Can someone please tell me two things about this product. Can you use a cheaper generic brand bag with it and can you seal liquid food. Thank You.
1192341
I'm not sure about the generic bag? I suppose as long as the sealer can get connected to duck out the air. But yes you can seal liquid food as long as the food doesn't get in the suction area..
1192342
If by generic you mean regular zip-lock or plastic bags, I have tried and found it difficult. You can put food in them and seal them in the reusable bags that come with this to save on cleaning them, but sealing regular bags is difficult. As for sealing liquid, same thing, put in zip-lock bags and then seal in the re-usable ones that come with it. The bags that come with it are extremely sturdy and very easy to seal repeatedly with the sealer.
1192343
Yes on the first point--I use it with Ziploc vacuum bags and find it vastly superior to the manual pump that came with the bag starter kit.As to the second, it has a reservoir for liquid, which is fine if you end up sucking out some marinade or oil or something, but I wouldn't recommend using any vacuum on liquid food.
1192344
I think you have to use the waring bags. you can seal liquids , but you must seal vertically so the liquid is down
1192345
I would not recommend it because they are reusable, and they are thicker than other brands. I absolutely love the product and the bags.
1192346
I tried to use it with a couple of left-over bags from the Ziplok vacuum pump. It sealed once, then no more. I blame the bag, because all of the Waring bags that I've sealed multiple times have held. As far as liquids, it specifically tells you not to attempt to seal liquids in the bags, because they will suck back up into the sealing nozzle, and foul it. But.....with the additional purchase of the Foodsaver jar sealer, you can easily seal liquids and liquidy-things in Ball jars. Carefully, so the liquid doesn't come up too high, but it can be done. I wouldn't recommend liquids in the bags however. Overall, I've been VERY pleased with this thing's performance. I tried to use it with a couple of left-over bags from the Ziplok vacuum pump. It sealed once, then no more. I blame the bag, because all of the Waring bags that I've sealed multiple times have held. As far as liquids, it specifically tells you not to attempt to seal liquids in the bags, because they will suck back up into the sealing nozzle, and foul it. But.....with the additional purchase of the Foodsaver jar sealer, you can easily seal liquids and liquidy-things in Ball jars. Carefully, so the liquid doesn't come up too high, but it can be done. I wouldn't recommend liquids in the bags... » Read More I tried to use it with a couple of left-over bags from the Ziplok vacuum pump. It sealed once, then no more. I blame the bag, because all of the Waring bags that I've sealed multiple times have held. As far as liquids, it specifically tells you not to attempt to seal liquids in the bags, because they will suck back up into the sealing nozzle, and foul it. But.....with the additional purchase of the Foodsaver jar sealer, you can easily seal liquids and liquidy-things in Ball jars. Carefully, so the liquid doesn't come up too high, but it can be done. I wouldn't recommend liquids in the bags however. Overall, I've been VERY pleased with this thing's performance. « Show Less
1306611
I have also tried the Euro Sealer. Both products work well. The Foodaple will seal ziplock bags. It seals any bag, including paper bags and frozen food bags. I would recommend this sealer. The price is great and it works well.
711413
That's how it's supposed to work with the sealing bags. However, if your bags are coming open you probably need to adjust the heat setting to your sealing bar. If you've done that already and your bags are still coming open, it could be the sealer itself. I don't know which food sealer you have but I had that problem once with a prior food sealer and nothing corrected the problem. I now have a Lem Maxvac and I'm not experiencing any of the problems that I was having with prior sealers.
