# Need Vacuum Sealer Advice......



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Our local butcher shop . . . usually does all our deer for us . . . are now backed up beyond our deer season.

SOooooo . . . I'm gonna have to do a "do it yourself" . . . butcher job should I get one.

I'm planning on canning some of it . . . and vacuum sealing the rest. Need a 5 star rating from you guys who have done this before.

May God bless, 
Dwight


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Too time consuming.

Use a quality butcher frezzer paper. Wrapped properly I can get almost 2 years without frezzer burn.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I have a sealer, I just wrap the venny in plastic wrap and cover it with butcher paper


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I've been using the FoodSaver brand for at least 25 years. I would give it 5 starts. Trick I learned: I wrap all meats, etc. in Saran wrap. Prevents getting grease or juice on the seal area for a good seal. Since I ruse bags all the time, I have some that occassionally fail. Wrapping in Saran, the Saran is squished down against whatever you wrap, and if the bag fails, the tight Saran wrap film prevents freezer burn. Food saver has a unit for hunters. Makes more seals with out having to let the seal wire cool down as much as the regular unit.


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## Wedrownik (Sep 22, 2020)

The one that costco sells Food saver. Iirc it's on sale now. I used couple different ones till I settled on this one. Works great!


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Do you need a *vacuum* sealer, or _just a sealer_? If the latter, a simple impulse sealer will save you a ton of bucks over a vacuum rig.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Using same foodsaver ~20 years now. I do game and vegetables every year. Get plenty of quality bag material (rolls).


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## Tango2X (Jul 7, 2016)

Foodsaver


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

I’ve been using vac sealers for over 10 years now and I have not had good luck with the cheaper Food Saver models sold in Walmart. So if you want Food Saver, my advice is go with a better model and not the cheapest on the Walmart shelf.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Chiefster23 said:


> I've been using vac sealers for over 10 years now and I have not had good luck with the cheaper Food Saver models sold in Walmart. So if you want Food Saver, my advice is go with a better model and not the cheapest on the Walmart shelf.


Mine is an old discontinued model. I did purchase it at big box store. I don't think I got the cheapest one. It came with extra stuff, the most valuable being the bag roll material dispenser/cutter.

I have OEM spare seals but not needed yet. Foodsaver runs specials on the bag rolls, I've got a good stash, to fill with Bambi parts.

Wrapping in saran wrap before sealing will help with problems of liquids seeping and bad seals. Another thing you can do is put veggies/meat in the freezer first, then seal the frozen materials. Lots of vegetables you should blanch before freezing, and even draining them still are wet. Same with fresh venison parts.


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## 65mustang (Apr 4, 2020)

Mad Trapper said:


> Mine is an old discontinued model. I did purchase it at big box store. I don't think I got the cheapest one. It came with extra stuff, the most valuable being the bag roll material dispenser/cutter.
> 
> I have OEM spare seals but not needed yet. Foodsaver runs specials on the bag rolls, I've got a good stash, to fill with Bambi parts.
> 
> Wrapping in saran wrap before sealing will help with problems of liquids seeping and bad seals. Another thing you can do is put veggies/meat in the freezer first, then seal the frozen materials. Lots of vegetables you should blanch before freezing, and even draining them still are wet. Same with fresh venison parts.


I like to pre-freeze venison before sealing, but not rock hard because the hard edges can puncture the bags. Partially freeze only.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

+1 on freezing first , don't get cheap bags, they suck


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## agmccall (Jan 26, 2017)

I watched a video on youtube, Cooking with Shotgun Red. He compared standard vacum sealer to a chamber vac. While the chamber vac is more expensive. Starting at around $350 to up over $1,000 The savings comes from the bags. He shows the bags used and they can be bought for less than a nickle a piece. Compare that to the cost of foodsaver bags. And if you try the Walmart brand of food saver bag rolls you will probably be tossing half of them away.

I would guess if you vac seal a lot then the chamber vac might be the way to go.

Like others I have had my foodsaver for almost 20 years. Lately it seems to be struggling so I will probably be getting a Nesco or a Weston. Saw some reviews and those 2 seem to be the best performers






al


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## LetsGo (Feb 16, 2021)

paraquack said:


> I've been using the FoodSaver brand for at least 25 years. I would give it 5 starts. Trick I learned: I wrap all meats, etc. in Saran wrap. Prevents getting grease or juice on the seal area for a good seal. Since I ruse bags all the time, I have some that occassionally fail. Wrapping in Saran, the Saran is squished down against whatever you wrap, and if the bag fails, the tight Saran wrap film prevents freezer burn. Food saver has a unit for hunters. Makes more seals with out having to let the seal wire cool down as much as the regular unit.


I am close to that - I pre-wrap my stuff in press-n-seal and then vac it


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## LetsGo (Feb 16, 2021)

agmccall said:


> I watched a video on youtube, Cooking with Shotgun Red. He compared standard vacum sealer to a chamber vac. While the chamber vac is more expensive. Starting at around $350 to up over $1,000 The savings comes from the bags. He shows the bags used and they can be bought for less than a nickle a piece. Compare that to the cost of foodsaver bags. And if you try the Walmart brand of food saver bag rolls you will probably be tossing half of them away.
> 
> I would guess if you vac seal a lot then the chamber vac might be the way to go.
> 
> ...


uttttoh - I think I see a new purchase in my life!


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## 2020 Convert (Dec 24, 2020)

When I read the first post it was before the date that Costco always has Foodsaver on sale for $50 off in December. 

