridiculousness of the situation, the temperature on it changed from 78-77-76 degrees when i increased the speed from calm to the highest speed even though its primary task of dissipating air has been defeated.Speeds change,it oscillates-just nothing,empty air.

The 2 stars are for the period it worked and not indicative of the entire Honeywell collection, maybe it is just my luck of the draw that got me this defective one.If this thing was working as my Lasko fan( longevity), this is really a 5 star product and my love for it would have exceeded my Lasko,really. The calm and whisper speed really gives a gentle breeze when used in A/C.. Now i have to worry about buying an outer box to transport this product back, this is an inconvenience you do not worry about when dealing with Walmart. Oh, i am not knocking Amazon in anyway, their Customer service response is top notch hands down.

Honeywell need to do a little more testing on this HY-280. But i am not sure i want to try this product again for my money given that it can fail anytime.Longevity is quite important.

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The second fan works great. The first one arrived without the remote control so I had to return it. The new one arrived quickly and works great.

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A daughter purchased one just like it and recommended it to me when I needed to purchase a new fan. It is quiet as a whisper. It refreshes an entire space. The settings are easy to use and very helpful for comfort.

Honest reviews on Honeywell QuietSet Whole Room Tower Fan

I have owned 2 of this same exact fan, purchased from a local retail giant. I love the fan, I love the features and it does a great job cooling the room (WHEN IT WORKS).

It's quiet and efficient, and a lot more settings than most fans of this type.

THE PROBLEM THOUGH is that the first one I purchased completely stopped working after approx. 6-9 months of using it. I thought surely being a big brand name and all that maybe it was a fluke and decided to go back and by another one just like it. Well this one lasted a little longer, maybe 12 months and it has now stopped functioning as well. The first one completely broke, and acted like it had no power to it. It wouldn't turn on and the controls didn't light up. The 2nd one, turns on, the controls light up but the fan won't turn on and it won't oscillate.

Overall, I wouldn't buy this fan, unless you don't mind buying a new one at least once a year.

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I'm a musician and I play a quiet instrument. This fan is the quietest I've ever seen.

There's a notch in the base for the power cord to come out. But nothing to make the cord

stay in the notch. A bit funny. I fixed it with some string and glue. Looks ugly, but

it prevents unnecessary wear on the insulation.

Assembly was not easy. And the assembly instructions left something to be desired.

But, overall a good fan. If you're looking from a quiet one, this is worth a try.

Reviews of Digital Electronic Egg Incubator Thermostat with Remote Sensor

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I bought this thermostat for my incubator that I hatch chicken eggs in. The problem is this thermostat was 16 degrees off and it only lets you adjust it 5 degrees when you calibrate it. I can just falsely adjust the temp to way below 99.5 degrees (to 88.6 in this case) but when the power goes out it will reset itself and then the temps in the bator shoot up to 110 degrees!!! It's off/on cycle is also too far apart to be a great thermostat for incubating eggs. In other words it gets really cool before it clicks on and the on cycle warms up quite a few degrees before it shuts off again. I need something with a shorter (not delayed) on/off cycle.

I will be spending a little more on a much better thermostat.

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This temperature controller was a little tricky to hook up and figure out the wiring.

Then it worked for a day and stopped working.

I opened it up to try to see if there was a fuse of something. I could see nothing wrong.

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I bought 2 of these last year just had the second one fail lost over 100 goose eggs this time first time I only lost couple dozen if you are installing these you really need a backup system or an alarm will never use them again

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I'm very pleased. Easy to install and seems to be right on temperature based on a separate electronic thermometer I set inside as a test. Exactly what I wanted and good delivery. Thanks

Discount DorkFood DSV Temperature Controller for Sous-vide

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List Price: $110.00
Sale Price: $99.00
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

For several years I've been hankering for an immersion circulator to try sous vide cooking at home. I didn't have the $2000 plus for a complete PolyScience unit, or even the $900 or so for a pro quality circulator head. So without expecting too much, I bought the oddly, sweetly named DorkFod DSV Temperature Controller and teamed it up with a 7 quart manual crock pot I found on sale at a local discount store for $19.

