Lessons Learned About Vacuum Packing Machines...

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Ingomike

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    May 26, 2018
    28,174
    113
    North Central
    I have a Foodsaver brand machine and it has performed perfectly.

    Do not skimp on material, I picked up some commercially packed meat and they clearly did not cut it close. When I did I struggled to get it sealed. That one or two bags worth of material per roll saved was not worth the hassle of saving them.

    Large taller items in the 11 inch material seem to pull out and struggle to get the air out. I have to pull tightly on the side of the bag to keep it from pulling and wrinkling and not sealing.

    At the end of a roll there may be some wrinkles in the material, save the best end for vacuum sealing as the sealing alone does not seem to be affected as much.

    It seems most of my meat fits just fine in the 8 inch material so I use it a lot more. Fits individual steaks and chops perfect. Pairs of stacked steaks and chops fit fine as well.

    The 11 inch works well for pairs of chops or steaks side by side and they stack better in the freezer. I had thought that put putting a long strip steak sideways would work but it did not really work well for me.

    What suggestions can you add?
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    Sometimes flipping the bag and contents over will solve a problematic vac/seal.

    It's alright to toss the bag and start over with a new one occasionally. Life is too short to fight with a once in a while problematic bag.
     

    indyjohn

    PATRIOT
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    77   0   0
    Dec 26, 2010
    7,505
    77
    In the trees
    I have a Foodsaver as well. We have done a lot with it over the 3 years we've had it and have been very pleased.

    I have struggled with cutting the material too short to get a seal, trying to be frugal can sometimes result in tossing the first try and cutting a second a little longer. I had been using an 11" roll that just ran out and I was concerned with how the 8" was going to work. What I've seen is the butcher seems to cut to fit the 8" size, whether that's a standard or not I don't know.
     

    MRockwell

    Just Me
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Oct 4, 2010
    2,814
    129
    Noblesfield
    Here's a tip for buying family packs of boneless chicken breast and individually repackaging: I would occasionally get juice pulled up toward the sealing chamber, thus preventing a good seal. I now take a piece of paper towel(one section on the select-a-size) and fold it so it fits across the bag. This will collect the juice and provide a good seal.

    I sometimes do this with steaks, but it seems the chicken is more problematic.
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    Pre-freezing on cookie sheets is your friend for wet or juicy stuff. Fish fillets, strawberries, blueberries, etc.

    I vac/pac a fair amount of liquids, pulps and stuff like that. Bone broth pre-freezes in silicone muffin molds. Pumpkin pulp in a one pound chunk gets molded in a silicone mini load mold.

    If bulk ground beef isn't purchased in a usable tube, there are silicone burger molds out there that make 1/3 or 1/2 pound burgers in 2 pound lots. Vac/pac as many patty's as you choose per bag that thaw quickly.
     
    Last edited:

    bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    I've had mixed results with double sealing. I'm not completely sold on it. Maybe it's my affinity for buying cheap bulk bag rolls?

    It does take twice the time to double seal, to sometimes fail also.
     
    Last edited:

    2in1evtime

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 98.4%
    61   1   0
    Oct 30, 2011
    3,444
    113
    retired-midwest
    WE vacuum seal a lot of things in our household, meats get pre frozen if possible, we butcher our beef and pork ourselves mostly, but will take advantage good sales at the grocery store also. we vacuum seal flour in paper bags inside the vacuum bags. Have been thru a few vacuum sealers then bought a commercial it has lasted 6 years and still going.
     

    dprimm

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jan 13, 2013
    1,742
    83
    Just West of Indianapolis
    You can cut strips of the bag material, stick them inside a Mylar bag and vacuum seal them as well. Really reduces the volume. I still seal w an iron to be sure.

    BTW you still put the O2 absorber inside.
     

    Old Dog

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Mar 4, 2016
    1,377
    97
    Central Indiana
    I agree with bwf on pre-freezing. I have placed berries, or store bought sausage in the vacuum bag, fold the top down and put the package it the freezer overnight. Takes care of the moisture issue. Tried the paper towel trick and gave it up for freezing. You have to make sure the bags are long enough and do not have any wrinkles in the vacuum area too.
     

    Roadman

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Nov 21, 2019
    53
    8
    Nashville
    We grind our meat and the run it through the stuffer with a patty maker attachment installed. Then we layer the patties on a tray to freeze with waxed butcher paper between the layers. Next, the trays are enclosed in large bags and frozen over night. Finally, the frozen patties are separated from the wax paper, vacuum sealed in quantities of choice and loaded in the freezer. They last for a good long while and the preformed patties are very convenient.
     

