The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic, 2011 to Present

[rotuts]

one last thing: you can do liquids with this system or FoodSaver by using the PedroG mod:

you hang the bag over the counter, and when the liquid gets to the seal you push the manual seal button. you get a little leakage above the seal, but you clean that out with a tissue getting the area dry and oil-free and then add a second seal 1/2 " up the bag, 'just in case' I routine use two seals as its easy to do, moisture or not.

[Josho]

Has anyone with a FoodSaver tried their new "Liquid Block" bags?

[Franci]

Any new advice here?

I think I'll jump on the Anova Circulator too, b.ut first I'll get a vacuum sealer. I saw the aforementioned food saver v3880

http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-V3880-Automatic-Vacuum-Sealing/dp/B006EP59MY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379125884&sr=8-1&keywords=foodsaver+v3880

Costco sells it at 50$ cheaper. I don't want to spend more than that and I do not want something really bulky. I'm glad also if it does a decent job at freezing meat and fish.

Thanks

[Kerry Beal]

I'll advise what I usually do - check thrift stores! I picked up another perfectly good Foodsaver last week for $5 - it has the manual override seal button - looks like it's seen very little use.

[Darienne]

I'll advise what I usually do - check thrift stores! I picked up another perfectly good Foodsaver last week for $5 - it has the manual override seal button - looks like it's seen very little use.

We've seen Foodsavers in thrift stores, but I never know how to tell whether they are worth buying or not. What do you look for when you go to buy one, please.

[Kerry Beal]

I fire them up - see if they suck and see if the bar heats.

[Franci]

I sent my husband to the closest Salvation Army...nothing like that to be found. Maybe better to look on Craigslist.

Now, I never had a vacuum sealer so I appreciate if anybody can explain to me if this feature of dry/ moist food that food saver has is any useful for sealing for sous vide cooking with liquids. Otherwise, for my understanding, the only things I need to watch out are a seal only function and an external hose to regulate the vacuum. But almost all food savers have these features, right?

[Kerry Beal]

Not all Foodsavers seem to have the seal only function - most do though.

The external hose let's you use canisters.

[Franci]

Thanks, Kerry!

[Kerry Beal]

Here are the 3 I have in the basement right now -

Vac 1050. It has a manual lock mechanism that you release by pushing down on the corners, it vacuums by hitting one button and overrides to seal by hitting the other. It has an external hose. It doesn't have a spot inside to hold a roll of bag material.

Vac 300. This one doesn't have a manual lock, and a little switch on the side lets you vacuum and seal or seal only. I have this one switched to seal only and I use it to seal piping bags in my chocolate room.

Vac 350. This one has locking buttons on the sides, it only vacuums and seals, doesn't have an override to seal.

I have found much newer models too - some that still have the manual wrapped around the unit and the protective film on them. The newer ones aren't necessarily better - in some cases they take up a whole lot more real estate on the counter and require you to have 4 hands to hold the bag in place while pushing down on the corners to get the pump started.

Professional II. This little baby is my upstairs Foodsaver - it has adjustable time for the sealing, a manual seal only and a vacuum override. It holds a roll of the bag material inside and has a cutter to slice off the bag.

[PedroG]

Not all Foodsavers seem to have the seal only function - most do though.

The external hose let's you use canisters.

The external hose is also of great help in sealing liquids, see upthread.

[takadi]

Has anyone had any experience with vacuum sealer guns, the Waring Pro Pistol Vac in particular? It looks like a much better alternative than the food saver not to mention that the bags are reusable

[takadi]

Well I went ahead a purchased the Waring Pistol Vac and it works pretty well. The biggest problem I have with it is that it works by sucking air through a small outlet on the upper right hand side of the bag. Because of this, you can't vacuum pack anything with too much liquid in it..if the liquid reaches the outlet, your gun sucks it up and it will cause performance issues and possibly damage. It makes me wonder why they didn't have some mechanism to reroute excess liquid or moisture.

