vacuum sealers

[thebeast]

I did a search on all of the aulro forums and was amazed that nothing came up for these. I have been researching these for a while and ended up buying one at the camp show. Haven't tried it as yet, but when I do I will forward a summary of the product on this forum.

Does anyone have a sealer? Any advice and tips will be appreciated, and thanks in advance.

[RonMcGr]

Yes, we have a Sunbeam Vacuum sealer and we think it is the bees knees :D

You can vacuum seal meat and keep it in the fridge for a week without drama's. Great for camping :)

We vacuum seal all our frozen food, Coffee grind for the espresso machine that is kept in the freezer. (Keeps it fresher).

I even vacuum seal meat bones before throwing them in the bin, as it keeps the flies and stink out prior to rubbish day.

The sealing unit is also handing for laminating wood veneer :D

Cheers,
Ron

[thebeast]

"The sealing unit is also handing for laminating wood veneer."
Ron OK you have me intrigued.....Could you fill me in on the directions for doing this please???

And how did you realise that it could do veneering? Asks me scratching my head. I like having tools that can multi task. LOL

[sschmez]

"The sealing unit is also handing for laminating wood veneer."
Ron OK you have me intrigued.....Could you fill me in on the directions for doing this please???

And how did you realise that it could do veneering? Asks me scratching my head. I like having tools that can multi task. LOL

x2 :D

I use a freshield, from a show somewhere too.

Best thing for aging a steak ... vacuum seal it in a bag ... leave it in the fridge for a week or 10 days ... cook to rare/medium ... enjoy ... very tender, no green slime, no bad smells.

I use eskys for camping and having stuff in a vacuum bag saves drowning everything in the esky water. (esky beers beat fridge beers every time)
Don't try it on grated cheese for the spag. though ... unless you want a block again:( ... sealed in the bag without the vacuum is fine though.

good for resealing food packets at home too.

everything can be sealed into meal size portions before a weekend trip. breakfast bacon, sandwich fillings, etc

vacuum seal ice cubes, food dye(5drops) and some salt, let them melt, and then refreeze and keep in the freezer for a first aid ice pack. (salt stops it refreezing solid).

seal her washing powder;) into machine size batches before a long trip ... cheaper and better than laundromat/campsite laundry powder. easy and clean to store until use.

very handy gadget, and the savings on wasted food pays for the bags.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Stevo

[RonMcGr]

"The sealing unit is also handing for laminating wood veneer."
Ron OK you have me intrigued.....Could you fill me in on the directions for doing this please???

And how did you realise that it could do veneering? Asks me scratching my head. I like having tools that can multi task. LOL

I saw a show once on re veneering Jaguar dash board parts with walnut burr. They sanded the dash, soaked the veneer, put glue on the wood. Then laid the veneer on top, put it in a heavy plastic bag and sucked the air out. :D

As the veneer is wet and soft, the vacuum sucks it onto the wood, even around the edges of where gauges go!!

Fantastic!
I'm going to do the Daimler Limousine dash, when the wife is at work :D

Cheers,
Ron

[The ho har's]

Hi girls & guys

I bought off the Internet (much cheaper) and use it constantly for everything from resealing bags to storing meat and veges. Keeps lettuce perticually well when shredded in individual portions for days on end. I take it with me on long trips and use it with the inverter so I cook double amounts and freeze half. I think this item is a camping necessity. :)


Mrs ho har

[Tank]

I did a search on all of the aulro forums and was amazed that nothing came up for these. I have been researching these for a while and ended up buying one at the camp show. Haven't tried it as yet, but when I do I will forward a summary of the product on this forum.

Does anyone have a sealer? Any advice and tips will be appreciated, and thanks in advance.
I bought a Vac sealer from Aldi's with a heap of bags for $99.
Any leftovers of stew or casserole I seal up in meal size portions, also make up Pasta dishes and honey mustard chicken and heaps of other meals into meal size sealer packs and freeze them. When I go camping I put them in the car fridge, which helps cool the fridge down quickly. Meal time I just drop a sealed meal into a pot of boiling water, in about 5/10 minutes take it out, snip the end off and pour onto a plate and the boiling water is used to wash out the bag (if you wish to save it and reuse) and clean the plate and utensils, good home cooked meals in minutes, great invention, Regards Frank.

[thebeast]

I bought a Vac sealer from Aldi's with a heap of bags for $99.

