FoodSaver Vacum Sealer

[k0ua]

I thought analog was dead a decade ago... maybe you Mizzuri boys are behind? :laughing:

Well over the air analog signals have been gone for a long time, but our cable company has carried both analog and digital signals so our old analog only sets still worked on basic cable direct hookup. Since all of the digital channels are scrambled so they can control what channels you can watch with certain packages even though you have a digital ready TV set you cannot decode them without the set top box. From what I can tell they will continue to scramble all of the digital channels, so some kind of set top box is necessary to decode them.

On the main TV in the living room we have a decoder/recorder so nothing changes there. The little set top boxes are quite tiny and have both HDMI and RF output connections for both older and newer TV's. And for all I know we may be way behind the times.

 

[k0ua]

I don't know... they still don't taste that good to me. :licking:

Not to mention that 7018 is very hard on tooth enamel.

 

[coffeeman]

One thing I learned about cheese - don't try for a full vacuum, the shredded is no longer shredded, the slices impossible to separate.
So with the Zip locks, they are inside the vac bag, left open. Oh and be careful the zip isn't under the heat bar.

Friend freezes rolls bread cake etc before sealing. Would that work on cheese that shredded?

I got a sealer once and heat seal part on machine quit heating after not so many uses. I didn't use it much. Costco is mentioned and others. Is there a GOOD machine brand? I always thought not cost effective because bags seem to cost so much?

Am I right?? Coffeeman

 

[sixdogs]

Friend freezes rolls bread cake etc before sealing. Would that work on cheese that shredded?

I got a sealer once and heat seal part on machine quit heating after not so many uses. I didn't use it much. Costco is mentioned and others. Is there a GOOD machine brand? I always thought not cost effective because bags seem to cost so much?

Am I right?? Coffeeman

Wife says only brand to get is Foodsaver. Machine is worth it and you can start with a larger bag, cut it and keep reusing as it gets smaller. Forget about the cost and it will pay back multiple times.

Wife says maybe on the shredded cheese if frozen first. She says look in owner's manual or on-line.

 

[coffeeman]

I don't understand why Food Saver makes so many different models. In about 10 days, our model V3880 will be 3 years old and it cost about $198 including the sales tax when we bought it. I reckon we've used it mostly for meats, but also corn on the cob, and other veggies.

I was juicing years ago. In place called Marshals. I saw a Juice Man juicer. Looked like a good price & bought it. Couple days later saw the same juicer in Sams cheaper. WOW I thought. I don't know why, but I looked at the specs. Wrote down and compared to one I bought. Looked identical. My juice I bought from other store had a motor about 50% bigger than the Sams Juicer. I was juicing every day at that time. The Juice Man was the best one I had. I wonder if the Sams one would have given me the same service as the higher powered one. I believe you gotta watch the discount clubs>

Cheers

 

[sodamo]

Another vote for Foodsaver.
Not too concerned about cost of the bags. As said, often get to reuse them.
I'm too lazy to preference the cheese I guess . I've pretty much perfected my partial vacuum technique and do so on anything soft like cheese or bread types.

 

[flyerdan]

Pre-shredded cheese is dusted with syloid or something to keep it from clumping, when you get a bag at the store it isn't sucked down into a brick, you can approximate that when resealing. The object is too keep oxygen away from it, I try to get it where there are no air pockets but it can still be shaken down into a shape that fits where it's going in the fridge.
Foodsaver is the leading name in home units, and if you get the rolls you can make bags way cheaper. Wash and reuse on things that will fit the slightly smaller size. Here in the NW we have a chain of stores called Bi-Mart, don't know how they do it but they consistently beat everyone on kitchen appliance prices and such. A five pack roll of Foodsaver brand bag rolls are often on sale for $30 when everywhere else has them for $40, even the FS site.

 

[Bird]

Here in the NW we have a chain of stores called Bi-Mart, don't know how they do it but they consistently beat everyone on kitchen appliance prices and such.

First time I've heard Bi-Mart mentioned in a long time. But way back (Sunday, May 28, 1995, to be specific) my brother and I were on our way from Texas to Washington State to pick up some of his mother-in-law's property from a storage facility. We were towing my 5' x 10' single axle tilt-bed trailer with no spare tire. About 30 miles east of Pendleton, OR, the left trailer tire threw ALL of its tread, bent the fender a little, but it was still holding air. So we drove on into Pendleton, OR, and found a Bi-Mart that was about the only thing open that Sunday. As luck would have it, they had two tires already mounted and aired up on wheels that fit my trailer. Naturally, we were not members, but the manager sold me those two tires and wheels ($140 total). We put both of them on the trailer, and kept the one that had not thrown its tread for a spare (a spare that was never used). Needless to say, I have a pretty high opinion of Bi-Mart, even though that's the only time I've been in one.:laughing:

 

[DaveK OR]

There are a few problems with the "Foodsaver" type of vacuum sealer, notably:

1. You have to use the special bags that run at least $.25 each, if you can find them on sale.
2. If there are liquids in what you are sealing, you'll eventually get that nasty stuff into the vacuum pump. Then you'll either have to figure out how to clean it, or you'll buy a new one.
3. The Foodsavers tend to make low-quality seals that can fail and then you get freezer-burn.

Look for a chamber-type sealer. The bags they use are much, much cheaper (around $.05 per bag, or less), and they are not prone to damage from liquid in whatever you are sealing. I'll admit they aren't cheap, but I've probably saved the difference in cost just by the cheaper bags you can use. In addition, the chamber sealers can usually do the oxygen-barrier mylar bags or boil-in-bags that would require a heavy-duty sealer.

If you don't want to go new, keep looking on e-bay or craigslist. They appear from time to time, and are usually not too bad to rebuild if that's even needed.