Anyone have an impulse vacuum sealer?

[ddcurtis]

Hi, since I now live in Alaska, I'm considering getting an impulse vacuum sealer before the coming hunting/fishing/berry seasons. Plus, I can use it with our chocolate and catering businesses....

I think these kinds of sealers are supposed to be more versatile, in that you can use a wider variety of bags or materials. Does anyone here own one, or used one for sealing cheeses for aging? I know these things start at around $1,200 but since I can use one for other stuff, it might be worth it. I already wore out my FoodSaver after sealing last season's salmon and shrimp. We ended up with about 200 pounds of seafood - yikes!

[linuxboy]

I have a Vacmaster, one of the older ones before they switched to the new model. I love it and use it for everything. Even large bags cost something like 8 cents each, so it's very economical.

I've heard good things about the cheaper ones, the ones that still use a stainless tube for sucking air out, but that use normal bags. They do soup OK, apparently, but not great. The key advantage is that they use the normal cheap vacuum pouches. I think they run 200-300. Maybe check those out as an option?

[ddcurtis]

Those are the ones that have the impulse sealer right up front? One of the things I DON'T like about FoodSaver is how much pouch is wasted when you insert the bag into the vacuum slot - maybe the ones with the metal vacuum tube have less waste?

I've only seen them online, you can use cheaper bags for them also?

[linuxboy]

Sorry, I had the names wrong. The one with the retractable tube is called a snorkel tube sealer, like this one http://www.sorbentsystems.com/sinbosealer.html

The regular impulse types of sealers have the heat element in front. I have a chamber vac where the entire bag goes inside and the entire chamber is evacuated.

But yet, the snorkel sealer uses regular bags and can draw a decent vacuum, 25-26. Not sure if there are food supply places that have the pouches up there, but in BC and around seattle, there are plenty of places.