That was a very good deal, I wish I had paid that for mine. Can anyone tell me if you can use any brand sealing rolls/bags in any unit? How much do you all pay for your rolls/bags and where do you purchase them?

[thebeast]

I take it with me on long trips and use it with the inverter so I cook double amounts and freeze half. I think this item is a camping necessity. :)
Mrs ho har

Thanks for the tip. What size inverter do you use for your sealer please?

[sschmez]

Can anyone tell me if you can use any brand sealing rolls/bags in any unit? How much do you all pay for your rolls/bags and where do you purchase them?

I bought some "cheaper" bags from "the good guys" (less for cash and all that stuff). About $30 for two rolls ... can't recall the exact dimensions.

they're too wide for my sealer:mad: ....only just a couple of mm's too .... took a while to work out why it was always sucking air.... gotta cut an edge off and then reseal the edge ... then use as normal

Stevo

[sschmez]

Thanks for the tip. What size inverter do you use for your sealer please?

my freshield draws 185W .. so my 300w Inverter would/should run it easily ... never tried though

See this link for specs and bag prices (https://www.freshield.com.au/store/index.php?cPath=38&Twesid=98b933b6ac52ffd490d2dbeb75926d22)

Stevo

[Tank]

I bought a Vac sealer from Aldi's with a heap of bags for $99.

That was a very good deal, I wish I had paid that for mine. Can anyone tell me if you can use any brand sealing rolls/bags in any unit? How much do you all pay for your rolls/bags and where do you purchase them?
I'm using Sunbeam bags at the moment, they also sell the roll, Regards Frank.

[The ho har's]

Thanks for the tip. What size inverter do you use for your sealer please?


we have a 300w pure sine wave

Mrs ho har

[The ho har's]

Any bags/rolls fit any sealer BUT there are different size sealers. I am using sumbeam rolls in my Eurolab sealer $30.00 for 2x 28cmx5.4 mtrs rolls. rolls are more economical and easier to use as you cut to them size The money you save you can buy more Diesel :p:p


Mrs ho har

[thebeast]

I want to thank everyone that contributed to this thread, and I'm definitely going to take our sealer camping as well now using the inverter. It will great for me for pre-cooked meals as we both have different tastes in foods like pasta dishes for instance. Hubby doesn't like pasta at all.

[Brownbear]

My Mum used to have a pub and used one in the Kitchen for food products.

I used to vac seal clothes in it?!:confused:

As a keen biker I would roll up Tshirts and bundle up my smalls into daily packs and seal them!

Great for when off on the bike on hols and such.

Kept the clothes dry and saved on space too:);)

[Aaron]

Vacu-packed steak is good for 6 weeks in the fridge :D Chicken they recommend using quicker but we have used chicken after 5 weeks and it was fine.

Be carefull with that. 6 weeks assumes the meat has been treated perfectly before it was packed and kept at a good tempreture (hard to do in a domestic fridge) I think these domestic vac machines are getting their used by dates from commercial machines, which is silly concidering we suck out the air, fill it with a gas with a bigger molecule that wont leak through the pores of the plastic. Assuming your immune system is firing on all cylinders you should be ok though.

[Aaron]

Doesnt get rid of the toxins they leave behind though :). You will have more problems with rice/pasta in vac pac though... pre-cooking pasta and leaving it for a week, refreshing it in boiling hot water want get rid of the toxins and I promise it will make you sick. Everyone seems to think they are solid products.

[RonMcGr]

Ron, thats an expensive way to do it :)

Have you thought of freezing? We throw all our meat waste and bags, trays it comes in, in the freezer in a bag and throw it out on the morning the garbage is collected. Have never had a stinky bin yet!! :D

Yes I have, but being .. er .. forgetfull, the bags stays in the freezer :D

[RonMcGr]

Yep...immune system like a mallee bull :D The engel runs a good temp...we tend to run it colder than the fridge at home anyway...I only use the vac packer for camping meat, not home use. Thorough cooking kills most of the bad bugs anyway :D;)

Pat, We use it for all home 'freezer' meat as well.

[RonMcGr]

Doesnt get rid of the toxins they leave behind though :). You will have more problems with rice/pasta in vac pac though... pre-cooking pasta and leaving it for a week, refreshing it in boiling hot water want get rid of the toxins and I promise it will make you sick. Everyone seems to think they are solid products.

