Buying vacuum sealers in the UK.

[begolf25]

Ok, I understand liking to just pick them up when you need them.  I was just confused since you said shipping is too high and they were more expensive.  Id rather just go ahead and order a higher quality bag for a better price since I usually receive them within 3 days.

[manxman]

http://images.tchibo.de/eCS/Store/uk/images/kw15/kw15_5826_detail.jpg

Asked by a friend, who had already bought it, what I thought of this model (Tchibo TCM Vacuum Sealer).

After having a chance to have a play with it (the vacuum sealer that is before Chez zooms in on this comment! ;) ) the answer is not a great deal.

Pros:

Cheap, about £15/$24 which includes 2 rolls of "foil" for making bags.
Efficiently seals bags, good for reducing cross contamination between food whilst in the fridge.
Wall mountable
Relatively easy to use.
Clear instruction manual including freephone helpdesk and email address.
3 year guarantee.

Cons:

Only removes about 90% air from bag, moving and fiddling around with bag does improve matters but the vacuum is NOTHING like a Foodsaver type pleated bag vacuum.
After each sealing process the machine must be left for 80 seconds to cool, given each individual bag requires 3 sides sealed it is a SLOOOOW process.
Warm welding wire looks like is may easily be damaged.
Not clear from manual where further bag rolls can be purchased, presumably website or helpdesk enquiry would sort that?

Conclusion:

People expecting a Foodsaver type vacuum sealer will be disappointed. The tchibo is good for sealing left overs for storage for a couple of days in fridge to avoid cross contamination but for long term storage of food in the freezer it will not perform as well as the more expensive (about £80) Foodsaver model.

Cheap, but even the £15/$24 buys quite a lot of cling film/plastic wrap or zipper bags!

If serious about vacuum sealing food go for a "Foodsaver" type model with pleated/channelled bags, a much improved vacuum seal will be possible.

Tchibo have some great stuff at great prices but in my view this is not one. May be OK for light occasional use.

[icerat4]

I have the food saver 2840 and its awesome.O yea Sams club has the bags at 28 bucks 6 rolls not a bad price at all.

[LilSmoker]

I've just been to Makro, and they are now selling the Foodsaver 550 machine for £74.99, they also had a selection of bags and rolls (Foodsaver brand) i bought 4 @ 280mm rolls for £15 which isn't a bad price i think?.

I always look for Foodsaver stuff when i'm at Costco, but i haven't seen anything as of yet, maybe the U.K. Costco haven't started stocking yet?  ::)

[manxman]

I've just been to Makro, and they are now selling the Foodsaver 550 machine for £74.99, they also had a selection of bags and rolls (Foodsaver brand) i bought 4 @ 280mm rolls for £15 which isn't a bad price i think?.

I always look for Foodsaver stuff when i'm at Costco, but i haven't seen anything as of yet, maybe the U.K. Costco haven't started stocking yet? 

That's a good price, I paid well over £100 for my Foodsaver not that long ago and had to buy it from the continent. Good deal on the bags too, vacuum sealers seem to be coming a lot more available and the price is dropping. :D

I only get to Costco once in a while when I am on the UK mainland, trouble is I always spend a fortune there and usually wait until I have taken a car away on the ferry so I can get everything home.

[rauchteufel]

I see that Arden Smoker Supplies are now selling an Italian Tre Spade Ariel vacuum packer for £129.25, inc sales tax. (I was looking around, because Empire Direct, mentioned earlier in this post, don't have the Foodsaver 550 in stock.) I've got some questions, if anyone can help.

Has anyone used this machine since it came out in July, or Tre Spade kit before? Is it good value, or should I wait for the Foodsaver to come back in stock? What about the bags? Are they good value? Can you use other make bags with it?

Sorry for basic questions - just learning the ropes here!

Fizzog

[rauchteufel]

Sorry, I should have added a link to my last post: http://w3t.org/u/ymt.

Fizzog

[manxman]

I have never used the vacuum sealer you mentioned so can't comment on it, the only direct experience I have is with the FoodSaver 550 which I would personnally recommend.

The best site I have found for bags is:

http://www.culinaryinnovations.co.uk/

These bags fit all the vacuum sealers that require the ribbed type bags, they also sell a range of vacuum sealers and seem to have free spice sheets on offer at the moment as well. I have bought bags from this company which work with the FoodSaver 550 and found them excellent to deal with. However, have no experience of these vacuum sealers either, maybe someone else has?

The FoodSaver generally seems around £40-£50 cheaper than anything else available in the UK as yet, a sum not to be sniffed at!!

[3rensho]

HI Fizzog,

The only TreSpade kit I have is a sausage stuffer and I am well pleased with it.  It is very solidly built, made for easy cleaning and never gives me a problem.  Afraid I have no experience with their vacuum gear.

Tom

[rauchteufel]

Thanks, both. Perhaps I'll just think of my pocket, exercise patience, and wait for the Foodsaver to come back in stock.

Fizzog

[LilSmoker]

Hi Fizzog, i bought the Foodsaver 475 recently, it's a nice machine and i'm very pleased with it:

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/details/index~modelcode~FSR-FS475.htm

If you definately want the 550, you can get one here:

http://www.bestdirect.tv/src/ADFS/product-FoodSaver-550-BDA06425.htm

Or Makro for £74.99 if you have a branch near by, and obviously membership.

I don't know much about the Tre Spade machine, only what i've read, but imo you can't go far wrong with the Foodsaver machines ;)

[rauchteufel]

Thanks. LilSmoker. Most helpful. Foodsaver it is, I think!

Fizzog

[manxman]

I bought from Best Direct TV and they were fine other than charging my credit card a different amount (higher) than advertised on the website so it may be worth keeping an eye on that if you do buy from them. However, it did get it sorted quite quickly though.

They have an offer on the bags at the moment, 3 for 2, that make them slightly better value although the Culinary Innovations ones still work out a lot cheaper and work well with the FoodSaver models.

[LilSmoker]

@ Fizzog, no problem, you're welcome  ;)

As for bags & rolls, as manxman says Culinary Innovations are very good manxman recomended them to me a while back, and i ordered some bags and rolls from them, very good prices and i only had to wait 2 days before they arrived.

http://www.culinaryinnovations.co.uk/osb/showitem.cfm/Category/14/

Anyway hope you get sorted, the vacuum machines really are very good, i couldn't be without one now.

Bye for now..........LilSmoker