Reddit reviews Cambro 12189CW135 4.75 Gallon Polycarbonate Food Storage Camwear Box

this is the container I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQB63E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

A lot of us use this one. You'll need a dremel to create a notch for the circulator to attach well though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQB63E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have about 4 Cambro clear food storage containers I got from FoodServiceWarehouse during their going out of business sale. They're a couple different sizes so I can use a smaller one when cooking for just the family and the great big ones when I'm cooking for a whole bunch of people. I also have two Anovas so that's why I have 4 different containers.

They're pretty expensive on Amazon, probably because they're so expensive to ship (it's like shipping an empty box full of air, they don't weigh much but are big so the boxes all get dim'ed out on the dimensional weight threshold).

But you can find them locally at any restaurant supply store or even eBay or Craigslist.

I need to buy a larger container, but I can definitely fit a whole duck in a vacuum bag.

I've found if I get the container too big the machine isn't strong enough to heat the water. I've been using an 8 gallon pot, but there is a lot of wasted space, so I'm going to get one of the restaurant grade food containers that everybody seems to be using

I know a lot of people go for Cambro containers, but I've had no problem with this Rubbermaid container.

I don't use a rack, but someone posted a few days ago using this from Ikea.

Checking OP's history, it looks like s/he bought it from Amazon, made by Perfect Sousvide. At $88 versus $25 for the Cambro food box itself, I think I would take /u/bigcat69's advice and cut the hole for the Anovo myself but it would be nice to have that hinged lid.

I think it is a nice idea to insulate around the box and the lid should help with evaporation but maybe OP should also insulate the top. I am sure it is nice being able to glance over and see the action going but heat rises so I would assume there is still a lot of heat loss through the lid.

A plain polycarbonate container works fine for sous vide. Also, don't feel obligated to get those expensive insulating balls. Ping pong balls do the same thing at about a tenth of the price.

I have this. Works great http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451961966&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=cambro+polycarb+container

If you go with the Anova I would also get this.
http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450295249&sr=8-2&keywords=cambro

Call Anova and see if they can lock in the sale price for you for when its back in stock.

http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Camwear-4-75-Gallon/dp/B002NQB63E

There are infinite options for setup so I'll simply provide what I use:

I have a cambro food container I cook in. Rubbermaid works well but I needed something bigger. I use an IKEA lid organizer to hold my bags in place (this didn't fit in the rubbermaid). I only put foil or lids on the top for extremely long cooks (18-24 hours), you won't lose much water in a basic dinner cook. I have a rubber mat on my counter for hotter cooks to protect it. I also use a vacuum sealer for my food and found that placing a pyrex dish in the water helps keep them from floating. Here are some links to what I have purchased

https://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1492527700&sr=8-8&keywords=cambro+food

https://www.amazon.com/Ikea-VARIERA-701-548-00-Organizer-Stainless/dp/B00TJTWR04/ref=pd_bxgy_79_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00TJTWR04&pd_rd_r=F9YJ15R2DKR95RQBYK3R&pd_rd_w=TH4K1&pd_rd_wg=oNXkw&psc=1&refRID=F9YJ15R2DKR95RQBYK3R

https://www.amazon.com/Countertops-Antibacterial-Dishwasher-Grey-XL/dp/B01MYV1O16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492527763&sr=8-1&keywords=rubber+mat+counter

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R8JOUC/ref=twister_B01FXRJ34I?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My wife and I use one of these Cambro boxes for our sous vide cooking. We have an 11Q stock pot that we used to use, but when making more than two chicken breasts or steaks, it tended to run out of space.

When we make something that takes less than 4 hours (chicken breast, steak, or pork chops) we don't generally cover the sous vide. It will lose water over a long period of time, but not enough to be a problem in just a few hours. If we go more than that (24-72 hours for pork ribs and short ribs), we will cover the pot with foil.

Regarding long term usage - So far after 6 months of 3-4 times a week usage, we haven't had any troubles. We have hard water, which has led to some build up on it. Fortunately you can remove the cover on the heating element for cleaning. You just have to be careful not to get the actual electronic parts wet. I think you'd have to be very careless to do that, though.

I cooked 5 tri-tip with a single anova (900w) in a 4.75gal cambro. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NQB63E/, so it’s definitely doable with a couple units just need to have containers big enough to hold it all.

You can pretty much cook as many steaks as you can fit in your container, so long as you keep them somewhat separated. I like to use cheap steel cooling racks for this. They'll rust, but that doesn't really matter.

As for container recommendations, get yourself a restaurant-style plastic food bin. They hold heat a lot better and are better shaped than a big pot. I have a 5 gallon Rubbermaid model, which works very well for medium to large cooks. I've fit four racks of beef ribs in there (barely!), and an 4-bone rib roast in that thing, as well as a metric butt-ton of kabobs (about 15 lbs!).

