vacum sealers

[michael ark]

I am looking to get a vacuum sealer . Here is what i'm looking at.http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Seal...vacuum+sealers
I know nothing about them as this will be my first one. Any help will be appreciated.

[Jlynnp]

I have that one and love it. It is my second Foodsaver, I wore the first one out.

[big rockpile]

We've had two Vacum Sealers and went to Wrapping Meat with Cling Wrap, then putting it in Zip Lock Bags. Main thing is pushing all the Air out of the Zip Locks.

Burger we press it in Burger Bags, tie with Twist Ties.

We keep Meat for a year + this way.

big rockpile

[Gravytrain]

Michael, what will you be using it for? Light food preservation or are you processing your own livestock?

[HoofPick]

This is the one I have V4880 and I love it. I mainly use the precut bags instead of the rolls to make freezer meals. My favorite feature is the pulse button. It allows you to control when it pulls a vacuum. That way you can do soft things like bread for freezing without crushing it. The mason jar attachments are great for dried goods.

[ksfarmer]

I've got this one, and love it. Very efficient for the price. http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Game...vacuum+sealers

[coolrunnin]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

We've had two Vacum Sealers and went to Wrapping Meat with Cling Wrap, then putting it in Zip Lock Bags. Main thing is pushing all the Air out of the Zip Locks.

Burger we press it in Burger Bags, tie with Twist Ties.

We keep Meat for a year + this way.

big rockpile

Are you trying to say this cheaper? Because I'm not seeing it.

[osbmail]

Have a old foodsaver it is made in Italy and very heavy.I burned up a newer one and after reading online reviews I bought this used one for 25 bucks it works good.I love the look and idea of vac bags but they have problems they can be a pain to get seal right always need a much larger bag than what ever you are sealing.You can't seal anything that is has sharp bones.Also they don't take will to being moved around in the freezer easy put a hole in them.The cost for the bags is crazy. I only use them for steaks-chops and roast.I am think of going to using zip bags,cling wrap and butchers paper and salt curing meats.Again I do love the look and how vac bags work just a lot of downfalls

[Ozarks Tom]

I asked about sealers on the Preserving the Harvest forum, and bought the V4880 Foodsaver. We've only used it 3 times so far, but it's done everything we asked of it, including vacuum sealing jars (you get the jar sealers separately). Seems well made.

[hippygirl]

The next one I'm going to get is from this website...https://www.sorbentsystems.com/sinbosealer.html

You can use regular (non textured) bags with this unit...WAY cheaper than the FS bags.

[motdaugrnds]

I've been using double zip-locks and simply adding well water to the bag, taking the water out as I zip it. This keeps air out and negates freezer burn...much cheaper than purchasing a machine.

[tylorklein]

I went through two of the foodsaver brand ones (a cheapo and one of the nicer ones) in about 6 years so just recently picked up the Cabelas commercial grade when they had it onsale (like $80 off - occurs pretty regularly it seems). Have only been using it for a few months but works great (some useful features like double seal as well and manual vacuum) and sure seems to be a lot sturdier than the foodsaver units. Also the vacuum tray is a lot larger so would take a lot of volume to get liquid to the motor I think which I understand is likely the cause of death for the prior units.

[michael ark]

It will be for home use and to pack up some hogs for freezer camp. I like the marinade function of the one i posted.

[Astrid]

We love the FOodsaver and have used a number of different models. The ones that are the most user friendly are those that have the cutting tool to be able to cut rolls. Buying bags gets expensive so buying rolls and making your own bags saves money. I made the mistake of buying a very inexpensive model which didn't have the cutting tool and spent a season having to cut everything by hand which is a pain and wastes bags.

[Mallow]

My family has several of this model that we all use:

http://www.amazon.com/Weston-65-0201.../dp/B001GP81R2

Bags are fairly cheap in bulk and works like a champ on anything we have needed to seal.

[Gravytrain]

I've had several Foodsavers including their top of the line model. I've sealed thousands of pounds of walleye and perch, as well as sweet corn, beef, pork and chicken. It is a pain in the butt getting a good reliable seal on moisture rich foods like fresh meat. I either have to place the meat inside the bags then prefreeze it before sealing, OR place a folded paper towel on top of the meat before sealing. This isn't a big deal if you say, buy a pork loin to cut up and vacuum seal. But if you are processing a whole hog or cow it sucks...(pun intended).

My friend has one like Mallow posted above. Much, much better than any Foodsaver I've ever seen. My butcher also has one very similar as well as a chamber sealer such as this one: Vacmaster

Chamber sealers are pretty slick as you can seal liquids like chili, broth, soup or tomato sauce, but they are pricey.

You can marinate with pretty much any vacuum sealer Michael.

[michael ark]

Ok. Ya'll did what i thought ya'll would and made some great points.So is vacuum master sealer better than food saver ?At this point lets just say i have $200 to $400 to spend what would be your choice and why?

[michael ark]

I also started seeing 15 in sealers so i thought about spare ribs .Can the normal 12 in do spare ribs? I am ignorant on this and require all the input that i can get.

[Gravytrain]

If you had $400 to spend, and you were planning on processing your own livestock, I would get a Weston Pro 2100 or 2300. You won't find a decent chamber vacuum sealer for $400 I don't believe.

If you buy the rolls instead of the bags, you can make them as long as you want them. So as long as the width will fit, you'll be fine. I just butchered an 850# boar, but I wrapped the ribs in butcher paper instead of vacuum sealing them...ribs don't last that long around here.

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by coolrunnin

Are you trying to say this cheaper? Because I'm not seeing it.

Something I've found I can depend on.

big rockpile