38 minutes ago, Jim D. said:I have found the Weston to be a great vacuum sealer. I had a steak a few days ago that looked and tasted fresh after several months in the freezer. But I have not found that the Weston seals "very nicely" at all when used on manual. Sometimes it works the way it is supposed to. Other times (too many to make it dependable) I place the bag slightly over the teflon tape but not too far into the chamber, the machine starts the process, I press the button for manual, it runs for a while, then there is a pop sound rather than the whoosh it should make, and often there is a burning smell (the teflon tape had burnt spots until I replaced it this morning). I spoke at length with a Weston engineer last week, and many people have had problems with using the sealer on manual, so many that there are instructions on how to disconnect the vacuum sensor/timer and make it totally and always manual. He was willing to guide me through the process, but I quickly said no when he said that if you are using the Weston as a vacuum sealer and misjudge whether the vacuum is sufficient or not, letting it run too long, you risk burning out some part (don't remember the details because at that point I thought, no thanks).
Pastrygirl, yes, the Weston has a manual setting (as I described), but it does not have variable vacuum strength--you can't select 25%, for instance. There is a new model (and isn't there always a new model just after a purchase?) that can do that, and I think FoodSaver has machines that have the feature. Since you and I are concerned in particular about chocolates, I should report that my freezing method does not appear to be perfect. When the chocolates are in their final destination box and are sealed (no vacuum) in a bag, then refrigerated, then frozen, then back to the fridge, then to room temp (as the experts say to do), they are fine--or at least they are so far. But I had frozen a tray of individual pieces and needed some of them, and when I removed the tray from the freezer and opened the bag, condensation formed immediately on some of the chocolates. In Peter Greweling's chocolates book, he says to put the chocolates in a box and use a "gentle" vacuum, but when I tried that with the Weston, the box was crushed (along with its contents).
My Cabela's unit has a seal without vacuum option. I never heard wooshes or pops.
Wouldn't condensation form on anything cold that is exposed to room air?
