Vacuum Sealer

[TXGunNut]

I have a Foodsaver sealer that has a bunch of hours on it, figured I'd get one more year out of it before upgrading. I was wrong. I wandered thru the Bargain Cave at my local fun store and found a $449 commercial sealer marked $144, less another 15% so my actual cost was $122. Didn't come with a box or manual but I watched the video on the website and don't need anymore boxes. Headed out Thursday to find something to stuff in those bags and give it a good test run. :bigsmyl2:

[coloraydo]

TxGunNut, sounds like a good score. Did that unit happen to come with the hose attachment? If so, there is a lot of stuff you can vacuum pack in canning jars, with the purchase of just a few more attachments. We have been putting up a BUNCH of dry goods this way for several years, and still tastes as fresh today as the day we put them up.:bigsmyl2:

[TXGunNut]

Hose was properly stowed away but I never used it on my other sealer. Was a bit disappointed to find the roll storage compartment empty but I have plenty of them around here.

[MaryB]

Sweet deal! Good source for bulk bags etc http://www.goodmans.net/d/204/tilia-foodsaver-bags-rolls.htm

[TXGunNut]

Thanks, Mary. Looks like some very good prices. I saved the link, have plenty of bags for this season but will (hopefully) need to replenish them in a few weeks. I don't see much difference in bags, pretty sure most are supplied by the same company, possibly these Tilia folks.

[MaryB]

The air grooves in these are not quite as deep. My sealer had to much down pressure on the bag and closed them off so I had to adjust the door lever.

[nrdewalt]

Uline has the bags as well and ships super quick but he shipping cost can be a bit pricy depending on what your buying..

[charlie3tuna]

TxGunNut, sounds like a good score. Did that unit happen to come with the hose attachment? If so, there is a lot of stuff you can vacuum pack in canning jars, with the purchase of just a few more attachments. We have been putting up a BUNCH of dry goods this way for several years, and still tastes as fresh today as the day we put them up.:bigsmyl2: Would dry goods packed in bags be as fresh and last as long as goods packed in canning jars? Thanks....charlie

[charlie3tuna]

TxGunNut, sounds like a good score. Did that unit happen to come with the hose attachment? If so, there is a lot of stuff you can vacuum pack in canning jars, with the purchase of just a few more attachments. We have been putting up a BUNCH of dry goods this way for several years, and still tastes as fresh today as the day we put them up.:bigsmyl2: Would dry goods packed in bags last as long and be as fresh as packing in canning jars? Which way is cheaper? Thanks....charlie

[charlie3tuna]

Whoops ! charlie

[MaryB]

Canning jar is oxygen proof for a much longer period of time. Plastic bags eventually let oxygen infiltrate, 2-3 years and it will start to be loose on what ever is inside.

[charlie3tuna]

Canning jar is oxygen proof for a much longer period of time. Plastic bags eventually let oxygen infiltrate, 2-3 years and it will start to be loose on what ever is inside. Thanks a bunch, Mary ! The oxygen proof nature of glass vs plastic settles it for me....charlie

[MaryB]

I used rice last weekend, popped the lid without bending it, took out what I needed, vac sealed the lid and back into the cabinet until I need it again. Bug proof if there are eggs in the rice or pasta because they need O2 to hatch out.

[dragon813gt]

That was a good score. My foodsaver gives me fits on long runs. I've been wanting to upgrade but not at the cost of the commercial units.

[Garyshome]

Just got my First food saver in the mail today! I'm a Newbie!

[TXGunNut]

Just got my First food saver in the mail today! I'm a Newbie!


Good move! Used one for years, served me well. Still seems to work OK.

[coloraydo]

I used rice last weekend, popped the lid without bending it, took out what I needed, vac sealed the lid and back into the cabinet until I need it again. Bug proof if there are eggs in the rice or pasta because they need O2 to hatch out.

Yep, this is exactly what we do also. No degradation at all.[smilie=w:

[Wasalmonslayer]

Great score txgunnut.
I have that same one and been workin it's guts out on salmon, walleye, deer sausage, elk sausage it's been fantastic.
Just like you I ran a food saver for a long time once you use the new one there's no lookin back.
I think it could suck start a harly!!!!

