Food Saver or Seal-a-Meal

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Food Saver, Seal-a-Meal, or other

  • Food Saver

  • Seal-a-Meal

  • Other

  • None

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I don't have one, so I didn't vote. But I have seen similar polls before. FoodSaver seems to always get great reviews. Curious to see how this one turns out -- I think a vacuum sealer will be one of my next purchases (for bulk hop orders and hunting season).
 
FlyGuy said:
I don't have one, so I didn't vote. But I have seen similar polls before. FoodSaver seems to always get great reviews. Curious to see how this one turns out -- I think a vacuum sealer will be one of my next purchases (for bulk hop orders and hunting season).
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ALot of the oldtimers here got a deal on Food savers awhile back. I missed out on that deal.
 
Roll on to Sam's Club, baby. Get a Foodsaver. I've had mine for years. No substitute. No. Substitute. Foodsaver.
 
olllllo said:
Hops, Grain, Etc. Storage????
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Yes. I love my FoodSaver. It rocks. Here's what 55# of Pale 2-Row looks like.

4569-Foodsaver55poundsPale.jpg
 
I've had my foodsaver for a few months now and already love it. Its great for buying bulk hops and breaking them down into 1oz packages.
 
I've also got a food saver. Works fine for me for hop storage. Haven't used it for anything else brewing-related though.
 
I have a food saver. It works as advertised. Sucks the air out big-time. Bag material is thick and seals are strong.

Plus, if you make the bags a little bigger than you need (a few inches extra, or longer yet if you want) you can wash them and reuse them. Turn them inside-out and wash in the dishwasher (top rack) then turn them right-side out and use them again. You want to make them bigger the first time because you lose an inch or two when you cut them open. The bag material is a little pricey but using them 2x or 3x helps.
 
I can tell you for a fact that the pump and seal I have will not hit the level of vacuum advertised. Maybe a little over 15 inches hg. Good enough for what I paid for it though.
 
mr x said:
I can tell you for a fact that the pump and seal I have will not hit the level of vacuum advertised. Maybe a little over 15 inches hg. Good enough for what I paid for it though.
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I have a vacuum gauge and have wondered about that. Not thrilled about vacuum achieved in a ziplock, but think it works well on ball jars.
I have to rig something up to see what it's actually pulling.
 
I will say from the other side... Do NOT buy a Seal-a-meal.

This thing barely worked, returned it in hopes that it was defective...

After two machines we decided sucking the air out of a ziploc bag with our mouths was better in terms of time and money.

That said, I've just added a Foodsaver to my "want" list, and it will probably be the next thing I buy unless a propane tank and ingredients for my next brew count.
 
I have a foodsaver and it is so easy to use. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who buys in bulk. Great for grain and bulk hops.
 
Foodsaver kicks ass !! I use mine for everything from fruit/veggie freezing-plop em right in boiling water,wild game storage-venison,squirrel etc... hop storage,I've also got a 10"x10" vacuum box-works great for meat marinading.I even use it for making little "survival"packs for hunting/camping etc... dry matches,tinder,small mag light and so on.The uses are nearly endless. Shane
 
BrianP said:
... The bag material is a little pricey but using them 2x or 3x helps.
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I have a foodsaver, but I use the Wal-Mart house brand (Great Value?) bags. Only problem is Wal-mart is frequently out of their house brand bags so you kind of have to buy them when you see them, if you wait till you NEED them, they will be out.
 
Looks like FoodSaver is the way to go and the Seal-a-Meal is a POS.

Pump-n-Seal looks to be a good value.

*Finds it a little weird to be pumpin seal*
 
I have used a Foodsaver for several years. Mine has been used for bulk meat purchases, hunting (venison, rabbit, squirrel, etc.), and dry goods. I have also used it to pack emergency supplies for camping trips. My Foodsaver is about 9 years old, and recently I have noticed that the seal hasn't been working as good. This old one has a pretty thin sealing strip. I have been looking at some of the new ones and they have a much wider sealing strip. I will be getting a new one soon. When I start doing AG, I will definitely be using it for packaging bulk grains and hops.

On a side note, someone else commented about the Foodsaver canisters/containers. They work very well for marinating meat. I have been using them for several years and they can't be beat.
 
BrianP said:
I have a food saver. It works as advertised. Sucks the air out big-time. Bag material is thick and seals are strong.

Plus, if you make the bags a little bigger than you need (a few inches extra, or longer yet if you want) you can wash them and reuse them. Turn them inside-out and wash in the dishwasher (top rack) then turn them right-side out and use them again. You want to make them bigger the first time because you lose an inch or two when you cut them open. The bag material is a little pricey but using them 2x or 3x helps.
Click to expand...

Good advice! I may try that!
 
I have a Foodsaver. We do a bunch of offshore Tuna fishing, and whenever we come back with a load of fresh Tuna, Albacore, shark, Mahi etc... I pack and freeze the catch as soon as we get home. Works great.

Have yet to use it on grain or hops because I'm a slacker and have not finished the AG setup yet. Extract will still have to make due for another month or so until I can get the rig finished. :eek:
 
I have a foodsaver. It's out of the box. Don't cringe.... it's NEVER BEEN USED!!! hehehe I've had it for over a year and it sits atop the fridge collecting dust. The bags are so expensive I havn't found anything I've wanted to waste that kind of money on. In all fariness it was a gift and I have planned on using it I just usually don't have ingredients sitting around long enough to food saver. :eek: I just got some hops bulk though... I'm thinking 1oz bags would be pretty sweet. Just havn't got around to it yet, but I hope to play with it soon. someone said something about foodsaver canisters? That would be SWEET for marinating/brining meat in. Just add vacuum and the air bubbles/juices go out. re'pressurize and happy juice goes back into meat! Where do you get these?
 
Grimsawyer said:
I have a foodsaver. It's out of the box. Don't cringe.... it's NEVER BEEN USED!!! hehehe I've had it for over a year and it sits atop the fridge collecting dust. The bags are so expensive I havn't found anything I've wanted to waste that kind of money on. In all fariness it was a gift and I have planned on using it I just usually don't have ingredients sitting around long enough to food saver. :eek: I just got some hops bulk though... I'm thinking 1oz bags would be pretty sweet. Just havn't got around to it yet, but I hope to play with it soon. someone said something about foodsaver canisters? That would be SWEET for marinating/brining meat in. Just add vacuum and the air bubbles/juices go out. re'pressurize and happy juice goes back into meat! Where do you get these?
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Wal Mart

As much as I hate to support Wal Mart, they've got some great prices. I bought my Foodsaver there, and the bags are fairly cheap. I get the rolls and make my own bags.
 
Sorry.. No Idea...I do'nt Know...Recently i read good reviews on Food Saver and.. after that i am thinking to buy Food Saver...Should I Buy ? :rockin::tank:
 
I got the food saver for christmas and I love it. Bags are pricey, I have not checked out the walmart brand bags but costco sells a large variety box for a somewhat reasonable price. Using the mason jar attachment is very cool. I use that to store coffee (costco sells large bags of Ruta Maya), specialty grains, and hops. Smaller hop quantities go into bags. If you make the bags an inch or so longer than necessary, and you put 2-3 oz each, you can reseal the bag if you use less. The bags have to be at least an inch longer than you would think already, though. I also use the bags to sous vide cook steaks in my mash tun.
You can, however use a simple automotive brake vacuum pump (harbor freight) with the foodsaver jar attachment if you want to go cheap.
 
i dont know about the others, but my foodsaver wastes alot of material when sealing, at least 2 inches. mine is one of the more expensive models, some of the cheaper ones dont look like they waste as much.
 

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