Time will tell how it works in the long run...I'm using this mainly for storage freezing so what I'm looking for is how well the gun's suction power lasts, how well the vacuum seal in the bags last, how well the bags protect against freezer burn and odors, and how many reuses I can get out of the bags before they stop working.

[takadi]

Ugh trash product. Not the vacuum gun itself (which does have a design flaw, where if liquid gets inside the plastic housing and into your unit, it royally screws with the suction), but the actual bags themselves. Brittle, very easy to puncture, starts getting air inside the bag after a couple weeks.

[Tjex]

For those interested, I was at Walmart (in Canada) yesterday looking to replace my broken Foodsaver (it was pretty old) and ran into a new line of vacuum sealers by ziplock. They looked similar to Foodsaver with one of the models that stood upright with the bag roll sitting inside the machine (it also came with a container that you can attach with the hose). They were roughly half the price of the Foodsavers, so saying this, I went home to look this up online and couldn't find any info on those machines, not even on the ziploc site. So.. new machines, not officially released yet? Not sure.. 

[Kerry Beal]

Here is a link with reviews.  Sounds like it isn't holding up well.  

[Tjex]

Here is a link with reviews.  Sounds like it isn't holding up well.  

 

That's the thing, they don't look like this at all, they look very much like the FoodSavers V3432 (http://www.foodsaver.com/vacuum-sealers/FSFSSL3431-035.html#src=E4FEORG&start=2)

Even comes with a hose attachment and a rectangle canister for storing/marinating.

 

I'll have to take some pictures and post them.

[Tammi Townsley]

I'm on my third Food Saver in 15 years. I've found they tend to last for about 8 years before the seal function breaks down. My only reason for purchasing this new one is for the pulse vac function.

[chefmd]

Was buying replacement lid for VP112 vacuum sealer (sadly it broke after about 4 years of light use) and found a sale on Vacmaster website.  They have a bunch of deals going on but one that worked for me was 20 dollars off 100 (codes are on their home page).  I got the lid and vacuum pouches.  Just to give you an idea, 1000 8X10 inch 3 mil pouches are 45.99 before discount.

 

http://myvacmaster.com/cgi/ary.wsc/vacmaster_index

[Caruso]

Does anyone here have experience with this particular Weston Model? It's the 65-0501-W (amazon link).  For the longest time I'd been eyeing the Weston $400 model that seems to have a reputation for being rock solid and bemoaning the fact that there's not much to be found in between that price point and the junkier Food Saver models.  Could this $170 Weston be what I'm looking for?  And are there other viable sealers for $150-$200 that offer a significant upgrade in reliability over the Food Saver line?

[Martin Fisher]

If I were going to buy one, I'd seriously consider the ARY VacMaster PRO305.

 

[Hassouni]

I'm about to take delivery of 1/16th of a steer, and also my Anova is on its way (sooner or later), so I want to get a vacuum sealer. I've heard the new Foodsavers are pretty mediocre, especially with any liquid involved, but the older Italian-made ones are rock-solid. Can anyone else comment upon this? I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on a chamber sealer or anything over $150, really.

[rotuts]

Ive forgotten Hassouni, have you done SV before ?

 

more important than the sealer is the thickness of the bags : thinner ones will not last more than a month in a freezer as they get tinny holes 

 

in them from ice, which on reflection must form as the vacuum is poor etc

 

if you indeed end up finding a place for SV on your plate and in your freezer you will move up to the Weston or the 

 

ARY VacMaster PRO305.  mentioned above.  after about 2 - 3 years depending on how careful you are with moisture 

 

that will damage the pump. you will then maybe move to the VP215

 

but Im sure you will get something in the middle of this rage and be happy.

[Hassouni]

I've never SVed before, though the vacuum sealing wouldn't be just for that, but also the year's worth of beef I'm acquiring. Good to know about thicker bags, though.

[Caruso]

FYI the Vacmaster Pro305 has been discontinued. Their website says they'll be releasing a replacement model soon.