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Appreciation post: That backup immersion circulator I thought was a waste
My main circulator crapped out right in the middle of a 12-hour chuck roast bath last Thursday. I had 40 pounds of meat going for a Friday night service and it just stopped dead at 7 PM. I was ready to toss the whole thing and figure out a plan B with the oven. Then I remembered the cheap backup I bought secondhand from a guy on Craigslist six months ago. I threw it in, reset the temp, and it held steady all night without a single hiccup. That $30 gamble saved me from having to trash $400 worth of beef and rewrite the entire menu. Has anyone else had a backup piece of gear that paid off way more than you expected?
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grays131mo ago
Dude that is EXACTLY the kind of scenario that makes me glad I held onto that cheap circulator. Your buddy's propane burner story is basically the same thing - gear that looks like junk until the main rig decides to die at the worst possible moment. I swear my backup now lives in a special spot on the rack where I can grab it in two seconds flat if the main unit even stutters.
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allen.kai1mo ago
My buddy runs a food cart and had a spare propane burner he bought at a garage sale for like 15 bucks. It sat in his truck for two years gathering dust and he almost threw it out a few times. Then his main burner valve froze up during a big farmers market event with a line of 30 people waiting for his birria tacos. That ugly little backup fired right up and let him finish the whole service without losing a single customer. He still talks about that burner like it's a family heirloom or something.
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