Food Saver Vacuum Pack

[EE_Bota]

Have any of you tried to take apart the vacuum pump? Is it a diaphragm type (like my medical suction refurbs I am doing) or is it vane type like an A/C evacuation pump? Dairy used vane, and vane is common in high volume, but I'm betting diaphragm, with the failure being ripped rubber.

 

[jeffinsgf]

We like our FoodSaver, too. There's just the two of us, so the wife buys "family packs" and then repackages them smaller. I make jerky from eye of round and smoke it on my Big Green Egg. It's what my FIL, BIL and nephews all ask for for Birthdays and Christmas. I used to vacuum pack 4 or 5 slices together...then I was around these guys when they eat jerky. Now I just vacuum pack their whole allotment in one bag...it isn't going to last more than a day or two once it gets opened.

 

[Bird]

Have any of you tried to take apart the vacuum pump? Is it a diaphragm type (like my medical suction refurbs I am doing) or is it vane type like an A/C evacuation pump? Dairy used vane, and vane is common in high volume, but I'm betting diaphragm, with the failure being ripped rubber.

It's too bad they don't come with an exploded view and parts list.

 

[Bird]

I've wondered how long these things will last, and apparently from what I've read in this thread, they last quite awhile. In October, 2008, I bought a V3460 as a Christmas gift for one of our daughters and she says she and her husband use it a lot more than they expected, and it's still going strong.

 

[dmccarty]

For marinating wouldn't positive pressure be desirable ?

Yeah, this puzzles me as well but it seems to work. :confused3:

The machine cycles between a vacuum and no vacuum. Best I can figure is maybe the vacuum pulls juice FROM the meet and then under normal pressure the marinade is pulled back into the meat. :confused3:

It does work though because I can't tell the difference in taste in jerky that was soaked over night vs the vacuumed marinade. Next batch of jerky I think I will smoke on the grill before dehydrating...

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

I have been using London Broil for jerky. Fat will go bad so you want a cut of meat that has little fat unless you freeze or store the meat in the fridge. It does help to have the meat almost frozen so it is easier to slice thin. I marinade the meat in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce and spices then pop into the dehydrator. If the weather is right next time I make a batch I will smoke the meat before drying.

I do seal the jerky in bags with the vacuum sealer and freeze it until eating time. It sure is good too. :licking:

Later,
Dan

 

[Midniteoyl]

Have any of you tried to take apart the vacuum pump? Is it a diaphragm type (like my medical suction refurbs I am doing) or is it vane type like an A/C evacuation pump? Dairy used vane, and vane is common in high volume, but I'm betting diaphragm, with the failure being ripped rubber.

Diaphragm..

How to fix Food Saver - Vacuum Sealer?

foodsaver pump - YouTube

 

[EE_Bota]

Yeah, this puzzles me as well but it seems to work. :confused3:

The machine cycles between a vacuum and no vacuum. Best I can figure is maybe the vacuum pulls juice FROM the meet and then under normal pressure the marinade is pulled back into the meat. :confused3:

It does work though because I can't tell the difference in taste in jerky that was soaked over night vs the vacuumed marinade. Next batch of jerky I think I will smoke on the grill before dehydrating...

Later,
Dan

Feel free to ignore this...it is only food for thought.

Vacuum's tricky. If we watch some of the educational shows like "How do they do it?" and "Factory made" etc, we can see that they use vacuum to make components conform to a mold. The atm pressure is making it conform, and the pressure is being exerted across the plastic.

My theory: the plastic mashed the meat, and some air comes out, but mostly liquids get displaced, only to be replaced with different fluids each time the meat re-expands.

Like many of you, I milked cows for years, and vacuum got to be one of my best pals. (Since I cannot possibly milk a modern cow by hand.) The milk is expressed by a differential pressure across the teat...the udder being under atmospheric pressure (plus ejection pressure, which wanes,) but the milkers themselves are under vacuum. Pulsators keep the blood from pooling by releasing the vacuum, producing a massaging action in the liner. I think the meat is likewise being massaged during the marinade.

 

[Bird]

Since I cannot possibly milk a modern cow by hand.

OK, since it's been more than 55 years since I milked cows, what's the difference between the Jerseys and Guernseys I milked back then and the "modern" cow. I realize that a lot, if not most, dairies have Holsteins now because they produce more milk, and I've never milked one of those. I've watched some of the new fangled milking machines, but never used one.

 

[EE_Bota]

OK, since it's been more than 55 years since I milked cows, what's the difference between the Jerseys and Guernseys I milked back then and the "modern" cow. I realize that a lot, if not most, dairies have Holsteins now because they produce more milk, and I've never milked one of those.
I've watched some of the new fangled milking machines, but never used one.

Our average was top in the state (at long last) and we were milking at that time > 21,500 herd ave and <70 days open.
Unfortunately, the only individual cow record I remember after all these years is a cow I had to shoot due to a severe physiological problem. She peaked at 133 her first calving, and was exceeding that her second calving when I found her down, and against an electric fence. She was one of the best, but not the best of her group. I remember it because I did my dead level best for her. She was a wonderful heifer, not our best, but nearly so. The older cows had higher peaks and better averages though...it takes a while for a cow to come into their own.