[MaryB]

I am on food saver #4 since they came out back in the 80's... but mine get heavy use, vac bag 1/4 beef and 1/2 a pig every year plus vac bagging chicken, bulk dry goods... for bulk storage look for 5 gallon buckets and gamma seal lids. In those I use a large mylar bag, drop in some O2 absorbers and iron the end shut

[Lloyd Smale]

im on my third and last food saver. Like was said for big jobs it gets frustrating waiting for it to cool down. My buddy has one of the commercial Weston units and its hands down a better machine.

[CastingFool]

We have a Game Saver vacuum sealer. One of the features it has is that you can heat seal a bag without turning on the vacuum. It's simple to reseal a large bag of chips, for later use.

[dragon813gt]

im on my third and last food saver. Like was said for big jobs it gets frustrating waiting for it to cool down. My buddy has one of the commercial Weston units and its hands down a better machine.

I bagged up about fifteen pounds of ground beef in one pound lots about two weeks ago. It started acting up three pounds in. I had to unplug it to get it to work again. Am I safe to assume that mine is on it's way out?

[TXGunNut]

I bagged up about fifteen pounds of ground beef in one pound lots about two weeks ago. It started acting up three pounds in. I had to unplug it to get it to work again. Am I safe to assume that mine is on it's way out?


Could be. I'd start looking to catch one on sale soon. Had a grinder give it up when I started a batch of sausage. I'm convinced that processing game requires commercial quality equipment. Other units are for occasional use.

[MaryB]

I lay a blue ice bag inside the vac chamber and close the door for faster cool down when doing a large amount. Still a pain though. But a commercial grade machine hasn't been in my budget


im on my third and last food saver. Like was said for big jobs it gets frustrating waiting for it to cool down. My buddy has one of the commercial Weston units and its hands down a better machine.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup me too. Seems every time my food savers have taken a **** I needed one fast and was short on funds.
I lay a blue ice bag inside the vac chamber and close the door for faster cool down when doing a large amount. Still a pain though. But a commercial grade machine hasn't been in my budget

[Lloyd Smale]

wize words. Ive learned to figure out what you need to do the job and go to a unit double in size. It used to take me 3 hours to prep meat for a 20lb summer sausage batch with my old grinder. that second grind was miserable in that #8 grinder. With my big #32 I can do the same job in an hour and do it with a smile on my face instead of wanting to kill anyone that walked into the room. that food saver about gives me the same attitude when it quits and needs to be cooled down and id probably get to heaven easier with a commercial unit just because it would probably cut back my yearly swearing in half. :shock:
Could be. I'd start looking to catch one on sale soon. Had a grinder give it up when I started a batch of sausage. I'm convinced that processing game requires commercial quality equipment. Other units are for occasional use.

[georgerkahn]

I chanced upon a (rare!) free-to-me food saver, with us already having and using one in kitchen. Wife chided me re my becoming a 'hoarder', but I assured her it would be used in shop. Vac-sealing pin-tumbled brass keeps it as shiny as when first out of tumbler; steel parts (misted with oil, of course) don't rust. And, regardless of use, surly neatens things up. I use the roll version (as opposed to bag) for most, so there is both little waste, and incredible value -- one roll seems to last for quite the long time.
BEST!
georgerkahn

[MaryB]

On flights I use the food saver to seal the bag of stuff that can possibly spill. At least half the trip I have less worry about someone cramming something into the overhead hard enough to rupture a toothpaste tube or shampoo/conditioner tube. Used it on a canoe trip to when I was younger to stuff spare shirts in a gallon bag and vac it flat. Same for some extra pants/shorts/underwear. And I made 4 separate bags of dry socks. Same clothes for 2 days in is fine, once there I want something clean and dry during the week we spent fishing the remote lake. After portaging boots were always wet inside so end of the day they came off the dry and I had nice dry socks from one of the little pint bags. And with everything packed so flat I had extra room for some gourmet food goodies.

