Vaccum Freezer Storage Device Advice

[Kenomac]

I need to purchase a compact Vaccum Storage device for freezing all the food onboard in order to prevent freezer burn. Can anyone provide some recommendations for a reliable reliable compact device?

One of those devices that sucks all the air out of the plastic bag then seals it shut.

Thanks

Ken

[Sailor647]

We inherited a "Foodsaver" brand. Likely a Costco purchase? It has rolls of the plastic to make the bags in any size you need. Comes in two different widths. It's runs on 110, but so far we've only used it while in port and stocking up. We hope to use with the inverter after catching a huge Yellowtail or Dorado. lol

Works great. Keeps food from freezer burning. We store up to a month's worth of frozen food.

[clownfishsydney]

You really only need a vacuum sealer if you do not have a freezer I reckon. If you have a freezer, just put in normal freezer bags and squeeze out most air.

I have used the vacuum sealer to do meat that we carried around in our car fridge for almost five weeks in our four wheel drive (sorry SUV to the Yanks) for a trip from Sydney to Central Australia where we only had a decent place to shop after about 2.5 weeks. The meat was still great at the end, in fact better as it was so tender after 5,000 km of bouncing around on mostly very rough dirt roads.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I need to purchase a compact Vaccum Storage device for freezing all the food onboard in order to prevent freezer burn. Can anyone provide some recommendations for a reliable reliable compact device?

One of those devices that sucks all the air out of the plastic bag then seals it shut.

Thanks

Ken

There are three basic styles.

The commercial type have a chamber into which you place the bag, so you create a vacuum around the bag, and not just in it. These are bulky and expensive.

The consumer type clamp over the end of the bag and suck air out of it, but rely on special micro channeled bags. These are cheap and compact, but the bags are very expensive.

The third alternative uses a snorkel that fits into the bag. I've only seen one of these, the Sinbo dz-280. It's about the same size as the consumer sealers, costs just a bit more, but can use the same bags as the commercial vacuum sealers, which are a lot cheaper than the special bags that the consumer models require.

[ozsailer]

Hi Sailor647,
we have a vacuum sealer on our cat and love it. We have owned two and to be honest we have no found much difference between the two. One issue with the new one is that it stops after roughly 15 seals to cool down the element. No big deal. It only needs a couple of minutes for the thermocouple safety to kick back in and off we go again. Vacuum seals are not only for stopping freeze burn but also reduce the amount of space used in the freezer and also assisting in making the meat more tender.
Prior to our current freezer we sealed our meat and put it in the fridge and we could go a minimum of 6 weeks without the meat going off. It is also called cryvovac which extends the life the food substantially when refrigerated. Vacuum seal is also a great way of cooking meals then freezing for use later on. We also cut up vegetables and store them long term using this method.
We found that we could purchase rolls of heat sealable freezer bags off Ebay my the metre. We buy roller sizes that just fit our machine and it works out roughly 20 cents a bag. We do clean and reseal our bags when we can and found them quite re-usable. We would not leave port without one

Greg and Sue
Sunshine
Lagoon 410

[Zanshin]

I've got a vacuum sealer aboard as well, a "Foodsaver" brand device. It is great for sealing items such as pasta, beans and rice - the food stays fresh and there's no chance of bugs inside the food surviving or bugs from outside getting to the food. Meats get vacuum sealed then put into the freezer; and I've found other uses for the vacuum sealer as well; for instance my first-aid items get packaged as well which prevents them from ageing in the humid tropical heat here - this includes the first-aid manuals as well as the medication instructions as those have, in the past, gotten moldy on me.
Electronics (i.e. backup GPS and VHF (without batteries)) and other items susceptible to rust or deterioration get the vacuum sealer treatment as well.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I've got a vacuum sealer aboard as well, a "Foodsaver" brand device. It is great for sealing items such as pasta, beans and rice - the food stays fresh and there's no chance of bugs inside the food surviving or bugs from outside getting to the food. Meats get vacuum sealed then put into the freezer; and I've found other uses for the vacuum sealer as well; for instance my first-aid items get packaged as well which prevents them from ageing in the humid tropical heat here - this includes the first-aid manuals as well as the medication instructions as those have, in the past, gotten moldy on me.
Electronics (i.e. backup GPS and VHF (without batteries)) and other items susceptible to rust or deterioration get the vacuum sealer treatment as well.

