Vac Sealing Wet Stuff??

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tjohnson

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Dec 29, 2009
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Guys,

I'm in the market for a new Vac Sealer

The problem with my current sealer and many others, is they won't seal wet items like chicken breasts.

What model does a good job, without having to double bag or use a paper towel to keep the juice from getting into the sealer?

I see the one Bear posted, and for $89 is a great deal, but if it can't seal wet food, I gotta pass

Todd
 
Todd, you can always put your chicken breasts or whatever in the bag and put it in the freezer till mostly frozen then seal. Or freeze on a cookie sheet then bag it up.
 
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lay the breast or whatever meat on a sheet pan and freeze then vac seal while frozen.
 
Todd, you can always put your chicken breasts or whatever in the bag and put it in the freezer till mostly frozen then seal. Or freeze on a cookie sheet then bag it up.
That's what I do too.

However the one in that ad is like mine, and if it sucks up a little liquid, it goes to a little trough. You can just pull the little trough out, and dump it, and stick it back in. That takes about 10 seconds.

I don't know what would happen if you would suck up enough liquid to overfill the long trough, but that is why I freeze very wet things first (at least partially).

Bear
 
I'm interested in this answer as well...JJ
 
I have trouble sealing anything with moisture as well. Mine looks pretty much exactly like the one Bear posted.


Ross,

Just pop the vacuum sealer open, and find that long narrow through.

Snap it out & if there's liquid in it, dump it out.

Then snap it back in.

Like some of us said, we freeze our moist & soft stuff, at least partially before vacuum sealing.

When you're all done, I would pull that trough out, and clean it good & dry it, and snap it back in. It's real easy to do.

Bear
 
You can drain the food the best you can, freezing helps considerably.

I also fold a paper towel or two and put them between the meat and the end of the bag so any liquid would have to pass through the paper towel.  I have no problems removing the paper towel when I defrost the meat.
 
Ross,

Just pop the vacuum sealer open, and find that long narrow through.

Snap it out & if there's liquid in it, dump it out.

Then snap it back in.

Like some of us said, we freeze our moist & soft stuff, at least partially before vacuum sealing.

When you're all done, I would pull that trough out, and clean it good & dry it, and snap it back in. It's real easy to do.

Bear
Even if my trough is empty and totally dry I have issues. My brother and I bought  the same sealer two years ago and we both hate them. I figured I would upgrade and spend some good money and get a good one but our cheaper ones work much better. this one wastes so much of the bag on the seal. So much that you need over an inch on both seals or  else  it won't seal. And half  the time we seal stuff it won't form a good seal. My old cheap sealer only needs maybe half an inch  to form a good seal. I am going through bags left and right now because there is 2-4 inches of extra bag that you need  on each seal with this new sealer. Neither of us are impressed with our units especially for how much we paid.
 
Even if my trough is empty and totally dry I have issues. My brother and I bought  the same sealer two years ago and we both hate them. I figured I would upgrade and spend some good money and get a good one but our cheaper ones work much better. this one wastes so much of the bag on the seal. So much that you need over an inch on both seals or  else  it won't seal. And half  the time we seal stuff it won't form a good seal. My old cheap sealer only needs maybe half an inch  to form a good seal. I am going through bags left and right now because there is 2-4 inches of extra bag that you need  on each seal with this new sealer. Neither of us are impressed with our units especially for how much we paid.
Hmmm, mine works good, but it does need extra bag to get into the seal slot.

I guess it doesn't bother me, because the one I used before (my Son's) needed even more extra bag.

I do have one now & then that when I get it from the freezer, it isn't tight any more, but they tell me when I get bags from that other company, I won't have that problem.

Bear
 
This is the sealer  that my brother and I have and I see there are several reviews with the same issues as we have.

http://www.amazon.com/Foodsaver-Smartseal-V3485-Brushed-Stainless/product-reviews/B002SAZ02I

It  wastes so  much of the bags as you need a long tail on each end in order  to get a seal. If you don't have at least 1.5 inches of tail left forget about trying to get it to seal. Many times it will only remove  half  the air out of the bag and then it will start to seal it closed. I am unable to get wet things to seal. I don't like the automatic sensor that detects the bag going in and then lowers the arm down to latch onto  the bag and do its vacuum/seal.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this unit to anyone. I am in no way trying to detour you from getting a vacuum sealer or bashing the food saver brand. We both had cheap food savers that worked twice as good as these and we loved them but we upgraded because we use our old ones so much for packaging sausage that we wanted a second unit. And just to clarify the new one  acts up weather you are sealing 1 bag or 100 bags. Some times it seals the bags very good but its hit or miss. Things have gotten better when I started leaving about 3 inches of tail on each end  off the bag but still if anything has moisture in it forget about it even when I do use the moisture setting on the unit. Just wanted  to give you our experience with this particular unit. Between 4 of us that have 6 different units this is the only unit so far that we have had this issue with. But we are  the only ones that have the upright style and this is the only upright style I have ever used so I don't have anything to  compare  it to. I am guessing it may be this model.
 
