Cheap vacuum sealing machine

[roseway]

If you want a cheap vacuum sealer, Tchibo http://www.tchibo.co.uk are selling a simple but reasonably effective machine for �14.99.

Eric

[jenny_haddow]

I have something similar that I bought 8 or 9 years ago, still going strong. Doesn't exactly suck out the air to a vacuum, but does a good enough job for the freezer and seals the bags very well. I've got my first piece of bacon curing nicely in the fridge sealed in a bag from this machine. I paid a tenner for mine and have used it countless times.

Jen

[welsh wizard]

Hi Both, yes I use this company a lot for bits and bobs and find their goods to be of good quality. Interestingly this month they have a discounted fish knife (�4.99) which looks just the job for my smoked salmon!

Cheers WW

[roseway]

Where do you get the bag rolls from, Jen?

Eric

[jenny_haddow]

Hi Eric,

Believe it not, Lidl. They do boxes of freezer bags on a roll, 75 in a box, size 25 x 32 cm. Big enough for most of my requirements (I've got a 2kilo piece of belly curing in one at the moment), but above all they are a very good heavy duty plastic bag which you need for a vacuum sealer. I believe Lakeland have the continuous rolls if you want to go bigger, mine came with a couple of rolls but once I used them I found these others that I've used ever since. The Tschibo site would probably have info on replacement rolls.

Hope that's of help

Cheers

Jen

[KevinR]

Eric / Jen

I purchased one of these this lunch-time from the local shop. I asked about replacement rolls and was told that Tschibo did not stock them but ordinary freezer bags worked fine. I was a little sceptical but from what Jen says they were right. I hope so as the rolls that are supplied are just folded plastic and require sealing on two sides to make the bag before vacuum sealing. Not too much of a problem except it limits the depth of the bag, with their plastic, to the width if the machine. However with a Lidl or a Tesco bag longer bags could be used.

A thought I've seen rolls of 'tube' plastic for sale (for freezing fish) which would allow an infinite length to the bag!

I will experiment once I get home this evening.

Kevin

PS I looked on e-bay and very similar models were being offereds between �27.99 and 29.99, which makes Tschibo's �14.99 excelent value, it also has a 14 day return period if not satisfied and a three year warranty.

[jenny_haddow]

Kevin

The fish bags sound good as long as the plastic is nice and thick. Thin plastic food bags just wont seal properly, the heating wire just burns holes in the bags.

Jen

[roseway]

Thanks Jen & Kevin. You've given me some good pointers.

Eric

[KevinR]

Kevin

The fish bags sound good as long as the plastic is nice and thick. Thin plastic food bags just wont seal properly, the heating wire just burns holes in the bags.

Jen

Jen

The 'fish bags' I saw were very thick, I shall try and look them out and give them a try.....now where was it I saw them

I tried out the new toy this evening and it did what it said on the box. As you say, it 'doesn't exactly suck out the air to a vacuum' but it does a fairly good job as long as you give it a few moments. I also tried some ordinary Tesco freezer bags and some thin Tesco cheapy freezer bags we keep for sandwiches and similar and it coped well. All in all, for the price, I am very pleased.

Kevin

[jenny_haddow]

You probably know this already, but some Sommerfield stores stock Tschibo stuff, I know the one in Chepstow did all their kitchen specials. If you have a store locally it might be worth checking out if you're interested in the vacuum sealer. Saves having to send off and pay P&P

Jen

[Wohoki]

Think I might give one a go as well. Under twenty quid delivered isn't too bad.

[jenny_haddow]

Kevin,

If you get as much of the food to be sealed at the bottom of the bag, then carefully roll up the bag towards the suction nozzle while it's extracting air, you can near as dammit get all the air out, but you have to be careful not to push the food into the nozzle. I've done this for so long I'm used to it, but with practice you'll get a fair seal.

The beauty of them is sealing liquid for freezing, you can pack it flat and get much more in the freezer.

Jen

[Rik vonTrense]

I don't think that this affects anyone else here but the bags that Franco sells for the Reber stuffer work with my Foodsaver II who's bags are very expensive.

It doesn't work with ordinary plastic bags as there is no extraction pipe to go into the bag. I have a Salter vacuum packer that I have had for years and that works like the ones you are talking about I should think.

The Foodsaver II the end of the bag goes into a trough and when the lid comes down the rubber surrounding the trough clamps the bag and prevents any moisture going into the vacuum trough it extracts the air through these little veins on the back of the bag and then automatically seals it when all the air has been extracted.

When I was testing one of Franco's bags I put in an Easter Egg, being the nearest thing to hand............ as the vacuum pulled out..... the egg collapsed flat....

That must prove something.... it was quite a novelty to have a flat cadbury's easter egg still perfectly wrapped in foil.


.

[roseway]

There's a Tchibo shop near where I live (Ashford, Kent) so I didn't have to pay any postage. They change their stock every week, so it's always worth popping in for a quick look round.

Eric

[Rik vonTrense]

I mentioned somewhere else that I have two vacu packers the proper one that sucks out all the air and flattens anything soft in the bag and the bags cost the earth.......

I also have a Salter that I have had for years....this is supplied with a roll of bag you make up yourself by sealing one end and then filling it and sucking out the air the other end and then sealing it.

Only thing was it sisn't really vacuum pack but just drew out some air and sealed the bag.

Well it works with ordinary plastic bags but I found a way of making it much more efficient.

I take a plastic bag and put in the article I am going to pack then I seal the bag off in a suitable length for the stuff inside.

My packer has a hot wire and a central tube that extracts the air if you close the lid it extracts air and the red light comes on and goes off and if you press on the lid a green light comes on and it seals the bag and goes out when it's done....

After I have sealed the bag with the goods inside I cut a small hole in the bag where the extraction tube will go in to extract the air.......when there is only one small hole all the air will be extracted to almost a vacuum and then it can be sealed properly.

When it only has to deal with one small hole it works far better than if it has to deal with the whole length of the bag,.

It is ideal for packing bangers and bacon etc......and no where near so costly.


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