[TXGunNut]

Well, I've enjoyed as much reading and coffee as I feel entitled to this morning. I have 50+ lbs of deer and hog that need to go into the freezer today. Will focus on deboning and packaging and hope to have a pile of roasts, chunks (for sausage and stews) in bigger bags along with liver, heart and choice cuts in smaller bags a few hours from now.
The FoodSaver is a good machine and isn't cheap, quite honestly it has served me well and I'll use it some today for the smaller bags. The commercial machine will speed things up a bit and will be a nice addition. I'm glad I'm not starting this project with just that FoodSaver on the counter.

[Themoose]

I'm on my 4th FoodSaver in about 20 years... and over 100 deer and a whole bunch of chicken, pork and beef when on sale... seemed like my Foodsaver's alway crapped out at the worst time... after last year's problem, I ponied up and bought A VacMaster chamber machine... a whole lot more investment upfront, but the bags are a whole lot cheaper... time will tell if my decision was right, but so far, I think I like the chamber machine over the Foodsaver design.

[jmort]

For light/moderate use the Food Saver has worked well. I have no doubt there are much better options for heavy duty.

[dragon813gt]

I ponied up and bought A VacMaster chamber machine... a whole lot more investment upfront, but the bags are a whole lot cheaper... time will tell if my decision was right, but so far, I think I like the chamber machine over the Foodsaver design.

Which one did you buy? There are three different ones at a somewhat reasonable price point. I understand the difference between the 210 and 215 is the pump.

[Themoose]

I bought the VP112....it has the big pump, but a smaller overall size.. it weighs about 50 lbs... has a removable and replaceable sealer bar...

[dragon813gt]

That one has the port for doing mason jars as well, correct?

[Themoose]

Yes it does have the port, tho I have not used it yet

[TXGunNut]

Bummer, finally got started processing critters and discovered the "new" sealer was an absolute no-go. Powered up but would not vacuum or seal. To be fair I bought it in the Bargain Cave "as-is" "factory repair" but even so it still has to work. Old FoodSaver worked for awile but it wimped out about ten pounds into a 50+ pound project. Cabelas has the improved model on sale today so it's not such a bad thing.
Really didn't want to process meat today anyway, off to Cabelas!

[Elkins45]

I have the small FoodSaver brand that my brother gave my dad for Christmas about 15 years ago. It does 2-3 deer a year and seems to still be going strong. I like it MUCH better than freezer paper for freezing meat. I found a tenderloin this fall marked 2010 that had hidden in the corner of the freezer and it was still perfectly edible.

[TXGunNut]

Crisis averted, got full credit on the Bargain Cave unit and caught the new & improved unit $120 off and even got the additional $20 off from the online price. Just watched the instructional DVD and will finish up what I started and call it a day. It was worth a try, no harm done.
My Foodsaver is several years old but not used especially heavy. Guess that's another thing they don't make as well as they used to.

[georgerkahn]

Good things happen to good people... So happy for you, your making the trip to Cabelas was most productive. I've always had good experiences with this vendor, but (unfortunate for me) with my last purchase I learned they opened a store in my state, so albeit the retail store is many hundred miles away from my location -- New York 8% sales tax is now added to all purchases. Bummer!
Congrats on your trip being a great one!
BEST!
georgerkahn

[TXGunNut]

Yes, seems they are opening up stores all over the country this year and next. You'd think it would be upstate but I may be mistaken about their target demographics.
New sealer is working great, finally got started again and just finished putting 31 pounds of pork (not including 12 lbs of fat!) into the freezer. Still have a deer to process but my poor old bones are taking a much-needed break.

[TXGunNut]

Whew! Just put the last of 44 lbs of venison in the freezer! [smilie=w:Happiness is a full freezer, even if it doesn't get to shut off until sometime tomorrow or Tuesday. That includes heart and liver but still more than I expected. Nice sized spike but I generally figure 30 for S TX whitetail.

[MaryB]

Last spike I got put 80 pounds of meat in the freezer... big deer up here though. Corn fed and fat. We had one buck break 300pounds hanging weight. And 200 pound does are common.

[TXGunNut]

We see 200 lb live weight where I live, just very few of them. I was shooting at Camp Dodge in IA one year many years ago and saw a hoofprint from one of those 300 lb critters that ya'll call deer, had no idea a whitetail could get that big. I've been on management hunts where they were so stunted I could tote a deer without putting my rifle down.