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If your about to buy a vacuum sealer and your looking around and comparing, then my bet is that you don't really know what to compare. PLEASE read the 2 articles above "Must read before buying a vacuum sealer" and "Why wattage matters". Just click on them to open the article.

Ever wondered why your vacuum sealer struggles? 

Buying a vacuum sealer from a department store

You just went out and bought a new vacuum sealer and you’re not happy. Let’s say you went to the department store and you asked the guy on the floor for a good quality vacuum sealer to vacuum seal your meat. So did he straight away start talking about the vacuum sealers and in particular a certain one. He had you convinced in about 5minutes that this $350 whiz bang model was the one for you. STOP! STOP! Don’t buy it in fact don’t buy anything of that guy. Did he once ask you what sort of meat you were vacuum sealing and how much you were sealing or how often you would be using it. NO, he didn’t, he just sold you the vacuum sealer that he wanted to sell. Did he point out the wattage of the vacuum sealer or the negative pressure it went to. Were the functions of the vacuum sealer talked about like, auto function and pulse function, canister capability, switching into seal, cancelling the vacuum sealer. NO, I suspect not as he probably did not know.

Where is the transformer information on a vacuum sealer

One of the most important parts of a vacuum sealer is the transformer. To know how big the transformer is, just have a look at the compliance plate on the bottom of the vacuum sealer. By law it has to be on there.  

Domestic vacuum sealers

So, any vacuum sealer that is 100w or less do not waist your money, it is not strong enough to qualify as a vacuum sealer. 110w to 200w is classed as a domestic vacuum sealer. It will be capable of vacuum sealing 1 to 30 bags at a time 1 – 2 times a week. It is suitable for vacuum sealing the groceries after a shop and maybe some home-grown vegetables from the backyard. It will probably go to about 75Kpa. Domestic vacuum sealers have a single seal.

Professional vacuum sealers

 If the vacuum sealer has a wattage of 200w – 300w it is classed as a professional vacuum sealer. This type of vacuum sealer will be capable of a bit of hard work. You will easily do 30 – 100 bags in a session 1 – 2 times a week. The professional vacuum sealer is suitable for those that want something with a bit more grunt, fisherman, hunters maybe even a small business. It will go to about 80kpa – 90kpa. A professional vacuum sealer should have double seals.

Commercial vacuum sealers

A commercial vacuum sealer should not be considered in this category unless it is at least 300w or more. The important part here is, the more work you are going to throw at it the higher the wattage should be and the Lava vacuum sealers go up to 1800w. So, there is really 2 categories in the commercial vacuum sealers being light commercial and heavy commercial. They are suitable for doing continuous vacuum sealing and are the type of vacuum sealer you should be looking at if you are doing a full beast or wanting to vacuum seal all day in a commercial environment. Commercial vacuum sealer will go to a vacuum of 85Kpa – 95kpa. A commercial vacuum sealer will have double seals and some have triple seals.

The cycle time of a vacuum sealer

So, there is a bit of a break down on the wattage of your vacuum sealer and if your current vacuum sealer is not coping with the work load then I would say the wattage is too low for the work you are throwing at it. Also, I should mention here that ALL vacuum sealers have a cycle time. This means it is the time between activating the vacuum sealer to vacuum seal a bag and activating it to seal the next bag. This is your cycle time, and no matter how big the transformer is, your cycle time should be 1 minute. If you exceed this then in lower wattage machines you will find they will over heat and shut down. Some machines will have a over heat shut down built into them so when it recognizes that you are going to fast or excessive heat builds up it will shut down until the temperature drops. Also, you can get a residual heat build up on the heat bar so when you put the next bag in it starts sealing the top of the bag before the pump starts or during the vacuum process. This will seal the bag up before all the air is out of the bag. The bag is sealed and there is still a lot of air in the bag. Most people will straight away blame the machine but in reality, it is the operator.

