Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Advice needed on vacuum sealers is there good ones and bad ones and price Thanks
time to cull 100 trout

For the price go for a sunbeam one.... its a lot cheaper than paying for a commercial one and they do a great job.

Mine is a "FoodSaver" and haven't had any problems with it. I by large rolls of bags on Ebay instead of the expensive brand-name bags. They work just as well and are a fraction of the price.

We've got a "foodsaver" one as well. No probs yet

Keep the blood/water out of the food savers... kills the vacuum pump. I killed two of them.
Add a paper towel just infront of the area to be sealed and works great. I pack a lot of deer meat yearly and that what I found. Also a little water helps work air out of areas the pump won't suck the air out of and helps prevent freezer burn. With the fish fillets water won't be needed. Meats and fish can be kept for years without freezer taste or burn. I love those things.

Haven't got one but have been looking at getting this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-FOOD-SAVER-V ... %26ps%3D54

Himzo.

BRB, do you mean a paper towel inside the bag you are sealing?

I have a food saver also, and it works well.

Thanks for all the info got one $85 delivered from here http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/PINNACLE ... QQ_armrsZ1

Just wondering who knows where is a good place to buy the plastic refills for a Foodsaver?

Ebay's pretty good Faye - Don't think there is any need to get branded ones.

These vac sealers are very good and worth the effort.
Just a few tips and general info.
Freezer burn is not harmful, just unsightly, tough and not very tasty. Its actually freeze dried product that wont re-constitute properly.
The continuous roll bags are way cheaper and give a greater variety of size.
Frozen foods do deteriorate over time and Vacuum packing does prolong that life by approx double, if using domestic freezers that are usually set at -18C then you should consider eating white fish within 6 months and oily fish withing 3 months. They wont be bad after this but the quality will reduce.
If you have access to a commercial freezer running at -28 'C then the quality lifespan extends to a couple of years or more with no deterioration of quality, (energy intensive to run)
Vacuum packing and freezing DOES NOT DESTROY PATHOGENS it only puts them to sleep so always defrost in the fridge not the workbench.
Blanch and refresh veggies first before packing and freezing.
The shelf life of vacuum packed raw foods is no more than 4 weeks in the fridge "IF" you can guarantee it will always be below +4'C.
There are a couple of very dangerous pathogens that grow in the absence of oxygen at temps above +6'C
Charles

i've been looking for one as well..just bought a 20cu ft freezer (used) to start harvesting fish..
i think i'll be smoking some before freezing, and canning some as well...
we used to store our fish in small tupperware containers, with the raw fish just covered with water before putting in the freezer, and never had problem with freezer burns on loads of fish..
one method i'm trying i found ala alton brown (food tv sciency type guy);
first wrap the chicken/meat/fish in saran wrap, then foil.. finally put it in a ziploc, close the ziploc almost all the way, and use a straw to suck out the air..
(i'd rather have a food saver)

We have a Maxxon vac machine from crazysales - cost <$60 and we've used it for abut 3+ years. We buy 10m rolls of 28cm wide plastic bag material @ circa $10 each. Food comes out just like it went in - on a regular basis we go to Footscray Market and I buy fresh whole salmon and slice it up and pack it.

The vac packer would have to be one of the most useful purchases I have made in years.

Next food project is to build a smoker. Also have just bought a dehydrator, a small one about 40cm across and 5 trays to start trying out drying meat and veggies.