Chamber Vacuum Sealers, 2011–2014

[Robert Jueneman]

The MV-35XP has a couple of functions that I haven't tried yet, but might be similar to your "Sperrzeit".

One is called "Infusion cycle". "This function can be used to carry out packing procedures with delay that can be varied from 0.5 to 10 minutes between the vacuum and sealing phases (ideal of marinated food products)."

The other is called "Liquid Time" and is used to package pouches automatically with liquid products. You can set the desired level from 1 to 10 (1 for cold products, 10 for hot products). I have absolutely no idea what it does!

There is also a speed setting for the soft air,m from 1 to 4 (1 = minimum speed, 4 = top speed).

When your soft air is turned on, how much time elapses between the end of the vacuum cycle and the sealing cycle? 10 seconds?

[Caligo]

Hi

Im on the verge of buying the mvs 35xp, assuming i can get it shipped to this side of the pond.

Do you know Robert, if you can disable the reciept printing when you dont need it, or if its mandatory, what happens when the roll runs out of paper?

Does anyone know if there are any european b2c dealers of the MiniPack machines? seems strange that theyre made in italy but impossible to get over here.

[Robert Jueneman]

Hi

Im on the verge of buying the mvs 35xp, assuming i can get it shipped to this side of the pond.

Do you know Robert, if you can disable the reciept printing when you dont need it, or if its mandatory, what happens when the roll runs out of paper?

Does anyone know if there are any european b2c dealers of the MiniPack machines? seems strange that theyre made in italy but impossible to get over here.

Yes, one of the first menu options on the Configuration page is how many copies of the label to print, and "NO" is an option. I think PolyScience offers a box of 10 rolls, which should last you quite a long time.

I don't know what happens if the paper runs out. BTW, the manual doesn't describe how to open the paper roll holder, and it wasn't particularly obvious. Press the illuminated green button, and then pry open the holder from the top.

You might also want to order a quart of oil, and remember that you need the oil for the MVS-31X, NOT the 45X that is shown on their web site.

Be sure that they ship the unit without any oil in it, and include the slanted liquid tray.

[Caligo]

You might also want to order a quart of oil, and remember that you need the oil for the MVS-31X, NOT the 45X that is shown on their web site.

Be sure that they ship the unit without any oil in it, and include the slanted liquid tray.

Thanks for the feedback.

When youve contacted CuisineTechnology, did you call them or use the contact form/mail? I havent gotten any reply from them yet since two days ago

I cant see any difference in the description on the oils on their pages, but i trust you know something i dont :-)

[pep.]

You might also want to order a quart of oil, and remember that you need the oil for the MVS-31X, NOT the 45X that is shown on their web site.

Be sure that they ship the unit without any oil in it, and include the slanted liquid tray.

Thanks for the feedback.

When youve contacted CuisineTechnology, did you call them or use the contact form/mail? I havent gotten any reply from them yet since two days ago

I cant see any difference in the description on the oils on their pages, but i trust you know something i dont :-)

I wanted to ask about that, too. Do the two machines really need different oil? I'd be a bit surprised, the pumps should be pretty similar. Of course, the amount of oil you need increases with pump capacity.

[Robert Jueneman]

Well, it appears that I was wrong. Mea culpa.

The manual for the MV-35XP doesn't say anything at all about what kind of oil to use, except to say that oils of the VG type shall be used in compliance with DIN 51506 standards, whatever that means.

The detailed 20 page manual for the Busch KB/KC 0010, 0016E pump (the MV-35XP uses a a KB 0010 pump) is equally unhelpful. It lists four different "denominations," VM 032, VM 068, VSL 032 and VSL 068. The first two are mineral oils, and the second two are "PAO" listed for Food applications (NSF H1), with the VSL 032 being for food applications with an AC motor (not 3phase).

On the PolyScience web site, the oil that is listed under the MV-35XP says that it is for the MV-45XP, but in fact the part number, PN 450-545 is the same as for the MVS-31X oil. That is a Telus-t32 15 weight non-detergent hydraulic oil.

