What do you use your Food Vacuum Sealer for?

Or, if you don't have a Vacuum Sealer, what would you use it for?

Embarassing Discourse (that can be ignored) below
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There's a link on SurvivalBlog to a great deal on a FoodSaver V2830 Vacuum Sealer Kit, so I thought to myself, "What a great deal for $60! I think I'll ask my wife...".

So I ask my wife, and she asks me: [insert sarcasm here] "What are you going to use it for?"

So I says to my wife, "Uhhh, vacuum sealing things like -- uhhh, Tools and food. Yeah, food! -- like we can pre-package meals..." [I wasn't getting a positive feedback] "We can buy big packages of meat and seal separate meals up!"

I started grasping at straws: "I can pre-package our rifle magazines so we can bury them in the desert or mountains..."

So, here I am at Ask The Audience :^)

 

$25.00 at a yard sale couldn't pass it up, its mostly good for freezer bagging or repackaging stuff for camping.....thought about bagging my old XXX and some ammo for some late night armament agriculture..maybe it'll sprout?

 

I vacum-pack Broco exothermic cutting rods and underwater welding electrodes to keep them fresh. This has the added advantage of keeping down wastage from extra boxes getting opened and exposed to the elements.

 

I like the:
"reseal the chip bag"!
and "prepackaged kool aid"
hmmm...

 

Halibut and salmon... vacuum bag it and deep freeze. Up to about 200 lbs of Halibut, and 400 lbs of Kenai red salmon. Halibut is harder to keep, since when I have people over, it's easier to do a big batch of beer battered deep fried halibut.

 

That's a great idea about the ammo, Quigley. I will seal some up tonight to go into the cache.

 

I pack my clothes when I go on a trip.vacuum sealer scrunches everything down so it takes up less room and I bet it annoys the security people if they open my bags?

They are also nice for finishing wood, put your wood object in a vacuum bag with wood stain or varnish and pull a vacuum, you can see the air come out of the wood. You can also make micarta which is impregnated canvas the same way with resin or glue.

 

Just for the sake of being different, I tried to vacuum seal up some .22 lr cartridges....
I knew what could happen...
and, it did!
5 of the 10 the bullets "popped" out of the cartridges!
Seems that they do not take well to having been seated at one amospheric pressure, then having it sucked away!
So, I use the sealer, but don't vacumm the packages for the ammo.
Oh, better mention this as well....
DO NOT try vacuum packaging a compass either!
Yup, I did!
Yup, it exploded!
I loaded a small survival kit into a bag and was not paying any attention to what was going in there.....
Same goes for those butane lighters folks!
Just say NO!
Bill

 

Dragonfly -- Thanks for the warning! I knew there was something about vacuum sealing cartridges. Also found the same warning at SurvivalBlog (http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/03/letter_re_advice_on_long_term_1.html).

Here's another thing I'll try sealing if I ever get one: Toilet Paper. If anyone has tried this already, please let us know results -- I'm curious about how the paper holds up to compression.

 

Toilet paper compresses really well, IF you remove the cardboard tube, or mash it flat first!
And so do hand towels and such....
But, I found somethings are not so good at vacuuming!
1) dry spaghetti noodles....they break into a gazillion tiny fragments, and punch holes in the bags!
2) some dried foods do also, such as peaches, and whole kernel corn,....it's best to place them inside paper towels first, to prevent those sharp edges from cutting the bags!
3) cups, as in plastic, crush and they are 'gone with the schwinn' at that point!
Now, I did try some peanut butter, creamy and crunchy styles, and they worked as long as you are really carefull in watching, as they'll squeeze out like tooth paste!
(Note: Toothpaste really is a mess if you vacuum it!)
4) utensils, they puncture the bags as fast as they can!
I learned to try something new:
For some foods, I place them into the food grade mylar bags first, then seal them vacuumed, then cover that bag with a clear bag and just seal it without the vacuuming.
Cnadles:
Now there's a new one on me!
In the desert, they get soft, mushy and melt easily....
BUT, "IF" you place them into a fridge/freezer first, then vacuum seal them, they hold their shape, regardless of the temperatures. They can be cooled down before opening, and used normally.....I had tested a few, due to candles melting in my BOB's, in their cardboard boxes, which made a real disaster!
Now, it dosen't matter as they are in a predetermined cylindrical shape, and stay that way even if melted!
Hope that helps!
Bill
It preserves flavors, and protects from light.

 

- reseal some "H-bandages" after I left them in the truck and their packages expanded. (guess there was some air in the original package)

- seal containers with fluid/gel before travelling (have you ever arrived to find something "blowed-up" in your luggage

-sealed 5 lb blocks off cheese after cutting them into 1 lb.

-individually sealed some pairs of socks for my truck and my go-bag.

- sealed some pre-soaked, with hoppe's, patches to go in my gear.

- sealed individual "boo-boo" kits with band-aids, moleskin, and little sample packages of antibiotic ointment to go in my kit, range bag, etc, etc.

- sealed a HUGE box of Cheez-its into snack sized packages for my little ones.

- sealed some cash with bills and coins for my "contingency stash"

-sealed up individual changes of socks and underwear for my carry-on (they get small and I always have a change of underwear no matter what happens en-route)

You are only limited by your imagination.

 

Cheap Replacement Bags

I found a website (Food Storage Solutions - Vacuum Packaging) where they sell cheap replacement foodsaver bags...I've saved up to somewhere around 50% everytime I order. The lady is super friendly and I get a monthly newsletter with promo codes. This month its 10% off your entire order if you use the promo: TENOFF ...If you have any trouble just e-mail me and I will forward you the coupon. I love my foodsaver!!

 

Wooden matches
band aid's
sanitation kit - extra tooth brush, tooth paste, soap, razor - all together

Food of course -

Rourke

 

I have tried the vaccun sealer that you can buy at the discount stores and I was not pleased with them.
I would like something like the pros have.
XR750