Vacuum Packer Recommendations
- Thread starter Highliner
- Start date
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/showthread.php?17363-Chamber-sealers
There pricey but worth it IMO.
There pricey but worth it IMO.
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
I've had the opposite experience with FoodSaver.
What sux is the mill thickness of their bags. I own a Food Saver Professional II ---maybe 5 years old (?) The one I had before that lasted for twenty years and pulled vacuums on thousands of pounds of fish fillets
The trick to dealing with their crappy vacuum sealer bags---
1)) always trim pin-bones with scissors
2)) always trim end pieces of skin that may have curled after smoking (and developed sharp points)
3)) leave at least 3 - 4 inches of bag that can go into the vacuum chamber
4)) build a small platform that raises the fillet (or meat product) up to the same level as the vacuum chamber prior to pulling a vacuum
5)) be somewhat gentle when stacking the finished packs in your freezer so there's minimal jostling and movement
I have large chunks of spring in my freezer from last June that have held their seals and will taste just fine when I bust them open for the BBQ
Ever since I started trimming my fish prior to pulling a vacuum, "leakers" have become a thing of the past for me
What sux is the mill thickness of their bags. I own a Food Saver Professional II ---maybe 5 years old (?) The one I had before that lasted for twenty years and pulled vacuums on thousands of pounds of fish fillets
The trick to dealing with their crappy vacuum sealer bags---
1)) always trim pin-bones with scissors
2)) always trim end pieces of skin that may have curled after smoking (and developed sharp points)
3)) leave at least 3 - 4 inches of bag that can go into the vacuum chamber
4)) build a small platform that raises the fillet (or meat product) up to the same level as the vacuum chamber prior to pulling a vacuum
5)) be somewhat gentle when stacking the finished packs in your freezer so there's minimal jostling and movement
I have large chunks of spring in my freezer from last June that have held their seals and will taste just fine when I bust them open for the BBQ
Ever since I started trimming my fish prior to pulling a vacuum, "leakers" have become a thing of the past for me
eaglemaniac
Well-Known Member
Very good tips sharphooks. I've had similar results with exactly your suggestions for many years. I'm not sure of the quality of Foodsavers these days but probably like everything else it's not made as well as it once was. If you can find an older Foodsaver 11 that's not worn out you might get a good one. With proper care and usage like sharpie said you might do well. Good Luck.
eman
emanI purchased a Foodsaver in 2000 from London Drugs and it still works well. What I don't like about mine, is you can only do about 3 to 4 seals then you have to wait while the unit cools down. To speed-up the over heating issue, I take a cold wash cloth and lay it on the sealing strip to cool it down quicker. The other issue that I have on mine, the protective strip that goes over the sealing element is pretty well shot on mine and I have not been able to find a replacement.
I recently purchased a new unit from Costco and it did not work as well as my old one, so I took it back.
In addition to what sharphooks recommends, just before I put the fish in the bags and seal them, I place the fish on cookie sheets and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours.
I recently purchased a new unit from Costco and it did not work as well as my old one, so I took it back.
In addition to what sharphooks recommends, just before I put the fish in the bags and seal them, I place the fish on cookie sheets and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours.
directmule
Member
We bought a Pro 2300 from here: http://www.vacsealers.com/ has worked great for the last 4 years, only time will tell.
A couple of questions,
Is the difference between the Pro 2100 and 2300 stainless steel case?
Can you run the unit for an extended period of time without having to wait for it to cool down?
directmule
Member
The Pro 2100 is white and the 2300 is s/s and yes you can run one after another without letting it cool down. I have put a empty coke can in a bag and it will crush the can.
If doing real wet meat it's best to dry it off first, also the inside of the roll or bag where it seals, before sealing it. We are very happy with ours, use it for corn, peas, beans, fish, meat etc.
Wife will go to Costco pick up large package of ribs or chicken, bring them home & place them in smaller amounts, vacuum them and then into the freezer. Had a bunch of sausage made
and it's all vacuumed packed.
If doing real wet meat it's best to dry it off first, also the inside of the roll or bag where it seals, before sealing it. We are very happy with ours, use it for corn, peas, beans, fish, meat etc.
