Chamber Vacuum Sealers, 2014–

[Raamo]

My VP 215 arrives today... I have not ordered any additional bags.  Thus the 3mil vs 4mil debate for me  I guess it will come down to the cost difference, if it's much at all - loosing 1 bag now and then might be a no big deal kind of thing.

[rotuts]

the difference between 3 mil and 4 mil is about 2 cents a bag.

 

the time to rebag the rare failure is worth that to me, esp if the failure is in the freezer where the contents might sit

 

for " quite some time "

 

of course, Id like the company to sell me 500 bags, at 0.60 x the cost of 1000 bags.

 

sometimes getting things done, finito, is worth the small one time additional cost.

[horseflesh]

We just have different priorities... I am all about minimizing per-bag cost. I definitely see where you are coming from though. 

 

I too would like to buy smaller quantities. I bought one size I was unsure of... Have used it maybe 4 times. I have a lot of those darn bags still... 

[rotuts]

996 ?

 

if you were to amortize that  $$$ .....

 

Edited September 17, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[daveb]

When I started using the chamber vac I still had a few rolls of bags from my strip sealer.  They cut fine to fit the application and work fine in the chamber vac.  (A little bit PIA though....)   Often on sale, they would be worth exploring if trying to minimize per use cost.

[rotuts]

textured bags will always be more expensive I think.

[Raamo]

Ok the VP215 is in it's box and now sitting up stairs.... How do you get this out of the box?  Destroy the box?  I took everything out of the cavity to make it lighter - it's still heavy!

[rotuts]

slide it out by turning the box on it side

 

that worked for the VP215 which was 90 + lbs.

[Raamo]

that worked for the VP215 which was 90 + lbs.

 

 

Thanks - it is a VP215

 

 

And it's now free of it's box

Edited September 17, 2014 by Raamo (log)

[rotuts]

I think you are going to love it.

 

I just vac's 20 lbs of SweetMaria's green coffee in smaller bags,  3 large est bags and 3 smallest bags

 

a joy to use.

 

pic your spot carefully, you are not going to be moving it around !

[Unpopular Poet]

Between my old Mvs31X and my new Mvs35XP, I have never had a fail on a 3mil bag...probably over 500 seals.  Everything from hot liquid to sharp bones.  I tend to over seal stuff too..always at 99.9....

[Raamo]

It's now sitting on a 12' counter.   I need to add oil - maybe later today but more likely this weekend.  At least it survived the unpacking

 

The lid is thicker then I imagined - in person you can see just how beefy this thing is.

[rotuts]

there is an " adding oil vid " somewhere that will help you a lot 

[Raamo]

there is an " adding oil vid " somewhere that will help you a lot 

 

I've watched it eons ago when I was researching all this  - I went looking for it on Sunday night and couldn't find it anywhere.  I did watch it a few times many moons ago so I'm pretty sure I'll be OK - reading the manual brought back memories of that vid.

[rotuts]

its very simple :  you rock the Beast one way, place a 2 x 4 under that end, then rock it the other way and place a 2 x 4 under that

 

then take off the back panel, etc the oil screw etc and add the oil.  let it sit for a minute or sow and check the 'level'

 

It might need an extra squirt of oil

 

then when you are satisfied w the oil level  do the same in reverse  

 

Done !

[daveb]

My 112 is the heaviest 50# I've ever lifted.  I can move it but woe to the person who gets between me and where I'm going...

[Raamo]

I oiled up the VP215 - sealed some Tsukune.  My wife was surprised how quiet it was. Ordered 2k more bags, I think I'm set for a while.

[rotuts]

Good For You

 

[Steve Irby]

A few general comments.  I've had my VacMaster VP112 for about 4 years and can't really complain.  The lid has been replaced two times under warranty with overnight shipping at no cost.  Like daveb says it is a heavy 50# but it fits on conventional counter tops and once in place I don't move it. For home use the 12-inch width is great since you can double up when sealing 6-inch x 10-inch bags.  The 6x10 will hold 2 cups of ingredients or 1# of sausage in bulk or when formed into 3 links.  I also use 12x12 bags with all bags being 3 mil.  If I am sealing food with pointy ends (shrimp, crabs, bones) I sandwich the food between spare bags, cardboard, etc.  

 

Today I got a deal on pink eye purple hull peas and it was snap to bag them for the freezer  23 pints in vac bags saves a lot of freezer space.  

 

 

 

[stckciv]

I just got my VP215 the other day and wanted to flash pickle some cucumbers I have for family and neighbors, since I just received about 30 of them.
 

Can someone give me a good recipe and possible times to try for this?

 

Thank you and will share my thought and experiences with this on different foods.

[stckciv]

One other question? Is there a guide anyone goes by for sealing different veggies, meat, etc. on a VP215? 

 

We seal green beans and corn today. Just want to make sure time are correct for different items. This is for freezing.

 

I would also like to know about fish or meat for SV.

 

Any help would be appreciated!!

[rotuts]

Im not quite sure what you are asking about.

 

Im quite new to the 215, although Ive had a Weston for 3 - 4 years.  A textured sealer that did not have an oil pump

 

the Weston has served me well and is still doing well.

 

for me, new to the chamber, I choose to seal with the 'Stop' just before I sense some 'boiling'

 

I cant say if this is the best or tasty-est method, but that what i do for now.

[btbyrd]

I just got my VP215 the other day and wanted to flash pickle some cucumbers I have for family and neighbors, since I just received about 30 of them.

 

Can someone give me a good recipe and possible times to try for this?

 

Flash pickling is a technique that's best done relatively close to when you'll be eating the pickle. The reason for this is that the process removes the air from the cucumber's cells and replaces it with brine. At the end, the cucumber ends up holding much more liquid at the end of the process than at the beginning, so it'll get soggy relatively quickly. So it's not the best technique for pickling a bunch of cucumbers and giving them to friends to eat later. But regardless, when you do this any standard brine recipe that you find online will work well. Unlike normal pickling, it doesn't take much brine to get the job done. When I'm feeling really lazy, I'll take a bit of brine out of some Claussen pickles and use that. Just put some in the bag with your veg and then pull a vacuum for the longest time you can. Your brine will boil quite vigorously, so don't overfill the bag (or it might leak out the front). It's as simple as that!

[Raamo]

Have you tried this with anything besides cucumbers?  And this works with any brine that you would normally make pickles with - it's just a way to do it faster (or if ones impatient) ?

[btbyrd]

I've tried it with lots of stuff. If you haven't injected booze into watermelon yet, you should do it. Compressed melon is beautiful, and the fact that you can make it alcoholic is an even better plus. I've used it to quick pickle onions and summer squash, infuse olive oil and balsamic into tomatoes for caprese salad, and infuse gin into cucumber for an edible martini. For pickles, any standard brine recipe will work but you won't need nearly as much brine as if you were doing a traditional pickle. One of the coolest things is how the appearance changes as the air gets sucked out; cucumbers and onions turn transparent and you can see all their inner bits. Melon becomes darker and more vivid in color; watermelon looks like raw tuna and honeydew takes on a vivid bright green color (even greener if you add Midori).

 

Cucumber pickles:

 

Edible cucumber martini planks:

 

Tequilla infused watermelon: