Vacuum Press Questions..........

Norman Hitt

Member
Messages
1,810
Location
Odessa, Tx
....., but UNFORTUNATELY, it's for Food Storage, and not Wood.:( It seems we are always overlooking things in our overstuffed Deep Freeze and losing food to Freezer burn. Now with 50 + lbs of freshly shelled Pecans to store, we have decided that NOW is a good time to get one of the Vacuum Pak thingys, and start using it on other meat & foods.

How many of you have used one of the available machines, and what do you like and dislike about the "Brand/model" you are using. We would like to get a Good one that will last and "Only have to Buy ONCE" (if possible), and will be packaging a variety of sizes of meats, vegetables, nuts, etc.

I would appreciate any input you may have as to:

1. What Brands do you think are the best
2. What features are important and which ones are not
3. Anything else we should know and/or a better place to buy online than
Local

The LOML only found one store locally (so far), that carry these things and the one store had Three brands, Food Safe, No name, and Rival. I know that Rival brands in the past have been kind of like HF, usually cheaper in price, and that some things work well and have a decent life expectancy, and other items.....not so good. I have no experience with Food Safe.

Thanks for any information you may have.
norm
 
Last edited:
Can't answer none of your questions, but have the same problems and LOML is looking to get one herself.... she like the one that is upright.. takes less space on the counter and holds the roll of plastic.

And wonder if I got a cheap one, could you use the vacuum to do casting??
 
The issue is not so much with the pump to get the air out. The issue is keeping it out, and for how long. I have looked at these things and when I get a small freezer when I get back home, I will look more seriously at it. But I will focus of the packaging material, not the pump.

And I betcha that's where the real cost is! What does it cost to save money? Everything has a diminishing return on investment. It will be interesting to discover where this one is.

Looking forward to responses from those with experience.
 
I've had a FOODSAVER in the house for 26 yars and wore 3 out! I buy the bags at Costco and bunch. Costco dose sell the machine too I did try one of those Ziplock kinda things and had one bag seal some cheese real nice one time and sense then I've used it 2 more times with out much luck with them.

Also you can by 50' rolls on eBay at time!:thumb:
 
Reading this got me to wondering why loml stopped using her foodsaver:dunno:. Come to find out she could not find replacement rolls for it. I just told her to try costco. Thanks for the info Royall:thumb:.
 
We have the foodsaver and like it a lot! We save on buying bulk and in no loss to storage. We also bought several of the canisters. They're great for left overs and dry good. We had some Chinese noodles the other night that we forgot we had seal up. They were 8 months old and as fresh as the day we opened the pack.
 
My wife bought a FOODSAVER at a school bazaar sale, it worked for a few months, and then it died. When it was working it was great. The machine was not new, I'd say it was at least 10 years old. The motor in the pump died, I tried to fix it, but is was dead, now we are waiting for them to go on sale at Costco and we WILL get another one.

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the info, sounds like Food Saver is probably the way to go.

Rennie, Thanks for mentioning the canisters, as I was not familiar with them, but I've looked at them now on the Food Safe website.


Is all the bag material from different sources the same THICKNESS (mils) / quality, or do you have to be careful when buying it from other sources?

We don't have any Costco stores in the area (unless there is one in Midland that I'm not aware of), so I guess I will have to check for suppliers of the bag tube material also, (haven't been to Wal Mart or Sams yet).
 
Last edited:
Walmart sells the sealer and bags. If you're bagging something like cheese, cut the bag longer and when opening it back up cut close to the sealed seam. That way you'll be able to reseal the bag again. The canisters have a special lit that allows a hose to connect to the machine. One other thing, you can turn the bags inside out and run them through the dishwasher. Saves a lot of money that way.
 
Walmart sells the sealer and bags. If you're bagging something like cheese, cut the bag longer and when opening it back up cut close to the sealed seam. That way you'll be able to reseal the bag again. The canisters have a special lit that allows a hose to connect to the machine. One other thing, you can turn the bags inside out and run them through the dishwasher. Saves a lot of money that way.

Thanks for the tips, Royall. I found the Food Saver site and saw the cannisters, etc. Boy, they sure have a lot of Models,...... :huh: decisions, decisions, (too many choices, guess I'll sleep on it, maybe I'll get a little "Divine Inspiration" overnight).:D

Since we will be Re-packaging meat regularly, I wonder if the liquid collection trays that are on the Game Saver models would be plus for us, or if it is unnecessary, (I didn't see that feature listed on the other Food Safe models).
 
Mar has one,, we pack veggies with it every fall to freeze since we never get enough time to can them all.

I got the last pack of strawberries out last night and had strawberry short cake :thumb:

The thing I don't like about hers is you can't just seal a bag, theres only one switch, it sucks it down then seals it. My SIL has one and hers has two switches, one for the pump and one for the sealer. so you can suck it down part way and seal it. Great for soups or anything wet. Mar can't seal anything wet with hers
 
Food Saver - I think we've worn out three of them over the past twenty-five years. Great machines, but the bag materials can get a bit pricey.

Costco, Sams, WalMart, Bed Bath & Beyond, all carry the machines and the bags.

As Robert said, try to get the model with a separate "seal only" function. It's really handy for sealing stuff you don't want to squish.

Woodworking content: for small glue-ups, you can put your parts in a bag and suck and seal. Works great, although I doubt the vaccuum is more than just a few inches. PS: don't tell the wife I said that...
 
We don't have any Costco stores in the area (unless there is one in Midland that I'm not aware of), so I guess I will have to check for suppliers of the bag tube material also, (haven't been to Wal Mart or Sams yet).
Wal Mart is an option. You probably have a Fred Meyer or Kroger near by. They have sales on the FS bags from time to time and it worked out cheaper than eBay when the freight was figured in.
 
The wife pointed out to me today the we are in need of new one also. She has all ready picked one out

Pro2300, From what I've learned so far they pull 28 inches of vacuum, the seal is almost a 1/4 inch wide .219 if you want to get technical. I was checking them out on this Site

Pro 2300

I emailed him a question via a form which insisted on having a phone number, Roger called me later in the day answered my question, which was how wide the actual seal was. He was pretty nice on the phone and never once asked me to buy from him. :thumb: He even sent me a link to an ebook he sells on vacuum sealers for free.

I looked at the new food savers and from what I can see they are all one touch units now. Push the button, max vacuum and seal. Thats ok as long as their is no liquid involved.

Be prepared for sticker shock, they are pricey. but like a good woodworking tool you get what you pay for.

As for bags,, snooping around today, yes you can get bags at walmart, but they are thinner than food saver bags. Thickest I've found so far was 3.5 mils
 
The wife pointed out to me today the we are in need of new one also. She has all ready picked one out

Pro 2300, From what I've learned so far they pull 28 inches of vacuum, the seal is almost a 1/4 inch wide .219 if you want to get technical. I was checking them out on this Site

Pro 2300

I emailed him a question via a form which insisted on having a phone number, Roger called me later in the day answered my question, which was how wide the actual seal was. He was pretty nice on the phone and never once asked me to buy from him. :thumb: He even sent me a link to an ebook he sells on vacuum sealers for free.

I looked at the new food savers and from what I can see they are all one touch units now. Push the button, max vacuum and seal. Thats ok as long as their is no liquid involved.

Be prepared for sticker shock, they are pricey. but like a good woodworking tool you get what you pay for.

As for bags,, snooping around today, yes you can get bags at walmart, but they are thinner than food saver bags. Thickest I've found so far was 3.5 mils

That Pro2300 looks like the Cat's Meow, and I sure like all the various ways you can use it, but unfortunately, I don't think it fits in the LOML's budget this time around.:( (I did Bookmark that link though):D

Went to Walmart tonight and they had three models of the Food Savers and several canisters, AND both the Food Saver Brand bags and One model of a Safe Food, (or something like that) machine and a selection of their bags (which didn't look as sturdy as the Food Saver Bags). We're still "Thinking" yet. :huh:
 
The Pro 2300 looks impressive. I did notice the guy in the video didn't appear to know the difference between 'psi' and 'inHg' when measuring the strength of a vacuum source. ;) Actually, he may know, but I suspect most of his buying public doesn't. :p
 
The vacuum bagger works great to marinade meats as well. Vacuume opens the pores in the meat to allow the marinade to enter to the center of the meat. If the bagger you have dies not allow to work with liquids then portion out the marinade and freeze it in small containers then put it in with the meat place the bagged meat in the crisper drawer in the bottom of the fridge for a day or two and then move to the freezer. This saves a lot of time when I set up a bbq or other party.:wave:
Mark
 
Top