Vacuum sealer

Chamber sealers may be great but the one I looked at was $1000. No thank you.

 

Each time we try this, we don’t have luck after maybe 4 months or so and for that reason, we blanch it

 

At .30-.50$/bag savings it doesn't take long to save that much If you do a lot of sealing

 

The FoodSaver brand bags work very well but are very pricey 50-60 cents for a gallon size bag. There are other brands that are less money. The only other brand I've ever tried...the Walmart brand with mixed results.

The energy consumption of the machine is minimal.

 

We had them over the years, but no longer use them. They really do extend the shelf life of food esp. for the refrigerator. Berries kept in an airless container will last way longer. Esp. strawberries or blueberries. As far as freezing goes, we don't have anything to justify the use. No garden, no meats etc. We do better just trying to buy the amounts that we intend to eat. So easy to over buy and waste.

 

We use one to divide out bulk food purchases into meal size packages is 10lb Hamburger into 1.5lb packs. I also marinate chicken thighs in the vac bags for BBQ chicken.
Another way I used to use them was packing for Annual Training for ARNG. Would put t-shirt, socks, and underwear into a bag and seal it. I would also seal uniforms into bags. Being in an artillery unit, we were either playing in the mud or in the dust.
Also, the best thing I found was to use the rolls and make my own size bags. I also picked up a couple extra machines at thrift stores so I can work faster when the machine is taking forever.