Question About Vacuum Sealers.

Oldman · February 27, 2005, 04:53:32 AM

I've been looking around for a sealer. I've come across the Best-Vac from minipack®-america basic price is $225.00. Their special with an assorted of 150 bags is $250.00 @ this addy: Best-Vac . Has anyone used or know anything about this unit.

As soon as the house is finished I will be ageing one full P-rib and T-Bone/ Porter House steaks and I want vacuum seal after the ageing.

Thanks
Olds

http://rminor.com

nsxbill · February 27, 2005, 05:31:26 AM

I use a Sam's Club item, the Foodsaver. Many models available, as well as plentiful selection of bagging supplies. If you are using commercially go for the most durable one, but for home use, the Foodsaver works well.

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

jaeger · February 27, 2005, 05:34:46 AM

Olds,
I have never seen this model in a store or heard of the brand name. I am using a Food Saver and it seems to work good. They make a thick quality bag and it is IMHO one of the best machines that you will find in your average retail store. Below is a quote from the Best Vac web page-

." We've vacuumed and sealed 100 pouches in a row just as fast as we could put them in the machine without a slow down! The Best-Vac seal is 5MM wide (over 3/16") and has 4 separate seal settings - compare that to 1/16" wide seals and NO adjustable heat settings. Best-Vac has a trap that keeps solids and some liquid from reaching pump. 

The Food Saver instructions recommend a rest period of 2 minutes between each vacuum. This is the one drawback of the Food Saver. One positive for the food saver is that the bags are readily available. The Best Vac says it will trap solids and some liquid from reaching the pump. What is some?
I would say that if you are willing to have a stock of bags and not be a problem ordering bags online everytime that you need more, than this probably is the better machine. I would go for it because after using mine, I find it kind of a hassle waiting for the 2 minute cool down period. (When you make bags off of a roll, you have to seal each end of each pouch so it takes extra time to vacuum the products that you are vacuuming.)
...also, I see that the Best Vac makes vacuum machines for the commercial level. The one thing I can say about commercial vacuum machines is that I hardly ever had any problems with the commercial machines that I have used, and they were used a lot. I also like the idea of the adjustable heat/seal setting. The commercial machines also have this option.
Hope this helps.

Doug

Habanero Smoker · February 27, 2005, 12:09:13 PM

I never heard of this sealer. I have the Food Saver V835L that I got from Sam's Club. It has a antibacterial drip tray that will trap liquids and keep it from reaching the pump. I only have to wait 20 seconds between bags, which is not a problem. By the time I get the next bag ready to seal, at least 20 seconds has expired. The manual states that under heavy usage it will shut down for about 20 minutes, but I never had that happen to me.

I like the option of making my own size bags, but there are pre-made sizes available, and readily available on-line or at many department stores. Besides Sam's Club, I know that Walmart and Target carries Food Saver bags and accessories.

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · February 27, 2005, 03:41:38 PM

i have a foodsaver 900. the best vac looks good . i like the big assorment of bags that they sell the zipper bag looks real good. foodsaver bags use the multi layer or another word is a quilted bags so it can suck the air out. wont take a smoth bag, i will order some bags from them to try good price on smaller bags. if you go to the foodsaver website you can get some good deals on vacs or other stuff, foodsaver acc,most of there stuff is sold on ebay at double the price.

Oldman · February 27, 2005, 06:32:12 PM

Thanks all for the fast replies!
Olds

http://rminor.com

gotbbq · February 28, 2005, 02:05:48 AM

Oldman-

I too have a food saver. I've had it for 2 years and it gets alot of use in my kitchen. Bags are easy to find and occasionally reuse. Its my recommendation-

gotbbq

manxman · February 28, 2005, 10:20:44 AM

I have just ordered a FoodSaver 550 together with extra bags,two sources they are available from in the UK from are:

www.cucinadirect.com
www.bestdirect.tv

I bought from the latter as it was slightly cheaper and they also had a couple of special offers in place to get extra bags, I hope it will be delivered by the end of the week.

This model seems to be the top one available outside the USA, a look on the FoodSaver website under International Products tells you what is available outside the America and gives a list of International Representatives.

Manxman.

St. Helens Smoker · March 01, 2005, 12:27:15 AM

Olds, by no means an expert on these things, but just replaced my old Food Saver after its unforunate demise with a Food Save Professional III. I'm in love with the thing so far, much faster recovery between sealings, and in fact with my usual ineptmess, will probably never over heat it. Also allows for various heat settings, and a manual seal option. Has a much better drip-tray than my old one...can't even remember the model #, I thnk it was the original that came out about 8-10 years ago or so....$$ at least at the store I picked it up was about the same you are looking at with this other outfit (and I'll be honest, I didn't read the info you provided....something about supposedly working right now[:D])

Good luck whichever way you go and let us know how it works out for ya'!!

Chez Bubba · March 01, 2005, 02:16:55 AM

Olds,

My only $0.02 is that the Food Saver bags are available in rolls, allowing you the flexibility of creating your own size. That way, you have the ability to do a whole pork loin or prime rib. With the pre-made bags, you're sometimes wasting a lot if you only want to vac one item.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

Oldman · March 01, 2005, 05:56:20 AM

St. Helens Smoker,

I downloaded the product manual for your unit. Nice to say the least. I also found a site that will sell the rolls 12 rolls for 120.00. I don't know how that compairs with retail stores.

jaeger,
Concerning the question of "some liquid" It was suggest by Food Save in there manual to pre- freeze raw meat for a couple of hours first. Makes sense.

Seeing how everyone here uses a Food Saver I guess I will go along with the group.

Manual

Olds

http://rminor.com

St. Helens Smoker · March 01, 2005, 07:56:32 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I downloaded the product manual for your unit. Nice to say the least. I also found a site that will sell the rolls 12 rolls for 120.00. I don't know how that compairs with retail stores.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

12 for 120.00? Hmmm, very,very tempting...now just convincing the missus that 3 garages and 1/2 a house full of stuff are not sufficent , but then again she suggested I lease the warehouse before building a shop....[:D]

Habanero Smoker · March 01, 2005, 11:22:30 AM

If you buy enough bags for 2-3 months, and sign up for FoodSaver's e-mail notifications, they frequently have sales on bags and accessories that can't be matched anywhere else (web or retail store).

Kummok · March 01, 2005, 05:22:42 PM

Rolls are ONLY way to go.....and Habanero's KEEE-RECT, the Foodsaver website is the way to buy IF you live in America, (not sure about shipping to "Southern Alaska", aka BC, YT, etc[;)]),...otherwise shipping kills the deals since they won't ship USPS. I get mine as "in bulk" as Coscto sells them.

I've tried the "freeze first" method and don't like it because the meats aren't soft enough to lay flat for storage. I use the rolled paper towel at the mouth of the bag and it works great for trapping liquids.

Best bet, (on my "someday" horizon), is the commercial vac sealer machines that use a chamber for sealing. No special embossed bags, (waaaay cheaper), and no worry about liquids since you're not "sucking" the air outta a bag that's in a different atmosphere...in the commercial, the whole bag, inside AND out, is in the same atmosphere. The drawback of course, is that even a used machine in good shape starts at around $1500, IF you're lucky enough to find one....new is $2500-$3000 and up. Smokers that live close to each other could co-op one, I reckon, but they are DEFINITELY the way to seal, in volume[:)][8D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

Chez Bubba · March 02, 2005, 12:20:15 AM

I believe I read where the new model Food Saver has a seal-on-demand feature, so as the liquid approaches, you can just seal it then. Even claimed you could do soups.

I'll have to look for a link.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?