# thoughts on vacumcanner



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

http://vacucanner.com/ . 
Looking to use this for dry ingredients . Could do better ? something cheaper ? or one machine to do all my vacuum sealing .


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

I had not heard of this. Watched the video and looked at their prices online. I can't offer an opinion about this product.

I love my Professional FoodSaver ll vacuum sealer. I've had around 13 years and paid around $180 for it. Prices seem to be around the same now. It is still working great and has a permanent place with a small footprint on my counter. With a jar attachment, I can pull a vacuum on a mason jar. Also, using separately purchased bags, I can pull a vacuum seal on cheese, leftovers, dehydrated items, or fresh meat. I reuse bags that haven't held raw meat. Lose about an inch of bag with each reuse, but can still use each bag 3 or more times each. Turn bags inside out and wash in the dishwasher. Recipes can also be sealed in the bags and cooked in boiling water. The bags I'm using now were $19.99 per 100, 6x10. I also have rolls of 11" bag material that I can use to make any length bag. There is a thread here with better prices on bags.

I have had meat stay in the freezer for over 12 years without freezer burn. Finally pulled out and cooked not long ago. Can't speak to the decades of seal that the video mentions, but Chef Tess has dry meals in a jar using oxygen absorbers that have lasted 7 - 10 years.


----------



## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

I have had 2- professional Food Savers and I think you would get more use with one of these than you would with the one in the video. You can dry pack seal jars with the food saver one at a time but you can also vac. Seal your food saver bags. Just my opinion and good luck with your choice.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

I checked out chef tess . Cool youtube channel .


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Wow, those are some hefty prices! I agree, you'd get a lot more use out of a Food Saver. I have one and love it. You can also get replacement bags cheaper through other sites than the main Food Saver site. I use the marinator quite a bit too when I make jerky. It can be done in a bag, but it's less messy and saves on waste with the marinator container.

http://www.foodsaver.com/Index.aspx...6bf4863b7b81&gclid=CO7Gqqflp7UCFe9aMgodFVAAVA

Also, for a nonelectric option, there is also the Pump 'N Seal. I also have one of these, and it works great too. I had it long before I got my Food Saver. The Food Saver works easier on bags, so I use it most of the time, but keep the Pump 'N Seal for power outages or if I just want to do a few quick jars without having to get out the Food Saver. 

http://pump-n-seal.com/info.htm

You can also Google how to make your own replacement tabs if you don't want to keep purchasing the ones from Pump 'N Seal. There are articles and some videos also about it, and this works great as well. 

Last but not least (and the cheapest), you can dry pack a lot of things in your oven. Google is your friend. 

As for myself, I think the Vacucanner is a huge waste of money, which could be spent much better elsewhere. Just my two cents.

P.S. I love Chef Tess too. I've been doing food storage and meals in jars for over 30 years, but she's given me some new ideas.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

Can you do jars of any size with foodsaver ? What about using this machine (vacumcanner) as a meal in jar machine or homemade MRE ?


----------



## kittyjo (Feb 10, 2005)

ditto;; love my Food Saver vacuum sealer for jars and bags


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Wintergrower_OH said:


> Can you do jars of any size with foodsaver?


Foodsaver makes wide mouth and regular attachments. I have the wide mouth and seal regular jars in a foodsaver cannister. I have sealed everything from 1/2 cup to quart jars.


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Wintergrower_OH said:


> What about using this machine (vacumcanner) as a meal in jar machine or homemade MRE ?


If you're talking about actual ready to open and eat things like stew, soup, etc., NO, it would not be safe in that machine! For that, you need a regular pressure canner, as the foods must be heated to the 240-degree level and held there for a certain period of time (90 minutes for anything with meat) to be safe to eat. 

You could use it to seal dried food mixtures like dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated meats, beans, rice, etc., in combinations so that you would open them, add water and cook until ready to eat, but again you can do that with a Food Saver, the Pump 'N Seal or in the oven.

To me, the Vacuccanner looks like a one-trick pony; the only thing it's good for is vacuum sealing dry ingredients, and again for that kind of money I'd pass it up and go a different route. Again, just my two cents.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

what about using a chamber sealer like Vacmaster VP112 Chamber Vacuum Sealer over foodsaver. I'm looking at a wesson sealer over the foodsaver. The vacmaster chamber sealer wouldn't be for camping i guess because of the type of bag . i guess i need to watch more food in jar youtubes .


----------



## kittyjo (Feb 10, 2005)

calliemoonbeam said:


> If you're talking about actual ready to open and eat things like stew, soup, etc., NO, it would not be safe in that machine! For that, you need a regular pressure canner, as the foods must be heated to the 240-degree level and held there for a certain period of time (90 minutes for anything with meat) to be safe to eat.
> 
> You could use it to seal dried food mixtures like dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated meats, beans, rice, etc., in combinations so that you would open them, add water and cook until ready to eat, but again you can do that with a Food Saver, the Pump 'N Seal or in the oven.
> 
> To me, the Vacuccanner looks like a one-trick pony; the only thing it's good for is vacuum sealing dry ingredients, and again for that kind of money I'd pass it up and go a different route. Again, just my two cents.


 
I agree with moonbeam about the stews and wet foods ready to eat they would not be safe
I make up soup mixes and seal them with my foodsaver then add canned meat or my own some water and cook for a couple hours 
then you have a nice pot of soup 
check out www.mixesinajar.com to get some recipes they will keep a long time in the air tight jars 
good luck and have fun with your new adventure.


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm not familiar with the VacMaster, but it looks like a very nice machine, and it got mostly good reviews. I'd search for more reviews or maybe discussions on message boards from people who actually use one before spending that much money though...but then I research everything to death, lol! 

