Bagsoffreshness vacuum sealer

Where to buy, how to use. Stuffers, casings, spices, grinders, etc.

Bagsoffreshness vacuum sealer

Postby saucisson » Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:04 pm

Santa brought me a vacuum bag sealer for Christmas so here is my review.

Having said for years you get what you pay for with bag sealers I thought I'd take my own advise and get a decent(ish) one. I chose the bags of freshness one because I know that others on the forum have them and I hoped that if I had any issues with it I would have more success with their customer support than with a random ebay seller. Note: bags of freshness do sell on ebay but they have a real online shop too. We've all seen those ebay you tube videos where they crush a beer can so I thought I'd start there...

Image

Looking at the inside it looks superficially similar to many you see on ebay, but the button layout seems specific to this model. There is a roll cutter built into the roll holder, so you slice of a length, use the seal only button to make a bag, clip the bag in place with the lid and hit the vacuum seal button. It pulls a vacuum and then seals only if it is happy that the vacuum has been created, so if you misallign the bag you can start again. There is a cancel button and a vacuum only button for using vacuum cannisters through the vacuum spigot (I didn't go for any of these). There is also a light seal selector for if you are resealing thin polythene rather than the embossed bags. It comes with a roll of 20cm sealer and I already had some 30cm.

Image

Image

Image

Well it certainly does what it says to the can... :D

I'm very pleased with it. It doesn't have anyway of regulating the vacuum for delicate items but that's not what I wanted it for, though I imagine judicious use of the cancel and seal buttons may allow you to do this.

This one at least is capable of pulling a very decent vacuum and as such I recommend it. There may be other cheaper ones that can do as good a job but you won't know without trying them.

Dave
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
User avatar
saucisson
Site Admin
 
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:46 pm
Location: Oxford UK

Postby captain wassname » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:12 pm

Thanks Dave Im looking at the moment I did see that WW had one he was satisfied with
Just need to obtain the OK from the chancellor

Jim
captain wassname
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1529
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:32 pm
Location: west cumbria

Postby Mike D » Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:02 pm

Exactly the same one as mine. I got it on eBay for about £40 plus four rolls of film from the same supplier as Dave, and I have to say that it is a great bit of kit.

You can press the seal button anytime the vacuum is running if you feel that too much juice/sauce is being sucked into the machine. :roll: The cancel button is instantaneous too!

Works really well - but I do have mine on the extended seal time setting to ensure a good melt on the film.
Cheers,


Mike
____________________________
When I think of a good signature I'll put it here.
User avatar
Mike D
Registered Member
 
Posts: 651
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:07 pm
Location: Border of Bury/Bolton up on the moors, Lancashire, England

Postby welsh wizard » Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:19 am

For what it is worth, I have had my BOF sealer (different to the one now sold, just updated though) for well over two years and it still remains as good today as it was when I first purchased it. I must have vac packed well over 500 sides of salmon with it as well as bacon, sausages, etc.

Re getting the right amount of suction. I have a manual overide on mine that I use which serves me well.

Right where is my commission :D

Cheers WW
Only those who go too far know how far they can go TSE
User avatar
welsh wizard
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1459
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:56 am
Location: Welsh Borders

Postby saucisson » Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:03 pm

Mike D wrote:
You can press the seal button anytime the vacuum is running


Ah, great tip: thanks Mike,

Dave
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
User avatar
saucisson
Site Admin
 
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:46 pm
Location: Oxford UK

Postby Paul Kribs » Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:34 pm

I have a Reber vacuum sealer, which uses embossed pouches. Bought it from Sausagemaking.org a while back. It is a very good bit of kit. I now notice Franco no longer sells it, or the bags/pouches. In fact I notice he no longer sells anything 'Reber'.. Are they 'no more?'... Have they been taken over?
Fortunately I did stock up on bags/pouches a few years back.

Regards, Paul Kribs
User avatar
Paul Kribs
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1588
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:41 am
Location: South London, England

Postby wheels » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:05 pm

It's worth noting that, although BOF is cheaper than most others for their vac-pac rolls, if you already shop with Weschenfelders for other supplies (only those not stocked by Franco, I hope) that theirs may work out cheaper as they have a maximum level on their postage of £5.90.

