My New Chamber Vac & Questions about bags (Best sizes? Sources?)

[cayenne]

Hello everyone!!

Well, after a ton of research, questions on the forum here...and discovering some 'found money' on a recent tax refund, I overspent a bit from what I'd originally planned and went for "Buy Once, Cry Once" and purchased the Avid Armor GS53.

For it's first seal...I found a couple of bags of opened yeast from my Home Brewing activities and figured would be good for a practical first test:

My pup makes a guest appearance there too, giving her review on the noise level of the vac sealer.


Anyway, now that I have this...I'm wondering from the collective out there.....bag questions.

What sizes do you find you use the most?

Do you buy pre-made bags, or work mostly from rolls?

What bands do you find to be the best...or does it really make any difference at all (a bag is a bag is a bag..?).

I know I can use the bags for chamber or external sealers...usually the chamber ones are cheaper I find.

Also, where do you buy your bags from? Amazon? Somewhere else for best price?

Thank you in advance!!

cayenne

 

[SmokinEdge]

Vacuum sealers unlimited.com is a good resource for all things vacuum sealing.

 

[Ducksmoke]

I don't use a chamber vac, I've used a Weston 2300 for years, but bag sizes are the same.

Probably 80% of my usage is the 8X12 quart sized bags, 15% 6X10 pints, then a few 11X16 gallon. I use almost all premade bags, once or twice a year i'll make a long bag from a roll for something odd. I haven't bought a roll in several years.

I like the bags from Avid Armour, and Weston, don't know how their chamber bags are but I'd assume there the same quality as their other bags.
I hear good things about vacuum sealers unlimited, but i'm happy with what ive been using.
I buy from Amazon in 100+ and 200+ size packages.

I use my sealer on a daily basis so I go through alot of bags.

 

[txsmkmstr]

When I bought my AvidArmor chamber vac I also ordered one package of each size they offered at the time. I have since re-ordered only one size - the 6x12. I use those for 2-packs of burgers or pork steaks, a dozen chicken drumettes, etc. FYI - AvidArmor does offer free shipping over 50 bucks.....

 

[bschoen]

Chamber bags are far less $$s than vacuum bags, so get them. As for size, kind of like condoms, it varies by person, are you bagging up tea bags or pork butts?

 

[locolobo]

As for size, kind of like condoms, it varies by person, are you bagging up tea bags or pork butts?

Me too not a chamber user, but I buy rolls to tailor to my load for my vac. sealer

 

[cayenne]

I see different thicknesses of bags....3mil, 4 mil...5mil...
Is there a reason to favor thicker over thinner?

As for what I'll be bagging....yes, some pork butts.....then home cured sliced bacon....
And lately I'm trying to buy more primal cuts of beef and separating them mself....so, some other cuts of beef.

Thanks for all the info so far!!

C

 

[txsmkmstr]

I see different thicknesses of bags....3mil, 4 mil...5mil...
Is there a reason to favor thicker over thinner?

My 3mil AA bags only had an issue with a chicken bone (don't recall which part) and the metal end on a chub of hamburger - which I now know to remove. I guess if you routinely seal things with sharp edges you might consider going thicker. JMHO

 

[The_Kapn]

I am on my second VacMaster sealer and have used several thousand bags.
I have tried many sized bags, both purchased and home-made. But I keep coming back to the basic sizes--Gal, Qt, and Pint. Gallon is used the least but is my go-to for beans, soups, etc.
I have always used 3 mil and never had a need for a supply of thicker.
The only "poke-through" I have is with the pointy sharp end of baby back rib bones. I just sacrifice a bag and cut it up to line the bag at the point of the bone. Problem solved for a few pennies
Other than that, I have never had a bag failure if properly sealed.

Best of luck and enjoy it!

TIM

 

[SmokinEdge]

I see different thicknesses of bags....3mil, 4 mil...5mil...
Is there a reason to favor thicker over thinner?

As for what I'll be bagging....yes, some pork butts.....then home cured sliced bacon....
And lately I'm trying to buy more primal cuts of beef and separating them mself....so, some other cuts of beef.

Thanks for all the info so far!!

C

I like the 4-5mm bags. Things like sharp bone edges or even packages being stacked and moved around in the freezer can rub or cut holes in the thin bags. Bacon isn’t really an issue but it still gets a thick bag in my freezer. Go thicker on bag mm.