2273743
to the best of my nowlage you put what ever in the bag and seal it you have to hold the bag there it aslo have a hose which you can buy canister for it and it also has a jar lid one to seal jars if you want it but the canisters and jar sealer are sold separate. I use the canister so far to save my oat meal it works realy good love it. best of luck I hope this answers your question
1934618
I would not recommend tryihg to seal mylar bags with a Food Saver. The food saver heat strip does not get hot enough to seal the mylar. When I store food in mylar, I put in a dessicant, an O2 absorber, press out all the air I can, and heat seal with an iron. I then observe the bag for contraction due to air absorption by the O2 absorber. If it contracts as if under a vacuum, then I know my seal is good, and the oxygen is being absorbed and vacuum maintained. If this doesn't happen, I open the bag, put another O2 absorber and reseal. When I heat seal with my iron, I have a certain setting where I can just iron it right on the mylar - it seals, but doesn't melt.
263600
You can definitely use the ziplock-and-squeeze approach. And you'll need to do that if there's a lot of liquid in the bag. I just think that vacuum sealers are cool.
2116586
I simply re-seal the original bag with my foodsaver. You can't vac-pack it since the material has no texture but you just need to remove as much air as possible and seal the bag. Works great!
1448518
Yes you can. I suggest double seal on both ends. Also I suggest food saver bags, some other brands are just not up there in quality. The price difference is well worth it.
1704661
Hello, All Mylar bags must be heat-sealed to be effective. There are a few ways of doing this but I think the most common is to simply use a household iron. I have also heard of using a hair iron, which should work as long as it gets hot enough. The recommended sealing temperature is 400 degrees. They sell impulse sealers that work well but are not really worth it unless you plan on sealing a lot of bags. We usually recommend you rotate your food supply every year or two by actually using it. However, when properly sealed, low moisture food like you are storing can stay fresh indefinitely as it is protected from oxidation, bugs, light, mold, and oxygen dependent organisms. If you plan on extended storage, be sure to use quality American Mylar as small holes in the foil layer can let oxygen in whether the bag has been punctured or not, no matter how thick the entire laminate material is. A Long-Term Food Storage Guide is included with PackFresh products and you are always welcome to send us your questions as well. Have a great day!
263599
You can definitely use this without a vacuum sealer. What you do is what is called the 'displacement' method. Put the food in a quart or gallon zip lock - then seal up most of the zip, leaving just a bit at the end. Then, submerge the bag slowly in a pot of water - which will push all the air out. Just as the zip lock is getting to the water line, seal it and you should be good to go.
1292415
I had 1 in the past that works better than this when did. It's supposed to melt the 2 sides of the plastic or the bag together to reseal it. But this 1 didn't work very well no matter how slowly or quickly I went and it has new batteries. Hope this helps you.
1847269
I have had good results with any of the brands I tried. Success seems to be based more on allowing plenty of room for the bag to be sucked in around the food and with enough room at the end to have a seal that is wrinkle-free. Too many times I tried to save a few cents by making the bag just long enough to seal, only to find air in the bag later. To more explicitly answer the question, though, my preferred bags and rolls are the Vacustrip type because they seem to fit tighter around the food during vacuuming.
448905
If sealed properly, these bags will not come unsealed. Personally, I prefer to make a wide seal. I do not think you could do a gallon of liquid in this bag and be able to seal properly because it is liquid. I would put your honey in another container then seal.
1994308
I just got mine and I am not happy with how long it takes. It takes 60 seconds to seal even if you are using a roll and just sealing one end to make a bag. You then have to wait another minute to suck the air and seal the other end. That is a long time of holding the lid down.
1776756
You just press the seal together - there should be a plastic tab on the top that you squeeze and run across the top. You sometimes have to squeeze hard to get the bag to seal.
1463502
The plastic needs to be food grade. When talking about vacuum sealed bags, that isn't hard to verify or achieve since the major brands all have food grade plastic available for their machines. The trick lies in using "ziploc" type bags when you are using broth or other liquid which can't be vs'd without freezing or simply don't have sealer at all. I don't have the concerns about leeching plastic but there are websites out there that have done research and hunted down solutiions. No links, sorry.
2156071
Food Saver Bags will work properly. I buy whatever is on sale. The different brands all work as good as the others. The Seal-A-Meal however, is the better sealer of the brands I have tried.