Tried a search and nil hits of tests.
May I request a test of food vacuum sealers?
cheers
Dennis
On the Product Review site there are several consumer reviews of various ones that may at least give you some idea if it is something you are looking at now or soon in regards to purchasing. All the followings links are not recommendations of sites or products. The value, & accuracy of the reviews is also not guaranteed to be good.
https://www.productreview.com.au/c/food-sealers
Some other reviews of the devices can be located at the links that follow. As they are not all Australian sites some of the information may not be suitable for here and not all models reviewed may be available in Australia.
The following is an Australian site:
8 Likes
Not knowing anything about vacuum sealers; are they really a good investment or are they just another product that will end up in the back of the cupboard, after the initial burst of enthusiasm?
4 Likes
Not as quick and convenient as a press seal plastic bag, or lidded freezer safe storage container.
We’ve had at least two over nearly 30 years. Great for dividing up large purchases that need to be stored in the freezer for later on. Or surplus fruit etc after stewing or blanched veges. A reliable seal and vacuum package are good points. Some we know use them for prepacked meals for camping trips. Just drop in hot water to reheat. 
Also very effective for storing liquids, and space efficient. EG left over half can of coconut milk till next curry?
You can cut the seal off and reuse the bag after rinsing out.
Yes, the bags ultimately become plastic waste, but so do the alternatives?
6 Likes
We use one a lot, we’ve vacuum packed over 230 rainbow trout in the past month or so. Vacuum sealing ensures a much longer freezer life for all foods. We have had trout that have been in the freezer for over 18 months, and they taste just as good as fresh ones. I do however run the freezer much colder than usual, typically around -30C, rather than -18C.
The main issue we have with our current UNIKA unit is that on hot nights (lots of them recently!), the thermal cut-out prevents it from operating, and it can’t be used for a few minutes until it cools down again. This happens if sealing more than 1 fish every few minutes, even with a small fan blowing across it. It is rated for one seal every 2 minutes, and it certainly does that in cooler weather, but not when it’s 30-35C inside, which it has been almost every evening lately.
I’ve just ordered a better PACFOOD semi-commercial vacuum sealer (+200m of 15 cm wide plastic roll), which is rated for continuous use, and has an inbuilt fan. The UNIKA will become our back-up unit.
5 Likes
Reason I started the thread was my Unika seemed to be losing efficiency, in as much as the automatic sealing took a long time to activate, requiring manual override.
Having said that, I’ve just done 4 bags of Xmas ham and 2 golf ball size home grown tomatoes.
Interested in hearing any Aldi owners respond as I’m thinking of buying one next time as insurance.
cheers Dennis
3 Likes
They keep our cheeses fresher for longer. When we buy large blocks we cut them into smaller pieces, then reseal the rest that we currently don’t need with a vacuum sealer (ALDI one but there may be better ones).
I vacuum bag fish fillets (filleted from whole fish for us to our requirements) from our Seafood supplier and freeze them, stops a lot of freezer burn and they keep well.
We use the vacuum for leftovers and meat storage (similar to cryovac when we do them) as well and from our experience they keep for longer. We sometimes also use O2 removal tabs with certain items to extend the shelf life. See the links to some suppliers of the O2 scavengers:
https://www.absortechaustralia.com/product-category/oxygen-absorbers/
4 Likes
We have had 3 of these things. The first 2 were not real good but this one we bought is a RUSSELL HOBBS brand. Got it from Harris Scarfe’s and it is brilliant. Takes about 5 second to do do most jobs with no failures. If there is a failure it was our fault. I really do recommend this brand.
2 Likes
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve passed this on to our product testers.
3 Likes
Cryovax food vacuum sealer
Wanting to know what the best one is to buy, I have a one already put out by diamond marketers which has poor performance, bags lose their seal after one use , they are meant to be reusable .
4 Likes
Welcome to the Community @Rosalie
I have moved your request into this already existing topic to request tests on the Vac sealers. You may also find some hints and links here that might help and other members may respond to help you out.
3 Likes
Hi Gordon,
We also use vacuum sealers for trout. How did you find the PACFOOD semi-commercial vacuum sealer? We are after a new one as we use ours all the time.
Thanks
Alida
4 Likes
Hi Alida, it’s been really reliable so far. I’ve got the final 20or so of my 2yo trout to harvest in the next couple of weeks, and they are huge, so the vacuum sealer will get another good workout.
3 Likes
Terrific! Can I ask which model you purchased? Also we have a heap of bags. Can you use any vacuum seal bags or need specific ones?
3 Likes
This is it:
Clearly it’s rebranded from a Chinese manufacturer. I’ve seen very similar units with different branding.
I think any vacuum seal bags should work, but we prefer the embossed bags, as they seal up a bit easier.
6 Likes
Thanks so much Gordon!! Happy packing! 
3 Likes
