notbob > wrote in :

> I occurs to me, a temperature controller connected to an AC switch
> would be perfect for creating a poor man's sous vide device. For
> instance:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/q87bjoa
>
> I can see hooking this controller up to a crock-pot or a countertop
> roasting oven or a large deep-fry (Grand Pappy) device to make it a
> sous vide cooker. Strangely, no-one seems to be making such a device.
> Well, until now. Even this controller (see above link) did not exist
> on Amazon two weeks ago.
>
> I talked to Thermoworks (Thermapen) about it and they gave me a dozen
> reasons why they are not likely to create such a controller
> (i.e. price point, liability, etc), none of which made any sense, to
> me.
>
> I'm dinking around in my barely viable workshop to create such a
> controller. Would anyone, here, be interested? Not in buying from
> me, jes "interested", in such a controller device.
>
> nb

They _are_ available. I went looking for one with the same idea you have a
while back before I surrendered and bought my sous vide circulator. Of
course, I don't remeber where I found it after all this time, but I believe
it was associated with a cooling controller for beer kegs.

Just to toss this out there, one of the things the sous vide machine makers
tout is the circulator that keeps the water in the bath moving around.
That's supposed to be a part of the process, and the home brew methods
being discussed here don't feature circulation. Circulation may or may not
be a requirement for good sous vide cooking. I personally have no idea.
But it's something to consider.