Doug Care Equipment lists Busch Vacuum Pump Oil R-580 15 W synthetic cold environment pump oil quantity 1 quart, and it says that it is for the MVS20, 26, 31, 35, and all 45. The larger MVS48, 50, 65, 48DV, 250, 285, and 295 take a R-530 oil.

I've received oil from both Doug Care and PolyScience, once for the MVS-31X and once for the MV-35XP, and in both cases the Busch label on the oil bottle says R-580. The label says that the oil comes from the Busch plant in Virginia, which may explain why it is a quart, rather than a liter.

The 35XP requires 0.3 liters to fill it. The MVS-31X manual doesn't say, but when I filled mine, it took 0.2 L.

According to Busch, the oil should be changed every 500 to 2000 operating hours, or about every 30,000 cycles, or after half a year, but you may need to change it more often if you are vacuuming packages with a high percentage of liquid.

According to Doug Care:

“OIL” CODE AND HOW TO RESET:

After 12,000 vacuum cycles, the digital display will show OIL. The machine will be unable to cycle. This is a reminder to change the oil. Changing the oil, however, does not clear the OIL display. To reset the OIL code on the display, hold down the UP and DOWN arrows simultaneously for 2 to 6 seconds. The display will then show the last program (example P1) and is now ready to operate.

Whether that applies to the MV-35XP, I don't know, as it doesn't have the up and down buttons that the MVS-31X does. There is a Cycle count shown in the DIAGNOSTIC, STATUS display. I thought that the UTILITY, RESET TO DEFAULT function would reset the cycle count, but I just tried it, and it didn't. So I'm not sure how to reset the counter.

Doug Care also has instructions on their web site for how to calibrate the unit for altitude, but that applies to the MVS-31X, and not the MV-35XP. MiniPack American is trying to get more details on the calibration procedure for the 35XP from Italy, because the procedure in the manual says to press stop when 000mbar is reached, but on both of the two 35XP's I have had, the reading never goes below 192mbar.

[Caligo]

Is it possible that since your at such an high altitude the gague wont go low enough to read the relative pressure?

Have you tried to boil distilled water to check the factual vacuum in the chamber?

Edit; nevermind, i just read up on the previous page again.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Caligo (log)

[Caligo]

Can anyone whos been in contact with cuisine technology /polyscience tell me how they did it, and what their response time was? Ive tried both the form on their webpage and email, but still no answer 10 days later.

[Robert Jueneman]

That's rather surprising. I would call their 1-800 number, and ask for the culinary department.

[pep.]

Can anyone whos been in contact with cuisine technology /polyscience tell me how they did it, and what their response time was? Ive tried both the form on their webpage and email, but still no answer 10 days later.

I wrote a mail to culinary@polyscience.com in April 2011 and had a reply within a day. Once contact was established (I live in Europe, so a haven't got a clue what timezone they are in), messages went back and forth every 5 minutes or so and the issue was quickly resolved.

[Caligo]

Being in Europe phone might not be the best way of communications, but ill have to give it a try soon. I just dont seem to get any replies via mail.

Last year when i had my heart set on a MVS 31x i tried mailing DougCare but didnt get any replies from them either, so at that time i just postponed the purchase in hope i would find a machine in Europe i would be comfortable buying. Nothing came up so now im back at trying to order from the US, and now i really want that 35xp from PolyScience.

I need to know about the shipping rates before purchase, because they can be really hideous on heavy items by the normal shippers, and when having to pay 25% taxes on the shipping also this could very well break my budget on the thing.

[Blues_Cookin]

I need to know about the shipping rates before purchase, because they can be really hideous on heavy items by the normal shippers, and when having to pay 25% taxes on the shipping also this could very well break my budget on the thing.

Have you looked at a forwarding service like www.goopping.com? They will forward packages anywhere in the world from US retailers - I think the 80 lb sealer would ship from their warehouse for about $250.

