who uses a vacuum sealer?

Learn to use the search, you'll find some good info.

here's one. I did a search on "vacuum sealer" in "all open forums"

Look these over and see if it helps get your question answered:

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve...Type=1&search=Search

Shadetree--

I use a Foodsaver and have been very satisfied with it. I use it for the obvious such as freezing/reheating smoked foods and meal saving.

The one I have also has a vacuum tube that can be used to vacuum canisters, containers, and bottles. I vacuum brown sugar in one of their containers and never have hard/clumped brown sugar. Placing meats and marinade in a vacuumed container opens the meat's pores and greatly reduces marinating time. I vacuum partially emptied wine bottles to preserve wines for several days vs only overnight without evacuating the air from the bottle.

If you're interested, here's the one I use:

Foodsaver

I bought that same unit. Just don't over fill bags. Very easy to use.


RandyE

Sorry about that.. Right after I posted I did do a search and found quite a bit. Thanks SmokinOkie for the reminder.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadetree:
Thanks SmokinOkie for the reminder.

Hey, what's a moderator here for anyway

I have a foodsaver turbo plus that was bought at Cabelas. I primarily use it for packaging the deer I process. Very well made and has two pumps instead of one.

We have had 3 Food Savers and like them all. The newest one is like Shadetree's model. It is the best one so far. We really use it a lot!

Has anyone ever used the vac sealer to put brine in to freeze?

Ok..here's probably more than you wanted to know.

First, to vacuum seal a liquid you mostly have to turn that liquid into a solid form FIRST... i.e. freeze that liquid in ice cube trays, then dump the frozen cubes into a vacuum sealer and seal away.

Second, and the more confounding problem is the salinity of the brine makes it extremely more difficult to freeze. A completely saturated solution of salt water freezes at -21.1 C (about -6 degrees farenheit), and you don't have a freezer that will go that cold ...probably.

Now, brine isn't a complete saturation, but the more salt in the water, the more difficult the task to get it to freeze.

So....no.

the new food saver upright unit is by far the best unit i have had. it is easy to use and does a better job than most. stay away from seala meal units. they work ok 4 a short time but don't last long. just my 2.cents worth.

j. foley

The Cabelas CG-15 vacuum sealer is a great piece of equipment. I had a FoodSaver for a few years and this one is far superior in quality and sealing power.

If it's more powerful than my FoodSaver, it must also suck out the food. As info., Consumer Research rates FoodSaver as the best vacuum sealer.

Call me skeptical. But when someone's first post is pitching a product, I get suspicious. That's why my previous statement.

I have had the misfortune of going through 3-4 foodsavers over the years. The problem I discovered was sucking up liquid from the meat or fish into the vacuum pump. The next time you go to use it the juices in the pump would adversely affect it. These were the older designs and they may have corrected this now. Two years ago i bought a CG-15 and I haven't had any more problems, partly in fact to the clear plexiglass lid and large liquid clean out area to protect the vacuum pump. The fact that i process alot of salmon and raw meats probably contributed to the early failures.

The foodsavers are okay, just be careful when using them. Another benefit of the CG-15 is the 15" bags you na use to pack away those briskets and ribs you got on sale! The quality of a vacuum sealer isn't dependent on the number of posts someone has.... It's how well it's made and the company stands up behind it. That's why I got a FEC100.

Also why I bought the Cookshack. Thanks for your feedback, sounds like the CG-15 is one darn good food sealer. The first 3 independent research ratings I looked up classified the FoodSaver as the best sealer. I'm sure there are others with different views.

Selling for less than half the price of the CG-15, at least the FoodSaver offers good value for most people. If someone were only interested in top quality and not real concerned with price, then it looks like they should consider the CG-15.

quote:

Originally posted by GaryE:
The Cabelas CG-15 vacuum sealer is a great piece of equipment. I had a FoodSaver for a few years and this one is far superior in quality and sealing power.

