wha't the best vacuum sealer?

[Dand]

Hey fellow Alaskans and others.  I'm seeking opinions on the best vacuum sealer that's affordable.  I have had a couple Food Savers.  I'm using a Food Saver Professional but its acting up.  I seal up fillets of 30-50 salmon per year and some meat - maybe 100 packages per season. I might do 10 to 30 packages at a time. Doesn't seem like  big load to me but this latest machine is starting to malfunction after about 4-5 years of careful use.  I see really expensive units are available but they are too big and too expensive.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[DakotaJeff]

Dand,

I don't know if I can provide any advice, but I can second what you've observed with the FoodSaver brands.  I bought the basic model in 2003 (about $110 then) and was fairly happy with it.  Over four years it sealed 4 elk, ~12 deer, several antelope, many pheasants / ducks, fish, and a bison this past winter.  My buddies always told me the vacuum pump seemed to go out on the "cheaper" models after a few years.  Not having any previous experience with vacuum sealers, I was happy getting that much use out of mine (thinking in the back of my mind the pump would go someday).  But I did notice the past few critters I sealed with it that some packages weren't sealing as tight as they use to.  This past Christmas my wife bought me a FoodSaver GameSaver Pro model as I was about to cut up that bison.  However, it malfunctioned right out of the box, so I used my old model.  After calling customer support I thought I had the problem fixed, until we wanted to use it again for halibut a few weeks ago.  Same problem again.  $200 for a vacuum sealer and I haven't been able to use it yet.  I'm about to send it in and get my money back.  I know what you're saying, for the money these things run you expect them to last awhile.  Maybe someone else has experience with different brands.

Jeff

[buffermop]

Check out Cabelas. I saw some industrial models in their catalog that looked more dependable than the foodsaver models.

[quickdtoo]

I'd get the FS Pro repaired, I've had a FS for over 20yrs and have replaced the seals a couple times, but it still works just fine. It doesn't get used as much as it used to, less fish , but until just a few years ago, it got a lot of use.

Tim

http://www.foodsavershop.com/foodserandpa.html

[Dave Weiss]

After trying a number of "commercial vacuum sealers" that hold up to meat just fine, but crap out quickly when you start dealin' with fish, I've gone back to my tried and true method.
Zip lock freezer bags and a sink full of cold water. Simply put the appropriate amount of fish into the appropriate size freezer bag, submerge the bag slowly (open side up) against the front wall of the sink to just above the zipper, make sure all of the air is out and zip it up. That's all there is to it, it's a lot quicker than it sounds and really works.

>>>===> Dave

[quickdtoo]

Dave, I go a step further, do as you do, then vaccum seal that after it's frozen, makes for even longer storage. Another variant is to freeze fish filets flat on wax paper, once they're froze, dip them in ice water several times to give a good coating of ice, then vacuum seal it, works well for smoked salmon filets which is my favorite way to do salmon.

Tim

[akchuck]

After trying a number of "commercial vacuum sealers" that hold up to meat just fine, but crap out quickly when you start dealin' with fish, I've gone back to my tried and true method.
Zip lock freezer bags and a sink full of cold water. Simply put the appropriate amount of fish into the appropriate size freezer bag, submerge the bag slowly (open side up) against the front wall of the sink to just above the zipper, make sure all of the air is out and zip it up. That's all there is to it, it's a lot quicker than it sounds and really works.

>>>===> Dave

Do you put the entire bag under water?

[Daveinthebush]

Freezing fish.  The best way to vacuum seal fish is to first part it dry.  Then wrap in a commercial plastic wrap.  Then seal it with the vacuum sealer.  Two things happen, it helps prevent the moisture from getting sucked out into the machine and helps prevent the small Y bones in the fillets from piercing the bag.

Also leave the skin on, do two fillets at a time and place into the bags with the skin side out. The skin helps prevent freezer burn.

A cheap way to vacuum seal is to use zip locks and fill the bag with water. Partially seal the bag closed until about 1/4" is left.  Hold that corner up and squeeze the bag slightly until the air bubbles are out.  Then turn the bag over and let the remaining water drain out.  Just before the last water leaves the bag, seal it.  You are now sealed to atmospheric pressure.

[Dave Weiss]

akchuck, submerge the bag to just above the zipper, but below the opening.
Lot's of good ideas here.

>>>===> Dave

[Dand]

thanks for all the comments folks.  I'll have to follow up on some of them.  I should say that beginning last year I tried the wrapping in Saran wrap first then freezing then vacuum sealing.  I had really good luck with it.  My king salmon stayed in great shape well into March which is a real improvement for me.

I think if I slow down the pace of my sealing my old sealer works ok.  I think the heat seal bar was staying warm enough to semi seal the bags too early and cause the vacuum system to not do its full job.

I'll still look around for heavier duty equipment that's affordable.

Dan

[corbanzo]

I had that same problem with the heat seal bar.  I had a newer food saver, and when I found the problem, I took out our older one, and used them both back and forth if i had a lot of fish.  That way they had time to cool down. 

The best sealers I've worked with are full chamber sealers, but they are really expensive.  The food saver works, you just have to have patience with it.

[Dand]

My sealer is supposed to have a special heat sink to eliminate over heating but maybe it isn't good enough. I did start laying a piece of aluminum plate on the seal bar while I stowed fish. That helped some but every so often the pump didn't draw out the air very well and it wasn't clear what was going on.  I did slow down but with 8 reds and 9 kings late at night I was eager to get the fish done.

At least my freezer is looking about right these days.  Great feeling.

thanks again for the advice.