Instant Pot Accu Slim Immersion Circulator Review
Pros: Maintains very stable temperature, recovers quickly when food is added
Cons: Below average performance in our circulation attempt, so-so interface
Manufacturer: Instant Pot
Our Verdict
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 This Product
Instant Pot Accu Slim Immersion Circulator | |||||
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| Awards |  | | |||
| Price | $80 List | $100 List $55.99 at Amazon | $100 List $89.99 at Amazon | $110 List | $50 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Maintains very stable temperature, recovers quickly when food is added | Good price, strong circulation performance, decent accuracy | Powerful circulating pump, solid thermal stability | Proficient at maintaining temperature, good circulation performance | Super stable at holding a temperature, fairly inexpensive |
| Cons | Below average performance in our circulation attempt, so-so interface | Attachment clip is far from our favorite | Bulky design, somewhat pricey | Relatively expensive, took a very long time to recover in our test | Not the most accurate in our tests, subpar circulation |
| Bottom Line | It's far from our favorite sous vide and costs a bit more than other higher scoring products | If you want to try out sous vide cooking without spending a ton of cash, this is a great choice | An overall solid and affordable machine that boasts an excellent price but isn't quite on par with premium models | We found this fairly run-of-the-mill to be disproportionately expensive given its mediocre performance in our evaluations | It received one of the lowest scores of the entire group and we wouldn't readily recommend it |
| Rating Categories | Instant Pot Accu Sl... | VPCOK Sous Vide Cooker | Wancle Thermal Imme... | Aobosi Sous Vide Co... | Gourmia GSV115 |
| Temperature (40%) | |||||
| Circulation (30%) | |||||
| Ease Of Use (30%) | |||||
| Specs | Instant Pot Accu Sl... | VPCOK Sous Vide Cooker | Wancle Thermal Imme... | Aobosi Sous Vide Co... | Gourmia GSV115 |
| Clamp/Mounts | Fixed screw clamp | Removeable fixed plastic clip | Fixed spring clamp | Adjustable and removeable screw clamp | Fixed screw clamp |
| App Control | No | No | No | No | |
| Wattage | 800W | 1000W | 850W | 800W | 800W |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Likes
Overall, the Accu Slim's temperature stability and speed at recovering the set temperature once any food was added impressed us the most. To score stability performance, we sealed a temperature logger in a bag and had it measure the temperature of the water bath 60 times over the course of an hour. Points were awarded based on the amount of time each sous vide wavered from the steady-state temperature, with the Instant Pot Accu Slim maintaining a temperature within 0.1°F throughout the entire hour.
The Accu Slim also bounced back quickly once cold food was added, only taking a minute to regain the set temperature of 135°F in its 9.5-quart water bath once three frozen hamburger patties were added in a vacuum-sealed package. This sous vide was also only about average in temperature accuracy, displaying an average error of 0.27°F under the set temperature of 135°F and 0.72°F under the set temperature of 147°F in our assessments. This was measured in six places throughout the container with a lab-grade calibrated digital thermometer.
Dislikes
The Instant Pot didn't do all that well in our circulation or ease of use tests, as well as the remainder of the temperature tests. This sous vide machine took a bit more time to initially heat up the water than some of the other products, with close to an hour elapsing before the Accu Slim could heat up 9.5 quarts of cold tap water to 147°F — something the top models did in less than 40 minutes.
In our circulation tests, it also fared fairly poorly, moving the water around in the container much slower than the top-tier models. We added a small amount of diluted food coloring in a corner of the container, then timed how long it took each product to achieve a uniform hue. The Accu Slim was one of the slowest products in our tests, taking three minutes and 16 seconds, whereas the fastest models did this in 15 seconds or less.
We also weren't huge fans of the interface on this product, finding it to be one of the least intuitive of the group. You need to hit the "Play" button to start heating and then hit it again once the water is at temperature to start heating. The screw on the clamp mount also doesn't spin super freely, so it can take a bit more time to get it mounted to the side of a container.
Value
The Accu Slim isn't the best value since it was easily outperformed by other models that cost quite a bit less.
Conclusion
The Instant Pot Accu Slim scored much lower than average, and we have a hard time identifying a particular reason why you should purchase it. We've made plenty of great meals with this product, but there are so many other products that scored significantly better, and a handful of those cost quite a bit less as well.
— Michelle Powell and David Wise
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