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Vacuum sealers for dummies please?

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jjdbike

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59 mins ago, Steve in Mass said:

I didn't mean wet in that way. I was just referring to the natural moisture in the flesh. At times I have found that even vac-packing a ribeye steak or the like the machine will suck enough moisture out of the meat and up into the machine to make the sealing surface wet and a failed seal, especially if your bag is only a bit larger than the product you are freezing. And it certainly happens with things like fresh corn that has been cut off the cob.This is solved by partially freezing the product before vac-packing.

Some Foodsaver vacuum sealer models have a "moist" or "dry" button to select before you start to seal. I find it draws out much less moisture from the meat or fish when using the "moist" setting. 

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5 hours ago, jjdbike said:

Thanks Steve,

I have been looking on line and at reviews. Clearly unbiased reviews are hard to find. I wish Consumer Reports reviewed these. 

I wonder what was ment by "most of the food sealers are the same"? Perhaps that the ones that are better, more user friendly etc are rare or much more expensive?

As far as marketing,

  • I see some advertise more vacuum pressure to keep food fresher longer.
  • Some advertise wet & dry sealing options. This interests me the most as I do freeze things wet, e.g. fish & marinated meats. I wonder what the diff is between wet vs dry sealing as far as the machine goes? You idea of partial freezing seems like the soultion, but honestly after a fishing trip I'm pretty wipped, wanna process fillets, get cleaned up and to bed. That would add another step that I most likly wouldn't do.
  • Others advertise limited or no wait time for heating element to reach temperature between seals.
  • The more expensive ones have a roll holder and cutter.
  • The suprising thing is the very wide range of pricing between $40 & $500.

 

So a couple good reviews for food saver.

 

Two questions please.

1. Wet food sealing: What is the differance in the machines that claim to seal wet food & does anyone have a model they recomend for wet sealing?

2. As far as built in roll holder and bag cutters, how much more convienet is this feature? Trying to figure of it's worth the $$.

Thanks!

JD

Steve pretty much covered it in his response.

I agree with his assessment on the bells and whistles. For me I don't really use them. 

As far as the roll cutter, I don't use the rolls very often. I use pre sized bags of pint, quart and gallon. My machine does have it and it does work well. I have also hand cut rolls with no issue.

As far as sealing wet, I have not had issue with the bags making a seal when the top area of the bag is wet.

That being said if I am processing something with liquid, such as, chili I do try to wipe off the opening of the bag if it gets stuff on it.

The most endangered species? The honest man.
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45 mins ago, flysully said:

Foodsaver sells replacement sealing strips for their Foodsaver machines on their website. I got a pair for about $9. They recommend they be changed every couple of years. 

What model do you have? I have v4880 and I can't seem to find the replacement gaskets on the site. 

The most endangered species? The honest man.
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46 mins ago, flysully said:

Some Foodsaver vacuum sealer models have a "moist" or "dry" button to select before you start to seal. I find it draws out much less moisture from the meat or fish when using the "moist" setting. 

Thanks everyone,

are you implying that thebwet setting simply employs less vacuum pressure and therefore is less prone to sucking moisture into seal area?

JD

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29 mins ago, NaturalScience said:

What model do you have? I have v4880 and I can't seem to find the replacement gaskets on the site. 

I have the V2450 which is now discontinued, sadly, because, from the negative reviews I've been reading about the newer models, when mine fails, I don't know what i can choose from. I purchased the gaskets when my model was still being sold. Perhaps ebay might still have some? Or maybe Foodsaver could tell you if another gasket would fit your model. 

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29 mins ago, jjdbike said:

Thanks everyone,

are you implying that thebwet setting simply employs less vacuum pressure and therefore is less prone to sucking moisture into seal area?

JD

Don't really know how the moist setting works but it doesn't suck as much liquid out of the meat/fish as the dry setting.

 

Also, if this helps, when I want to freeze chili or even soup and soft foods, I first put them in a Rubbermaid container and freeze them. Overnight works. Then, I set up my Foodsaver, dunk the Rubbermaid container in hot water and it plops right out, into the FS bag. I save lots of room in my freezer by storing this way rather than in the bulky Rubbermaid containers. I keep a list of what's in my freezer to keep track.

 

And, I do enjoy having the roll holder and cutter within my Foodsaver as it saves time if making bags from the roll. I buy the FS brand bags as well as FoodVacBags from ebay in different sizes. They're almost as good as the more expensive FS bags and way cheaper. Usually hold their seal very well.

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3 mins ago, NaturalScience said:

I'm talking to them as we speak. The gaskets are fixed on my model and not replaceable. Which is pretty crappy having the whole unit hinge on a foam gasket lasting.