I also haven't personally used a Weston sealer, but they tend to make very good products also. It seems like you're wanting a more heavy duty sealer than the Food Saver for your personal use. However, I wouldn't count on it being better or lasting longer just because it costs more, if that's your thinking. Things just aren't made to have much longevity any more. I've been perfectly happy with my Food Saver for almost five years with no problems, and I figure that's a pretty good return on investment in this day and age. Of course, I bought it when it was on sale 50% off, I rarely buy big ticket items until they go on sale.

Again, back to the wet food issue...I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, lol, just want you to be safe. NO machine is going to allow you to seal wet/ready-to-eat foods in a bag OR a jar except for jars in a waterbath canner (for low-acid fruits and jellies mostly) or a pressure canner (most vegetables and all meats). 

I don't know if you're familiar with canning at all, but even with pressure canning it's not recommended to use certain things like pasta, rice, thickeners, etc. You have to follow certain formulas and guidelines to process and seal the food so that it will be safe to eat and not grow botulism...and you can't see, smell or taste botulism. It's onset can occur anywhere from 6 hours to 10 days after eating contaminated food, and by the time you realize that's what it is it may be too late.

Hope all this helps and sorry if I sound like such a downer regarding your ideas. I'm really not trying to be, just trying to make sure you're safe.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

Not really a downer . I just have to my head around what i want to do first , second and third. meals in jar are really mre in a jar (this is where i'm going to start) . . What i don't understand now is the youtube video of meals in the jar . I understand the dehydrated part . Just not having all the different large can open for just a few jars and no way to seal the cans of dehydrated ingredients for later use . Aren't can food harmful . A Pressure canner is kind of intimidating . Water bath , no problems (grew up doing this ) . I'm also looking at an inexpensive chamber sealer later on . The local Pantry store is now selling grass fed beef . Rather buy it in bulk . I can go two ways , one pressure canner or the chamber sealer . The review i've seen on foodsaver vs weston is the foodsaver looses its seal more than what people like .


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

I started having bag seal failure problems with my food saver about two years ago when foodsaver changed the thickness of their bags. I began buying bags from a different supplier and no longer have any seal failures. Before I discovered that the bags were causing the problem, I looked into purchasing a Weston. I didn't follow through with the Weston as it didn't have a jar sealer option and I use my jar sealer daily.

When I open #10 cans of dehydrated or freeze dried foods, I immediately put any food that isn't used in quart mason jars and vacuum seal with my jar sealer attachment. I've only been repackaging dried foods from opened #10 cans for 2 1/2 years, but haven't had any items go bad. Whenever I use something from a jar, I vacuum seal again quickly.


----------



## Steve L. (Feb 23, 2004)

Wintergrower_OH said:


> Not really a downer . I just have to my head around what i want to do first , second and third. meals in jar are really mre in a jar (this is where i'm going to start) . . What i don't understand now is the youtube video of meals in the jar . I understand the dehydrated part . Just not having all the different large can open for just a few jars and no way to seal the cans of dehydrated ingredients for later use . Aren't can food harmful . A Pressure canner is kind of intimidating . Water bath , no problems (grew up doing this ) . I'm also looking at an inexpensive chamber sealer later on . The local Pantry store is now selling grass fed beef . Rather buy it in bulk . I can go two ways , one pressure canner or the chamber sealer . The review i've seen on foodsaver vs weston is the foodsaver looses its seal more than what people like .


I'm having a hard time understanding this post, but this part


> The local Pantry store is now selling grass fed beef . Rather buy it in bulk . *I can go two ways* , one pressure canner *or *the chamber sealer .


makes me think you want to can beef. You CANNOT just vacuum seal either raw or cooked beef! It will rot.


----------



## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

I have a Wesson and LOVE it... You are correct it does nt have an attachment for sealing jars. So I keep my professional food saver to do those. As for sealing bags the Wesson us far superior In my opinion. The seal is 1/4 inch. The suction is fast and seems to me to be much tighter.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

I'll probably start off with a pressure canner then move to a chamber sealer / portable iron sealer for mylar bags . cooked beef has to be in either pressure canner or chamber sealer . long weekend at work . Bath canner for everything else . Since I'm on this topic . Vacuum seal or something that suck the air out of 5 gal buckets ?


----------



## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

I use. Vac. Seal for things going into the freezer, or dry packing in jars, or small Mylar bags. For 5- gal. Buckets I use Mylar bag with 2000cc 02 absorbers and then I seal it with a flat iron used for hair. I seal half way across then put 02 absorber in the finish the seal. I let these set overnight and then you can see that the seal s goid. The bag will suck in some. Not like a vac.seal but you can tell. Then put the lid on the bucket. I label all my buckets with item, date, and weight. I print the label on plain copy paper in Large print then tape to bucket side. Then when stacked I can still read the label.

Yes your meat needs pressure canner, so do all non acid foods, dry beans,green beans, soups, etc. I can my dry beans 1 cup dry bean per quart 1- tsp salt fill with water and pressure can at 10 lbs. for 90 minutes. Ready to use... Good luck....


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

2,000 cc Oxygen absorbers - number required depends on amount of product stored in bucket
From EmergencyEssentials:
0-15 pounds = 3
16-35 = 2
35+ = 1

I plan to use in conjunction with mylar bags. There is a good video showing how to seal metalized bags at beprepared.com.


----------



## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

I saw someone use a hair dryer on mylar bags . But i thought they said it had to have certain features in order to do it . Preparenss pro suggested 4 gal flip top bucket for things like flour . Having some problems locating them . I did find something at U.S Plastic that would work , but expensive . I eliminated a hot bath pot today . Just use a pressure canner for most of my uses . i can use the pressure canner for my hot bath needs .Still going with chamber sealer for things like steak . This may change as i gain more knowledge.


----------

