Foam tape for sous vide cooking

[seabream]

I am looking to buy foam tape to prevent leaks when inserting the thermocouple probe in a sous vide bag. I found the following options:

Fusion chef - http://fusionchefsousvide.com/shop/accessories/adhesive-sealing-tape.html#

13 feet

$79

Polyscience - https://www.cuisinetechnology.com/sousvide.php

3 feet

$24

JB Prince - http://www.jbprince.com/utensils/adhesive-tape-for-sous-vide.asp#jbp_full_desc

7 feet

$5.90

The JB Prince is such a good deal that I'm suspicious about it Has anyone tried their product? Is it food safe? Does it seal well?

Any other recommendations for a site I should consider?

Would love to hear about what solutions are being used by fellow eGulleters.

[alanz]

I've been using the JB Prince tape, seems to work well

[Martin Fisher]

I just bought 2 rolls from JB Prince...I'll be trying it soon.

[gfweb]

So you put this on the bag and insert the needle probe through it and the seal is maintained?

Edited February 12, 2014 by gfweb (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Yes.

[Robenco15]

Can you do this if you use the water displacement method?

[gfweb]

Cool! Looks like foam insulating tape. Home Depot might have something similar, but it's hard to see it cheaper than JB Prince.

[Martin Fisher]

Yeah, closed-cell foam tape.

[Martin Fisher]

Can you do this if you use the water displacement method?

I think so.

[EnriqueB]

My experience with two brands of foam tapes I have been able to buy here (Spain) are not very good, in both cases because they do not stick properly to the bag and may fall in the worse moment. So whenever I use it I double bag, double foam, and appy glue. That is, vacuum bag once, paste piece of foam, vacuum bag again (which sustains the first piece in place), apply glue on top of where the first foam is, and add a new piece of foam of the same size as the first one.

I've been told that a workaround is applying a blob of silicone (the one applied with caulking guns), reinforce it with some waterproof tape, and wait until it hardens, but never tried.

[seabream]

You can use it with the water displacement method, but I don't think it's needed. If you're using zip locs, you can insert the probe through the zip loc opening, and use a rack to make sure the top of the opening is not submerged.

I am wondering if regular weather stripping foam tape from a hardware store could be used. I see that's what they use in Modernist Cuisine at Home, but I also see some people in various online sties with strong opinions about it not being food safe. Any opinions on either side here at eGullet?

[gfweb]

Not being certified "food safe" does not equal "dangerous"

[weedy]

if I'm going to expose it to heat, and drive a probe through it and into the food I'm going to eat, then I want it to be "food safe"

it might not "equal" 'dangerous', but it's clearly not certified as 'safe'