Gellar
Well-known member
I do use butcher paper and seran wrap for large cuts of red meat, but I like to vacuum seal meat sticks, summer sausage, turkey etc that doesn’t seem to last as long.Butcher paper
Sell me a new vacuum sealer
- Thread starter Nick87
- Start date
Sask hunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
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Vacuum seal would be nice for sausage but we eat it quick enough and make small enough batches it’s not needed.
Gellar
Well-known member
A couple of us get together and make about 250 lbs at a time. It takes a week or two to eat through.
Bambistew
Well-known member
I had an old Food Saver (made in Austria? I think), and wore it out. I couldn't find replacement parts for it. It was 10x better than the new food saver, which lasted a year if that.
I've spent in inordinate amount of time researching a new chamber sealer. I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a good one this year.
I have a Weston 2300 vac sealer currently, and have used it for the last 5-6 years without a problem. Its probably sealed 2000 bags or more, and can seal two of the smaller bags at once with the 15" sealing bar, and it works very, very well, but has limitations. It however its not as good as a chamber vac. I borrowed my buddies Vacmaster to do my moose and ~250lbs of fish this year, about 350 bags. I also ran my Weston at the same time to make it go faster. The chamber seal is much better, it will get out 99.9% of the air vs about 98% with a vacuum sealer, which you have to actively work/force out as you seal. With fish it made a world of difference.
I've tried about every type/brand of vacuum bag out there. No matter what, you can't get all the air out of a bag with a lot of "waffles," even with a chamber vac. More waffles = more area for air to be trapped around each waffle. The difference between the waffle style and smooth chamber style bags is night and day for longevity. Each of those little waffles results in a tiny bit of air that you can't suck out, because the plastic will not deform perfectly around each waffle. Multiply that by 10000 times and you see what I mean. The LEM bags and design are the best of the best, IMO, but are also the most expensive. They have small channels about every inch, vs waffles.
My short list is the Vacmaster 210 I think it is, with oil pump. I have my doubts about the longevity of the cheaper chamber vacs with "dry" pumps. They're cheaper for a reason. I also have my doubts about replacement parts. MEAT! (meatyourmaker.com) is also on the short list, but I'm a bit reluctant due to them being relatively new. On the other hand they're half the price of the vacmaster. I've written off the rest after reading reviews, watching videos, etc. Really it comes down to oil/dry. I'm honestly surprised my Weston is still going for as much as its sealed over the years.
I've spent in inordinate amount of time researching a new chamber sealer. I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a good one this year.
I have a Weston 2300 vac sealer currently, and have used it for the last 5-6 years without a problem. Its probably sealed 2000 bags or more, and can seal two of the smaller bags at once with the 15" sealing bar, and it works very, very well, but has limitations. It however its not as good as a chamber vac. I borrowed my buddies Vacmaster to do my moose and ~250lbs of fish this year, about 350 bags. I also ran my Weston at the same time to make it go faster. The chamber seal is much better, it will get out 99.9% of the air vs about 98% with a vacuum sealer, which you have to actively work/force out as you seal. With fish it made a world of difference.
I've tried about every type/brand of vacuum bag out there. No matter what, you can't get all the air out of a bag with a lot of "waffles," even with a chamber vac. More waffles = more area for air to be trapped around each waffle. The difference between the waffle style and smooth chamber style bags is night and day for longevity. Each of those little waffles results in a tiny bit of air that you can't suck out, because the plastic will not deform perfectly around each waffle. Multiply that by 10000 times and you see what I mean. The LEM bags and design are the best of the best, IMO, but are also the most expensive. They have small channels about every inch, vs waffles.
My short list is the Vacmaster 210 I think it is, with oil pump. I have my doubts about the longevity of the cheaper chamber vacs with "dry" pumps. They're cheaper for a reason. I also have my doubts about replacement parts. MEAT! (meatyourmaker.com) is also on the short list, but I'm a bit reluctant due to them being relatively new. On the other hand they're half the price of the vacmaster. I've written off the rest after reading reviews, watching videos, etc. Really it comes down to oil/dry. I'm honestly surprised my Weston is still going for as much as its sealed over the years.
Bullshot
Well-known member
I have had a basic cheap foodsaver for 20+years, and it’s still going. I have lost count of the deer, elk, pronghorn and bear its done. I even bought a spare foodsaver 3 years ago for a trip just in case the older one broke and I still haven’t opened the box.
I upgraded to a vac master 215 chamber sealer last year and love it. Yes, they are expensive, but they are a commercial product and meant to high volume use. Between my animals and friends I generally package around 500 pounds of meat a year.
I had used several traditional out of chamber sealers and the quality of vacuum and seal is not anywhere near as good, also I can vac seal liquids and routinely save left over soup and other high moisture items and then can freeze and pop in a jet boil anytime I want a hot meal. The bags are also a lot cheaper.
I had used several traditional out of chamber sealers and the quality of vacuum and seal is not anywhere near as good, also I can vac seal liquids and routinely save left over soup and other high moisture items and then can freeze and pop in a jet boil anytime I want a hot meal. The bags are also a lot cheaper.
