FOAS, the the STC 1000 is not a PID controller. I think it is just a digital thermostatic controlled relay. It can control a heater and a refrigerator at the same time and it has some delay logic in turning the heater/refrigerator on/off. For the heater, I use a stove heating element or a domestic hot water heating element. They are very cheap and they last a long time. In general, they are high wattage/220v heaters (2,000W to 4,000W). However, you can run them at 110V and the wattages become about 1/4. Angie, yeas the Cal 9300 is expensive and they don't even give you the thermocouple sensor with it. I like the cheap PIDs because they have dual displays, set themperature and real time temperature. I am very impressed that you have done Op-amp work. Programing op-amps require real electronic know-how. Anyone else who may be reading this thread, FYI, a sous vide cooker cannot make crepes. LOL! dcarch

I forgot about Thermomix. :) It's barely available in the U.S. I think the Magimix at Williams Sonoma is the 5200XL but I can't find a good description of the Magimix models. I like the concept of the multiple bowl sizes. I have an 11-cup which is often not quite big enough but other times just right. My main reason for liking the Magimix, given that there are positives for both it and the Cuisinart, is aesthetic. :) I was looking awhile back, before I was able to fix my Cuisinart (I think percussive maintenance did the trick), and was tempted by the Robot Coupe, but it's so un-pretty! And I don't really need a commercial machine. OTOH, my mother's old disks might fit the 14 cup Cuisinart. I'll have to look into it. And them. To see if I really want them. I use the grater and the rasp on my current one, but not the slicer. And I have a KA mixer and a Vita-mix, so I don't need it to try to do what they do. :) I definitely don't need the Pastisier, and I'm not Euro enough to want the one that cooks. :) I have lots of pots.

Since there seems to be some renewed interest by those who’ve yet to try sous vide, thought I’d add a few comments/observations… For me, the most wonderful thing about sous vide is the ability to take a cheap cut of meat and make it tender and tasty – and cook it to perfect mid-rare (our preference). Whether it’s Select steaks on sale for DH and I to enjoy and feel as if we’re dining on quality steak on a weeknight, or finding some cut at the grocery which I’ve no idea what it is and SV’ing, then slicing for a fantastic lunch meat or a quick dinner sandwich… it’s amazing what the SV can do with cheap cuts… Second most wonderful thing for me: Bulk SV’ing (thanks to Sleevendog). I SV and freeze several pork chops to thaw, reheat in the SV, sear and serve; chicken to make salads and sandwiches. And DH’s favorite weeknight meal: Several cheap steaks in bags of 2, mass SV’d to desired doneness. Drop in ice bath, label, then freeze. I only need to remove a couple from the freezer, pop in the SV at one degree under the temp initially cooked, it thaws and reheats in about 45 minutes, and meanwhile I whip up a quick sauce, some veggies, and finish by searing off which also helps to heat the steaks. Makes for an easy weeknight meal. Below is a Select New York Strip, little to no marbling (uber-cheap cut), with a (too thick) peppercorn sauce. It was quite good! And my embarrassing confession: I can prepare fish and seafood… but for some reason I can’t consistently make it come out perfectly cooked. Sometimes my shrimp or scallops are a wee bit on the too done side. Same with salmon (as mentioned above). Sure, should be easy for many, but for me? Eh. So SV to the rescue. I made this scallop dish last summer and while the scallops were in the SV for their 30 minutes I fried up baby kale, baked my maple glazed bacon, sliced the tomatoes and avocados, and made a sauce for BLT Scallops. Seared off the scallops for 15 seconds, sliced in half, assembled, and they were perfection. To those who scoff and say they can sear a scallop in moments, I say great for you, but I can’t and know beyond any doubt they won’t be under cooked or overcooked. With SV I can : ) fillmoe, and anyone else interested, have fun and enjoy!

We're done! Okay, nothing is ever really done. I have some machine modifications planned. The pretty Italian espresso ware and coffeegeek paraphernalia are yet to come. And the Italian decor remains to be gathered. But the modifications will be hidden or well-integrated, all the paraphenalia must live tucked away behind doors, and SWMBO is probably not going to permit too much Italian schtick on the walls. So the look of the northwest corner of my dining room - sorry, her dining room - is about like it's going to be. Elektra #1, what we're calling La Macchina now, lives on a 42" sideboard from the "Historic Charleston" collection by Baker Furniture. I couldn't believe I found this piece, which fits the spot perfectly, matches the existing sideboard, and is allegedly from a old Portland hotel (I have my doubts), so quickly and so cheaply. Facebook Marketplace, folks: its a real competitor to Craigslist. The piece is sturdy, but long legged furniture still wobbles when used as a workstation for a 150 lb machine. So I built a sturdy wood shelf, 6" deep, and screwed it to the wall. The rear legs of the machine rest on the shelf and the front legs on the sideboard. It hardly moves now. Future project: paint the shelf white, bolt the sideboard to the shelf, and leash the machine to the shelf. That will be for even more rigidity and also as an earthquake precaution. I brought a 240v 30A circuit, a 120v 15A circuit, a 3/8" o.d. polyethylene water supply line, and a 1/2" o.d. poly drain line, up through the built-in cabinet to the left of the machine. Yes, I (carefully) cut holes in the century-old cabinet, but you can't see them unless you look inside or are standing in the corner of the room, where the machine lives. The 240v line powers Elektra #1, is wired through a timer, and currently the machine is automatically switched off at night and on at 4 am. During the day, it heats the house :-) The 120v line runs the grinder. The water supply line goes through a pressure regulator and a water filter, in the basement, before coming up into the cabinet. We have extremely soft water in Portland so no water softener is needed. The pressure regulator is meant to lower line pressure to 2-3 bar (30-45 psi). Future project: add a pressure gauge so I can set the regulator accurately. The drain line goes out the bottom of the bumpout where the cabinet lives, and waters a soon-to-be very energetic rosemary plant. Hopefully rosemary likes acidic soil. I had a problem with the drain line icing up, but a change to its routing has solved that. The Elektra itself is slated for some future projects: PID temperature control, grouphead temperature gauges, LED "barista lights", replace the missing hot water valve, preinfusion switch. There is some polishing to be done, and we still have not decided whether to install the side panels. A new coffeegeek friend will help me replace and align the Elektra grinder burrs. Future project: add a darkroom timer so I can push a button to automatically grind the desired amount of coffee. All the "stuff", like knockbox, tamping pad, scale, bar towels, etc are hidden away in the sideboard's cabinets and drawer. When I use the machine, a bar towel is placed over the sideboard's front edge to protect the wood. For now, I'm talking a break on the Future Projects and trying to learn how to use all this hardware. There is a steep learning curve. I can't properly steam milk yet. My bottomless portafilter pours look horrid a third of the time. I'm sticking to darker roasts for now; light roasts proved beyond me. But I can usually produce a drinkable cappucino, and SWMBO has become accustomed to, and indeed insistent upon, a daily morning cappa - which she takes in bed - as well as on-call cappas upon demand. All in all, she has generally acceded to the large metal thing in her dining room and is planning to make us sets of espresso, cappucino, and latte cups. When she does that, I'll know La Macchina is really part of the family.