Vacuum sealer? (Food saver vs Sinbo)

I'm partial to the Sinbo type, just because it uses regular bags and does a decent job most of the time. The FoodSaver is probably a little more bomb proof. All in all however, for freezing most of the time I just use zip lock freezer bags and squeeze out all the air.

I have no experience with the Sinbo but I do have with a food saver. I have used Freezer bags and unless they are completely full I have had a lot of ice crystals form and problems with freezer burn.

My food saver is one of the older versions it does not hold and cut the bags. I bought a separate bag cutter made for the food saver, my father bought a newer unit it came with the bag holder and cutter.

Try the freezer bags first if you don't leave your food in them for more than a couple of weeks you may not notice enough difference to be worth the cost.

Hope this helps

Like Swede, I have no experience with Sinbo but do own a Food-Saver brand. It's a smaller unit but suffices the needs for the Mrs & me. I buy my bags on eBay, pint & quart size. We have been very satisfied with it, freezing pulled pork, brisket and chicken in single serving sized portions.

Just my $0.02 worth!

I've had troubles with my bags sealing properly.. anyone have ideas. What seems to be the problem is that the juices/oils/greases seem to suck up into the sealing area and must screw up the melt.. especially if I'm repackaging uncooked product into smaller portions.. say when someone brings me a couple hundred pounds of fresh tuna. I've tried putting a piece of paper towel to prevent this and it seems to work but what a pain. I've thought of partially freezing.. but what a pain.

Probably have had about 20%+ failures.. what a pain

Smoken...when you get a couple hundred pounds of tuna send me, oh maybe 50 pounds of it. I'll be happy to lighten your load for you!!

Bill -- I think your post is a good question but will detract from the original question - Vacuum sealer - FoodSaver or Sinbo. Might want to start another thread.

Lets try to assist Chef Mac in his quest for a vacuum sealer.

Just an observation and no offense intended!

I have a foodsaver and it works great. I had problems with the first one I bought, called their customer service and they sent me out a replacement. They told me to keep the original one for parts. I buy the rolls and make my own bags. For Bill's juice problem I found that wraping the meat first with heavy duty Saran wrap is easier and faster than the paper towe trick.

I also have a Foodsaver. As long as you check the seal to make sure there are no small gaps it does a great job. I am going to try the saran wrap method.I agree the paper towel and partial freeze are time consuming. Even though the topic is verboten here.
Chief Mac, if you decide on foodSaver, try a Tuesday Morning store.There are several in FL.I don't know if any are close to you. They usually have one or more different models all the time for about 65 dollars. Also have some of the accessories discounted.

I also have a foodsaver and am very happy with it. They were a bit more than I wanted to spend but Im happy I did now. Im going to try the rolls on ebay that someone is selling. They are not food saver brand but are supposed to be as good or better. Their feedback is excellent and they have a lot of repeat customers which is also a good sign.

I vaccuum pack my baked beans which are pretty "liquidy". I have had a few that havent sealed but usually can trace it back to a small fold in the plastic where it trys to seal. The liquid never gave me a problem.

I bought my second foodsaver in december and it has decided to stop working also. Next time I will get the cabelas with the see through lid.

quote:

Originally posted by Smokenque:
I've had troubles with my bags sealing properly.. anyone have ideas. What seems to be the problem is that the juices/oils/greases seem to suck up into the sealing area and must screw up the melt.. especially if I'm repackaging uncooked product into smaller portions.. say when someone brings me a couple hundred pounds of fresh tuna. I've tried putting a piece of paper towel to prevent this and it seems to work but what a pain. I've thought of partially freezing.. but what a pain.

Probably have had about 20%+ failures.. what a pain

I freeze anything that has to much liquid in it first that way it doesn't get drawn up into the seal area. I had problem until a friend told me this trick. If you put it in a freezer bag first either take it out frozen or cut slits in the freezer bag or it will trap air while being vacuum packed. I prefer to remove it from the freezer bag.

If anyone thinks this information is off track it is useful info if the original poster wishes to have good luck using a food saver.

Thanks to all! Leaning towards the F/S.

Hi everyone! I haven't checked in a while, but I believe Wally World has generic bags / rolls for the Food Saver.

Have a great day!

I think as pointed out in many of the posts, with both types of machines is something, liquid, grease, dirt, somehow contaminating the sealing areas.

I bought like a 1000 bags for my Sinbo type that had zip lock tops very reasonably and seal from the bottom. They work great other than when they seem to get contaminated by something.

The biggest problem with the Sinbo type was the fact I didn't have counter space for any type of sealer, so I had to be doing a batch of something to get it out to use.