Buying a vacuum sealer online

This same information applies if you were to buy a vacuum sealer online. Pick up the phone or send an email to the company you are going to buy from. If they do not reply within at least 24hrs then I would avoid them. If they are not asking or replying to questions like “what are you vacuum sealing” “how many bags at a time are you vacuum sealing” “how often are you doing these volumes” then they have no idea what vacuum sealer will suit you, they are just selling you the machine they want to sell.

How to select the right vacuum sealer

Finally, I would recommend deciding which category you and your next vacuum sealer will fit into. Then select 2 – 3 machines of the correct wattage and then decide on things like functions and price. The money you spend on your next vacuum sealer will be a waste of money if it is 120w vacuum sealer and you’re going to vacuum seal a whole beast with it.

Also, don’t be fooled by the wording if it is 120w then it is not a professional or commercial vacuum sealer and should not be sold as such. No if’s but’s or maybes, 120w is a domestic vacuum sealer. You will find that once you start looking for a vacuum sealer with a 200w plus transformer, that your choices are limited unless your shop where the professionals.

Food Vacuum Sealers Australia

Why the Wattage of
your machine matters.

We all look at price and that is wrong.

Weather we go to the department store to buy a vacuum sealer or we look on line and do a Google search to select that vacuum sealer, we all look at the one thing. That one thing that decides which machine you are going to buy. THAT IS THE PRICE. Well, listen to me very carefully here because if that’s you, you have got it all wrong and you are more than likely wasting your money and will end up with a vacuum sealer that will not do the job you expected. So, what do you look at when buying a good quality vacuum sealer.

What should we look at first when buying a Vacuum sealer.

The biggest thing that matters in a vacuum sealer, the one thing that determines if that vacuum sealer will do the job you expect it to do is the wattage of the vacuum sealer. Ok so let’s explain the wattage of a vacuum sealer first. The wattage is a true indication of how big the transformer is inside that vacuum sealer. The transformer is what feeds power to the seal bar and seals the vacuum sealer bag. The sealing of the vacuum sealer bag is actually the hard part for the vacuum sealer not the vacuuming. The more work you throw at the vacuum sealer the bigger the transformer you need also if you have a vacuum sealer that has more than 1 sealing wire or a sealing wire wider than 3mm or is longer than 30cm then the machine will need a bigger transformer which means higher wattage.

What qualifies as a domestic vacuum sealer.

Ok, now we know what to look for, let’s talk about some minimum requirements for a basic, domestic vacuum sealer. A domestic vacuum sealer is a vacuum sealer that you are going to use once or twice a week and vacuum sealer anything from 1 - 20 bags. Any vacuum sealer that is less than 110 watts, you should not waste your money on. Also, at this level the negative pressure it takes the bag to is important also. Any vacuum sealer that will not take your bag to at least -70Kpa (-0.7 bar) should not be considered. If the specifications in the listing or on the box do not give you any of these 2 bits of information, then it probably does not pass the pub test and you should not waste your money on it. To re-cap, a good quality domestic vacuum sealer should be between 110 watts and 200 watts and it should go to a negative pressure of -70 Kpa to – 80 Kpa and is suitable for low volume use once or twice a week. It will have a single sealing bar and a 3mm wide seal.  You will pay anywhere from $200 to $350 for a good quality domestic vacuum sealer.

What qualifies as a professional or semi-commercial vacuum
sealer.

