Northwest Fishing Reports

We got to visit with Don of Vacupack as he explained the differences between a VacuPack vrs. a Vacu Sealer - and why you should consider the former. Having seen these products up close, I can tell you they are amazing, and do such a better job than a sealer, it's not funny. Worth considering for your vacuum needs.

Vacuum needs? So it'll clean the carpets? My vacuum is so sorry at that. I have to rake the dog hair first , then vacuum.

I've still got one of the 1st vacuum sealers Costco ever sold, I both dread and anticipate the day the thing finally dies. I would love to get a new/better one but know I am going to suffer sticker shock.

The only drawback for me with this one might be the size of the packages. I smoke whole fillets, and can fit 4-6 whole fish (8-12 fillets) in it my smoker at a time, so I if I am smoking em, I will seal up a days catch of fillets it one bag and freeze it until I have a smoker full and am ready to smoke (I know they have bigger machines, but the means bigger $$).

ou can't see from the video, but the well is quite deep. Don had two 3" thick spacer blocks in there to take up space so the air gets sucked out quicker. He can vacupack a whole ham is what he told me.

Sticker shock. Yes. Definitely not a Costco sealer. I would buy one if I had the $$$ The quality of the seal compared to my vacu sealer is night and day.

I have used a foodsaver vac from costco for years and liked it. It needed to be replaced and last spring I got a new one from costco that was automatic. I had a lot of fish to seal at Sekiu and it would quit after 4 bags, and I let it set and cool for hours and it would do 1 or 2. It went back to cosco and they had a new auto model so I tried it with the same result. It went back to costco. At that time the woman at costco said they don't carry them anymore. I spoke with foodsaver and they said the auto ones from costco were only meant for 2 to 4 bags at a time. They said I shoud try the Gamesaver model. It has a 10 year warrenty and they said if I had a problem to just send it back to they. I found it on line for $104. I have it but have not used it yet. It looks just like the one I used for years.
The one in the video looks great, but not for my budget.

Way out of my budget too.

Still using the same Vacu-Fresh sealer I bought 22 or 23yrs ago, just bagged and sealed 6+lbs of smoked trout with it a couple days ago. Think I paid about $100 or so for it in '90 or '91.

hewesfisher wrote:Way out of my budget too.

Still using the same Vacu-Fresh sealer I bought 22 or 23yrs ago, just bagged and sealed 6+lbs of smoked trout with it a couple days ago. Think I paid about $100 or so for it in '90 or '91.

Yep, me too. I've also owned a $150,000 commercial rig that would do 48 up pouches in a single cycle with roll stock. Guess what? my little home unit does just as good a job as the big boys. It's all in the bags and waiting till the airs out.

I have always wanted one of those type sealers but to spendy for me. Just bought the newest foodsaver one that is automatic and I love it, have not had any problems with only doing a few bags and then quitting. It will make you wait the 20 seconds between seals but not a problem. The seal strip is much wider then my old food saver. With my old one it seamed like I was losing my seal on like 1 in 15 bags or so and with the new one I have not seen a seal go bad yet, nice wide seal.

The problem noticed with the homeowner sealers is not so much the vacuum, but the seal. So often I find a properly sealed, and vacuumed piece of fish go into the freezer. To find some time later, the seal had failed and the bag is no longer vacuum packed. So, I have resorted to vacuuming, sealing, moving the vac bag a 1/4" and sealing one or more additional times. There may be 2 or 3 marks from the heat sealer. This is to make certain any liquid that may have contributed to a failed seal, is less likely to occur. When sealed this way, each seal is hotter than the previous one. But be careful, the bag can be overheated. The machine shuts itself off for a cool down for safety, and occurs much quicker when double or triple sealing.

For that reason I use two vac machines side by side. Even making bags to the size you want will overheat one machine much to quickly. That is where the second vac packer helps out too! One makes bags, and during the "time out" for cool down on that one. The other vac is used for product packing, and the machine cycling continues.

I like the option of manually sealing the bag. Not a fan of the auto vac machines. With the auto ones, the liquid is pulled from the item, into the area of the bag being sealed. With a manual vac machine, the auto seal can be deployed at anytime during the vac process. Guaranteeing a quality seal on the bag, and stopping the liquid removal from the product. Besides, does pulling moisture from the fish, make it drier when consuming? Moisture does not rehydrate back into the meat during thawing!

I was told be a older gent, that the longer a vac packed piece of fish is in the freezer, the less moist when eaten. I have noticed this on 1 year old or older fish. As well as a texture change.

Does frozen food last longer with the machine in the video? Pull less moisture from the item? What are the true benefits of the machine in the video, over a food saver type? What is the cost difference?

what Don told me is there is no evacuation of fluid from the product, just air, including air in the product. I'll be able to tell you next summer as we eat what remains, but it certainly looks well-sealed.
As to the vacu sealer product, one thing I've done that seems to help is to pat my salmon fillets dry so when I do the vacuum it seems like there is no fluid that sucks up to the hot sealed area.
Cost - pretty big difference, as in 6x. Not for the budget strapped.

goodtimesfishing wrote:I have always wanted one of those type sealers but to spendy for me. Just bought the newest foodsaver one that is automatic and I love it, have not had any problems with only doing a few bags and then quitting. It will make you wait the 20 seconds between seals but not a problem. The seal strip is much wider then my old food saver. With my old one it seamed like I was losing my seal on like 1 in 15 bags or so and with the new one I have not seen a seal go bad yet, nice wide seal.

Only time I have that happen is usually on the first bag when the sealing strip hasn't warmed up enough. No big deal, that bag goes in the fridge for current consumption.

Mike Carey wrote:what Don told me is there is no evacuation of fluid from the product, just air, including air in the product. I'll be able to tell you next summer as we eat what remains, but it certainly looks well-sealed.
As to the vacu sealer product, one thing I've done that seems to help is to pat my salmon fillets dry so when I do the vacuum it seems like there is no fluid that sucks up to the hot sealed area.
Cost - pretty big difference, as in 6x. Not for the budget strapped.

That technique works good mike. So does packing in a paper towel just before sealing. That works especially well for upland game. The paper towel soaks up any liquid making an escape from the bag. But with smoked fish, my liking of that is on the moist side.

On my older vac, there is a meter that goes from yellow to green as air is removed. With 1/3 to 1/2 way into the green, oil can be seen pulling out of the fish, and migrating toward the open end of the bag. That liquid is what I would like to retain inside the fish. So, rarely take the the vac meter to full green. Dry smoked salmon, just does not appeal to my pallet. Squaw candy I can deal with, and need to attempt some of those batches. A sweet tooth I can not deny!