My friend has used the non food-saver bags and dosent like them. Black & Decker I believe

I have not been able to pull a vaccuum in non-ribbed bags with my FS.. I tried B&D and others to no avail.

Also, regarding the issues of juices and bad seals.. I called FS Customer Service yesterday and they said to definitely freeze the meats for 1.5 hours before sealing or you can damage the vacuum pump even with the juice catching tray in place.

I have sealed about 3000 bags on Sinbo. After the first 1500, I bought a spare in case the old one failed....Still using the original. I do get a few leakers, but bags are4-5-6-cents compared to ?????? for foodsaver. I like mine...

Good to see ya on here now and then, Don!

I am going to take a look at those Simbo machines now.

Bought both of mine on evil bay. Sometimes you find them under sinbo vac sealer and sometimes Keep fresh sealer. Use regular bags, not the expensive channel bags......Good luck

I have Cabela's CG-15 Vacuum Sealer and find it does a great job. Love it! The plastic seems to be a little thicker than the others, the bags for it have an inner waffle sheet that alows the air to be removed faster and the air is sucked out so that the plastic is right up against the meat all around. I will admit that after sealing the vacuum will suck out a small amount of the juices but if you are careful to smooth out the plastic when you close the lid on the bag you will have no problem with a leaking seal. I get no ice crystals and have found you can keep the meat at least a year, that's as long as I have had the unit. It's a little pricy but execelent quality.

I've been using a Sinbo for probably a year and a half now. The best part is getting the bags for cheap (under 5 cents each). I've never used a Foodsaver so I can't compare, but I'm guessing a Foodsaver is probably easier to use. With the Sinbo, you have to get the nozzle close to the food, so the bag doesn't get sucked into it, but not too close, because then the food will block the nozzle. Once you get the hang of it, it's no biggie, but I'm guessing it's not as user friendly and easy to use as a Foodsaver. But for the money we save on bags, I think it's well worth it to get a Sinbo.

I've found it's OK to get juices sucked into the Sinbo nozzle, as long as you run some hot soapy water through the nozzle afterward. I learned this when it would suck in juices that would later solidify, and pretty soon I wasn't getting any suction. I had to take it apart and clean the tubing and sponge filter out.

But now after I've vacuum packed a bunch of Q, I mix some dishwashing soap in a cup with hot water, and use the nozzle to suck the soapy water out of the cup for about 30 seconds (you have to be sure to aim the outlet hole on the bottom into a sink). That cleans it out nicely, and I haven't had it plug up since I started doing that.

Anyway, if you want something easy to use, maybe go with a Foodsaver, if you want something that'll save you money with a little bit of a learning curve, go with the Sinbo.

Good day to all, Got that Food Saver last week finally. I smoke test this thing I went nuts on Sat. just about all the meat in our freezer is now vacuum sealed in the bags. Got a few more vinison hams to cut up...
I am now a fan, i ran that thing for bout 4 hrs only stoping to cut bags or get more meat. The manual sez to wait 20secs between seals, but as soon as the light went out i wud fire it back up. No problems, sealed everything fine. Gonna seal up some bike parts this weekend. I AM A FAN!

What wood and how long for the bike parts?

quote:

Originally posted by Chief Mac:
Good day to all, Got that Food Saver last week finally. I smoke test this thing I went nuts on Sat. just about all the meat in our freezer is now vacuum sealed in the bags. Got a few more vinison hams to cut up...
I am now a fan, i ran that thing for bout 4 hrs only stoping to cut bags or get more meat. The manual sez to wait 20secs between seals, but as soon as the light went out i wud fire it back up. No problems, sealed everything fine. Gonna seal up some bike parts this weekend. I AM A FAN!

UPDATE 001: Good day to all, Well yesterday my FoodSaver 2440 quit vacuuming. Light come on, motor runs but no vacuum. Called the Co. they are sending me a new replacement via UPS (already shiped with confirmation # for tracking). I am still a fan! Good customer service.

Im definatly not a vac seal expert, but Ive sealed a few bags in my day. (disclaimer stolen from Tom)
Ive got both Sinbo and the FS variety and now use the FS all the time. I too was getting bags that would lose their seal... until I tried this trick. I double seal BOTH ends of the bags I make. After cutting a bag to length I insert the bottom of the bag to seal. When sealed I pull the bag out maybe 1/4" and seal again. Fill with product and vacumn seal. Then switch to seal only, pull the bag out that 1/4" again and reseal. I rarely get a bag that loses its seal now.

bob