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Generally,the instant pot requires at least 1 cup of water when running, according to the manual. How does this work without water ?

by petra 6y ago

lightlyused 6y ago
You can put another container inside the instant pot to hold the masks. That is how you make things like cheese cake in them.
- petra 6y ago
  But steam may ruin the masks, and the instructions on sanitizing don't mention water.
masklinn 6y ago
I'm also wondering, IIRC rice cookers rely on the temperature of the pot not exceeding 100C until all the water has evaporated (which is why getting the correct rice/water amount is important). Without any water in the container I would expect the pot to quickly exceed 100C and shut off. Mine certainly seems to provide no way to maintain such a temperature, I'd guess it'd just switch to "keep warm" and AFAIK that's nowhere near 100C (maybe 60~70).
- weaksauce 6y ago
  the cheap rice cookers use a temperature switch that triggers after it reaches a bit over 100C yes.
  - masklinn 6y ago
    What do more expensive cookers use? A timer sounds more simplistic than a temperature sensor, are they mixing the temperature information with something else?
    - weaksauce 6y ago
      they use some more advanced logic than just on or off until it boils off the water https://lifehacker.com/why-some-rice-cookers-are-20-and-others-are-200-1783235798 https://lifehacker.com/why-some-rice-cookers-are-20-and-othe...
joshvm 6y ago
There's no reason you can't run these pots without water (in theory). I don't think you'd damage the heating elements themselves. This is an issue for heating wire like NiChrome where if you put a high current through it, it'll melt. The elements in a slow cooker could probably handle a much higher current than you would normally use. And obviously the elements themselves can withstand the nominal operating current. I'm assuming a slow cooker/crock pot, not a rice cooker. The one I have at home is very very simple, electrically. Rice cookers are a bit more complicated and might be more finnicky because they have to go through some fairly accurate states within a short amount of time (and make assumptions about the level of rice/water in the cooker). It probably depends if your pot has a thermostatic control or not. Some pots might damage their coating if there is no "load" to sink the heat into. Fancier units might shut off if they detect that they're being run empty. Cheaper pots might put out enough heat that if nothing is in them, they'll damage the non-stick. But if your pot is designed to hit a set temperature, it should be OK regardless of whether there's anything in it. Anecdote - our milk frother (a cheap Lavazza Mi Moda) has fill levels for heat/foam, but is also clearly thermostatic. The second time you run it (say if you make two cups back to back), it takes much less time to indicate it's finished when it starts from warm. My guess is that it's designed to heat the milk up to a preset temperature (measured using the wall of the chamber) and then it ramps up the whisk for a preset period of time. I really doubt cheap slow cookers use PID loops to control the temperature. They're normally "bang bang" relay driven - they hit a set temperature and the elements turn off. When the temp decreases they turn on again. Perhaps if there's no load in the cooker they'll keep over/undershooting. You might be able to put a piece of something like cast iron in there to heat up initially, then when the unit is up to 100C, take it out and replace with the towel/masks. My guess would be you want to avoid an initial thermal runaway more than anything else. Also if you're using a crock pot for covid sterilisation, maybe you don't want to use it for food!
syshum 6y ago
Would that not depend on the type of Instant pot you have? There are so many now Many of a Sautee mode used to brown meat, I dont think you need a 1 cup of water for that? or the ones with the Air Fry attachments...
stubish 6y ago
The ones requiring water are pressure cookers, and not suitable for this purpose (steam, high pressure + high temperature will cook your mask). I think the article is discussing a multi-cooker with a 'slow cook' setting, and using the 'instant pot' term to mean multicookers in general rather than the 'Instant Pot' brand name cookers.

Generally,the instant pot requires at least 1 cup of water when running, according to the manual. How does this work without water ?

by petra 6y ago

Generally,the instant pot requires at least 1 cup of water when running, according to the manual. How does this work without water ?

lightlyused 6y ago

You can put another container inside the instant pot to hold the masks. That is how you make things like cheese cake in them.

petra 6y ago
But steam may ruin the masks, and the instructions on sanitizing don't mention water.

masklinn 6y ago

I'm also wondering, IIRC rice cookers rely on the temperature of the pot not exceeding 100C until all the water has evaporated (which is why getting the correct rice/water amount is important). Without any water in the container I would expect the pot to quickly exceed 100C and shut off. Mine certainly seems to provide no way to maintain such a temperature, I'd guess it'd just switch to "keep warm" and AFAIK that's nowhere near 100C (maybe 60~70).

weaksauce 6y ago
the cheap rice cookers use a temperature switch that triggers after it reaches a bit over 100C yes.
- masklinn 6y ago
  What do more expensive cookers use? A timer sounds more simplistic than a temperature sensor, are they mixing the temperature information with something else?
  - weaksauce 6y ago
    they use some more advanced logic than just on or off until it boils off the water https://lifehacker.com/why-some-rice-cookers-are-20-and-others-are-200-1783235798 https://lifehacker.com/why-some-rice-cookers-are-20-and-othe...

joshvm 6y ago

There's no reason you can't run these pots without water (in theory). I don't think you'd damage the heating elements themselves. This is an issue for heating wire like NiChrome where if you put a high current through it, it'll melt. The elements in a slow cooker could probably handle a much higher current than you would normally use. And obviously the elements themselves can withstand the nominal operating current. I'm assuming a slow cooker/crock pot, not a rice cooker. The one I have at home is very very simple, electrically. Rice cookers are a bit more complicated and might be more finnicky because they have to go through some fairly accurate states within a short amount of time (and make assumptions about the level of rice/water in the cooker). It probably depends if your pot has a thermostatic control or not. Some pots might damage their coating if there is no "load" to sink the heat into. Fancier units might shut off if they detect that they're being run empty. Cheaper pots might put out enough heat that if nothing is in them, they'll damage the non-stick. But if your pot is designed to hit a set temperature, it should be OK regardless of whether there's anything in it. Anecdote - our milk frother (a cheap Lavazza Mi Moda) has fill levels for heat/foam, but is also clearly thermostatic. The second time you run it (say if you make two cups back to back), it takes much less time to indicate it's finished when it starts from warm. My guess is that it's designed to heat the milk up to a preset temperature (measured using the wall of the chamber) and then it ramps up the whisk for a preset period of time. I really doubt cheap slow cookers use PID loops to control the temperature. They're normally "bang bang" relay driven - they hit a set temperature and the elements turn off. When the temp decreases they turn on again. Perhaps if there's no load in the cooker they'll keep over/undershooting. You might be able to put a piece of something like cast iron in there to heat up initially, then when the unit is up to 100C, take it out and replace with the towel/masks. My guess would be you want to avoid an initial thermal runaway more than anything else. Also if you're using a crock pot for covid sterilisation, maybe you don't want to use it for food!

syshum 6y ago

Would that not depend on the type of Instant pot you have? There are so many now Many of a Sautee mode used to brown meat, I dont think you need a 1 cup of water for that? or the ones with the Air Fry attachments...

stubish 6y ago

The ones requiring water are pressure cookers, and not suitable for this purpose (steam, high pressure + high temperature will cook your mask). I think the article is discussing a multi-cooker with a 'slow cook' setting, and using the 'instant pot' term to mean multicookers in general rather than the 'Instant Pot' brand name cookers.