I could not agree more, it was the best $$ I spent. After going through 3 food savers (junk is my opinion) it was worth spending the extra $ for a much better unit. Plus I think it is just easier to use. I had to be a contortionist to get the food saver to seal, with the Cabelas I just drop the lid down and after breakin so the the seal seals, I just hit the button! Nothing could be easier . . much the reason I bought a cookshack elite.

Thanks,

William

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Also why I bought the Cookshack. Thanks for your feedback, sounds like the CG-15 is one darn good food sealer. The first 3 independent research ratings I looked up classified the FoodSaver as the best sealer. I'm sure there are others with different views.

Selling for less than half the price of the CG-15, at least the FoodSaver offers good value for most people. If someone were only interested in top quality and not real concerned with price, then it looks like they should consider the CG-15.

Probably the reason most folk have a cookshack smoker, at least the reason I bought one.

Thanks,

William

I have had a foodsaver for years, it seems to be hit or miss if it will seal the darn bag. the bags will puncture and never seal, I did some jerky and it got a little drier than it should have and I could not seal it due to this problem.

I looked at the Cabelas unit when I was there before Christmas and think it will be my next one, they also have the chamber sealer which would do liquid.

I just bought a VacUpack. The main reason I decided on that brand is it's ability to deal with liquid. You are even able to flush the pump out if you happen to get something in it. I haven's used it very much yet, but it seems very easy to use and you can get replacement parts if necessary. You are also able to use Weston and Food Saver bags. I needed something to do with my leftovers from smoking. My husband says he can't eat the food fast enough to keep up.

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Shadetree--

I use a Foodsaver and have been very satisfied with it. I use it for the obvious such as freezing/reheating smoked foods and meal saving.

The one I have also has a vacuum tube that can be used to vacuum canisters, containers, and bottles. I vacuum brown sugar in one of their containers and never have hard/clumped brown sugar. Placing meats and marinade in a vacuumed container opens the meat's pores and greatly reduces marinating time. I vacuum partially emptied wine bottles to preserve wines for several days vs only overnight without evacuating the air from the bottle.

If you're interested, here's the one I use:

Foodsaver

Here are a couple of studies on that.

Affect of vacuum on meat

Another study

Well, the links only talk about the "opening of meat's pores". But the rest of the theory behind vacumming I agree with (the brown sugar is a good example).

The links are about the theory that under vacuum you can get more marinade in the product. Both of the links disprove that.

I never believed in the "vacuum tumbling" theory, and found those same links myself. Gotta love the disinformation in infomercials

Between brining and injection, I don't marinade anymore. Found both of these to be much more effective.

According to the folks at Poultry Science vacuum during marination appeared to offer no significant advantage over marination at atmospheric pressure.

You guys aren't suggesting "misleading advertising" in order to sell more vacuum sealers. Who would do that?

Truth is after using it a couple times, I stopped. Didn't notice enough difference to go through the hassle. Besides, if adding flavor and moisture is your goal, brining and injecting is the way to go.

After being dissapointed by various Foodsaver pro models , I purchased a Weston 2300. The quality is so much better than the Foodsaver and the bag rolls are much cheaper. The sealing bar is more than twice the thickness of a Foodsaver so the seals do not break. I've had steaks watered down after a foodsaver bag seal failed when I was defrosting them in water. This is money well spent...

Well, I just bought the foodsaver model Pags posted here. I am impressed by it. When the vac pump runs, you KNOW it's running!

Are there better units out there, I'm sure.

Do I need anything better than this one for my personal home use, I doubt it. Hell, this one is probably wayyy overkill for what this ole bachelor will ever use it for.

Foodsavers outsell the competition not because they are better, but because of their advertising. Unfortunately, in recent years, the quality has really declined. The biggest issue is their cheap and thin sealing bar.They make their money on their overpriced bags that usually fail after freezing product. You are better off buying a more expensive competitor's machine with a wide sealing bar that uses cheaper bags. The cheaper bags and lack of sealing failure will soon make up for the higher price paid for a better machine. i think the Foodsavers are made in the Peoples' Republic!

I'm happy with my Foodsaver. Independent surveys rate them quite highly. There are more expensive models out there that others feel are better built, and I can believe that.

