Loquitur Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 The pump on my unit continues to run during the sealing process (at a slightly reduced rate). I can see how this would be good, but it has always bugged me. I have a Foodsaver V2860 and it does not engage the pump for a manual seal. It is silent in this mode. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddlycalm Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Ironically, it was a search for a vacuum sealer that led to my discovering ceramic cookers quite a few years ago. I have stuck with the top of the line Foodsavers due to the reasons Syzygies mentions plus one he doesn't. We use the vacuum canisters to store chopped fruit and veggies for our parrot Manny. We're on our second unit after 6yrs on the first. We use it daily but we don't use it all day long. When we moved into the city (Portland) and downsized we gave up our massive freezer so we don't store as much as we used to. oc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 I'm really afraid that if I keep using Foodsaver products I'll spend the rest of my life in a room they don't let you back out of. This thread makes it clear that the way to go if you have the money and the space is a vacuum chamber unit. With such a unit there is no problem with liquids. Short of such a unit, it appears from many frustrating phone calls and email exchanges that every "higher end" replacement for a Foodfouler can't handle liquids without fouling the pump. They're thinking the only market that will spend more than a Foodsaver is hunters, and they don't have liquid, or they're willing to freeze then pump. If you freeze before pumping tomatoes, or stew, they don't fit nicely in the chest freezer without rethawing, which is bad for the food. And our large chest freezer is filled with ingredients like this, we absolutely must have the packets fit nicely or we'll run out of room. We partially dehydrated 60 lbs of tomatoes over the weekend. Sort of like Thomas Keller's "precious tomatoes" (I realize everything in Keller's books are precious, so this won't help anyone find the recipe) or Tom Colicchio's roast tomatoes, only better suited for mass production so we never open a can during the year. Skin by scalding 90 seconds, slice into a dehydrator with 1/2 tsp++ sea salt per tray, dry 8-12 hours at 135 F till gooshy (we have two American Harvester FD-61's and 16 trays) and vacuum pack. Who'd expect the vacuum pack stage to get finicky? As in, even their top-of-the-line products are junk. So does anyone have first-hand with a non-chamber, higher-end Foodfouler alternative, that can handle liquids without fouling the pump? I doubt I'll be able to post here from a room they don't let you back out of, so perhaps I should just buy the chamber unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Japanese Vacuum Bag "Clothespin" ?? I think I have it: Two dowels, a pair of tight 0-rings, make up clamps like they sell for squeezing toothpaste tubes, one per freezer packet. Flatten to desired shape, freeze, later come back and vacuum seal with a decent (read: not FoodSaver) hunter's vacuum packer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Rex Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 After going through something like 5 Foodfouler units, we bought a Weston Vacuum sealer and have not had any problems since we purchased it a couple of years back............. It still uses those crappy bags but we have not had any pump problems. The sealing strip on these units are more than twice the width of the other unit. T Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 We partially dehydrated 60 lbs of tomatoes over the weekend. Sort of like Thomas Keller's "precious tomatoes" (I realize everything in Keller's books are precious, so this won't help anyone find the recipe) or Tom Colicchio's roast tomatoes, only better suited for mass production so we never open a can during the year. Skin by scalding 90 seconds, slice into a dehydrator with 1/2 tsp++ sea salt per tray, dry 8-12 hours at 135 F till gooshy (we have two American Harvester FD-61's and 16 trays) and vacuum pack Wow, Syz, 60 pounds??? That is impressive!!! I did 10 pounds last year on your instructions and thought they were fantastic - especially in the dead of winter. I will definitely do them again this year in October. I think I'll do 20 pounds this time. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 we bought a Weston Vacuum sealer Interesting, I was considering Cabela's CG-15 Vacuum Sealer Their manual refers service questions to http://www.pragotrade.com, which resolves to http://www.westonsupply.com. Identical specs. Small world. Weston's Amazon reviews cite a worse time with bags from other manufacturers. I have many boxes of FoodSaver small bags I'd like to be able to use. The Cabela CG-15 manual describes a seal adjust setting one can play with to accommodate different bags. The display does look different for the Weston. Either their site is too brain-dead to post an online manual, or I'm too brain-dead to find it, but the Weston display looks like it is lacking this crucial adjustment. So I lean toward the Cabela unit. Glancing at the Cabela unit, how does it compare to the Weston? Can you adjust the seal for different bags? Have you had luck with FoodSaver bags? Another review comment says that fouling the pump with liquid is not covered by warranty. It appears to be crucial to prefreeze wet loads. