Chamber vacuum sealers

[Woodsmoke]

Looking for suggestions chaps. What I need is something with a decent depth to it (80-100mm), stainless throughout, and with a fairly decent cycle time. I've looked at a few, from the Vevo offerings, to Adexa, and Nisbets, but thought I'd seek advice from the SD Collective before deciding. Appreciate any suggestions

 

[gixer1]

I use a strip type one not the vacuum chamber ones and although can’t help with recommending anything I am always impressed with the inexpensive little strip type one I have, I bought the longer rolls that you can seal and size yourself and it works great - also, amazing the difference in reactions if you hand people a pack of sausages in a loose freezer bag vs a vacuum sealed package - I think people just think they look more “from a shop” so it removes some of the “eww it’s bambi” reactions.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[griff]

There is the old addage you get what you pay for, we had two vacuum packers both commercial, one was 450 x 850 vacuum chamber the other was 350 x 350.
Both were in excess of 2K.
If you are doing hundreds of packs a day then go for a Multivac or something of that ilk.
Obviously the bigger the chamber the longer the time, we use to put in plastic boards to reduce the space. when packing sliced smoked salmon, speeds up the time no end..
I have no experience of the ones you mention, but Nisbets are a good company to deal with ask them for advice..

 

[Woodsmoke]

Cheers fellas. I have the foodsaver style already, and it's impressive enough. Does a great job, but I find the embossed bags aren't cheap. As I've been doing a few larger jobs I've been going through packaging at a rate of knots, and it's eating into my profits. The chamber sealer bags are a fraction of the cost, and gives me the option of using fancier packaging (like foil-backed bags, gingham patterned bags, etc) which look great on a market stall display. I don't need anything too big, so the £1-2k machines are massive overkill (as well as out of my budget)

 

[Jamouk]

I've got this one and seems to work well

https://www.cs-catering-equipment.co.uk/buffalo-digital-chamber-vacuum-pack-machine

 

[Robs]

Avery Berkel Surevac. I hammer it and it just goes on. Pricey I know but large capacity.

 

[sauer]

Same as you been looking

Buffalo do one circa 450 ish sheckles …. Dunnoe if any good bit keep looking at it .

I’ve used multivac on up on brothers estate in their deer larder and that’s the dogs danglies … but 2k of your finest credits !

I have seen cheaper 350 -400 ish but a Chinese no brand copy …

think I’d prefer nisbets Buffalo. One

Buffalo Digital Chamber Vacuum Pack Machine 6.5Ltr - ct014 - Buy Online at Nisbets

Buffalo Digital Chamber Vacuum Pack Machine 6.5Ltr (ct014) & more from our Buffalo range at Nisbets.co.uk. Next day delivery on thousands of catering equipment items at great prices.

www.nisbets.co.uk

 

[Woodsmoke]

I have seen cheaper 350 -400 ish but a Chinese no brand copy …

think I’d prefer nisbets Buffalo. One

Yeah, it's got to be a compromise between cost and quality for the likes of us, doesn't it? Cycle time is important too, but then that's directly related to cost isn't it? Think the Buffalo is coming out ahead so far though

 

[paulbshooting]

I use the vac bags off amazon with my foodsaver unit. Search up SousVide Tools.

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

I'd personally not use vevo again, I ordered a mincer that was advertised as being in the UK, ten days later I got a bill for import tax for another £70 , after a week of getting no response from vevo I chickened out and paid the tax so my order was delivered. Brilliant mincer but not much cheaper than nisbetts and a lot more hassle.

 

[muddy42]

Looking for suggestions chaps. What I need is something with a decent depth to it (80-100mm), stainless throughout, and with a fairly decent cycle time. I've looked at a few, from the Vevo offerings, to Adexa, and Nisbets, but thought I'd seek advice from the SD Collective before deciding. Appreciate any suggestions

Watching with interest. The other benefit of chamber vacuum sealers is they accept biodegradable bags. As far as I could tell, strip sealers do not accept biodegradable bags and a most people these days don't like the volume of plastic involved in vacuum packing.

I have two strip sealing units, so you can overcome the speed issue by setting up a second bag whilst the other one is being processed.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I have two strip sealing units, so you can overcome the speed issue by setting up a second bag whilst the other one is being processed.

It's the cost of bags that's spurred me to change. I like the food saver machine, and I've used them for years with no issues. I recently had a decent processing job on though, and the packaging overhead was ridiculous. 27p per bag as opposed to 5p. I've ordered a DZ-260S vie the Bay of E, touted to have next day delivery, so we'll see. It's a budget unit, but it gets pretty decent reviews.

 

[muddy42]

Great. Let us know how you get on.

I've had one recipient ask me to wrap venison in brown paper rather than plastic, sod that!

 

[Woodsmoke]

Great. Let us know how you get on.

I've had one recipient ask me to wrap venison in brown paper rather than plastic, sod that!

Will do, for sure. It's supposedly arriving tomorrow, and I have a few odds and sods ordered from Butcherssundries, including these . . . .

Triplex Premium Brown 'Paper' Vacuum Bags (220 x 320) - 100/Pack

Our Premium Brown Paper Triplex Vacuum Bags are a sure-fire way to catch the attention of customers in any shop or counter display. These have a multitude of applications in butchers shops, bakeries and other food retail outlets.

butchers-sundries.com

Looks like they'll replicate brown paper packaging, but in a far better way than traditional paper wrapping

 

[hoodwink]

I’m going down the same route, i await with interest your experience.

 

[SaOsborne]

I am still at this moment using a strip sealer as the next issue is finding space for it when not in use. I find keeping and eye out on Lidl for the sealer bags in a roll is worth it, works out better value.

 

[VSS]

I bought a 2nd hand LaVa strip sealer as a stop-gap measure until I could afford a chamber machine, but I get on so well with it that I can't see any reason to change right now. And it doesn't take up much space when not in use.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I bought a 2nd hand LaVa strip sealer as a stop-gap measure until I could afford a chamber machine, but I get on so well with it that I can't see any reason to change right now. And it doesn't take up much space when not in use.

Yep, I have one too. They're great, as far as they go. Bag cost is an issue for me now though, as is their tendency to pull blood out of the meat, and their inability to seal in liquids. I'll certainly be keeping mine though. It's done sterling service, and it'll still find a fair bit of use

 

[VSS]

Yep, I have one too. They're great, as far as they go. Bag cost is an issue for me now though, as is their tendency to pull blood out of the meat, and their inability to seal in liquids. I'll certainly be keeping mine though. It's done sterling service, and it'll still find a fair bit of use

The bag cost is worthwhile, I think. Whatever type of packer you're using, opting for cheap bags downgrades the appearance of the end product.
The blood pull is a nuisance, I admit.
I think that you can get an attachment that enables you to seal liquids with the LaVa machine, btw.

 

[Woodsmoke]

The bag cost is worthwhile, I think. Whatever type of packer you're using, opting for cheap bags downgrades the appearance of the end product

The chamber machine works differently though, meaning you don't need the expensive embossed bags for it to work