It also worth noting that Weschenfelders bags are cheaper and that if you buy their 300 x 500mm bags you get 50 metres of vac-pac for far less per metre than BOF charge even when postage is added.

BOF Rolls
280mm x 36 metres £31.95 - vac-point value £2 + £7.95 postage = £37.90 (£1.053 per metre)

Weschenfelder bags
300mm x 500mm x 100 (50 metres) £33.78 + £5.90 postage = £39.68 (£0.794 per metre)

The other bag sizes I use regularly (150 x 300, 200 x 300 and 250 x 350) also work out cheaper from Wesch's.

That said, the BOF machine is a lot cheaper than buying one from them - from what I've seen it'd be hard to get better for the money.

Phil
User avatar
wheels
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 12890
Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:29 pm
Location: Leicestershire, UK

Postby Richierich » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:27 pm

I have a foodsaver packer, but use Weshenfelders rolls and bags, only complaint with mine is that it will not seal until it is ready, so can suck the life out of delicates, like the idea of a seal button though.
User avatar
Richierich
Registered Member
 
Posts: 879
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:55 am
Location: Bicester, Oxfordshire, UK

Postby welsh wizard » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:49 pm

This is all really interesting..........

I know this sounds daft but do WS bags and rolls fit the BOF vac packer? I only ask as I once bought (off ebay ) a series of bags and none of them worked with the BOF vac packer.
Thanks

Cheers WW
Only those who go too far know how far they can go TSE
User avatar
welsh wizard
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1459
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:56 am
Location: Welsh Borders

Postby saucisson » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:56 pm

In the other thread we worked out that for rolls JML are doing a good deal at the moment and I will be ordering some soon to try out with the BOF machine. They look exactly the same as the roll that came with the machine.

Dave
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
User avatar
saucisson
Site Admin
 
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:46 pm
Location: Oxford UK

Postby welsh wizard » Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:06 pm

Hi Dave

I think I looked at this some time ago and I think that the JML rolls are 300cm long against the BOF 600cm, and therefore were not as good value.

Could be wrohg (often am acording to the wife)!

Cheers WW
Only those who go too far know how far they can go TSE
User avatar
welsh wizard
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1459
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:56 am
Location: Welsh Borders

Postby wheels » Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:14 pm

The JML ones are cheaper per metre taking postage into account - the postage seems fixed at £4.95 so buy a larger amount and they're cheaper still. However half of the amount of roll are 22cm wide rather than 28cm wide. If you don't want rolls and are happy with bags (or already buy other things from them) then Wesch's still seems to be marginally better.

I use more 150mm x 300mm than anything else and find it convienient to use bags rather than having to cut and seal each one twice.

Phil
User avatar
wheels
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 12890
Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:29 pm
Location: Leicestershire, UK

Postby captain wassname » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:40 pm

Mike
How long ago. They seem (like so much else) to be dearer on ebay

Jim
captain wassname
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1529
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:32 pm
Location: west cumbria

Postby Mike D » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:09 am

Hi Jim,

It was around end of August or start of Sept when I got mine. I'd been watching several and missed a few, so I got an idea of what the 'bid' price ended up at. If I remember correctly, the postage stuck about another tenner on it :shock:


I will be ordering the JML rolls later this week... this is the link to our cost dicussions on vac seal rolls and these JML ones look identical to the ones supplied with the BOF sealer. Thread is here.
Cheers,


Mike
____________________________
When I think of a good signature I'll put it here.
User avatar
Mike D
Registered Member
 
Posts: 651
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:07 pm
Location: Border of Bury/Bolton up on the moors, Lancashire, England

Postby saucisson » Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:46 pm

captain wassname wrote:Mike
How long ago. They seem (like so much else) to be dearer on ebay

Jim


I think I "won" mine for about 59p less than the buy it now price... :cry: :roll: As with so many things on ebay auction fever seems to raise the price you need to pay to near (or in some cases well above, the retail price... which staggers me :shock: ).

The JML machine is £49.99 but I don't know how it compares with the BOF one.

Dave
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
User avatar
saucisson
Site Admin
 
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:46 pm
Location: Oxford UK

Next

Return to Equipment & Supplies

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests