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FoodMan - while mine is still going strong, I would definitely go with something like the Sansaire or Anova. (actually, I bought a Sansaire back in January to be able to do two temps at once) The technology isn't getting more expensive and I'd take my chances that one of the new $200 ones will last longer that 1/4 as long as PS. Sorry I can't be more helpful on the repair side.

My wife accidentally left out 5 lbs. of frozen Nueske's smoked bacon yesterday for about 24 hrs. It thawed and was up to 60 degrees when I found it. It's still in the original vacuum packaging. Ok to eat or toss it? I've read the official sites, but I was looking for opinions here. 10 years ago, I would have tossed it without thinking. However, Benton's ships their bacon unrefrigerated and they have told me that it's fine for about 4 days or so.

That makes sense. But, since it produces a gas, wouldn't I notice at least a loosening of the vacuum around the frozen garlic? Frankly, this other way is much cleaner and works well for me. But, that is a good alternative suggestion. If that's true, then that's the answer. I suppose the warnings against vacuuming pertain to saving it some other way besides freezing. Vacuuming it will [mostly] eliminate oxygen and allow it to grow, but only above 38F.

I have a chamber - Henkelman Boxer 35. It's not about the expense, but about the convenience. This way I'm sure I always have garlic on a moment's notice. The container the garlic is sold in comes with an expiration date that is usually about 6 weeks out. So, it's fine to leave it refrigerated for 6 weeks. And, it's fine to leave it frozen for an extended period. The ONLY alteration I'm making is vacuum sealing it. I just can't logically figure out why the vacuuming would make any difference. Since C. botulinium makes a gas when it's active, it would seem that vacuuming it would be even better because I could see the bag expand from its vacuumed state. Thanks for all the opinions on this thread. The diversity is illustrative of what I ran into when I tried to research it on the net.

I buy the bulk, peeled garlic at Costco, then portion it out in smaller packs, [chamber] vacuum seal it, and freeze it. Now, I read (here, and other places) that vacuum sealing fresh garlic is a no-no because of the botulism risk. However, I can't find anyone discussing the scenario that I'm using. Is the concern regarding vacuum sealing garlic related to leaving it at room temp after sealing it? I can't see why vacuum sealing would impart anything special in terms of botulism as compared to just freezing it without vacuum sealing. Anyone have some opinions/knowledge on this subject? Thanks! Chris

3mm vs 4mm bags? Anyone want to offer any reasons on why I shouldn't use 4mm? What do I not know? Will it change the seal quality or storage consideration (or sous vide) due to any increased bag stiffness? For my usage, the cost difference is relatively negligible. FWIW, I just ordered the Henkelman Boxer 35 last night. It should be here some time next week and I'm really looking forward to playing! Thanks for any advance! Chris

Apologies in advance if this has been extensively discussed. I searched, but couldn't really find much of a discussion. I was wondering what opinions everyone had about the refrigerator shelf life of vegetables after a full sous vide cook (unopened, in bags)? I'm mainly talking about root vegetables done at 185 for 1-2 hours, then refrigerated. I've read some people claiming about a week, but I've had mine be just fine at a month or more. Not sure what the end point would be anyway. I'm assuming that the vegetables should be bacteria free after a relatively long, hot cook. Maybe textural changes? Anyway, I was hoping for some kind of official guidance on refrigerator shelf life of sous vide cooked vegetables and perhaps some reasoning behind the guidance. Thanks! Chris

Thanks Glowing! Your seal comments mirror the PM'd comments by blackp, so I'll almost certainly go with the seal/cut option. The distributor here included a service kit with the purchase. Speaking of the teflon tape, can it be any teflon tape, or is there something special and proprietary about theirs? Chris

Boxer 35 - seal question: Has anyone heard of any seal problems associated with the cut-off seal choice? I'm debating between that and the double seal. It will be for home use - sous vide, freezing, some mordernist type uses, etc. I could conceive of using it to package items to ship/carry on vacation, but no commercial use. (This is my first post, but I've used e-Gullet as a long term resource and finally joined up as my culinary repertoire has increased with the modernist/scientific movement - although, nowhere near the level of the average poster here!) Chris