Vacuum Sealers

mick

mick

Knows what a fatty is.
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I have a question about Vacuum Sealers. Last night I fried another FoodSaver. I go through one about every 2 years. The main reason is I do a lot of fish. This year has been an epic tuna season and we’re still catching Yellowfin, Bluefin, Albacore, Yellowtail and Dorado. Seriously, my house is a wreck, the screen door fell off 2 weeks ago, my lawn is badly overgrown, my dog barks at me when I come home (she’s forgotten who I am) but I’ve got a freezer full of tuna! So now it’s time to start smoking and processing all this fish. Before I go out and buy another FoodSaver, I want to consider some options.

Do any of you have any experience with the VacMaster chamber style vacuum sealer? I’ve been looking at the SVP-15 and the new VP-215. I know they cost more but the bags are like 4 cents apiece instead of the 30 cent cost of a FoodSaver bag. I’m thinking it will last me a lot longer. Any thoughts or even a recommendation on another manufacturer or model would be appreciated.

Thanks,

mick
 
Is there a reason that you keep roasting vacuume sealers? I've had mine for two years and no problems at all.....you may want to check voltage under load to make sure you don't have a voltage drop.....that will smoke an appliance pretty quick.
 
jpw23 said:
Is there a reason that you keep roasting vacuume sealers? I've had mine for two years and no problems at all.....you may want to check voltage under load to make sure you don't have a voltage drop.....that will smoke an appliance pretty quick.
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I was thinking the same thing... What died? The vacume pump or the sealer?

My bigest problem was burning out the sealer strips... Then I started leaving the unit open between seals and never doing more than 2 seals a minute...

Sorry, no experiance with the VacMaster...
 
It's the motor or pump. The problem with external vacuum sealers is they draw liquids toward the mouth of the bag. Once that liquid gets into the system it's toast. A chamber vac can handle the liquid with no problem.

mick
 
Do you leave a lot of empty bag space between the fish and the sealing location to allow for the liquid? Do you put a single folded up paper towel all the way across the bag between the fish and the sealing location to catch the excess liquid as called for in the instructional CD?



.
 
TysDad said:
Do you leave a lot of empty bag space between the fish and the sealing location to allow for the liquid? Do you put a single folded up paper towel all the way across the bag between the fish and the sealing location to catch the excess liquid as called for in the instructional CD?



.
Click to expand...

Great ideas. I leave plenty of room but it still will draw the liquid through the top. The paper towel trick does work but you need to fold it so it fits all the way across the top. That's fine for 1 or 2 fish but it's been limits for my buddy and I. That means hours of cleaning and packing. It just seems like I need something better suited to my needs and having to use a paper towel is a pain. That's why I'm considering a better unit.

mick
 
Even if you're going through them every 2 years, it would take 20 years of burning through FoodSavers to spend the equivalent to this new unit!

Just sayin'.
 
embo500 said:
Even if you're going through them every 2 years, it would take 20 years of burning through FoodSavers to spend the equivalent to this new unit!

Just sayin'.
Click to expand...

You need to consider the cost of the bags. 30 cents per bag vs. 4 cents per bag. BTW, the better grade of foodsaver is about $150, so that's 16 years to the break even point plus the savings on the bags.

mick
 
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Try partially freezing the fish then vac sealing. That will solve the liquid problem.
 
keend said:
Try partially freezing the fish then vac sealing. That will solve the liquid problem.
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That method works great for a lot of food. I make up a bunch of hamburgers at a time and pre-freeze them so they wont crush when I vacu-suck them individually. Anytime we want a quick burger I just take out what we need and toss them on the grill frozen (less the bag of course) works great.
 
Let's see if you go through one foodsaver every two years the return on investment on those is just shy of 25 years...

Doesn't seem like the invest ment I'd make.
 
Try partially freezing the fish then vac sealing. That will solve the liquid problem.
Click to expand...

That what i would suggest.......or you could catch and release:wink:

Paul
 
HB-BBQ said:
That method works great for a lot of food. I make up a bunch of hamburgers at a time and pre-freeze them so they wont crush when I vacu-suck them individually. Anytime we want a quick burger I just take out what we need and toss them on the grill frozen (less the bag of course) works great.
Click to expand...
I do that with ABT's for my customers... I do 5 pounds of peppers at once... Clean the peppers, stuff, wrap, and place on a 1/2 sheet pan and put in the freezer over night... They are hard as a rock and then I cryo-suck them... I actually package them 24 to a bag so when I'm having people over just grab a bag or two and I'm ready to rock!
 
I ended up getting the Cabela's model that's similar to Jay's. I picked it up in the Bargain Cave for $199, and it's a workhorse.
 
As posted before, I love mine and the 15" bag will do a whole pork butt or brisket. There are a few things that I pre- freeze to keep the juices at bay. It's the best sealer that you can buy, without going with a full blown sealed meat business. I buy the 500' 15" rolls and make my own size bags. For smaller items, I use the Food Saver rolls from Sam's Club. Alot of folks don't know that meat or anything else will last for a year and a half in the vaccume seal bags as opposed to 10 months in standard freezer paper. I buy alot of fresh produce from the local Amish. Last year the green beans were great and a good price. Unfortunately something came up and I couldn't can them as I would usually do. I didn't want to waste them , so I sealed them in the vaccume bag. 8 Months later, I thawed them ( not expecting much) , but they were as fresh as the day I snapped them.
 
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