    Jackson

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 31, 2008
    3,335
    63
    West side of Indy
    Double seal all bags, it costs nothing and keeps them air tight.

    I've had mixed results with double sealing. I'm not completely sold on it. Maybe it's my affinity for buying cheap bulk bag rolls?

    It does take twice the time to double seal, to sometimes fail also.


    Bought a sealer recently and have been double sealing just because two is better than one, I guess.

    When you say you've gotten mixed results are you saying that sometimes the double seal performs worse than single? Or are you saying its maybe only as good as single and not worth the effort? Is there a downside to it?
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    Bought a sealer recently and have been double sealing just because two is better than one, I guess.

    When you say you've gotten mixed results are you saying that sometimes the double seal performs worse than single? Or are you saying its maybe only as good as single and not worth the effort? Is there a downside to it?

    If you a doing a bag or two, double sealing is fine. If you have a big batch, the time involved gets to be an issue.

    It seems as if the brand of (cheap bulk roll) bag is more important than the seal. I have had double seals fail the same as single.

    Maybe it's my foodsavers? Moisture, soiled sealer area? Timing could be an issue in a hot kitchen, when working with pre-frozen food before it begins to thaw?

    Possibly if you use the expensive foodsaver brand bags, there will be no sealing problems at all?
     
    Last edited:

    cburnworth

    Expert
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 13, 2010
    999
    93
    Some of the cheaper rolls are wrinkled all the way through. Also make sure the foam is clean & in the slots all the way or it will not seal correctly. I will have to try the freeze before vac/seal. The one thing i tried awhile back with the ground beef was just smashing it thin in the bag instead of big rolls of it. The beef cooks faster this way.
     

    Jackson

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 31, 2008
    3,335
    63
    West side of Indy
    If you a doing a bag or two, double sealing is fine. If you have a big batch, the time involved gets to be an issue.

    It seems as if the brand of (cheap bulk roll) bag is more important than the seal. I have had double seals fail the same as single.

    Maybe it's my foodsavers? Moisture, soiled sealer area? Timing could be an issue in a hot kitchen, when working with pre-frozen food before it begins to thaw?

    Possibly if you use the expensive foodsaver brand bags, there will be no sealing problems at all?

    I have only used the foodsaver brand bags. I have noticed an apparent material feel or thickness difference between rolls of the same brand.

    I have had seal issues due to moisture. The paper towel dam noted above seems to help. I've used a totally unscientific test of trying to pull the seal apart by hand. The biggest variables I've noted are bag cleanliness and moisture sucked in to the seal. I am a complete noob though. So its interesting to hear everyone's experience.
     

    AngryRooster

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    18   0   0
    Apr 27, 2008
    4,591
    119
    Outside the coup
    Probably going to end up with one of these soon. I did some dry canning today, 4 half gallon jars of pasta. It was the first time I tried it and I ended up with condensation on the inside of the jars. They all popped and sealed properly, but there was a good amount of pasta that got wet, changed color, and poofed up. I let them sit overnight, at 2am I got up to get a drink and looked at them. The moisture appeared to be gone and the pasta looked dry again. I'm not sure about long term with it though. I saw how wet they looked and didn't like it. These will get eaten first and not put away into storage.

    I'm thinking a vac sealer with a jar attachment and maybe a few oxygen absorbers, along with freezing it first, will be the way to go. A pressure canner is already in the 'save for later' cart.
     

    Ingomike

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    May 26, 2018
    28,174
    113
    North Central
    Being new to this I have had just a few not seal, and two that lost seal overnight. If they are sealed after a week, are they mostly sealed for good?
     

    MRockwell

    Just Me
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Oct 4, 2010
    2,814
    129
    Noblesfield
    Being new to this I have had just a few not seal, and two that lost seal overnight. If they are sealed after a week, are they mostly sealed for good?

    That's been my experience. I have some homemade chewy granola bars that I sealed about 8 years ago...found one in my camping provisions box last fall and it's still sealed.
    I have had some peaches that lost the seal after I put them in the freezer. I didn't check on them ad when I found out, they were a little frosty but not freezer-burned.
     

    indyjohn

    PATRIOT
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    77   0   0
    Dec 26, 2010
    7,505
    77
    In the trees
    Being new to this I have had just a few not seal, and two that lost seal overnight. If they are sealed after a week, are they mostly sealed for good?

    Trying to be polite, but, if you're losing seal you're doing something wrong. I've never lost seal on any that I've produced, and I don't think that is luck. Tool, material, or technique. One or more is faulty.
     
    Top Bottom