Wife will go to Costco pick up large package of ribs or chicken, bring them home & place them in smaller amounts, vacuum them and then into the freezer. Had a bunch of sausage made
and it's all vacuumed packed.
Attachments
We have the FoodSaver 2240 - its white plastic and seems to work really well. Good advice from Sharphooks and ALK on how to get good results...especially like partially freezing the salmon chunks first.
There are a couple of reasons why the bags leak but the main one is is that the inside lip of the bag got wet as the food or fish was put in and that affected the seal...one way to avoid that is turn the bag inside out with your hand in it, pick up the food and then slip the bag back over your hand and food together taking care not to get the inside edge wet (like picking up dog crap).
Another thing that affects the bag is sharp bones or hard-pointy type foods....like granola. My wife will often just wrap the sharp item in a paper towel of two first before she bags it and that seems to work.
When we go down to the States she buys a load of replacement bags at Costco as is considerably cheaper than here.
There are a couple of reasons why the bags leak but the main one is is that the inside lip of the bag got wet as the food or fish was put in and that affected the seal...one way to avoid that is turn the bag inside out with your hand in it, pick up the food and then slip the bag back over your hand and food together taking care not to get the inside edge wet (like picking up dog crap).
Another thing that affects the bag is sharp bones or hard-pointy type foods....like granola. My wife will often just wrap the sharp item in a paper towel of two first before she bags it and that seems to work.
When we go down to the States she buys a load of replacement bags at Costco as is considerably cheaper than here.
Peahead
Well-Known Member
Absolutely spot on sharphooks- I have had great success with my relatively cheap Foodsaver Vac 800 doing exactly as you list. Placing the fish up to the height of the sealer with a book, towel or some sort of object is key. Also as Sharphooks says , don't be skimpy on how much extra space you leave between seal and fish. There can be no kinks or warp in the plastic material. I have vacuum packed whole sockeye with great success ! I would add one thing that I have found helpful. I "flash" freeze the fish first then make sure the frozen piece is lightly trimed of any sharp edges....then I vacuum pack. No fuss no mess. No liquid to seep into seal area - just clean off any ice chips or moisture on the plastic and seal area before sealing and viola ! My seal failure rate for fresh and smoked fish is about the same @roughly 5% failure of proper seal ( after a few hours check) Never needed to slow down due to overheat as the prep time inbetween each seal is long enough for cool down.
I did once have a batch of seal material that failed at every seal attempt -I took the batch back to the store and they said that Foodsaver did have a problem with a batch of faulty material. Never had a problem since then.
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Sculpin
Well-Known Member
I did and it is an amazing piece of equipment. It surpassed all my expectations. The only down side is the weight at 84 lbs it's not something you can just throw around lol. I posted up in the chamber sealer thread.
Highliner
Well-Known Member
Good to hear some first hand experience Sculpin. One of the biggest frustrations with my foodsaver is that the vacuum fails on many pieces after being moved around the freezer a bit. Drives me nuts. I can only assume that this won't happen with a $1,000 chamber style machine. Also, I think the bags are thicker, correct? Where do you get the so called cheap bags?
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
If you buy one from these guys and you join or already are a member of the black and red site you get a coupon for further discount. I am kicking myself for not reading about it etc.
http://www.qualitymatters.com/
I'll probably buy some bags off of them unless I can find a good source on the mainland or Victoria. These machines are so common commercially that's why the bags are cheaper. I still think one has to take some precautions with pin bones etc. but a 4 or 5 mil bag would be pretty tough. The big one for me was the sealing with zero moisture getting in there and it's a double seal bar so two lines instead of one.
Anyways I know it's alot of money but I'm hoping to not ever have to replace it in my lifetime. I have buddies that have a walk in cooler and alot of butchering equipment that we process our game meat with so this is sort of my contribution to the cause lol.
Highliner
Well-Known Member
As I mentioned to Sculpin, the vacuum basically fails on a number of pieces after they've been in the freezer a while. I've tried making sure that each piece is as dry as possible before sealing. Last time I went to use it, the heat sealer wouldn't work.
Highliner
Well-Known Member
Good to know Sculpin. Thanks for the info.