On a side note, I was lucky enough to spend a couple weeks in Norway a few years ago - absolutely loved it and can't wait for a chance to go back :-)

Tom

Edited March 3, 2012 by Blues_Cookin (log)

[PedroG]

Maybe they have 110V machines only. Why not buy in Europe, e.g. Vac-Star?

[Caligo]

They do deliver 220v models also. I would ofcourse buy from Europe if that was an option, but honestly i find all other manufacturer models to be butt ugly. They are rather large and bulky machines so attention to detail is important to increase WAF. As we all know WAF is the only value that matters when bringing anything gadgety into the home, especially when you cant hide it in a cupboard or drawer :-P

[Caligo]

Have you looked at a forwarding service like www.goopping.com? They will forward packages anywhere in the world from US retailers - I think the 80 lb sealer would ship from their warehouse for about $250.

On a side note, I was lucky enough to spend a couple weeks in Norway a few years ago - absolutely loved it and can't wait for a chance to go back :-)

Yeah, im looking into a service that ships directly from NJ to Norway, but its still nice to see what the shipping cost is originally, and direct shipping is probably quicker. Also i want to know about the motor oil and slant tray Robert mentioned. It would suck to have it shipped over half the world to find out stuff is missing or that the motor needs immediate service.

On that side note, I was lucky enough to get out of Norway for a couple of weeks a few years ago - absolutely loved it and can't wait for a chance to do it again :-P

[Caligo]

Robert, did you buy the gas flush unit to your 35xp? i wonder how hard it is to retrofit. Im guessing PolyScience doesnt sell them with the gas option

Edited March 4, 2012 by Caligo (log)

[Robert Jueneman]

Talk to Joe Strybel or Jason Sayers at PolyScience, and get them to special order one for you, already installed. I would think/hope they could ship it to you direct from Italy, rather than back and forth across the pond twice.

[Dan Rose]

I recently purchased a Vacmaster VP112 sealer. The first time I tried it out, the unit sealed properly, but the top remained locked down, making it impossible to open the lid to remove the sealed item. After approximately 30 minutes of speaking with three different people at ARY, I was told to use the canister tubing to release the vacuum. I was told to let the unit rest so that an internal circuit could reset. It worked properly the next time. The next day, I used it again & again the top locked down, requiring the canister tubing to release the vacuum. Given the weight of the thing, I'm inclined to just keep the machine & use the tubing to release the vacuum, but if the tubing stops working,I suppose I could just bale up the entire thing, send it back, & let them deal with the food locked inside. Has anyone else had this problem with the VP112?

I just purchased a VP112 and have tested it once so far, but it worked properly...

But this leads to an idea. This thread is full of ideas requiring pulling a vacuum and then holding it for a period of time. Accepting that it's voiding the warranty, would it theoretically be possible to take apart a VP112's controller to find that internal circuit and install a switch to enable/disable automatic vacuum release?

... anyone know a source for a schematic?

[Caligo]

But this leads to an idea. This thread is full of ideas requiring pulling a vacuum and then holding it for a period of time. Accepting that it's voiding the warranty, would it theoretically be possible to take apart a VP112's controller to find that internal circuit and install a switch to enable/disable automatic vacuum release?

Have you just tried the trick with disconnecting the power of the unit while at max vacuum?

I know this worked with the MVS chamber machines, and assuming the solenoid air valve works fairly similar on all chamber sealers its worth a try. The MVS line is able to hold vaccum in the chamber while disconnected up to 20 minutes and it would be nice to see some comparisons on different models

[Dan Rose]

Have you just tried the trick with disconnecting the power of the unit while at max vacuum?

I know this worked with the MVS chamber machines, and assuming the solenoid air valve works fairly similar on all chamber sealers its worth a try. The MVS line is able to hold vaccum in the chamber while disconnected up to 20 minutes and it would be nice to see some comparisons on different models

Great idea. Will try tonight and report back.

[Dan Rose]

Have you just tried the trick with disconnecting the power of the unit while at max vacuum?

