Convert a slow cooker into a sous vide

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1

I’ve wanted a sous vide cooker for precise water bath cooking for quite a while.
They are quite expensive though and it’s another thing to hog space in the kitchen cupboard.
I thought I’d have a go at making an adapter to use a slow cooker as a sous vide.

What I used:

SONOFF S20 - this plugs into the wall and the slow cooker plugs into this.

A submersible Dallas temperature sensor.

I wrote and flashed the following code. It sets up a thermostat to control the outlet relay according the water bath temperature.
Pressing the button sets the unit to preheat and sends an event to home assistant.
This event triggers a notification which when clicks takes me straight to the web interface where I can set a cooking temperature etc.

It works amazingly well, it’s very precise.

You can get an annova unit the goes into a pan for £100-150 or a standalone sous vide cooker for around £300-400. This cost around £10.

esphome:
  name: 
  platform: ESP8266
  board: esp01_1m

wifi:
  ssid: !secret ssid
  password: !secret wifi_pass

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Sousvide Fallback Hotspot"
    password: !secret ap_pass

captive_portal:

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  password: !secret api_pass

ota:
  password: !secret ota_pass
binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    pin:
      number: GPIO0
      mode: INPUT_PULLUP
      inverted: True
    filters:
      - delayed_on: 10ms
    on_press:
      then:
        - climate.control:
            id: sousvide
            mode: HEAT
            target_temperature: 50
        - homeassistant.event:
            event: esphome.sousvide_event
            data:
              title: sousvide_on
        
    name: "Sous Vide Button"
  - platform: status
    name: "Sous Vide Status"
dallas:
  pin: GPIO3
  update_interval: 5s
sensor:
  - platform: dallas
    id: sous_vide_temp
    index: 0
output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: GPIO12
    id: heater
  # Register the green LED as a dimmable output ....
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    id: s20_green_led
    pin:
      number: GPIO13
      inverted: True

light:
  # ... and then make a light out of it.
  - platform: monochromatic
    id: green
    name: "Sonoff S20 Green LED"
    output: s20_green_led
# Example single-point configuration entry (for heating only)
climate:
  - platform: thermostat
    name: "Sous Vide"
    id: sousvide
    visual:
      min_temperature: 40
      max_temperature: 65
      temperature_step: 0.2
    hysteresis: 0.1
    sensor: sous_vide_temp
    default_target_temperature_low: 50 °C
    heat_action:
      - output.turn_on: heater
    heat_mode:
      - light.turn_on: green
    off_mode:
      - light.turn_off: green
    idle_action:
      - output.turn_off: heater
7 Likes
2

I really like the idea.

I have 4 extra Dallas temp probes from a fish aquarium project I made and I’ve been wondering what I could use them for.

Thanks for the inspiration!

3

It works well. I’ve made some delicious steak.

2 Likes
4

Holy crap man… That is f****ing GENIUS! I have 2 sous vides (An Anova and a Joule and I love them both), but your solution is AWESOME.

Guess I know what I’ll be doing this weekend. LOL

5

I’m just working on creating preset buttons in Lovelace for different cuts of meat etc.

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6

LOL, you’ll have a LOT of buttons are there are literally thousands of things you can cook in a sous vide. :wink:

7

Bugger it my slow cooker can’t be switched on at the wall, you have to turn it on at the wall then push some buttons.

8

That’s annoying. This is a dumb one with just a physical rotary switch.

9

What kind of things do you like to cook with it?
I’ve tried salmon, a few different steaks etc.
Probably just have a few presets for the most popular things

10

Chicken (usually my go-to way to cook it), eggs, ribs, roasts, veggies… you name it. I’ve also tried some desserts as well (cheesecake and chocolate brownie cakes). Seriously, the sky is the limit!

11

Wow, I’ll have to find a few more recipes

1 Like
12

https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/ is a good starting point. There’s a garlic mashed potatoes recipe there that I’ve made a few times… YUM!

1 Like
14

You know what that means…
Open it up and do the work internally :wink:

Just find a place to house a ESP and let in control a relay to the heater.

15

I haven’t tried a max temp. But as a slow cooker it’s able to get very hot.

16

It is actually a multi use device, like a Instant Pot. I am not sure I want to trust an esp to run my pressure cooker.

1 Like
17

What features would you add?
what does an annova do that this doesn’t?
I’d love to add some advanced features or collaborate on some. I’ll add this to github

Update: https://github.com/samnewman86/esphome-configs/blob/e536d9b41eb4ec3339bb5c2f06dbe65fa9bde1fc/sous_vide.yaml

18

This is how events created by the sous vide node are handled in ha:

alias: Sous Vide Event Handler
description: ''
trigger:
  - platform: event
    event_type: esphome.sousvide_event
condition: []
action:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: template
            value_template: '{{ trigger.event.data.title == "sousvide_on" }}'
        sequence:
          - service: notify.mobile_app_ac2003
            data:
              data:
                clickAction: lovelace-system/sous-vide
                importance: high
                sticky: true
              message: Sous Vide Activated
    default: []
mode: single
19

Reviving this topic with an update on how I achieved this:

  • Connected the slowcooker to an wifi on/off powerswitch
  • Installed an ESP32 with ESPhome and only Bluetooth proxy enabled. This integrates the Inkbird IBT-2X bluetooth thermometer. I lock the thermometer onto the lid, so only the tip of the probe is in the water.
  • Installed “Smart thermostat (PID)” from HACS.
  • I’ve adjusted the minimum and maximum temperature of the new “Smart thermostat”; selected the smart switch and the BT Thermometer.

Works as a charm and keeps the temperature pretty accurate!

2 Likes
20

It’s been a while, but can you share a pic of your setup?

I want to use this for my slow cooker but I’m not sure how I can insert a temp sensor into the pot (as the lid should remain closed AFAIK). Or do you keep the lid slightly open?

If you attach it to the inside of the lid, how do you do that?