Who would want to in the first place?
Pasta and rice is dry!
No need to cook and seal it.. yuk!!
Fresh is best.

[Col.Coleman]

The Sunbeam and cheap varieties are at best a way of sealing something in a tough plastic bag for short term use. A proper vac seal machine like the ones I used in butcher shops and the meatworks for years suck out the air on a vacuum pressure basis not a time delay. We have a Sunbeam one the cheap ass bought us for the restaurant I manage and for proper storage is utter crap compared to a commercial unit. They do not remove all the air, which is what stops the reproduction of aerobic bacteria. Under ideal conditions, your fridge should be around 1 degree, never any more than 5 and minimise food exposure between this temp and around the 60 degree mark. Cooking removes most bacteria but the actual temp of the food itself must get over 60 degrees and any spore forming bacteria need to get to 121 degrees and the only way you'll get to that is in a pressure cooker without it being the colour of your tyres. So. They are great little machines for packing up individual meals while travelling, stopping leaking blood and making life in general easier, just don't expect them to keep food like what you buy from the shops thet has been done properly. There is a big difference between a $200 machine and a $2000 to $200 0000 one. I think the ones you guys have will work fine for what you do with them just keep in mind its limitations. I personally think exposure to nasties is a good thing for a stronger immune systems, but being crook in the middle of nowhere, really drags. If in doubt, chuck it out. In the words of Peter Russell-Clarke taken from his blooper reel "throw it on the stove and cook the ****er till it turns black ya ****"

CC

[Bushie]

They do not remove all the air, which is what stops the reproduction of anerobic bacteria.I thought that was the stuff that could live in the absence of oxygen ?

At the end of the day if theres any doubt 'toss it out'


I've heard of guys using the vacuum packers to grease pack wheel bearings !! I suppose it would work.


Martyn

[RonMcGr]

I thought that was the stuff that could live in the absence of oxygen ?

At the end of the day if theres any doubt 'toss it out'


I've heard of guys using the vacuum packers to grease pack wheel bearings !! I suppose it would work.


Martyn

It would and no I have not tried it :D

[EchiDna]

anaerobic bacteria grow despite the abscence of oxygen, some even need a lack of oxygen to grow, thus no air doesn't necessarily mean no growth for these types...


aerobic bacteria need oxygen to grow... no air means no growth for these guys...

by far the more common health risks are associated with aerobic bacteria though, so the use of vacuum packers reduces the threat by a large margin...

(my lab tests shed load of hotel restaurant food every day... you can guess how often I eat in hotels based on the results I see!!)

[Col.Coleman]

Oops, I knew what I ment but the brain runs faster than the fingers. Really should proof read. :(

A good tip though. Take your leg of lamb or roast, pour in your marinade, insert your roast, swirl around, vac and seal and put in the fridge for a while. Best dam tasting roast you'll ever have when you get around to cooking it. Lamb with rosmary and mint jelly is awesome. The flavour penetrates the meat instead of just being burnt on the outside. and as every one loves the crispy outside, primal your leg, you get more surface area and quicker cooking time. You can also give each person their favourite bit. In my house swmbo likes the dry stuff so gets the topside and silverside and I take the rump, round, shins and fillet. everyone is happy.:D

There have i redeemed myself now :angel:

[Aaron]

I agree too...why would you bother vac packing cooked rice and pasta?

Tis a chef thing I guess. Pasta is cooked in bulk and portioned to serving size, that way when it comes to service time its takes 30 seconds to cook, rather than 8-13minutes. I just assumed people would do that on a camping trip rather than wait a long time.... Ive never been camping before so Im clueless.

[Col.Coleman]

Tis a chef thing I guess. Pasta is cooked in bulk and portioned to serving size, that way when it comes to service time its takes 30 seconds to cook, rather than 8-13minutes. I just assumed people would do that on a camping trip rather than wait a long time.... Ive never been camping before so Im clueless.

Nope. Just boil water. add to rice, cover and by the tim you've cooked the rest of the meal, voila the rice is done. This is how we do it when hiking and only one small stove.

In the kitchen, you don't need to vac seal with turn over.

CC

[Tank]

Aldi's have their Vacuum Sealer back on SALE next week (commencing 22nd May), a great buy at $99, indespensable if you go camping or touring, Regards Frank.

[The ho har's]

dealsdirect .com are only $79.00 dilvered to your:D door


Mrs ho har