Yep, we use ours for lots of things too. In fact, we prefer fresh local food so rarely freeze anything, thus the vaccum bagger gets used for everything but freezing. All the above + seal spices/poweders which tend to go moldy in the tropics. Keep a small qty in jars for use and seal the rest. Seal up jars and all when away from the boat. When we plan to leave the boat for a while all sorts of stuff gets sealed up.

A model that has a the ability to vaccum only or seal only is very handy. It gives you more control over the process and more options. For example, less vaccum on things you dont want to crush like fuel filters or water maker filters.

[Kenomac]

All good information so far, but which brand and models have you found to be most reliable. I'm also looking for compact size. I'll need to buy it in America then transport it and use it in the Med since our boat is 110v.

Thanks

[RABenko]

Add another vote for the FoodSaver brand from Costco. I'd also like to add that we've been re-using the vacuum bags after a soap and water washing since they are a bit expensive. They have worked great in the freezer as well as in a cooler loaded with ice. No leaks and as others have said, meats and vegetables have remained very fresh.

[Brewgyver]

Another Foodsaver brand user here. Their compact model is quite small enough to stash in a galley drawer. Target and other stores carry them, not just Costco. At $80 it is a great value. Gal friend of mine introduced me to it, she's had hers for at least five years. I've got fish filets in my home freezer that are almost a year old, still look great. Cooked one a few weeks ago that I caught in fall of 2014, it was still quite tasty!

[Mike OReilly]

Hi Ken, I have a Foodsaver Gamesaver model. Works great so far. It's not small, but not too large either. Has a nice carrying handle, and this version is designed for outdoors, so pretty rugged. I also went with this model b/c of it runs on both AC (110V) and DC (12V).

Amazon.com: FOODSAVER GAMESAVER SILVER REPETITIVE SEALING: Sports & Outdoors

Looks like it might be discontinued at Foodsaver. Still available at Amazon though.

[Jdege]

I'll put in another plug for the Sinbo.

You can buy a FoodSaver on Amazon for $80. A Sinbo will cost you $100.

FoodSaver quart bags are 44/$19, or $/0.43 each. Gallon bags are 28/$14, or $0.50 each.

200 8x10inch VacMaster vacuum chamber pouches are $30, or $0.15 each.

If you're going to actually use these regularly, the lower cost of the bags will quickly pay for themselves.

I've had my Sinbo for five years, and have gone through more than 2,000 bags, and it's still going strong.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by Jdege

There are three basic styles.

The commercial type have a chamber into which you place the bag, so you create a vacuum around the bag, and not just in it. These are bulky and expensive.

The consumer type clamp over the end of the bag and suck air out of it, but rely on special micro channeled bags. These are cheap and compact, but the bags are very expensive.

The third alternative uses a snorkel that fits into the bag. I've only seen one of these, the Sinbo dz-280. It's about the same size as the consumer sealers, costs just a bit more, but can use the same bags as the commercial vacuum sealers, which are a lot cheaper than the special bags that the consumer models require.

I have a Sinbo dz-280-2se this model has a side canister that would catch any liquids that got sucked into the vacuum sealer. it also has a slightly higher vacuum than the other models and you can disconnect the hose from the canister and attach a hose from a mason jar sealer which is mostly what I use. I have also used Ziploc freezer bags with the zip locks cut off for storage in the fridge. Much cheaper in the long run then having to buy expensive bags with channels in them. Another Advantage is they will do mylar bags. And one more thing, you can adjust the heat for different types of bags.

[belizesailor]

Another FoodSaver here. I have 2 different models of FoodSaver. One for the boat (more compact) and one for the Brewery ashore (great for storing beer ingredients too). Unfortunately, Im not near either one at the moment so dont know the model #s.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Sailor647

We inherited a "Foodsaver" brand. Likely a Costco purchase? It has rolls of the plastic to make the bags in any size you need. Comes in two different widths. It's runs on 110, but so far we've only used it while in port and stocking up. We hope to use with the inverter after catching a huge Yellowtail or Dorado. lol

Works great. Keeps food from freezer burning. We store up to a month's worth of frozen food.

This is very similar to the model I have ashore. What I especially like about this one is that the rotary switch near the top allows you to choose between vaccum & seal, seal only, and extended seal (assuming the same as mine). The more compact one I have on the boat does not have these options.