Posted 7 days ago

Vacuum sealers and bags

I'm looking for a vacuum sealer with a max price of £30 ish for occasional use at home.

I picked up a super cheap generic one on Temu a few months ago and I've been pleasantly surprised with it.

I bought 3 different sizes of bags and 2 rolls and whilst the bags seem to work perfectly, it refuses to seal the bottom of the roll when I try to make my own bags. Either it doesn't melt it evenly or if I apply a bit of pressure, it gets too hot and melts it! I've tried no end of combinations with both rolls and eventually gave up and I'm currently sticking to the bags.

I'd much rather buy a few different rolls and cut them to the appropriate size than have to buy individual bags, it's more convenient and will cost less so I'm thinking about trying a different machine and wondered if anyone has any suggestions?

It would be great if I could find one that would seal the bag rolls and ideally, have different settings (for more delicate fruit/veg) and the ability to seal up bags with liquids (or at least some liquid) but I know my £30 budget means I'll have to dial back my expectations.

I saw an Amazon basics one for £31 but it's out of stock at the mo. The rest on Amazon all seem to be random generic ones that have been rebranded, so I figure Aliexpress might be another option.

One on Amazon that has decent reviews and comes in under budget ticks the boxes but a review mentioned it not sealing the rolls properly (it has a setting for it).

This Aliexpress one says wet and dry.

This is moist and dry (a tad worrying but maybe more honest) but is designed for use with rolls.

And one more random one.

Has anyone got any experience with vac sealing (mainly for freezing)? I'd love to know what machines and bags you use and the ones you'd recommend (Knowing my luck, it'll be £100+ but you never know ), things to look out for and things to avoid.

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3rd Apr
Lidl had one about a week ago only £19, they do the bags as well.
Vacuum sealer

I use an Andrew James one & it's served me well. I also use the lidls bags with it & haven't had any problems with them. (edited)
Author
3rd Apr
Great spot! It says they're in store from the 7th - I didn't realise Lidl brought out new things on a weekend, I've only seen them on Thursdays. Every day's a school day!

Do they still make the one you have?
3rd Apr
I've been using this one for a year or so with a couple of different types of rolls and it's been very good. Currently on offer at £24.99. I also used their rolls at £12.99 a pair. (edited)
Author
3rd Apr
That's the second one I linked 👌🏻I'll see if I can get one of the lidl ones, if not I might try this one.

Out of interest, have you tried any other bags?
3rd Apr
Look at the size bag you generally make. I can get away with the 15x25 size. That is 25cm long. Most rolls are 3 metres. That is only 12 bags.
A deal I just checked is £17.99 for 15x5m x 5 rolls. So 25m x 4 per meter = 100 bags
Whereas I bought from Amazon, B09TKXCV45. 200 bags for £16.99. Which works out less than half price, without the faff of having to individually cut each one, and seal an end before use, so only half the wear and abuse on the sealer, half the electricity, and each bag has a preformed nick to make opening so much easier.
If your needs really do vary in size, then a roll might work, but after doing the calculations for my needs, and having faffed around with a roll to prove the point to myself, i will be sticking with preformed bags, with maybe purchasing a larger size if I need to

This is the model I bought from Amazon
B088QY129H (edited)
3rd Apr
I've used the Lidl one for years and it has worked well. The bags are nice and thick
3rd Apr
That Lidl one does look a good deal. I might recommend it to my SIL. One of my colleagues won a bid on a job lot of unbranded rolls and let me have a couple for a fiver. They are narrower and longer but I haven't had any issues with them sealing.
Author
3rd Apr
Good to hear yours works with different rolls too, not just their own branded ones 👌🏻
4th Apr
I use these rolls. The Lidl ones have let me down in the past but I use mine mainly for sous vide cooking. One tip when vacuum sealing, always have the textured side downwards. Don’t ask me why but for some reason it works better that way. Also make sure the bags and rolls you buy are for a vacuum sealer and not a chamber sealer as they are different
Author
4th Apr
Disappointing to hear you've had issues with the lidl rolls, we're they not sealing properly? Out of interest, which machine do you use?
4th Apr
been using the lidl rolls with a FoodSaver Electric Compact Vacuum Sealer Silver VS0100 for a few years with no problems mainly for sous vide bags are also great for stopping cambert etc stinking your fridge/kitchen up
Author
4th Apr
That's good to hear. I'm looking at buying their machine and will probably get 2 or 3 of their rolls. I'm interested to see if there's much difference between them and the unbranded stuff on aliexpress
5th Apr
I think I know the one you have, my dad got one from aliexpress and it relies on you pushing down on it and often melted bags, we sent it back and paid about £3-4 more for a better one that clamped itself with the right pressure and works perfectly doing it from a roll. The Lidl one will be fine too and isn't much more though so probably a good option.

Had this type:
aliexpress.com/ite…tml

Replaced with this one:
aliexpress.com/ite…tml (edited)
Author
5th Apr
Yeah, that's the one. I think I paid about £5 for it. I'm going to try to get over to lidl on Sunday morning
2 h, 35 m ago
picked up some vac bags yesterday from lidl did not see any vac machines instore (fulwell branch)
Author
1 h, 50 m ago
I made a point of getting there Sunday morning to get mine. Glad I did 👌🏻