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This is the sealer  that my brother and I have and I see there are several reviews with the same issues as we have.

http://www.amazon.com/Foodsaver-Smartseal-V3485-Brushed-Stainless/product-reviews/B002SAZ02I

It  wastes so  much of the bags as you need a long tail on each end in order  to get a seal. Mine does too, but I thought they all did. Mine uses less extra bag than I needed to get to the sealer on my Son's old Gamesaver. If you don't have at least 1.5 inches of tail left forget about trying to get it to seal. Many times it will only remove  half  the air out of the bag and then it will start to seal it closed. Mine only has that problem after about 15 to 20 sealings, without a rest. I think it heats up, and has a saftety quit on it. Once I let it sit for awhile, it's good for another 15 or 20. I am unable to get wet things to seal. I don't like the automatic sensor that detects the bag going in and then lowers the arm down to latch onto  the bag and do its vacuum/seal. I never noticed that.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this unit to anyone. I am in no way trying to detour you from getting a vacuum sealer or bashing the food saver brand. We both had cheap food savers that worked twice as good as these and we loved them but we upgraded because we use our old ones so much for packaging sausage that we wanted a second unit. And just to clarify the new one  acts up weather you are sealing 1 bag or 100 bags. Some times it seals the bags very good but its hit or miss. Things have gotten better when I started leaving about 3 inches of tail on each end  off the bag but still if anything has moisture in it forget about it even when I do use the moisture setting on the unit. Just wanted  to give you our experience with this particular unit. It's good to get other people's take on these things, not just from one of us. I'm glad you made these comments. If I had those problems I'd be peed off too, and I'd be on the phone with the company!!!
Thanks Ross,

Bear
 
I have one of these I bought it from QVC a while back, it has a moist button on it and the little tray inside as Bear was describing. I have done PP that is really moist, I found a deal on large packs of hot dogs from one of my favorite brands and sealed them with all the liquid running off of them. I have also done things like pieces of pie, I am not a big sweets person so if I make something I break it down and vac seal it in smaller portions.

 
I am unable to get wet things to seal. I don't like the automatic sensor that detects the bag going in and then lowers the arm down to latch onto  the bag and do its vacuum/seal. I never noticed that.

On my older sealer you would manually push down the until it slicked on each side and then the bag would be snapped into the unit so  it could seal well my new one doesn't have that. You stick the bag into the slit and when it senses the bag a little piece gets lowered down and pushes the bag down so that it can create a seal to vacuum then seal the bag closed. I don't like this electrical part as its just one more  thing to go bad and half  the time I have to put the bag in  multiple times before it will actually grab the bag (especially if you have a shorter tail). I would much rather have a unit  where you put the bag in then you push down to lock the bag into the machine. I guess  I we were just spoiled with our old units as you only needed a tiny tail in  order to get  it to seal. What are you guys finding is a normal length you need in  order to get yours to seal. Maybe 2-3inches on each end is normal for most machines? I was just use to only needed a small tail so that is what I was comparing it to.
 
Great.. Now the reviews come out after I pulled the trigger (albeit it was a hair trigger) on this unit... oh well.. syas I have 30 dyas to return it for full refund If not happy with it
 
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I am unable to get wet things to seal. I don't like the automatic sensor that detects the bag going in and then lowers the arm down to latch onto  the bag and do its vacuum/seal. I never noticed that.

On my older sealer you would manually push down the until it slicked on each side and then the bag would be snapped into the unit so  it could seal well my new one doesn't have that. You stick the bag into the slit and when it senses the bag a little piece gets lowered down and pushes the bag down so that it can create a seal to vacuum then seal the bag closed. I don't like this electrical part as its just one more  thing to go bad and half  the time I have to put the bag in  multiple times before it will actually grab the bag (especially if you have a shorter tail). I would much rather have a unit  where you put the bag in then you push down to lock the bag into the machine. I guess  I we were just spoiled with our old units as you only needed a tiny tail in  order to get  it to seal. What are you guys finding is a normal length you need in  order to get yours to seal. Maybe 2-3inches on each end is normal for most machines? I was just use to only needed a small tail so that is what I was comparing it to.
With the ones I have used, this is limited by how much the food you have in it, because the food keeps you from getting any closer to the slot in the one I have now, and being able to close the top door on the one I used to use. As for the first seal---The one on the end before you put the food in---I just measured it----The seal is 1 1/8" from the end of the bag.

Bear
 
After looking things over.. your model number is V3485.. the one Bear posted (and I bought) is model number V3840... so maybe with some luck the one I just bought will be a better unit
 
After looking things over.. your model number is V3485.. the one Bear posted (and I bought) is model number V3840... so maybe with some luck the one I just bought will be a better unit
Yea hopefully that  one works. Go check out some of the reviews and see what they say. I just read some reviews on mine and others  have had the same issues as I already figured since  my brother has been having the same issues. His is actually worse then mine. And  I want to reiterate that I am only talking about the V3485 model which is what I have. I  have used  about 5 other models and they have all been great but none of  them were the vertical unit.
 
They look different but probably have the same internal parts.. the v3840 is a $100 more so maybe there is something thats better about it... dunno.. will find out when I get it
 
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