Much to my surprise, the combination totally rocks. The DorkFood unit is solidly built, easy to use, and holds the temperature I set within about 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The natural bottom to top convection of the crock pot, even without an additional circulator, has provided even heat for my sous vide creations. If you've never had leg of lamb cooked under vacuum for 36 hours you don't know what you're missing: a mild, non-gamy flavor with the buttery texture of filet mignon. Lobster tails cooked with garlic butter unbelievably tender and sweet. Restaurant quality duck confit becomes child's play! Cure duck legs (with thigh) overnight with salt, thyme and crushed juniper berries rinse and pat dry the next day seal under vacuum with 1 tablespoon of rendered duck fat per leg and cook at 167 degrees for 30 hours or more for the most succulent duck you've ever tasted. After cooking I cut off the skin and fry it under a cast iron weight (affectionately known as a "pig") and top the duck leg with a crispy duck bacon "cracker."

There are so many free resources on-line and great books at Amazon for sous vide coooking it's easy to get started. And for a total of $118 including the crock pot DorkFood exceeded my expectations. Although I have a good vacuum sealer (VacMaster VP112) many sous vide dishes can be prepared using carefully sealed freezer quality ZipLoc bags. This product really lowers the bar for getting into the wonderful world of sous vide. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but adventurous chefs love it!

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I am so happy that there is finally an affordable solution out there for the rest of us. We frequently have dinner parties and sous vide is a super easy way to cook an amazing meal for many people. I use it a lot to cook fish and steak, but we have also used it for chicken, lamb, and even veggies. There are a lot of good cookbooks out there too, but I think experimenting with your own recipes is part of the fun.

Small hint: Whole Foods and some other stores will vacuum seal your meats if you ask nicely with a smile :)

The device may look a little intimidating at first, but its actually very simple to use. It also comes with a small handout that has instructions and pictures for setting it up. The unit is a little industrial looking so I'm happy that its small enough to put away out of sight after I'm done cooking. I hope the company makes a "prettier" version of the device soon.

But my absolute FAVORITE part about the DSV is that it allows you to transform your existing kitchen devices... those that have been sitting unused in the kitchen cabinets gathering a thick layer of dust... into a fancy state-of-the-art sous vide machine that is just as good as the $500+ models.

I would highly recommend this product to any of my friends and I'm getting my parents one for Christmas this year. It would also make a very unique wedding present or a cool gift for the aspiring chef in the family.

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Very simple tool to cook via the Sous Vide method. Did four filets with butter and salt in the bag. 135 degrees for 2 hours, a very quick sear at the end. Amazing results, may be the one of the best steaks I've ever had.

The unit is very easy to setup, make sure your Crock Pot has a mechanical temperature switch, not electronic. Kept the water at the perfect temperature for the entire cooking time. Preheated the water for 1 hour before to let the unit calibrate. Would highly recommend.

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Thank you, Dorks. This is the small scale, clutter free, set-and-forget appliance I was waiting for.

I snare spiny lobster and spear a lot of fish, and have been wanting sous vide capability for a long time. But my tiny kitchen will not fit any more gadgets; not one more pot. I didn't want a barn rigged mess of DIY components. I can't cope with longer cords or circulators or racks or vacuum sealers or any more stuff. Now with my $15 crockpot and the DSV, I'm good to go.

First try out of the box, I made the best pork tenderloin of my life. Seafood is like something from a very moist alien world. I will NEVER cook my lobsters any other way. I use regular zip bags or roll softer proteins into cling wrap cylinders. As I learn better techniques, I may just wrap. It's faster and cheaper and there is no movement to disturb it. Worries about uniform food thickness are unfounded for home cooking. That's for chefs who must produce many meals in a limited time. No part of the food can ever be overheated. Texture differences in thin areas from a few more minutes at target temperature are imperceptible. Flavors are intensified. Use less spice and seasoning.

Despite a few overwrought reviews, my Dork works perfectly. Unless you sleep in the kitchen, concerns about the clicking are ridiculous. Put on some music in the living room and it's unnoticeable. It holds 1º over the displayed temperature according to a reliable stick probe. I normally preheat the water in a fast electric kettle. Then the Dork powers the crock heater for a few seconds 3 or 4 times/minute. It doesn't heat up the kitchen and that's a big deal in Florida. Like running a 20 watt bulb, the power costs a penny for 3 hours of cooking.

The only valid issue with this approach to sous vide is the use of low-power heaters. The cooking water should be up to target temperature before introducing the food, which will cool it. This can be a long wait with a 100 200 watt crockpot like mine. So preheat the water quickly in a pot or kettle, much hotter than cooking temperature. The crock has to be heated too. Then adjust with a little tap water to the target temperature and off you go. With a few tries, you will hit target temperature in 5 minutes with very little fuss. The Dork helps by constantly displaying the actual water temperature.

The general problem with sous vide is long cooking times. With a nice controller like the Dork, it doesn't have to be your time. Go outside for some sun, fresh air, and exercise. Dinner will be perfect whenever you get back.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for DorkFood DSV Temperature Controller for Sous-vide

The DSV is a fantastic way to get into sous-vide cooking without spending a ton of money. I looked at several DIY options, but I don't think they are very cost effective, nor safe unless you really know what you're doing (and I don't).

I have tried this with a 4QT slow cooker/crock pot and with a Oster 14 cup rice cooker. Either works fine.

It takes a long time to "settle" on your selected temprature, even if you pre-heat the water. For example, if I set the temp to 140F, often it will hold at about 145F after about 30 min and takes quite a while to come back down. The temprature on the unit and the temp as read on a separate thermometer are exactly same, generally about 5 degrees too high. Odd, but after a couple of hours it will generally "settle" at the selected temp. I can work around this by either intentionally setting the temp lower than desired or just wait however long it takes for it to settle at the selected temp.

They claim the device can maintain the temp at +/.25F once the unit settles on the selected temp. I have found that to be spot on, once settled it never deviates.

Overall, I am very happy with this purchase. I hope it lasts a long time!

Buy Sunpentown SH-1508 Tower Ceramic Heater with Ionizer

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $98.00
Sale Price: $70.72
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This is a great unit and just like it states it is wisper quiet. Easy to read digital temp. Took about 5 min to warm a 63 degree room to 72! Takes up little space, I put mine in the corner and you don't even know its there. It is also an attractive unit that I don't mind having in any room of the house. The remote controol is a plus also. I Did not think I needed it, but now that I have it, I love that feature also. There is an easy to use timer on the unit also. That is a nice feature so you don't forget to turn it off when you go to work etc. I am thinking about ordering another one as this is such a handy unit. With heating costs this winter it is a money saver to use this electric unit to supplement your heat.

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I bought this heater for my living room. I have central heat and air, but this helps me save money on my heating bill. It's slightly more expensive than other ceramic heaters, but it has an air purifier and a remote control. None of the cheaper ceramic heaters have those features. You don't realize how handy the remote control is unless you have owned an electric heater without one. You can make minor adjustments to its thermostat with the remote control. You can adjust the thermostat from 64 to 90 degrees. It has a big, bright LCD display on the front that shows the temperature and other information. Many people seem to prefer those electric oil-filled heaters, but some of them can take forever to heat up a room. This heater produces a lot of heat quickly. It's rated at 5,200 BTUs. A small air conditioner has a rating of about 10,000 BTUs. It also has the ability to automatically alternate between high and low power when it's in AUTO mode. It doesn't always use 1500 watts of electricity because of that. Sometimes it will only use 950 watts if a room is already warm. The Sunpentown SH-1508 is the best electric heater I have ever owned.

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SPT SH-1508 Tower Ceramic Heater with Ionizer

I would have to give this rating a one star unfortunately. THe heater while in itself is a great cost you must be warned of the manufacturing of the product itself. I have two of these heaters purchased within a few weeks of each other. One worked well, we were so pleased that we ordered another (my roomies and myself) unfortunately the first one came broken, making a horrible clicking sound and the company (SPT)has refused to help. Amazon did send a replacement for the first and then the second one arrived making an horrible buzzing noise. Amazon was not willing to replace this one. Today is the 8th week of owning both the heaters. THe first one's face plate caught fire today because of poor wiring used in the assembly of the heater, and the second one I am afraid will do the same. This product almost set fire to my house and everything that we own.

I cannot reccomend this product to anyone. Although the price is fine (money wise) is it really worth risking far much more than sixty something dollars if it costs you your life? I do not think so. I am so upset by this that I will write to amazon.com today strongly recommending that this product be removed from their site. Because if three products have thus far been malfunctioning who knows how many more of these are out there will similar situations. So far I have found over 200 similar stories about this product. Thank you for your time and I wish you the best of luck in finding whateever it may be that you are looking for.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Honest reviews on Sunpentown SH-1508 Tower Ceramic Heater with Ionizer

This machine is larger than many ceramic models but nice looking and heats very well. The fan is very quiet. I like that you can use it as a fan without heat as well. My only complaint is that the blue LCD that tells the temperature does not dim or shut off and is VERY bright. Too bright for a bedroom. Really lights it up. I'll be looking for some way of safely masking it. Otherwise very nice but hope it lasts.

OCTOBER 08' UPDATE:

2 California coastal winters (mild and short) and it's dead. Well not dead, but working erratically (noisy, not shutting off when the room reaches the Auto shut off temp, ...) No longer safe or usable.

For the bright light, I masked it with electrical tape. Safe and effective.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sunpentown SH-1508 Tower Ceramic Heater with Ionizer

After reading dozens of reviews on dozens of heaters, I gave up and ordered what looked good. So far, I very happy with this one. Although assembly was indicated, it came fully assembled. It heats my son's bedroom (10 x 12) in very short order and it takes the chill off my living room (16 x 22). I switched to a pellet heater as my primary fuel and there are some areas of my home that just stay cool. I'm confident this will do the job on all but the coldest of days (Mid-Michigan). The directions are easy to understand and the remote is simple to use. The only drawback is the LED panel is super bright for my sleeping preference (great nightlight for a kid) and when the timer (max 7.5 hour) shuts the unit off, it seems to erase the preset room temp. It then defaults back to 75 degrees. Could be I haven't figured it out yet but either way, that's a minor thing to me. Overall, I think I got a good deal on a good heater.

Best ProCom Blower for Dual Fuel Fireplaces - Model# FIB100 Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $119.99
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seems t blow out a little hea but nothing substantial. It makes more noise than it serves a purpose for in my opinion. It was difficult to install as well since the instructions were not real clear. It goes all the way in the back of the fireplace on the bottom and it blows air up the back of the firebox and it comes out the top by the hood. It only uses like 18watts when its energized so at least its not going to raise your electric bill too much. ,

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very quiet throws out heat very nice unit easy to install would recommend it for every stove. its a must

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Makes a little more noise than preferred, but otherwise well worth the money. Kicks on and off with thermostat already installed.

Honest reviews on ProCom Blower for Dual Fuel Fireplaces - Model# FIB100

I purchased this to go with the Procom Firebox I purchased. Quite simply, it dfoes what it says and does it well. This is available elsewhere bu Amazon had the absolute best price.

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I was very disappointed in this blower. You cannot feel any air blowing from the fireplace when this in on.