A vacuum sealer should not be considered as semi-commercial unless it has a transformer that is over 200 watts, anything less and it does not matter what else it has or how good it looks it will only perform like a domestic vacuum sealer and is only suitable for low volume. So don’t get fooled by bells and whistles “LOOK AT THE WATTAGE FIRST”. A professional vacuum sealer should have a transformer between 200 watts and 300 watts. It should go to a negative pressure of around -80 Kpa to -90Kpa. A professional vacuum sealer is suitable for the fisherman or hunter that is coming home with his catch to vacuum seal. This type of vacuum sealer is great for doing up to about 100 bags and is capable of more but if you do work it hard it may need pacing and a rest for a few minutes here and there. Not that I recommend it, but I do have customers doing full beasts with a professional vacuum sealer.  For me if it is a professional vacuum sealer it should have either a double seal or an extra wide seal, 5mm wide. Once you have selected a range of vacuum sealers within these specs you then look at the bells and whistles. A pulse function for manual operation is always good, Heat settings, I like to see on a vacuum sealer, also for me I like the facility for using canisters. A roll film holder and cutter are very handy but once you get to this level of vacuum sealing it is much better to use pre-made bags. And finally, a lift out drip tray is not essential but can come in handy. The one thing I do hate is giving customers the sense of security with the wet heat setting and a drip tray that it is now ok to suck liquid into the vacuum sealer as this will stop the bag from sealing no matter how many watts the sealing bar is getting. “DO NOT SUCK LIQUID INTO, OR PAST THE SEAL AREA”

What qualifies as a commercial vacuum sealer.

So, a commercial vacuum sealer should be no less than a 300 watt transformer, no exceptions. And the more work you are going to throw at it the higher wattage you will need. The German made, Lava vacuum sealers start at 500 watts and go up to 1800 watts. A commercial vacuum sealer will be capable of vacuum sealing a whole beast in 1 sitting. Commercial vacuum sealers should really be split into 2 groups, light commercial, and heavy commercial. Light commercial vacuum sealers, being 300 watts up to 400 watts. Heavy commercial vacuum sealers, being 400 watts plus. Your light commercial vacuum sealer is what you would see in a small business doing smaller quantities every day or on a farm or station doing a large quantity every so often like a full beast. Your heavy commercial vacuum sealers are what you would see in a busy commercial business that is packaging meat or food and being used to do large quantities every day.

More food vacuum sealer information on transformers and extra notes.

Finally, if you are looking at a chamber vacuum sealer the same applies.

The heavy weight that you fell when picking up a European vacuum sealer indicates it has a large transformer as the Europeans use a wound transformer. The Chinese vacuum sealers are generally a lot lighter and this is not because the transformer is small, it is because they use digital transformers which are very light. The digital transformers offer better monitoring of temperature and loads, also they are better at monitoring and adjusting to power requirements due to power fluctuations. The failure rate in digital transformers is also lower due to an early detection system.

As a final note on buying a good quality vacuum sealer in Australia. There are no vacuum sealers made in Australia. All the vacuum sealers are made in either China or a European country, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Spain.

If you are in the market for a good quality vacuum sealer then do yourself a favour and either email the company or ring them with any questions you may have and make sure, they know their vacuum sealer and they at least sell the basic spare parts like the foam seal kit and replacement heat strip.

Here are some of the big brands known in the shops, How owns them and where the vacuum sealer is made. Some of them may surprise you.

Food saver. (Newell Brands Inc). Owned in USA. Made in China.

Sunbeam. (Newell Brands Inc). Owned in USA. Made in China.

Russell Hobbs. (Spectrum Brands). Owned in USA. Made in China.

Albiano. (ALDI Nord). Owned in Germany. Made in China.

Devanti. (New Aim Pty Ltd). Owned in Australia. Made in China.

Luvele. (Joe Dutch). Owned in Australia. Made in China.

Kings Vacuum sealer. (Vella). Owned in Australia. Made in China.

Proline. (Proline). Owned in Australia. Made in China.

Vakumar. (Vakumar). Owned in China. Made in China.

Inkbird. (Shenzhen Inkbird). Owned in China. Made in China

What Food vacuum sealers Australia supplies

Preservac. (Taste Factory). Owned in Australia. Made in China.

Lava. (Lava). Owned in Germany. Made in Germany.

Status. (Status). Owned in Slovenia. Made in Slovenia.

I do hope this article helps you decide on a better vacuum sealer for you.