It really does stink and will be something I'll consider when my machine needs replacing. 

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Despite the wet setting, if there is enough blood, juice in the bag it will rush out to prevent a good seal. There is a trick I learned is to place a strip of paper towel near top of the bag to provide a temporary absorbent dam to delay the liquid just enough for the sealer to work through the process. When you seal a whole fish, you'll be surprise how much liquid came out of that semi dry looking fish.

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Well JJ, 

Something to consider on purchase, are the parts that will wear out easily replaceable?

I have found out that the gaskets on my foodsaver v4880 are fixed and not easily replaceable.

Talking with foodsaver was of little help. There suggestion was bring back to Costco maybe they can fix it, as it is out of warranty. Just over 5 years old.

Now, at a cursory glance, it doesn't appear to be a difficult job to take apart the machine and swap out the piece. However, foodsaver has not been forthcoming with info on what parts or where I can get them to fix the machine. 

Unfortunately its the typical corporate bullpoop. 

I'll have to try ordering some gaskets and see if any of them work.

The most endangered species? The honest man.
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I've got an older foodsaver and an oliso vacuum sealer. They both have their uses and are very much worth the investment

 

The Foodsaver does a much better job for long term storage but the bags are one time use and can be a bit pricey. I wouldn't use them for regular stuff that I can get at shoprite, and using them for when you buy bulk at costco erases most of the savings of buying bulk. We use this for storing fish long term and it's perfect for that.

 

The Oliso uses zip-lock multi use bags, this unit I keep on the counter and use often. Not the best for long term storage, the zip loc bags can leak over time, but great for multi-use short term storage as you can get 10 to 20 uses out of a bag (depending on the size).

After a Costco trip we'll separate out chicken, hamburgers.... whatever.... into serving size units, put these into regular fold over top sammich baggies then put them all into a large Oliso bag and vacuum seal it. Open it up, take out what we need then vacuum it closed again. 

Reminds me, I need to take some chicken out for tonight

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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42 mins ago, hobobob said:

Despite the wet setting, if there is enough blood, juice in the bag it will rush out to prevent a good seal. There is a trick I learned is to place a strip of paper towel near top of the bag to provide a temporary absorbent dam to delay the liquid just enough for the sealer to work through the process. When you seal a whole fish, you'll be surprise how much liquid came out of that semi dry looking fish.

Before you vacuum it put it in the freezer until it just starts to freeze on the surface, frozen juice doesn't run into the sealing area

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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Jerry - your Oliso still works, huh? The first one I "got" lasted about a year then quit. Not sure if it was the circuit board or what, but it never came out of the "wait" mode. Because of the way we came into them, I was able to have them replace it. The replacement lasted about another year and then it would vacuum but not seal properly. I think the "needle/heat-ring sealer" malfunctioned.

 

But hey, it was free and I used it for two years between the two of them.

 

Jim and others.....I can't see how the moist setting would work other than simply pulling less vacuum. Nothing else makes sense from a mechanical/engineering standpoint.

Edited by Steve in Mass

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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1 hour ago, Sudsy said:

I've got an older foodsaver and an oliso vacuum sealer. They both have their uses and are very much worth the investment

 

The Foodsaver does a much better job for long term storage but the bags are one time use and can be a bit pricey. I wouldn't use them for regular stuff that I can get at shoprite, and using them for when you buy bulk at costco erases most of the savings of buying bulk. We use this for storing fish long term and it's perfect for that.

 

The Oliso uses zip-lock multi use bags, this unit I keep on the counter and use often. Not the best for long term storage, the zip loc bags can leak over time, but great for multi-use short term storage as you can get 10 to 20 uses out of a bag (depending on the size).

After a Costco trip we'll separate out chicken, hamburgers.... whatever.... into serving size units, put these into regular fold over top sammich baggies then put them all into a large Oliso bag and vacuum seal it. Open it up, take out what we need then vacuum it closed again. 

Reminds me, I need to take some chicken out for tonight

I thought about reusing the bags at first, even put a seal further up the bag for that purpose, but the cleaning and possible contamination quickly put that idea to rest.  The bag cost plus finicky sealing has me thinking about a chamber vac machine. If you have the space that is. Initial price is quite a bit higher, but much lower bag cost,  less finicky when it come to liquid stuff.  marinated meat for Sous vide? Most chamber vac machine are commercial grade compare to the consumer grade foodsaver machine that everybody is using.

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41 mins ago, Steve in Mass said:

Jerry - your Oliso still works, huh?

Not even a hiccup

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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