Vacuum Food Sealers information and questions

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I have a sun beam unit and it's been great. We run it off an inverter when away fishing for a week or two so we can store the fish for longer. All bag rolls are the same width 28cm from memory. I use a couple of different brand bags. Aldi ones for general purpose stuff like steaks for the weekend camping ect as they take less room than foam trays. And I use the sunbeam ect brands for doing cray fish ect as they are tougher bags.
 
They are awsum, I even vac my bags of flour, no moisture, no bugs and solid. You can put your frozen meat in with your beers and no blood. Only way to go with meats.
even your beef jerkey
 
I have the Aldi which has worked for about 2 years so far, son has a better $$$$ vac. which appears to pull a higher vac. judging by the package firmness.
Currently using woolies bags.

The only thing I have found to watch for is that the bags are textured inside. There are bags which are not textured, the don't vac. anywhere near as well on non commercial equipment.
 
Big Wave we use them all the time as we are on the road about 30 weeks of the year. They are a must have.
The one we have we bought at a caravan show 10 years ago and is still going strong. Its an EziVac.
Not any bags work on it though. We have found that the indented lined bags are the best with plain plastic bags the worst.
The last lot of bags we got were form Dometic and they cost 10 bucks for 4 rolls which was good value.

GT :)
 
Food saver devices are an excellent device to extend the life of your meat or fish, whatever, but they do vary in price and performance.
I started with the Aldi brand and , , well ,, it sucked but 50% of the time, so what was wrong with it . If you have a close look at the design you will see the heater element across the front and then the sectioned off area where the suction takes place, the unit did not work on cheap bags and worked best with the thicker embossed bags. The ALDI model did not have an area to store the bag roll or a blade to cut the bag so it was square. The failures are unexplainable , leave plenty of excess bag so its not close to the lid , close the lid and ensure that the end is in the suction zone , press the suck and seal button and away it goes, bbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, if done correctly the suction is quick, but then, there are other occasions where the sucker is sucking but no shrinking in bag capacity, on all occasions I seal the bag twice, in different spots, and have noticed the crease lines across the seal zone, hard to avoid with the cheap models. The suction bay does fill up with crap , so it needs to be cleaned frequently, and perhaps the failures to date arise from liquids being sucked out of the bag,
My element failed so I borrowed one from one of my boys, and what luck it was also an Aldi model., same symptoms as my broken one , so i won't be buying another Aldi model.
Currently looking at the Sunbeam models, there are a few available at varying prices , they cost $200 PLUS, but what I have noticed is that they have bag storage and cross cutter, and a removable crap catcher along with a remote point for external suction , a good thing to have , plus a variable sucker control . the moral of this story is , buy cheep and pay later. I used mine frequently, put a steak in it with the a marinade,,, or cut up that cheap BBQ chook , freeze them, when out in the wilderness and its feed time , the cooked chook is heated in boiling water in the bag and its just like its off the rotisserie. I have noticed that when the frozen meats thaw out they stay good for 4 -5 days in the esky , the units are a great must have , just like my $79 ryobi blower, Have good look at the food savers, before you buy , I suppose you have to pay for quality and performance, a good unit will suck all the air out, quickly, and the bag should not show any signs of air in or around the product in the bag, and can you buy a replacement heating element for the bag sealing .
 
12v/240v would be a plus out camping. Wife has used a few different ones currently Aldi which works ok if you don't do too many too quickly. Last lot of bags she got were evil bay search for - vacuum sealer bags- seller was Oz Auctions, bags were 10mtr long and we got 10 x 22inch and 10 x 28inch rolls textured on one side and easy to use. Ten metre bags were the best value.
 
on the topic again......
But on this trip, I spent an hour in the kitchen preparing.
I even cut a heap of onions up , and bagged them into individual packs for each cook up. ( two onions)
Cut up enough gravy beef, spuds, onions, sweet spud, carrots etc , to get the camp oven going the first arvo,
And then top up portions bagged ready to add after that.
After a week just on ice and slush, they looked like they where just cut.
I do recommend double sealing both ends.
It made the cooking tasks hell easy!
Bag your portions of breakfasts etc in one bag.
2x bangers, 2x strips of bacon, onion etc in one bag...
:perfect:
 
mudgee hunter said:
on the topic again......
But on this trip, I spent an hour in the kitchen preparing.
I even cut a heap of onions up , and bagged them into individual packs for each cook up. ( two onions)
Cut up enough gravy beef, spuds, onions, sweet spud, carrots etc , to get the camp oven going the first arvo,
And then top up portions bagged ready to add after that.
After a week just on ice and slush, they looked like they where just cut.
I do recommend double sealing both ends.
It made the cooking tasks hell easy!
Bag your portions of breakfasts etc in one bag.
2x bangers, 2x strips of bacon, onion etc in one bag...
:perfect:

Sounds Good, what brand of sealer are you using and do you have a picture of it, ?

I have been after one of these for a while since we last spoke of them but I just don't know which one to get or how they work etc,

Thanks, :Y:
 
The model im using was actually given to me, slightly broken. Go easy on there hinges, and lock buttons.
Mine dose not even show a brand except " made in CHINA" !
Kmart, Target, even the 4wdsupercenter have them now.
Youtube has a few demo's.
But buy decent quality bags/ roll.
It is just continuous sleeve extrusion.
Available in different widths.
I have 4 bags of flour i did 6 years ago, still the bags are hard and tight from air leaks and weevils.
And makes good protection from breaking in transport (makes a mess)
And from rain and moisture.
 
Great stuff, thanks for that I will go and see what's available,

Are these the things some of the Guys here were talking about Cryovaced food ?? :Y:

J.
 
Nightjar said:
RR, Yes Cryovac is what it is often called.
We cook chicken & lamb casseroles (with out the bones) and vacuum and freeze them.
Great for evening meal if we get back to the camp after sunset, instead of cranking up the campfire we crank the genny and zap them in the microwave.

Cool, Is this that Gizmo you were using where the food lasts weeks even in just an Esky, If so I could really use one of them,

Thanks for that,

J.
 

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