Vacuum Packaging and Packaging materials (quick review of Vacmaster VP112)

I recently purchased a VacMaster VP112 Stainless chamber vacuum packer from Quality Matters.  They were at the Sportsmen's Show and so I thought I would go to their Tigard location and try one out.  So far I love it.  I told them my iFish username and got the thing for $519.  Right now they are selling them for 20% off for $559.  If you call they may still give the iFish discount.  They also do in-house repairs should that ever be necessary. 

http://www.qualitymatters.com/VacMaster-Stainless-Steel-CountertopChamber-Sealer-p/qmar-vp112.htm

I decided to go with this unit because the packaging material are so much cheaper than the Foodsaver so it will pay for the difference in a couple years.  Last year I spent close to $100 on Foodsaver bags and I would say about 25% lost their vacuum seal .  You can get 1000 6 x 12 pouches for $42.   I usually break my fish down to 1 pound packages and I easily can fit more than a pound of fillets in one of these pouches. A bunch of various sizes came free with it and I have been using them up to determine the sizes I like. 

So far, I have decided to go with 1000 7" X 12" pouches because these will more easily accommodate larger items like whole ducks and blocks of cheese.  They were $49.99.  I ordered 500 12" X 15" pouches for $57.70 for larger items (bulk crab bait, roasts, etc.), and you can cut them down for smaller sized items like snack-sized smoke salmon/steelhead/trout. 


My wife was very skeptical at first, especially when it took over an entire slide out in our small galley kitchen, but she has since seen the wisdom of my ways (very rare occurrence) and is now using it regularly.

However, the main reason I decided to post this today was because, as I was perusing their site, I came across their sale on the bulk rolls that are compatible with the Food Savers and other non-chamber vacuum sealers.  For a little more than you pay for three rolls at Costco, you can get a case of 8" X 20 foot rolls or 11.5" X 20 foot rolls. 
http://www.qualitymatters.com/ARY-VacMaster-Vacuum-Sealer-Bags-8-Inch-Roll-p/qm944101.htm

http://www.qualitymatters.com/ARY-VacMaster-Vacuum-Sealer-Bags-11-5-Inch-Roll-p/qm944151.htm 

I do not know what the shipping rate is, but locals can just go pick them up in store in Tigard.

Chamber vac machines are vastly superior to a food saver. Sounds like a good buy.

We use an industrial chamber vac at the plant. They are way less temperamental than sucking type machines.

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Craig has given me some smoked fish that were packed with his new vac machine and it really does a much better job then my foodsaver.

What is really cool is the ability to vacuum pack liquids.

Nice find Craig!  Thanks for posting it up.  I need some more materials. 

Nice! 
 I've been looking for a low(er) budget chamber vac for sous vide for a while!

I ordered this.  My food saver is crapping out and yeah, the bags are a frickin racket.

well craig, that was a damn good sales pitch!  I'm lovin the vacmaster.  Sayonara foodsaver, with your sucky sucking power and your evil bag racket.  For the same cost I normally pay for several rolls of foodsaver bags I got enough vacmaster bags to last me years.

The machine itself is impressive.  You can feel the power!  I've found 45 secs to be the optimal time for a good tight seal.  Vac'd up prolly 10-15 bags over the last month and they are holding tight.

I've been using the Cabela's Pro Series. It works well and it came around the same price with a good warranty. The one you got looks good too.

I've been using the Cabela's Pro Series. It works well and it came around the same price with a good warranty. The one you got looks good too.

The big difference is the Cabelas vac pac is still a suction type of machine rather than a chamber type machine.
I chamber machine does not rely on pulling the air out of each bag. Rather it creates a vacuum in all around the bag. Then seals the bag then releases vacuum in the chamber.

It is a much better way of vacuum packing.

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The good thing about my setup is that it was free (for me not for my buddy) though. LOL. I am not sure I could justify that kind of cash to vacuum seal unless I downed a moose or a couple of elk every year. I bought the meat grinder and he bought the vacuum sealer.

I've been using the Cabela's Pro Series. It works well and it came around the same price with a good warranty. The one you got looks good too.

The big difference is the Cabelas vac pac is still a suction type of machine rather than a chamber type machine.
I chamber machine does not rely on pulling the air out of each bag. Rather it creates a vacuum in all around the bag. Then seals the bag then releases vacuum in the chamber.

It is a much better way of vacuum packing.

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Interesting.  If it creates a vacuum all around the bag, won't equal pressure cause the bag to NOT "shrink" into the fish?  Don't you need slightly uneven pressure to actually vacuum out the void?

-Allen

Why is that better?

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When the chamber is under pressure the bag actually inflates. The bag is sealed while the chamber is under pressure. The the vacuum is released and the bag sucks against the fish.

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When the chamber is under pressure the bag actually inflates. The bag is sealed while the chamber is under pressure. The the vacuum is released and the bag sucks against the fish.

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Got it!!!  Duh!

-Allen