I froze a couple steaks in December after I bought mine and they still look a red as the day I bought them.

I wish I had bought the Foodsaver a year before when I saw it on sale.


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## LetsGo (Feb 16, 2021)

2020 Convert said:


> When I read the first post it was before the date that Costco always has Foodsaver on sale for $50 off in December.
> 
> I froze a couple steaks in December after I bought mine and they still look a red as the day I bought them.
> 
> I wish I had bought the Foodsaver a year before when I saw it on sale.


I have a Food Saver and it really does work good- well goodish. I do have to use press-n-seal to pre-wrap my stuff in, especially fish and things like that, no way can I do a soup. I do get bag failures due to liquids sneaking by and breaking the seal. And he is right - the bags are pricey. I dunno, I think I am going to look at this chamber system pretty hard. The downside is the storage size.


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## Demitri.14 (Nov 21, 2018)

The first one I bought was a food saver, after 1 deer, the plastic gear that drove the pump broke. I bought the cabelas, commercial one and have not looked back.


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## 2020 Convert (Dec 24, 2020)

LetsGo said:


> I have a Food Saver and it really does work good- well goodish. I do have to use press-n-seal to pre-wrap my stuff in, especially fish and things like that, no way can I do a soup. I do get bag failures due to liquids sneaking by and breaking the seal. And he is right - the bags are pricey. I dunno, I think I am going to look at this chamber system pretty hard. The downside is the storage size.


I have found if i don't try to skimp on the bags, it works pretty well. No luck whatsoever ever with cheaper bags even tho they say it works.

I have 20lbs of spaghetti that I may try with lesser bags. It has a good shelf life anyway and dry.

But bags are on sale Twice a year at Costco.


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## Megamom134 (Jan 30, 2021)

I double seal all my bags. Only had one fail which was my fault.


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## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

I'm a recent convert to vacuum sealing and I've been real happy with my FoodSaver. I buy the rolls in bulk at Sam's Club because I vacuum seal all sorts of stuff now, especially the stuff in our 72 hour bags (socks, underwear, towels, TP, etc.).


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

dwight55 said:


> Our local butcher shop . . . usually does all our deer for us . . . are now backed up beyond our deer season.
> 
> SOooooo . . . I'm gonna have to do a "do it yourself" . . . butcher job should I get one.
> 
> ...


So what did you decide Dwight? Did you buy the Foodsaver?


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

MaterielGeneral said:


> So what did you decide Dwight? Did you buy the Foodsaver?


No . . . actually I put it off . . . waiting until I got the deer . . .

Best I could have done this season was one black cat and one white one with black and brown spots.

The deer found somewhere else to be other than my hacienda.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

For the edification of our members, this is what we call a "bot problem".









This topic specifically seems to attract them, so it will remain open as a nice honeypot to catch and remove them.
My apologies to the OP. Your sacrifice will be remembered.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

The "greatest food preservation option" is a proper freeze-dryer, not a dehydrator.


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## Pir8fan (Nov 16, 2012)

dwight55 said:


> Our local butcher shop . . . usually does all our deer for us . . . are now backed up beyond our deer season.
> 
> SOooooo . . . I'm gonna have to do a "do it yourself" . . . butcher job should I get one.
> 
> ...


We have a Nesco VS-12 vacuum sealer that works beautifully. We had a Nutrichef and it was terrible. We also use an All American 915 canner. It too is perfect for our needs.


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## Rulit (5 mo ago)

A vacuum sealer is good to reduce waste of food, also it's helpful for lazy people like me. You can effectively preserve your food for a long time with the vacuum sealer. I once owned a simple, lovely vacuum sealer that is powerful enough to remove every last bit of air from your food bag. I am using Nesco American Harvest VS-12 packs sealer. Which thanks to the built-in double-vacuum pump, which has significantly more suction power than any other, you can seal a large quantity of food quickly. You can seal many thing meats to seeds by choosing between two pressure settings. It doesn't have any additional accessories, which is a bad thing; they should add some. What I adore the most is its compact design, LED screen, accessory port, and double vacuum pump. You can own this.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Rulit said:


> A vacuum sealer is good to reduce waste of food, also it's helpful for lazy people like me. You can effectively preserve your food for a long time with the vacuum sealer. I once owned a simple, lovely vacuum sealer that is powerful enough to remove every last bit of air from your food bag. I am using Nesco American Harvest VS-12 packs sealer. Which thanks to the built-in double-vacuum pump, which has significantly more suction power than any other, you can seal a large quantity of food quickly. You can seal many thing meats to seeds by choosing between two pressure settings. It doesn't have any additional accessories, which is a bad thing; they should add some. What I adore the most is its compact design, LED screen, accessory port, and double vacuum pump. You can own this.


You've got to be kidding me, right?
Is this a dare?
After confirming that a real person is using this account, you repost a bot comment?
If anything, it's trolling the moderators and I don't find it amusing.

You have one chance to make this right.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Rulit said:


> .....I once owned a simple, lovely vacuum sealer that is powerful enough to remove every last bit of air from your food bag..........


Physically impossible.


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## ChickenLittle14 (Oct 28, 2012)

We had two Food Saver brands previously (one lasted 2 years then stopped vacuum sealing - the second one lasted 1 year then just quit). Now we own an Avid Armor. Have had it for 2 years so far. I prefer this one because you only have to wait about 30 seconds between each use.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

After wasting money on several ‘food savers’, I bought a Weston. Problems solved. But they are expensive.


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