What is the best way to maintain Joule?

We love that you love your Joule and want you to be able to cook with it for a long time! Below are recommendations to keep your Joule running over the long haul:

• Always run Joule on a clean, grounded electrical circuit with the proper voltage. (Don't use a 120V Joule on a 220V circuit and vice versa.) Do not use Joule with a transformer or converter. 
  
  
• When cooking, make sure the top of Joule, from the bottom of the power cord up, is uncovered.
  
  
• Refresh the bath water regularly, avoid using the same bath water over and over. Standing water can accumulate particles, algae, mold, microorganisms over time and may affect Joule's circulation. So change the water and don't leave Joule sitting in it when not cooking.
  
  
• Keep Joule clean! The more you use it, the more regularly you should clean Joule. If your food bag leaks into the water bath, please clean Joule. If you live in an area where the salinity of the groundwater is high, please clean Joule often to avoid scaling/buildup.
  
  
• To help alleviate hard water scaling in the long run, you can always add a small amount of distilled white vinegar to the water bath each time you cook (a common practice suggests 1 teaspoon per quart of water.)
  
  
• Please refer to our cleaning guide here: How do I clean Joule?
  
  
• When not cooking with Joule, store in a clean, dry place.
  
  
• When you’re done cooking and have stopped the cook in the app, please unplug Joule, take it out of the water and allow it to thoroughly dry. This is very important if you're often doing long cooks, high temp cooks or using Joule quite regularly. While Joule is water resistant, it is not fully water proof. Prolonged use of Joule in a highly humid or steam filled environment without allowing it to properly dry in between cooks may damage Joule's internal apparatus/electronics over time.
  
  
• We've also had our customers have good luck using a low viscosity, food-safe lubricant on the motor shaft down to the motor seal to alleviate occasional motor issues (motor noise, stuck motor, etc.) Here is an example of a customer that was able to use this method here:
  https://www.kumari.net/projects/random-projects/fixing-a-joule-sous-vide-motor-seal
  
  It should be noted that in this article, the customer went above what may be necessary. It's not crucial to either tape up the exit hole and completely fill the chamber with the lubricant. Nor is it necessary to use a drill to power spin the motor shaft. We've found that most customers have had good luck simply dripping the lubricant down the motor shaft, rotating the prop multiple times, and then storing the Joule with the lubricant still on the motor shaft upside down for an extended length of time (e.g. overnight.) Afterwards, again rotate the prop multiple times, then run a circulation bath to clean out any extraneous lubricant before using it for a cook.
  
  

Related articles:

• How do I store Joule?