Vacuum sealing success/fail/check

[forvols]

Just wondering about this with other vac sealer people. I have a vacmaster pro 260 sealer really like it. But I still check my seals a day or 2 after sealing and putting everything in the freezer. All of these were sealed with double seals on each end too.
11 bags of Hot Italian sausage -- no failed seals
10 bags of hot dogs --- no failed seals
12 bags of snack sticks --- 1 failed seal, moved to the fridge and already gone.
19 bags of SS -- 1 failed seal moved to fridge.

Failed seal = bag becomes loose and when pulled on and moved around becomes more loose.

I check the seal for veggies/meats/cheese...whatever I vac seal and put in the freezer. But give it a day or two until frozen good.

 

[motocrash]

I have a Foodsaver 2000.I find letting the bag sit clamped in the sealer for about 10 secs after the red seal light goes out makes it almost bullet proof.This gives the heat seal plenty of time to bond.You can't crank'em out too fast....

Bill

 

[johnmeyer]

I only have experience with my Foodsaver Ultra which I've had for over twenty years and use every day. I've had plenty of seal fails in that time, but in my case it is a once every several months problem, not one out of every twenty-five.

Every single one of my fails came from letting moisture get into the seal, either during the vacuum process, or when putting the food into the plastic bag. It is really important to have the entire width of the seal both clean and dry.

 

[oberst]

With my FS it's usually moisture in the seal area, or something sharp in the bag like a fish fin or sharp bone, but I always look my sealed stuff over in the freezer from time to time and replace bags that have lost their seal.

 

[forvols]

Yeah same reasons for my failures, to dry jerky one time curled edges poked holes, others have been getting stuff in the seal area when filling the bag.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

More important than the machine, what brand and what mil bag are you using?

I had a FS that I bought a million years ago that worked great until it died. Then I got a new one as a gift and it sucked,, not in the good way.

I now have the Vacmaster Pro 380 and on occasion I get a bad bag, but not often. I use the Ultra Bags that Lisa at Vacuum Sealers unlimited carries. I rarely have a failure and if I do it is the that the bag has an issue somewhere.

I also use the zipper bags that Lisa carries. They are only 3mil and do not do well with jerky. I have had a 50%+ failure rate with them due to the sharp hard pieces poking through. Other soft cooked meats do fine and I have had no failures.

Moisture at the seal point can be an issue occasionally. When I am sealing wet meats I always leave enough room to double seal. After the first seal, wipe any moisture from the bag where you plan to seal again.

 

[Bearcarver]

I get very few leaks, but if I have juices that might flow to the seal, I leave the one end open & freeze it before I seal it.

I also use the Pre-made bags from Lisa, so I'm only sealing one end, and I never had one of their ends give way.

Bear

 

[browneyesvictim]

Did it fail because the two parts did not bond or because of a pinhole adjacent to the seal? It become apparent when you look at a failed seal closely. It could be because of contamination in the seal as others have stated, but could also be because of too much or too little sealing time setting on your sealer.

I don't know if the PRO 260 sealer has the ability to adjust sealing time? I have the Vacmaster Pro 380 I can just about melt a bag in half with it turned all the way up to maximum sealing even when using the Ultra bags! If turned up a little too high also causes the plastic to melt thin at the edge of the seal and prone to leak. I have grown a bit wiser not to handle the bag too roughly when the plastic is still setting and cooling.