A thermal immersion circulator is an electrically powered device that circulates and heats a warm fluid kept at an accurate and stable temperature. It is used in process, environmental, microbiological, hazardous waste, and other laboratories. Since 2005 they have also been used for

sous-vide Sous vide (; French for 'under vacuum'), also known as low-temperature, long-time (LTLT) cooking, is a method of cooking in which food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times (usu ...

food cooking, a method that uses airtight

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, c ...

s in a water bath at accurately regulated temperatures much lower than usually used for cooking. A thermal immersion circulator comprises a

circulator pump A circulator pump or circulating pump is a specific type of pump used to circulate gases, liquids, or slurries in a closed circuit. They are commonly found circulating water in a hydronic heating or cooling system. Because they only circulate liq ...

or motorized

impeller An impeller or impellor is a rotor used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid. It is the opposite of a turbine, which extracts energy from, and reduces the pressure of, a flowing fluid. In pumps An impeller is a rotating component ...

to move the fluid, a

heating element A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. Unlike the Peltier effect, this process is independe ...

immersed in the fluid, an accurate

temperature probe A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermomete ...

, and control circuitry which compares the measured temperature with the desired value and supplies power to the heater as required to stabilize the temperature. One of the laboratory brands
Huber
states in their user manuals that the laboratory circulators should not be used for food or medical uses. A food-grade, rather than laboratory, circulator is advised for culinary use, even if unused.

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