I finally did it!!! I managed to find the perfect water-bath-container/cheese-vat combination for a sous-vide circulator setup! Why was this such a challenge to find? It's all about the water content in the water bath.
My first setup was an 8L vat with only 8L of water in the water bath (see last pic). This setup was perfect for 2 reasons: The circulator can warm the 8L of water without any difficulty and warm it quick enough during a typical cooking step (2F per 5 minutes). The second reason was that the stainless steel pan fits perfectly on the inside lip of the water bath container, so I don't need additional support to keep the SS pan from falling inside the water bath.
I really wanted to upgrade to a 16L vat using the same Sous-vide circulator, and keep the 2 advantages mentioned above (low amount of water and SS pan fits perfectly on top of water bath container).
Well, I finally found the right combination!
My new setup consists of a typical 6" full pan (good for 16-18L) and it fits really nice and snug on top of the inner lip of the water bath container. 16L of water comes up to 3" around the SS pan from the bottom, and 4" with 18L. I tested the 18L water bath and it works great with my Circulator! It was just a water test though. It will be slightly different with milk when it is curdled. Whats also great about this is that there's water that circulates all around the SS pan, all 4 sides plus the bottom. This is possible because the SS pan is somewhat of a "V" shape and the plastic container is a straight shape. This gives ample room on all sides for water to circulate.
I'm really happy with this find! It literally took me MONTHS to find this plastic container. I can't wait to try it for the first time (only in a few weeks though...
) Now I'll be able to play in the deep end of the pool with you big boys and girls
Here's a link to the container :
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/metro-mtb93080w-23-x-18-x-8-white-divider-tote-box/461MTB93080W.html