Vacuum Sealer

[Kite]

Okay, I know this was posted a little over a year ago, but things and people change. I am looking to update my old (very old) food saver. It seems I have 2 options - Cabelas CG15 or Vacmaster VP112. Does anyone have either/both of these units? And if so, would you buy the same thing again? Thank you!!

 

[TrickyDick]

I'm also interested in a vac sealer. I've heard good things about the FoodSaver brand, on sale at Sam's Club. Never owned one before, so sorry no opinion on the two models you mentioned, but want to follow the thread so I'm posting too..

TD

 

[fishingbouchman]

Never owned one before, so sorry no opinion on the two models you mentioned, but want to follow the thread so I'm posting too..
TD

On the list now. Got my tube smoker so wanna do some cheese.

 

[So Cal Smoker]

Hey Guys, only cry once and buy the CG-15. I have found it to be powerful yet gentle (for cookies or chips). I've owned mine for about 2 years and would be lost without it. The ease of use is a welcome extra along with the speed with which you can seal your food. I use the 11"X 50' Cutter Roll of bags I get from Cabela's for about $19.99. The bags are very strong and will withstand boiling water for a long time. Yes I know it's alot of green backs but I say again " Cry only once". Good luck and good smoking.

 

[Lothar1974]

Online I see the Cabelas CG15 as out of stock, and from what I under stand you cant get this model anymore. They have a newer version, looks similar, a few new features I believe. It's also out of stock. Not sure on this new model but the CG15 was basically the same as my Weston PRO-2300. If this new Cabelas model is as good as the previous, I wouldn't hesitate on getting it. I love my Weston and use it all the time. I have never used the Vacmaster VP112 so cant comment.

 

[Ffvillager]

Can't comment on the others, but have a Foodsaver that I have used for over 10 years and it has performed flawlessly. The bags and rolls are available in a number of stores and are very reasonably priced. Never have had a problem with the bags breaking or coming apart and I have kept an occasional item for up to a year in the freezer.

 

[jimsbarbecue]

I have had food savers before . They first one lasted for years the next two only months. I then purchased the Cabelas and it has been the best . We use and abuse it a lot. I sometimes do wish we had a chamber style sealer as they work better with liquid item . Packaging raw meat etc.

 

[HoDeDo]

We have a VP-112 and a VP215. If you are going to leave it in one place, the 210-/215 is the way to go. It is essentially 90lbs, so you will want it on a cart or counter for stationary use. The VP 112 can actually be carted around with you, without too much hassle, it is sub-50lbs.

We love the chamber sealers. They cost more upfront, but if you use your vac sealer with any frequency, it will pay for itself with the bags in no time. On a VP112, I believe we figured it to be less than 1 year at our usage rates, then it is a huge savings over the Food savers in time, and bag expense. We take our VP112 with us to comps, and the 215 is on the counter at home. Highly recommend chamber sealers! No issues with ours!

 

[Kite]

HoDeDo - thank you for the reply!! I am actually surprised that you say to get the 210/215 over the 112. On paper, they look pretty much the same, except the oil motor on the 215. One thing I like about the 112 is the port for the hose to do canisters and jars - it is not included on the 210/215 models. So my question is - what is not being said on the paper that makes the 210/215 a better machine? What about the 2xx model is it that makes you say to buy it?

 

[Cavedog]

I was looking same as you after a food saver. After some research I decided on the 215. It is very quiet compared to the others. The oil pump (VP215) will pull a higher vacuum than the dry pumps (VP112/VP210, same pumps) which pull a higher vacuum than the food saver type. The chamber sealer bags are about 1/3 the price of the food saver type bags of the same size. 12X12 bags 8 cents (1000 bags less than $80) each times 50 equals $4. You can get a variety of standard 3 mil bags, 4 mil bags, 5 mil bags, boilable bags and zipper bags. The chamber type sealers can seal bags of stew, soup or water if you want, in other words, it does not suck liquid from the bag along with the air. Put your item in a bag, put bag in the chamber with opening under the seal bar (higher than bottom of chamber), close the lid and the pump starts (I have mine set at 35 seconds), air is pumped from chamber and seal bar seals bag, air is let back into chamber. You can put meat in a bag with marinade and seal it to soak in under vacuum. The price is more for a 215 (about $100 more than 210) or a 112 (about $400) but it pulls higher vacuum and is quieter and should last longer with the oil pump. If you use it a lot you save just in bag prices. I bought vac canisters with mine and want to try to put the canister in the chamber with a salad. It should suck the lid down when the air is let back into the chamber.

C

 

[jimsbarbecue]

Kite,I too am looking at those chamber sealers . The 112 vs the 215. The cost is one factor, the weight the bigger factor. My question to HoDeDo is what don't you like about the 112 that the 215 does better?

 

[Cavedog]

Update. I tried the canisters. The 2.5 quart was too big for the chamber but the .5 quart fit easily. I turned the valve to seal and set the lid on top of container and started the sealer. It sealed and when valve was opened you could hear the air rush into the canister. As for jars, a regular pint canning jar will fit upright in the chamber but a quart jar will only fit if it is laid on its side (fine for dry items). I ran the vacuum down to about 80% of the machine's max (about 20 seconds) and the pint jar sealed fine (laid on its side) and I had to use a bottle opener to get the lid off. I have mine on a restaurant service cart to move it around (weight 84# manufacturer specs) and keep the bags on the 2 lower shelves. From my research, a food saver type will pull about 26" of vacuum, the 112/210 is rated at 28" and the 215 at 29.7" of vacuum with 30" a perfect vacuum if I remember right. It also has about an 8' cord so you should not have to use an extension cord. Needless to say I am very happy with my 215. A 215 can be purchased for under 1K with free shipping.

