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Vacuum sealer


Billy V

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Billy I am going through the same thing right now, after speaking to lots of fisherman, looking at reviews and talking to my meat cutter who is an avid outdoors man and a butcher of 30years by trade. I was told told:

1) go with a "food saver"

2) make sure it has two pumps

3) make sure it has a cutter on the unit to cut bags off the roll

4) and spend more if you can afford it (my meat cutter spent $400 has been using it for 4 years now with out a problem, and has done probably 200 deer with it)

5) and buy your bags in the bulk roll from Sams

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Billy I use a Food Saver at work for vacuum sealing both meats and fish for freezing and storage and recommend it :yes:

Not commercial grade but works fine. We use it a lot, a whole lot more than the average outdoors person would and the only thing I have had a problem with is that the foam gaskets needed to be replaced once because it wouldn't seal right, but once it was replaced worked like a champ :clap:

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Billy I processed quite a few deer last year (135) and we used a foodsaver vacuum packing machine. I would highly recommend spending a couple hundred and getting the higher end model for the commercial design and extra features...... Dale

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Some great deals on new units on e-bay. I picked up my Pro-II there a few years back for around 130 (new) at the time they were running around 200 in the stores. Only draw back with e-bay is the company wont honor the new warranty if there is a problem, unless its bought from a retailer.

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I got the Foodsaver Deluxe Plus a few years ago as a spontaneous purchase. Best spent money for saving meat I've ever invested in. It's probably sealed close to 300 pounds of venison (mostly 1# packages) and close to 200 pounds of fish. I've also done other foods with it like chicken (why would she ever want to eat chicken when I have game) and pork. I've been amazed at when you pull a package out of the freezer that's 2 years old and it looks like it was frozen yesterday.

This summer however, it doesn't seem to have the vacuum pressure it used to and doesn't pump the bags down as well as it used to. Also the sealer strip doesn't seal as many bags in a batch as it used to so I have to take a break and let it cool down. If it's getting worn out, I believe I got my money worth out of it and I'll definitely buy another one. The rolls are the way to go versus buying pre-cut bags.

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I'll add that there's a guy on Ebay who sells pre-cut bags at quite a discount. He goes by "elrodharris" and I don't know him from Adam, but I ordered a couple of the different sizes and they work like a champ. I think it was from between $15-20 for 100 bags, depending on the size.

The problem with the rolls is that when you get near the end, they get hard to seal, and cutting them while sealing can be a chore (think nasty stinky meaty hands). I'm guessing it's probably cheaper than Sam's, too. Just my 2 cents...oh, and Foodsaver, all the way.

Gator

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You can place a paper towel in the bag after you put in the "wet" product before you seal it and that will catch the moisture too.

Andy order the new foam seals that will fix your vacuum problem. I had the same problem and it works like a champ again :clap:

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You can place a paper towel in the bag after you put in the "wet" product before you seal it and that will catch the moisture too.

Andy order the new foam seals that will fix your vacuum problem. I had the same problem and it works like a champ again :clap:

I tried that and the filets had a very strange smell when I thawed them.

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You can place a paper towel in the bag after you put in the "wet" product before you seal it and that will catch the moisture too.

Andy order the new foam seals that will fix your vacuum problem. I had the same problem and it works like a champ again :clap:

I tried that and the filets had a very strange smell when I thawed them.

Brian, I believe that smell is called Lake Trout

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You can place a paper towel in the bag after you put in the "wet" product before you seal it and that will catch the moisture too.

Andy order the new foam seals that will fix your vacuum problem. I had the same problem and it works like a champ again :clap:

I tried that and the filets had a very strange smell when I thawed them.

Brian, I believe that smell is called Lake Trout

Sorry Nick, I don't eat lakers ;) . I give them to my neighbor. It was walleye filets when I tried it. I thought FISHINMAN would have beat you to that one.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I bought my food saver at BGs for $130. As it turns out,the eBay ones are usually the ones that are no longer made for stores and they are excess supply.

I like mine so much that, combined it with an inverter,we ( the three of us) always take it on extended fishing trips to Cape Cod and after making proper portions,I vacuum pack all my fish before it goes in the cooler,usually while on the boat.That way the fish stays very fresh and after a week we usually come back with a few hundred pounds of cod,haddock ,stripers,bluefish and this last trip one extra cooler with 150 pounds of bluefin tuna steaks.That foodsaver pays for itself every time it goes to the Cape.

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