I wait for the Foodsaver sales and load up on bags and rolls when they are discounted 40-60% making the prices reasonable. Also, haven't had a bag fail yet.

I'd also consider other models recommended in this thread if my Foodsaver doesn't give me decent service. Time will tell.

Glad to hear no bag failures Pags. Like I said, the thing impressed me, but it's my first one. It certainly is not what I would consider a cheapo model. I felt like I was probably spending more on it than I should, but I went ahead and got it.

Like you say, time will tell, but I bet it does just fine for my use.

Well just to let y'all know, I bought a Weston 2300 in November. Didn't want to get to out there about it until I'd used it a little. So far it's been great! I think the Foodsaver line is also real good based on their reviews/ratings and friends who are happy with them, plus those of you who feel the same. The Weston and the unit sold under the Cabella's label are made by the same mfg, so I am told, slight differences in controls. Anyway, I shopped online and got a decent price for a heck of bagger, IMO. Not cheap but I look at it kinda like the Cookshack line, give me function over form. We have used it weekly, with no complaints yet. In fact today I sealed up 7 bags from a 14lb brisket that finished yesterday, minus what the Mrs & I had for Easter dinner. Again, not trying to sell or convince, just passing on what I chose and how it's worked out. If things change, you can bet I'll let y'all know. Thanks to all for your opinions and help.
So long for now.

I have had a Foodsaver for 2-3 yrs. now, and use the unit on a very regular basis. I thought it was pretty pricy (about $140) when I purchased it, but have had no problems with the unit and it does a good job.

I'll probably look at other units when this one dies, but my only real complaint is the cost of the rolls of the bag material.

I have a Foodsaver and I'm just waiting for it to die. It's working ok but we have to double seal the bags or the seal will sometimes open.

As for the cost of the material, I found some rolls on eBay that seem to do better than the FS material for a lot less money.

I've been saving all the comments here on food sealers (like the Weston) so I'll be ready to go when my FS dies...

William-SWFL is spot-on! You bought a CS so you are willing to spend more for quality. No different with a Vacuum Sealer. You can buy a FS and throw it out after a few years,or buy one that costs twice as much, but will last forever. FS is mediocre at best!!

Been researching vacuum sealers. This one seems to be the most rock solid and will seal even wet. The heat bar never over heats, so you can seal bag after bag. This same machine has been around for over 25 years. It use to be a Tilla foodsaver.
VacUpack
Anyone have one of these?

I just bought the Vacupack Elite. It arrived yesterday. The construction quality is superb - much more substantial then the Foodsaver machines I seem to chew up and spit out.

Tested one bag and it worked perfectly. I'll be hitting Restaurant Depot this weekend so I expect to put it to work for real.

Picked up a Original Foodsaver (Tilia) just like the Vacupack I linked to above, in unused condition off ioffer.com. I heard a lot of negative stuff about ioffer, but I used a credit card and everything was great. Brand new and works perfectly. The best part is that Vacupack parts fit this unit. They are the same unit. This is one of the few repairable vacuum sealers out there. It was really cool to see the original 1988 photo copied user manual. It is hard to believe someone just let this sit in storage for 22 years. It came in the original box with two rolls of bags and jar sealer. Extremely powerful and seals even wet stuff. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a great vacuum sealer. If you can't find a used one, I would get it from VacUpack. There is a reason these are still around.

I think that I'm addressing this in the right place....

Anyway I recently bought a Vacmaster VP112 and think it's terrific. This is a "chamber" sealet and the price is dwon in the mid $600 range (if you shop). It gives me all the benefits of a commercial machine.

Just a tip of the day.

After days and weeks of research, just purchased VacMaster VP112. Apparent ease of use, price of bags and multitude of positive reviews did the trick. Also seriously considered Cabela's CG-15 and Weston Pro 2300. I'll report back after a few months. Hope I made the right choice. Anyone else out there that can offer opinion?

I will throw out a second for the vacmaster. I do a lot of sous vide cooking so I needed something that could handle the liquids. It is a bit expensive, but there are deals to be had. It is however, very heavy. I have the vp210, also the bags are quite a bit cheaper.