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1:07 pm
December 30, 2011
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Hello' I am new to this forum and have a couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with. My daughter and I have decided to purchase a vacuum sealer system. I have done so much research on line that I have become totally confused.
Could someone tell me which one is the best and easiest to use? Also' when it says it will seal jars, does this mean regular canning jars or special ones that need to be purchased from the manufacturer?
Thanks for any help you can give. By the way, I love this place.
2:45 pm
February 10, 2009
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I can't tell you for sure which is best, mine is from a garage sale and it's the only one I've used… well, except for when I was a kid and my mom had one of those 'seal-a-meal' things, you remember them? Ronco I think! You DON'T want that!!! Not unless they've improved drastically!
To the best of my knowledge, any of the Foodsaver brand ones are decent… hopefully others will chime in about the topic!
As far as the jar sealers go, they work on regular old canning jars with regular lids and rings for dry goods etc. As they say in all the descriptions, they are for vacuuming air out of dry items to keep them fresh, not to take the place of processing canned goods.
They do make special canisters and lids for the same thing, possibly useful I guess for some people or for certain items, but I don't mind using mason jars and lids. I think the canisters get sealed with the hose that comes with the sealer, but I know to seal mason jars, you need a special overcap that then gets removed after the air gets sucked out to the point that the regular canning lid is pulled tight. (does that make sense?)
IF!!! IF for some reason you already have the cannisters, I found this on the web a while ago. You don't need the extra attachment for jars.
http://myfoodstoragejourney.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/vacuum-seal-a-mason-jar
And here's a pic with the instructions:
3:47 pm
May 6, 2011
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I am on my 2nd Foodsaver sealer. I have the cansisters and the lids that go with them. While they are okay after time mine have stopped holding the seal(these are at least 10 years old) so I wouldn't waste my money on them. They have the 2 sizes of cups for sealing regular & wide mouth jars and I would recommend getting them. I can also reseal things like potato chip bags, cereal, etc. Some bag types it will not handle. There are all sorts of uses for them other than just preserving food items.
Mine is not one of the more expensive ones but I couldn't justify the extra expense. I think mine was less than $100. at Target.
I would say go with what will meet your family's needs.
I looked at some cheaper brands but they didn't offer the features that I had used with the 1st one.
5:14 pm
October 31, 2010
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tn wildflower:
I also use the foodsaver and the jar sealer lids. I bought it specifically to use with the jar sealers. I got mine directly from the foodsaver web site but they carry the foodsavers at Walmart, Meijer, Kohls, etc. When I purchased mine I had a 30% off offer w/free shipping so I got the foodsaver and the mason jar sealers at the same time – one for wide mouth and one for regular mouth.
I have an offer that they emailed me just last week with the 30% off so if you will personal message me with your email address, I'll forward it to you if you want to get the 30% off. You just click on the link in the email and it enters the offer codes for you directly. I just sent it to one of my friends and they used it too!
5:20 pm
October 31, 2010
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Here are a couple of links. One is a video of the jar sealers. It is VERY SLOW so I apologize, but it shows how they're used. The other 2 links are to the foodsaver site so you can find them when you get on there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DtlcfKNERk
Regular mouth sealer:
7:00 pm
February 27, 2010
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I lucked onto a really nice Foodsaver Professional III at a yard sale for next to nothing because it wouldn't hold a vacuum. I bought replacement gaskets from Marbeck and replaced the old ones and now it works great! If you have a Foodsaver with this problem that's not too old, here's the website to find the gaskets (and they're not that hard to replace) http://www.marbeck.com/brands/FoodSaver.html
10:17 pm
September 12, 2011
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I finally got a vacumn sealer and am very happy with it. I bought mine on Amazon for less than $100, which included both sizes of jar sealing lids and shipping. The site did not mention that the accessory hose came with it so I bought one. Now I have an extra!
