Magic Mill Slow cooker/Sous vide (Sous Vide)

Okay, so first up it looks like it's decent quality for the price you pay, had no issues with peeling/coating in the three times I've used it so far as I've read some other reviewers have so that's nice. It's quite spacious for most basic things that you want to put in it, bigger items like ribs will have to be cut up and put into multiple bags though but again, no big deal.I like that the timer doesn't start until after it reaches temperature (it beeps) and you set it going BUT I had to knock off one star because no matter what temperature I set it at it beeps to say it's reached temperature 2 degrees lower (displays incorrect temperature and beeps at incorrect temperature.For example if I set 136oF for a medium rare steak then it'll display and beep at 134 and never show 136, does this mean that it's getting to 136? At 136 but displaying 134? Something wrong? I use a digital thermometer to check the temperature and it's usually within a degree of what is displayed on the screen...so why doesn't it get to the temperature I set? I've tried setting it a couple of degrees higher which seems to work but then for longer cooks (I've only done 1 1/2 hours) or overnight cooks I wouldn't want to set it going and have it actually get up to temperature.I don't know if this is a known issue, planned design, or error but if it wasn't for that then it would have gotten 5 stars.

Honestly when I took this thing out of the box and the sticker that covers the buttons was peeling a little, I immediately thought I had made a mistake purchasing this budget sous vide cooker but now that I've used it a few times, I'm very happy with my purchase for many reasons.Aside from the peeling sticker, the only issue I ran into during my testing was due to its lack of a circulator, there can be some hot spots when the unit is getting up to temperature. I set it to 134 so I wasn't happy when my super accurate thermometer read 145 but I stirred up the water, tested again and sure enough, it read 134.Honestly I wish I could give this machine 4.5 stars but I'm giving it 5 because the pros far outweigh the cons, especially for the price. One of the cons for immersion sous vide cookers is water evaporation without cutting a hole in the lid of your own vessel or buying one already made for $22+. One of the 12 qt Rubbermaid containers with one of these lids for the Anova cooker will set you back ~$40 so this machine with its 9 qt capacity, rubber sealed lid to prevent water evaporation and included accessories (tongs and 2 different racks) make this machine a no-brainer for people with the space to store it that don't plan on cooking giant roasts and want to get into sous vide cooking on a budget. I bought a 4 year Squaretrade warranty for an extra $9 since I had never heard of this brand so for $69 shipped, I'll be able to cook sous vide for at least the next four years at a fraction of the cost of some of the more popular units. I've already made a few ribeyes that have come out perfect with this machine and that's exactly what I was looking to do without breaking the bank.

I think this is pretty much identical to the similar $80-$100 sous vide cookers here on Amazon. The tongs appear to be the same, for example, the only difference appears to be the layout of the controls, so it wouldn't surprise me if the manufacturer was the same.Anyhow, it seems to be good quality and works great. The lid is particularly nice, real glass and rubber 'weatherstripping' that seals and also helps keep the lid from dripping on the counter when removed.The temp control is by single degrees F or C, but the timer is only 30 minute intervals (from 30 mins to 72 hrs, I think). I don't know if this is the same as the others, but as 'forgiving' as sous vide cooking is, as far as duration, it has not been a problem. It is not fast at heating up, either, but again, no big deal. I think it took about 30-45 minutes to get from 110F to 185.BTW, I paid $60 to a company called Royal Kitchen, but that doesn't seem to be available at this time. The machine is dead simple and I expect the prices on sous vide cookers will get much cheaper, as the "newest fad' excitement wears off.

I don't know how to rate this. I liked it very much the only time it worked. I used it about 5 days after I received it and the display read 2 degrees lower that what I set it at. I raised the temperature to make the display read correctly and I tested it with a probe thermometer and it was the same temperature as the display. I thought I could live with that little glitch. The food came out great! I went to use it yesterday, for a roast, and set the temperature, still 2 degrees off but I adjusted. This roast was supposed to cook for 18 hours. When I woke up this morning the display was wonky, see picture, and the machine was making ticking noises. I checked the temperature with another thermometer and it was 1 degree off the original original temperature. I unplugged it gave it a minute plugged it back in and it would not turn on, dead display. Amazon customer service was first class and I will be returning the machine for a refund. I would like to purchase again, in the hopes this was just a defective one, but If I do repurchase I will get an extended warranty to go with it. I don't sous vide every day so I may only use the machine once or twice before the 30 day return window is closed.I liked it so much I just ordered it again, but this time I got a 3 year SquareTrade Warranty. Hopefully this one won't have the same problems.