Vacuum sealers and bags for sous vide

Lplastic spoon on 08/05/2016 - 15:23

I recently jumped on the ANOVA Precision Cooker deal after using the Esky method for a while. I decided to upgrade from the ZipLoc method to a real vacuum sealer too. Choice.com.au have a page on food grade plastics and what to look for. This is what I looked into. I didn't look at any online options because I didn't want to wait, my ANOVA should arrive tomorrow :)

Target and Big W don't stock vacuum sealers or bags.

$59 KMart Homemaker Vacuum Sealer YJS111
110W, 1.8kg
Meant to work with 26cm KMart bags, I reckon it could seal bags up to 30cm wide.

$299.99 Sunbeam FoodSaver Automatic Seal VS8000 @ Costco
135W, 5.2kg
This looked pretty big in Costco, would take up plenty of bench/cupboard space.

$1.25 per metre / $15 Kmart Homemaker vacuum seal bag rolls
2 rolls of 26cm x 6m
Doesn't say what type of plastic or have a plastic number. Doesn't claim to be BPA free.

$2.68 per metre / $28.99 Sunbeam FoodSaver VS0520 vacuum seal bag rolls @ Costco
2 rolls of 28cm x 5.4m
Doesn't say what type of plastic or have a plastic number. Says BPA free on the box, says ideal for use in simmering water.

I ended up getting the KMart sealer and the Sunbeam bags just because they are BPA free. There are probably better deals online. I hope this is of some use to someone else…

Home & Garden

Comments

  • eediot on 10/05/2016 - 01:18

    Did the Kmart sealer work well? Thinking of getting one.

  • plastic spoon on 10/05/2016 - 07:51

    Yeah it's been good. Works fine with the Sunbeam bags. I've only used it 4 times though :)

    • eediot on 11/05/2016 - 00:50

      Picked up the Kmart unit tonight. Seems to work quite well apart from not unlocking after a seal. I have to perform another seal straight after for it to unlock. Does your sealer do the same thing? I'm thinking I may have picked up a dud.

      • plastic spoon on 12/05/2016 - 18:11

        Mine takes a little while to finish the seal function, like 15sec of silence at the end before it releases the latches. The instructions weren't the clearest.

        I've found some bags have lost their vacuum so now I'm double sealing at both ends. It may be that the Kmart sealer makes a really narrow seal or not a very good quality seal or maybe I'm just terrible at using it. The double seals are holding fine though.

        By double sealing I mean 2 seals a few mm apart, not 2 seals superimposed.

  • powerhammer on 11/05/2016 - 17:03

    Does anyone know of other locations to buy the Sunbeam bags (for a good price)? No Costco anywhere near me and no membership.

  • Pineapples on 16/08/2016 - 22:39

    How has the experience been with the Kmart sealer after having it a few weeks? I'm tossing up between getting a Kmart one or a more expensive sunbeam one

    • plastic spoon on 17/08/2016 - 16:24

      I've found I definitely need to double seal with the Kmart sealer. I always do at least two seals at each end only millimetres apart. If I'm going to do a very long cook, like 24hrs or longer then I triple seal. There were a few leaks with single seals in the beginning.

      I'm happy enough to go through the extra hassle for the cheaper sealer but I can understand that others might not.

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