Look up online for youtube videos on using your vacumn sealer with regular canning jars. I recommend Wendy DeWitt's food storage videos. I also got the idea of using gallon canning jars, which can be pricey to buy. I found them for a great deal ($11) at Ace Hardware. They are not recommended for canning so can be challenging to find. I can store a lot of rice, wheat, etc. in those jars and they look nice on the shelves! Just remember to put anything that is "powdery" in texture into some sort of bag before you seal the jar or you will have product flying everywhere. I just use ziploc bags. Nuts and granola seal well and then after opening, you can re-seal them. Takes just a few seconds and is good if your family is getting smaller, like mine. Think of things you can seal, then use, then re-seal and you will see the wisdom of this device. Beef jerky? chocolate chips, M'n M's? Just keep reusing your original rubber seals. Have fun!
Mama Carpenter
11:50 pm
January 2, 2011
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We have a FoodSaver & use it all the time. It is actually one of the appliances that has earned a permanent spot on the kitchen counter. We bought ours at Costco & it came with a couple of rolls of bags and a marinating container. The marinating container ended up being a nice bonus & we use it more than I thought we would. We bought the jar sealers on Amazon for both wide & regular mouth jars. Those are definitely worth every penny. We dehydrate a lot, so we are able to seal up all of our jars with these.
9:27 am
April 3, 2011
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After reading lots of reviews, I am going with the foodsaver 2244 and ordering attatchments seperate from Amazon. The one at Walmart is 2222 and has bad reviews that I saw so am stepping up one. I can't afford an expensive one either, at least not until I can justify it to my dh. It should be less than $100 for all but probably not much. I have to wait until I have room to put it before ordering.
9:52 am
February 10, 2009
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Lots of great information here everyone! Loved to hear that it's reasonably easy to replace the gaskets Absinth! That's VERY good to hear because the whole 'toss it and buy a new one' attitude really bugs me, even though it really is the best way in a lot of cases. I just still hate it. I should have been born back when things were more fixable… well, technically, I WAS born then, but the times have moved faster than I have as is usually the case. I'm young enough to be able to understand and build my own computer, but old enough to remember and appreciate the "good ol' days" too!
Anyway, thanks again for all the great information!
10:46 am
May 6, 2011
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Miki: The 2244 is the one I have
BEG: I totally agree. Although in some cases I was dragged kicking and screaming into the new age.
4:56 pm
May 6, 2011
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I just got a flyer from Menard's and they are advertising a Foodsaver 2244 for $69.99. tnwildflower you might check out their website (menards.com) to find out if there is one near you)
5:40 pm
February 27, 2010
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The other part on a Foodsaver that may fail is the heating element, which seals the bags. If you're handy, here's where to buy the element and instructions on how to change it, too.
6:10 pm
March 9, 2011
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I bought my Foodsaver on Ebay and love love love it. I even seal my hard cheeses in a bag with it instead of waxing, and it does a great job.
If the gasket is causing seal problems, pop it out and flip it over. Most of the time, you can get more out of it before you need to replace it. Also, if you have a dive shop nearby, you can get a small tube of the silicone lubricant used on dive gear to keep it supple. Serves the same purpose on your gasket. Just smear some on from time to time to keep that gasket happy. A tube lasts a long time.
Happy sealing
2:49 pm
January 17, 2012
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Does anyone have a coupon code / discount offer for FoodSaver?
Thanks.
3:18 pm
September 12, 2011
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have you tried AMazon? they had the best price and free shipping.
5:07 pm
October 31, 2010
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Here are a couple sites that have coupons. I don't know if they'll work for sure as I haven't tried to click through on them but worth a try! If any of these don't work try searching for foodsaver coupon codes. You'll probably find something good. [All the codes they've emailed are expired or I'd send you one of those!)
7:54 am
May 6, 2010
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Check to see what coupon codes are available from Kohls. Sometimes they have some pretty good deals and you can get free shipping.
12:04 pm
May 17, 2011
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I have a Foodsaver also. I love it.. I also found 50' rolls of 11" bags for 21.99 with free shipping. I had my doubts about using non-name brand but they actually have worked better in my foodsaver. The only drawback is the entire roll is too big and will not fit in the holder. I just roll some off and store the rest
Here is the seller and they have 100% rating adbcrf
( 11859
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