Vacuum Sealer, Food Saver, Coupons and Saving Money.

[dmccarty]

We have been looking to buy a vacuum sealer aka FoodSaver for years. The problem was that every time I would start researching models and brands, the number of bad reviews scared me away. For the last week or so I started up researching again and the reviews were bothering me. They still are but we bought a FoodSaver anyway.

We are dehydrating quite a bit of food every weekend. The problem is that we eat most of it quickly. :laughing: However, we know next spring, when we can get local fruits cheap, we will dehydrate even more food so we need a better way to store the food. We plan on getting to a nearby apple orchard soon since dehydrated apples are really good and store well. Piggly Wiggly just had a truck load sale of meat and we bought 25 pounds of bacon at least that much in pork loin. We want to repackage the bacon and some of the slice pork loin so we bought the FoodSaver.

The bad reviews seem to be of the machines simply failing or not working for a variety of reasons. I was going to ask on TBN before buying but I figured that TBNers would tell me what I was reading on the reviews so I just said to heck with it and bought one. We will never know how the things will work and last unless we try.

The hard part when researching the sealers is that it is hard to compare model's even within the same brand. FoodSaver has a bunch of models and it really is hard to decide which to get. In the end, I figured the upright models were better than the other type. At first, I did not think we needed a sealer that would apply vacuum to mason jars but after looking at the cost of the bags I figure the jars might be the best way to go. The price for the roll bags is pretty high. From the reviews and watching video's it seems like you might use up 3-4 inches of bag on EACH end and maybe 6 inches of bag for the food. That mean you could easily use a foot of bag for a Hunk O Meat. The smallest roll of plastic was 20 feet long for $10 which means it would cost 50 cents to bag meat. That is not cheap. The zip lock bags they sell seem to be cheaper than the rolls. We shall see what works best.

Since we want to store dehydrated food, I think mason jars will work just fine for certain foods like jerky, strawberries, and apples. I suspect we will use the sealer more to vacuum mason jars of food than the bags. At least I hope so. :laughing:

While we are hoping the FoodSaver saves money the real money saver is what I found in buying the FoodSaver. I noticed the same situation when we bought the dehydrator. Check prices at the usual stores but then check the website of the company that makes the device. FoodSaver was selling the same product cheaper than anyone else AND they gave you more stuff with free shipping. I searched for a coupon and found a 30% off coupon! :thumbsup: At first I was going to buy from Bed and Bath or Cabelas because I had 20% off coupons but they did not have the model or best price. Then I found the 30% off coupon!:laughing:

If shopping for these sorts of things, it pays to shop around. Look at the brand's website for a better price AND look for a coupon.

Later,
Dan

 

[troutsqueezer]

Good thing I never read the reviews and went out and bought one from Sam's Club ten years ago. We use it every day and it is still going strong. Like you, we started with the canisters and mason jars. After awhile however, we switched to using just the bags which is easier to deal with. If you buy the $40 box of bags from Sam's Club or Costco they will last a long time. Don't buy the smaller boxes individually from wherever or it will be too expensive.

One of the best uses is to reseal mylar plastic bags. This includes most potato chip bags, breakfast cereal bags, cookies, etc. I stock up on Costco hamburger (shaped into patties), steaks, tortilla chips, nuts, coffee and put it all into Food Saver bags. The unit paid for itself many years ago.

Sometimes reading reviews on the Internet about anything leads one in the wrong direction since anyone who has problems is likely to write them whereas those who don't will not bother. There are some exceptions, of course.

 

[Oaktree]

We've got one. It works great, but I agree the bags are pricey and don't ever seem to go on sale. Nearest Sam's Club or BJ's is almost 2 hr. away...had a BJ's membership for a while, but the membership cost more than we saved. We just buy the 2-pack bags at Walmart, cut 'em a little big so we can re-use them.

 

[charlz]

I have had one for years and recently got a new one. Overall I don't use it that often but it is handy. I really like it for sealing up meat as it keeps so much better than just wrapping it up in plastic wrap and putting it in ziploc bags. The one thing I did want to try but haven't yet is the marinade dishes. A local sale had them on clearance for real cheap but I hesitated and the next time I went back they were all gone.

 

[dmccarty]

...

Sometimes reading reviews on the Internet about anything leads one in the wrong direction since anyone who has problems is likely to write them whereas those who don't will not bother. There are some exceptions, of course.

I pay attention to the reviews and usually I can separate the wheat from the chaff but that has been hard with the sealers. There are many complaints of certainly models failing right out of the box for instance. On the other hand, there are quite a few complaints about sealing which I think is user error. I did check the FoodSaver website and they sell replacement parts pretty cheap. I think the failure to seal is from getting a dirty gasket. FoodSaver sells replacement gaskets.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

The one thing I did want to try but haven't yet is the marinade dishes. A local sale had them on clearance for real cheap but I hesitated and the next time I went back they were all gone.

At first I did not care about sealing mason jars or the marinade. But the more I thought about it, those two capabilities made sense. I marinade beef jerky to use in the dehydrator and when I grill I always marinade the meat. I made both jerky and smoked pork loin this weekend. The FoodSaver I bought at the marinade dish included and I think we will use it more than I expect.

I think it is only 2.5 quarts, which is not huge, but I certainly can use it with jerky, and I cut up the pork loin to cook faster anyway, so I think the loin will fit as well. I do the same for ribs so they should work too.

Later,
Dan

 

[MossRoad]

I've had one from Sears for over 20 years. The only thing I don't like about it is when you do bloody cuts of meat or marinades, anything wet, really, in a bag, the juice gets sucked into the vacuum tray and makes a mess. Other than that, it really works pretty well. If you put two similar cuts of meat in a zipper bag VS a foodsaver bag and put them in the deep freeze for a year, see which one looks better at the end. Very clear to see that vacuum sealing works well.

But as many have mentioned, finding the bags on sale is like looking for gold. You feel great when you find it, but really bummed out if the claim has already been picked over by someone else (empty store shelves!).

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I've had one from Sears for over 20 years. The only thing I don't like about it is when you do bloody cuts of meat

We have used one for many years. One thing we do for bloody cuts of meat is to freeze it before vacuum sealing. My wife will put it on a flat tray or freeze it in the package it comes in before sealing. We do the same thing with strawberries. She set a tray in the freezer for about a hour or so then takes them out and vaccum seals.

 

[sodamo]

I've become a believer. After much indecision, finally bought one at Costco a few years ago, now I wouldn't want to be without it. When we make our Costco run, I know I have an hour or so of repackaging after we get home. With just the wife and I, sizing for two is a plus. We also buy the big box of bags. I repackage most meats, cheese, even breads like rolls. As mentioned, resealing chips, cereals etc really keeps them fresher longer. Haven't used the jars much, just for some soup or sauce. I like to sometimes preseason meat before sealing. One trick I use with cheese - we buy the 5lbers and repackage into 1 lb, but because the vac bags don't resealing for fridge use I place the cheese in a zip lock then into the vac bag. Oh, and don't use the full pressure seal unless you want a 1lb gob of cheese LOL.
I also use it to freeze leftovers. I usually forget you can use as a boil bag, but often will reheat in the microwave.

David Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[triptester]

I buy my bags on Ebay. They come in 50 ft rolls and end up costing about half the price of Food Saver bags. If your machine stores the bags inside the 50 ft rolls don't fit inside but thats only a very minor inconvience. I found the 8" wide bags to be the most useful.