I think hop dust killed my vacuum sealer

[aangel]

So after a hop bulk buy, I got a FoodSaver 4800 vacuum sealer off kijiji/craigslist. It was brand new in box condition, with original packaging and tape etc. Definitely seemed like it had never been used. It worked, too - for about 2lbs of hops in 1oz increments. Now it won't create suction. I'm wondering if it sucked in too much hop dust and clogged the pump. Has anyone run into this before?

 

[Hammy71]

Try another bag. The Quality Control at foodsaver for their bags is atrocious. Out of 25 bags in a box, 5 will not hold a vacuum. Reusing? Even worse, maybe 25% fail the second go around. This is my experience anyway.

 

[brewbama]

I recommend Vac sealer unlimited bags

http://shop.vacuumsealersunlimited.com/Bags-Rolls-Canisters-for-FoodSaver-Weston-VacMaster_c231.htm

 

[aangel]

Try another bag. The Quality Control at foodsaver for their bags is atrocious. Out of 25 bags in a box, 5 will not hold a vacuum. Reusing? Even worse, maybe 25% fail the second go around. This is my experience anyway.

It's not that it won't hold a vacuum - the suction doesn't even happen initially.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

did you make your own bags from a roll or buy the pre mades?

 

[aangel]

So I figured it out - the sealer is finicky about width of the bags I put in. the ziplock bag sealer attachment worked when I tested it, so I presumed there was something wrong with my (very small) hop bags. tried sealing a fresh 8" wide bag and it worked perfectly fine, and the only difference there is width - 3-4" for my hop bags and 8" for the roll. I'll just use wider hop bags then.

 

[PGEduardo]

I was having issues as well, and found I had to press down on the edge to get vacuum. I guess the latch wore a bit?

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

if you cut bags from a roll and make new side seams for the bag, you have to make sure that all excess plastic is trimmed from your new side seams or the vacuum will leak air and not vac out your bags. I regularly vacuum out very tiny bags and as long as you have all the excess plastic trimmed from the sides there is no minimum size for the bag (as long as there is enough plastic to trigger the foodsavers sensor...

 

[SeeMont]

Does anyone have an issue where a few bags will loose their seal. Most of my bags stay tight but a few loose vacuum. I thought that something got under the seal surface? Any ideas..

 

[flars]

Does anyone have an issue where a few bags will loose their seal. Most of my bags stay tight but a few loose vacuum. I thought that something got under the seal surface? Any ideas..

Moisture or a small wrinkle will cause the vacuum seal to fail, either immediately or after a couple of minutes.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Since the plastic is tight against the hop pellets and usually cold in the freezer it is easy to puncture the bag by hitting it on surfaces. Most of my vacuum bags that leak are from this. Sometimes the bag is just bad. I've even had this problem with the heavy duty mylar bags from niko and yvh. I usually order 10-20# at a time and inevitably one will puncture during shipping from bouncing around.

The biggest weakness with the food savers is their need for textured bags. Also, don't seal too fast or you will over heat the vacuum motor and the sealing strip. They are not made for industrial use but rather home-based light use. When used right they work well.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

Does anyone have an issue where a few bags will loose their seal. Most of my bags stay tight but a few loose vacuum. I thought that something got under the seal surface? Any ideas..

after the machine has sealed you bag, pull it out and push the "seal only" and push it back in to reseal the original seal spot. I've had to re-seal some bags like that 2 or 3 times.

Should clear up your problem.

 

[aangel]

Tried trimming the sides - still no dice. It just doesn't like really small bags apparently.