C

 

[Kite]

Kite,I too am looking at those chamber sealers . The 112 vs the 215. The cost is one factor, the weight the bigger factor. My question to HoDeDo is what don't you like about the 112 that the 215 does better?

Jim - I was originally 90% sure going for the 112. But the more I have been thinking about it, the more I am leaning toward the 215. The chamber is about 3.5 inches longer which I am thinking is requiired for a half rack of ribs. To me, the difference in vacuum is not that big of a deal and the difference in weight is not that big of a deal. My hope is that the oil motor will last until my kids are done with it, I am not so sure about the dry motor on the 112. But I am really interested in what HoDeDo has to say because he owns both. So I am doing nothing until I hear from him.

 

[Kite]

Okay, I couldn't wait any longer to hear fomr HoDeDo so I made an executive decision - I bought a VP215. It arrived a couple of days ago and I did my first run last night. This thing is a BEAST! Of course I can't compare it directly to the 112, but I sure can compare it to a foodsaver (which is now in my trash bin). I hate to even mention the 2 products in the same post - they are really apples and oranges. The only thing these 2 products have in common is they suck air. Here is the low down..

I am really glad I got the VP215 over the VP112. The main reason I was thinking about the 112 is for the air hose port. Well I have had an air hose port on my foodsaver for years and have never used it once. The 215 is all stainless steel - no plastic parts to break. Just a much more "industrial" machine.

I can't imagine why a person would buy a 210 - same machine as the 215 but a MUCH better motor for $100 more. The 112 is a differnt story - half the weight and considerably cheaper - makes it a much tougher decision.

Jim - if money and/or weight is an issue for you - don't buy this thing. I think it weighs 90lbs or so. I am going to be making sawdust in the shop this weekend building a roll around cart for this thing and the LEM #22 grinder I bought this week. It is certainly not something you are going to want to leave on your kitchen counter and you definitely don't want to be lugging it around on a regular basis.

One person I spoke to about the Vacmaster complained that it was slow. Jan and I packaged up 25lbs of fresh ground beef and 30 chicken breasts last night in about 30 minutes. It is SO handy and easy to use. Yes, it takes a little longer (not that much - 20 seconds or so total) to evacuate the chamber than it does to suck down a foodsave bag, but it is all hands off - set it and forget it. You put the bag inside, close the lid, and start working on the next bag while it does its thing. It sucked the bags down just as fast as the two of us could feed it - and all hands off.

Bottom line - I am happier than a porcupine in a balloon factory with both of these machines! I would definitely do it eactly the same way again. One more note - the quart size bags cost me under 3 cents each including shipping! Virtually free to use this thing.

Kite signing off the vacuum sealer topic.. happy smoking!

 

[Big Poppa]

what one will seal a whoe rack and or a whole brisket packer?

 

[Kite]

what one will seal a whoe rack and or a whole brisket packer?

That I couldn't tell you - mine won't. But I figure I can seal a whole rack cut in half which is how I cook them anyway (thanks to sparky, the rib man). And as for the brisket - I figure I won't unwrap it unless I am going to cook it.

That being said, I am sure you can find a unit that is big enough to seal most of a cow if you look hard enough..

 

[jimsbarbecue]

I have heard that you can use the external type bags with a chamber sealer. You hang the bag outside of the sealer and use them that way.

 

[Kite]

I have heard that you can use the external type bags with a chamber sealer. You hang the bag outside of the sealer and use them that way.

I would say it is very likely that external type bags will work, but I don't know about hanging them outside the chamber. I guess that might work, but kind of defeats the whole thing. I would think the vacuum would be very limitted because the lid would exert more and more force on the bag and I would think eventually close off the ribs and end the air flow. I plan to use up my remaining foodsaver bags in my chamber sealer but I won't likely buy anymore. The chamber on this thing is really quite big - I can't imagine ever needing anything bigger. I am certain that I have *never* sealed a bag bigger than would fit in the chamber on my foodsaver in all the years I have owned it.

 

[HoDeDo]

what one will seal a whoe rack and or a whole brisket packer?

A whole packer requires a bigger unit... this one can package anything that is already trimmed. You can seal a trimmed rack in this one... I'll send ya the info on specs for the different sizes.

I apologize - I responded to Kite's note, but I dont see it here in the thread, so it must not have posted. My Bad!!!

 

[Kite]

No worries HoDeDo - your original post gave me the tip I needed to think through my decision from a different perspective. I believe that I made the best choice for me - I am VERY happy!! I have used the unit twice now - I believe the first batch was the break in for the pump because it was much faster on the second batch. I was able to trim 15 seconds off the vacuum time. I couldn't begin to keep up with this thing. I was feeding it as fast as I my wife and I could and it was still waiting on me.

One other note - I had someone tell me that they have had a lot of sealing problems with their 112. I have done close to 50 bags now and not had one single failure. In my research I ran across a tip to fold the top of the bag down when you are filling it so it doesn't get food in the seal area - works like a charm!