However, if you're just feeding yourself and/or a significant other, it's probably a bit overkill. In that case, going for a 3 gallon squarish bin is probably a good idea, since you can buy aftermarket lids for them to fit your sous vide cooker.

3 Gallon Container: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R8JOUC/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?th=1

5 Gallon Container:
https://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=pd_sbs_328_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HSS7H6QA7T55EV38JZMQ

3 Gallon Custom Lid: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKQZCXJ?aaxitk=iSifJRwGyA8wJ2KnLTl3IA

I use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E

with this lid:

http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-1218CCW135-Half-Size-Flat-Food/dp/B0001MRUZU

I used a dremel and cut an opening in the lid to fit my Vacmaster SV1. Longest cook I've done so far was 36 hours and it worked out great.

Another separate reply, since my previous post was getting long - I think it's a reasonable size to feed maximum 4 people at a time (no vac sealer yet), but tonight when I cooked four 1-1/4" thick pork chops I had hoped to also cook some chicken breasts for later, but after the four chops I was hesitant to cram anything more into the space.

Eventually I intend to get the 4.75 Gallon Cambro with the shifting lid (scroll down to the "frequently bought together" section).

The big cambro will come into play this summer, when I aim to have cookouts with the grill going for searing.

Those aren't an ideal shape though. I have one of these which is .25 gallons shy of the recommended max volume of water for an Anova. I wish it had a hinged lid though.

They were both from Amazon.
Container,
lid
(Although they were eligible for prime shipping at the time)
I did the cutout for the anova on the bandsaw.

I've had great results with the following container

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQB63E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it held 8 turkey breast halves and 8 turkey tenderloins, 3 quarts of bagged cranberry sauce for reheating, and for a brief period also held 3lbs of butter and sugar poached carrots for reheating before glazing

I stuck to pan and grill searing for a while and held off on getting a blowtorch but finally caved and bought a bernzomatic TS8000 and a searzall for post-searing

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019CQL60/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2P0KNO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used electrical tape which I have since removed on the recommendation of Mr. Kinchee. I've ordered the weather stripping linked below.

The container: http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Camwear-4-75-Gallon/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427827003&sr=8-1&keywords=4.75+gallon+cambro

The lid: http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-Camwear-1218CCW135-18-Inch-Clear/dp/B0001MRUZU/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1G9QFSQETBBPHZ95062H

pretty awesome! I would grab this bin for sous vide instead of that tupperware bin

https://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW135-Polycarbonate-Storage-Camwear/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=pd_sim_79_12?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002NQB63E&pd_rd_r=GRR13P29BR3E6ABJ7B1C&pd_rd_w=8Fwxa&pd_rd_wg=R4BeB&psc=1&refRID=GRR13P29BR3E6ABJ7B1C


Get that. I am pretty sure a rack will fit, but I cut them in half anyways.

Steaks can stand up as well.

As far as a lid, I use syran wrap. I've done 72 hour cooks, with no water loss issues at all. I believe they do sell a lid though.

Anova

Container (the sliding lid is a separate item, but get one) 20.8 x 18 x 12.5 inches. You can go smaller or larger, but I got the 4 gallon so I can do butts and such.

All in all, under $300. It's worth every damned penny. Perfect meat every time. I did some pork chops the other night, from frozen, and they were amazing. Last night was chicken. Deboned and smushed flat (under 20mm) it'll cook in 20-30 minutes. I've done boston butts, numerous other stuff.

The nice part about cooking with it is timing. You don't have to worry so much about flipping steaks or turning things. It'll just stay at the same level of doneness for an hour or more. Fire it up when you get home and toss in whatever meat for dinner, then come back around dinner and prep all your other sides and such. Pull the meat out at the last minute and toss it in a pan to brown/sear the outside, and serve.

An amazing resource for Sous Vide is Douglas Baldwin's website.

Im not sure if my first polycarbonate 5ga cambro was just faulty or not, but even that failed after a couple years. Where the sides round down to the bottom, tiny cracks began to form that slowly started leaking. Something to be mindful of for other polycarbonate users!

I have both an Anova Precision Cooker and a Nomiku WiFi, both with a 4.75 gallon Cambro and lid. I've cut out holes in the lids to match the Anova and Nomiku with a jigsaw. Both circulators work great. The Nomiku isn't immediately available because they're having issues getting them shipped out, but I got lucky to get mine and I like it. It's quieter and more powerful. That being said, once stuff gets up to temp they're functionally identical. I'd save yourself a headache and get the Anova. I recommend a vacuum sealer. I have a VacMaster VP215, but don't expect other people to splurge on that.

In the Cambro I can easily do 5-7 lb of whole chicken breasts at a time. If it was cut into smaller pieces, it could be easier to get even more in there. You could probably get more in a large cooler, but that's way too big to put on my kitchen counter. So to answer question 1: yes, you can do it, but probably not all 15 lb at once. The good thing is that cooking sous vide requires no oversight, so you won't be stuck in the kitchen while it's cooking.

Bro, click the Buy Now button after clicking this link.