I know this worked with the MVS chamber machines, and assuming the solenoid air valve works fairly similar on all chamber sealers its worth a try. The MVS line is able to hold vaccum in the chamber while disconnected up to 20 minutes and it would be nice to see some comparisons on different models

Great idea. Will try tonight and report back.

Looks like it's working... pulled a vacuum for 55 seconds, then pulled the plug.

... 15 minutes later, it's at -68cmHg, down from about -72 in that picture. Works beautifully!

To release, I plugged it back in, set a 5 second vacuum time and ran the cycle. Sealed my test bag properly, released pressure right on queue.

Thanks!

[pep.]

Has anyone put together a table with rec­om­mended vac­uum lev­els for var­i­ous appli­ca­tions (bag­ging fresh meat, fish, liq­uids; vac­uum com­pres­sion etc.)? The MC chap­ter on cham­ber vac­uum seal­ers has sev­eral sug­ges­tions sprin­kled in the text itself, but AFAIK no sin­gle table com­bin­ing the “best guesses”.

The manual for my VC999 K2 contains the following suggested settings:

• fresh meat: 99.6 percent (+ boiling point sensor at 4.0 sensitivity)
  
• Charcuterie/cheese: 99.6 (2.0)
  
• Cooked food: 95.0 (2.0)
  
• Cold liquids: 99.0 (0.5)
  

For the boiling point sensor in my machine, 0.5 is the maximum sensitivity, 10.0 the lowest sensitivity.

Edited March 11, 2012 by pep. (log)

[Robert Jueneman]

Boy, did you just open a can of worms!

People like Blackp and Pedrog and I have been all over these issues over the last year.

Some people I respect claim that too strong a vacuum can cause meat to boil, and the texture to degrade. Others, including myself, have never seen meat boil, and tend to poo-poo the idea. But this may be a function of your altitude, the kind of meat, etc.

There is also the issue of whether you are pulling this vacuum in order to immediately cook the food, or whether you are going to store it, presumably frozen, and if so for how long.

If you are going to be cooking the food immediately, then the only thing that really matters is whether the bag floats or not, so 98% or higher is probably fine.

On the other hand, if you are the type that freezes something and may not pull it out until you come across it a year later, then you may want to consider 99% and even an extra vacuum time, in order to minimize freezer burn.

I don't have any experience with a boiling point sensor -- I just look at the food and hit stop if it starts to boil.

I haven't any idea why they would recommend only 95% for cooked foods, assuming you have chilled them back down again -- otherwise they might well boil.

And cold liquids are going to have to be very, very cold indeed, or they will boil at 99%. But maybe the boiling sensor at maximum sensitivity takes care of that.

So for what it's worth, I think the cooked foods setting is too low, and the cold liquids a bit too high, and the rest sound about right.

Your mileage may vary.

[PedroG]

Boy, did you just open a can of worms!

People like Blackp and Pedrog and I have been all over these issues over the last year.

. . . . .

If you are going to be cooking the food immediately, then the only thing that really matters is whether the bag floats or not, so 98% or higher is probably fine.

. . . . .

Remember last April's discussion The vacuum level dilemma with chamber sealers for sous vide cooking and an earlier post on floating bags. With residual air from low vacuum levels in a chamber vac, or with fatty food, use marbles or glass beads in the bag and skewer suspension to avoid floating. For delicate food like fish you might use an edge sealer or Ziploc bags instead of a chamber vac.

[pep.]

Boy, did you just open a can of worms!

People like Blackp and Pedrog and I have been all over these issues over the last year.

. . . . .

If you are going to be cooking the food immediately, then the only thing that really matters is whether the bag floats or not, so 98% or higher is probably fine.

. . . . .

Remember last April's discussion The vacuum level dilemma with chamber sealers for sous vide cooking and an earlier post on floating bags. With residual air from low vacuum levels in a chamber vac, or with fatty food, use marbles or glass beads in the bag and skewer suspension to avoid floating. For delicate food like fish you might use an edge sealer or Ziploc bags instead of a chamber vac.

I do remember those discussions. Basically, that means that no-one has compiled a list of recommendations yet? I guess I've got a task set out for me then!