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Cabela CG-15 Looks like my guess was right. Here's the answer to my support request asking for a comparison: Thank you for contacting Weston Products. We actually make both products and they are the same internally; however, the displays are a bit different. The CG-15 offers the option of adjusting the vacuum and seal time since many fisherman and hunters use this product. The Pro 2300 is more consumer friendly so the CG-15 options aren’t available. The display is much simpler by hitting a start button and allowing the sealer to do the work. Please email me back if you have any other questions. Have a great week! So given that the prices are comparable, it looks like an open-shut case in favor of the CG-15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Rex Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Re: Cabela CG-15 Looks like my guess was right. Here's the answer to my support request asking for a comparison: Thank you for contacting Weston Products. We actually make both products and they are the same internally; however, the displays are a bit different. The CG-15 offers the option of adjusting the vacuum and seal time since many fisherman and hunters use this product. The Pro 2300 is more consumer friendly so the CG-15 options aren’t available. The display is much simpler by hitting a start button and allowing the sealer to do the work. Please email me back if you have any other questions. Have a great week! So given that the prices are comparable, it looks like an open-shut case in favor of the CG-15. I looked at the Cabela unit and right before I was going to purchase it found an incredible deal on the Weston Pro 2300 in stainless that I could not pass up. I should mention that the Foodsaver bags work fine. The other big plus over the Foodsaver is the sealing bar is more than twice as wide and you can use bags that are 15 inches wide......... I have sealed an incredible amount of fish with mine and short of the chamber units, this is the best one I have found. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that you can seal the bags right up to the top unlike the Foodsaver that makes you wast 2 or 3 inches of bag just to seal it.......... T Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Re: Cabela CG-15 Oh yeah' date=' I almost forgot to mention that you can seal the bags right up to the top unlike the Foodsaver that makes you wast 2 or 3 inches of bag just to seal it.......... [/quote'] Thanks! Right now the price is a push, I'd go with Cabela and have essentially your unit. The "seal to the top" bit sounds like what one gets in trade for less liquid tolerance. What is your actual experience with liquid tolerance? When do you prefreeze? Do you live in fear that you will foul the pump from weeping meat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Rex Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Re: Cabela CG-15 Oh yeah' date=' I almost forgot to mention that you can seal the bags right up to the top unlike the Foodsaver that makes you wast 2 or 3 inches of bag just to seal it.......... [/quote'] Thanks! Right now the price is a push, I'd go with Cabela and have essentially your unit. The "seal to the top" bit sounds like what one gets in trade for less liquid tolerance. What is your actual experience with liquid tolerance? When do you prefreeze? Do you live in fear that you will foul the pump from weeping meat? I have never had a liquid problem however, I do my utmost to ensure there is not excessive moisture in what I am trying to process. I easily vacuum seal over 150 lbs. of Salmon fillets every year and I have yet to pre-freeze anything. When this one goes, and it will some day, my next unit will be a vacuum chamber, the savings on the bags is HUGE. T Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Re: Cabela CG-15 When this one goes' date=' and it will some day, my next unit will be a vacuum chamber, the savings on the bags is HUGE. T Rex[/quote'] How does this one look? http://www.qualitymatters.com/VacMaster ... -vp112.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Rex Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hmmmmmm, haven't seen that unit before. I would do some research on any reviews that might be on Google. I found a really nice unit for around $1,200 that I will see if I can find again. You must understand that even the vacuum chamber units can be pretty finicky. The top units are $5K plus.......... T Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hmmmmmm, haven't seen that unit before. I would do some research on any reviews that might be on Google. I found a really nice unit for around $1,200 that I will see if I can find again. You must understand that even the vacuum chamber units can be pretty finicky. The top units are $5K plus.......... The next one up (vp210) is $909. vp210c is $1010. Free shipping.Both are outside 19x12x15. Inside 15.5x11x5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2010 More tech support from Weston. I suggested many people only bought FoodSaver units to deal with liquids, why did they cede this market to FoodSaver rather than making some accommodation? Screening the vacuum hole would reduce the pressure of the pump. All vacuum sealers are designed this way since they are sucking in air and it would seriously decrease the pressure if we put something to prevent liquid from going in. We don't like it but the best advice I can give you is wrap the product you are vacuuming. I wish I had better advice but our vacuum sealer is so popular due to the pump. Please email me back if you have any other questions. Have a great day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rorkin Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Also pricy but is a lower priced chamber machine http://www.vacuumpacker.com/index.php/K ... _id/108069 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerard Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Heluva deal, better act fast I'm not in the market, but I imagine some of you are. Per the Slickdeals.net website: FoodSaver has FoodSaver V3840 Vacuum Sealing System for $89.99 (see discounted price in shopping cart). If discount is not automatic in cart, you may try entering coupon code W1FEEEE. Shipping is free. Thanks CallMeTraitor http://www.foodsaver.com/product.aspx?p ... ID=1225267 The usual price is $299.99. Slickdeals frontpage listings usually sell out within hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) Just for info, it is already out of stock.....damn! -=J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerard Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) I regret not putting that in a separate thread in the Komodo General group. I don't think many folks saw it in time down here where I buried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) I've had pretty good luck with the Westson Pro 2300. I purchased it on Ebay, but here is an Amazon link. Next step up would be a chamber sealer. http://www.amazon.com/Weston-65-0201-Pr ... B001GP81R2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
