"Food saver" system??

[pointingdogsrule]

I'm freezing broccoli and will soon be doing peas and beans (maybe meats). Does anyone out there "LIKE" a foodsaver system that they have??? I hear so many horror stories that they do not work as advertised and the vacuum often fail after a few years.

Any suggestions on any system.

Thanks in advance

good luck to all
the dog

 

[Bambistew]

I've burned up 2 of them in 3 years. But I usually do 300lbs+/- of fish amongst other things. The one I have now is the "Sportsman" version I got at Costco, it works ok, but I'm sure it will fail soon enough. I think their life span is about 2-3 years.

Cabelas markets a packer that cost about $350 or so, lots of guys around here have them and have been really happy with them.

My next 'vac-packer' will be the chamber type. They're pricey, but last for ever, and the bags are way cheaper, $110 per thousand vs. Food Saver bags @ $0.50 a piece.

 

[Phantom]

I've been using the foodsaver brand for the last 7-8 years. I found the key is to let the sealing strip cool down between seals or when making bags. I make the bags long enough to easily fit in the vacuum chamber rather than fighting a short one to seal. I run 200+ packages of venison through each year and it continues to work.

I pick up the foodsaver pre-made bags when on sale or when wife has coupon at Kohls. Starting using these last year and not only saves time from making bags (compared to buying bulk roles) but puts a little less wear and tear on the machine. I've been looking at the cabelas brand lately but saving $ for a better tent.

Definitely like the vacuum seals better than the plastic wrap/freezer paper routine.

 

[RJH]

only on my second in 15 years and the only thing I use. My wife also washes the used bags so we save a bit there too. Bought the first one new from them and the 2nd on ebay. We are happy camper with the machine.

 

[Goldtip]

My experience has been about the same as Bambistew's has, I've burned up a couple, and if you try and do too much meat without giving the machine a rest, it won't seal. I may try the Cabela's version next, as the bags that seal correctly, it does work very nicely.

 

[stillkickin]

Mine works about like I do, slow and infrequently. It works best for meat and white meated fish (walleye), any fish that is oily (lake trout)still tastes like frozen fish in a month or so.

I would like to know more about the chamber type, any one have a link?

 

[DavidKeenan]

On my second one in I don't know how many years. Majority of our stuff gets eat within two years anyway. Didn't work good on Berries first time but mcgiver figured that one out real quick. Only problem I've ever had is not sealing and I was trying to do it to quick with the rolls.

 

[Brudno]

Mine works about like I do, slow and infrequently. It works best for meat and white meated fish (walleye), any fish that is oily (lake trout)still tastes like frozen fish in a month or so.

I would like to know more about the chamber type, any one have a link?

http://www.cabelas.com/product/ARY-...WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products&Ntt=vaccum

 

[Big Fin]

I was sent this Oliso vacuum sealer to use and test. It is a very small unit and works way different than the many "Food Savers" I have been through. I have just started using it, so I don't have a lot of review to provide.

Here is how it works, which is way different from the Food Savers I have had.

You use their bags that have the extremely strong zip seal on the top. Put your items in the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, then close the top zip seal. At this time, there is still air in the bag, even though you have sealed the bag by zipping it.

Now comes the step of using the Frisper to suck the air out of the bag.

In most other vacuum units, the device sucks the air out the top of the bag, then heat seals the top of the bag. Not this unit.

This unit has you put the edge of the bag in the vacuum device, which is a small area on the unit. The unit punches a small hole near the edge of the bag, sucks out the air, then heat seals this little hole.

The bag is then air tight. To get your food, all you have to do is thaw the bag and open the top zip seal.

Good news is that the bag is then fully re-useable as the unit only put a little hole in it the first time, which was sealed after sucking the air out. Now, you just move a little further along the seam and make a new hole when using it the next time.

I'll admit that I was skeptical, especially for a unit that is so small. We took it fishing with us over the 4th of July weekend. We caught a lot of walleyes and wanted to freeze them the day they were caught, preserving them as best as we could.

It worked amazingly well. It has a dry mode for dry goods and a moist mode for wet items. It sucks the air out of there in a quick manner. It sucked all the air out of the bags and the walleyes are in these airtight bags, now in the freezer.

We are impressed so far, so we plan to use it for the rest of our vacuum sealing tasks.

Mrs. Fin is busy cooking her antelope lasagna, whitetail meatballs, elk chili, and all the other meals we take with us on filming episodes. She makes them, we vacuum seal it in packages, freeze it, then bring it with to camp. To cook it, all you do is heat a pot of water, drop the bag in the water for about ten minutes and you have hot home-cooked meals that are way better than any of the dehydrated stuff.

The unit is going to get a serious workout in the next month, so I can give a better report by the end of August. So far, very impressed, especially for such a small unit, and at that price.

Below is a link to their site.

http://www.oliso.com/index.php/prod...oliso-pro-1000-vacuum-sealer-starter-kit.html

 

[pointingdogsrule]

If it's that simple and that easy and works that good...... then one will be on my shelf. Hum.... got to check out the price of the unit and the bag price.

Price of the unit is not that out-of-line. Bags are .75 for quart and 1.00 for gallon.

Question: some of you mention cleaning the bags for re-use. How does one go about sterilizing the used bags???

Thanks for the info.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[DavidKeenan]

Not sure how everyone else cleans their used bags. I do coy mine a little bigger the first time and reuse. We use them on same type of product for one and turn inside out in dishwasher along with some extra bleach. Then wash again on regular cycle. Also these are put with regular dishirs and not necessarily alone.

I looked at the one fin posted. I Telly like the operation of it and a lot more reuses in store.

 

[6speed]

That little thing looks like just what I need. I was going to buy a food saver the next time they had a coupon at Costco but now I think I'll see if my wife wants to try one of them out. Thanks Fin.

 

[stillkickin]

Thanks Brudno, looks like I will have to get my Cabela's point total up a bit to buy one of those units.

 

[bdidaho]

Big Fin- Have you tried them in the hot water yet? And if so, how did they hold up? Back before they had vacuum sealers, we used to use the old Daisy Seal-a meal that just sealed the bags. I used that thing for everything just like you described. Some things sealed well and some things didn't but you could have a great meal in very little time and no dishes. The old bags were indestructable and you could boil the crap out of them if you double sealed them and I never had a bag fail. When I could no longer find the old bags, I started using the foodsaver but I have had several bags fail when the water got too hot or there was too much in the bag. Anybody else have that problem?
Just wondering how these would hold up. It is the slickest way to go for meals. All the prep is done at home in the kitchen and like you say, just put the bags in the hot water till they are warmed through(small amounts in several bags to increase the surface area helps) and your eating home cooked meals and there is virtually no clean up. I use a turkey fryer as my heat source because it has a large pot to hold enough for several people and will heat water in a fraction of the time a cook stove will. Makes quick work of a large pot of coffee in the morning too.
Anybody else use this method? Any other tips?
BD

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Kinda like you bdidaho..... we would put veges (corn, beans, peas) into the bags with pepper, salt and a good slab of butter and just boil them. Tasted just like they came from the garden that day.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[JohnSWA]

After burning up 2 foodsavers, I finally bought the Cabela's CG-15 and couldn't be happier! A little pricey, but well worth the investment in my opinion!