Food Saver bag failure


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Diamond Member
I haven't used many bags but have experienced a bag failure. How often does this happen? I reheated slowly in micro thankfully, smelled Q before it got hot and knew there was a leak. Glad It wasn't in hot water.....
 
I'm not sure if this is your culprit or not, but I had that happen to me a couple of times in the past and discovered that the problem was caused by meat juices being drawn too far out of the bag during the air removal and contaminating the line that is heat sealed.

Now, if need be, I manually stop the vacuum if the liquid is being drawn too far out of the bag and I haven't had any problems with bad sealing.
 
I had a coulpe of bag failures too.

I always thought maybe it was fluid before, but finally I noticed a small crimp in the seal.

Then, I looked at the food saver, and noticed that the black tape over the heat bar also had crimps in it.

Make sure the tape over the bar hasn't moved over time.....
 
Yes, I had it once while boiling some. I suspected oils where it sealed so now I wipe it off if I feel it necessary.
 
making sure stuff stays out of the crease and using enough bagging material will probably prevent most bag failures.

if you scrimp on bagging material you end up gettting creases in the bag to try and make it work .... keeping stuff out, solids, liquids is a no brainer

mine has developed some hotspots on the sealer bar ... I have fixed this by doubling up on the tape in those areas

double sealing is a good idea if you are in doubt or start getting more bag failures .... run a second seal 1/2" or so from the first
 
Steve,

I don't know what an expert is, but I've sealed so much with my FS that I have total confidence, only two seal failures in many hundreds of seals. While the super majority of my freezing has been done with beer tenderloin the principles of freezing in a FS stay the same:

- Don't fill up the bag too full; I've found no more than 3/4 full to be best
- Make sure at least 1/4 inch is beyond the "seal"
- Keep the seal area absolutely flat, crease free
- Try to stage the meat so that there is very little air at the back of the bag that has to overcome the pockets created by the quick seal
- Keep the seal area as liquid free as possible to begin with; as it vacuums it may draw out some, but it will handle a little liquid in the seal
- Use FS original bags and rolls; it's hit or miss with other material

I'm sure most of this info is elementary for you, but following these rules I've sealed hundreds and hundreds of bags problem free. I hope they help you.

By the way, if you want a real deal, Harris Teeter puts whole beef tenderloins on sale about every six weeks for 7.99 or 8.99 per lb. I buy one or two, cut them up about 1 in thick, freeze them in pairs with the FS, and my wife and family and I eat filet for about $4 per person. The meat stays fresh in the FS for months. Had some last night and they were outstanding. Just a tip. Again, I hope all this helps.
 
The best seals will require a just a tad more bag material than which appears to be "enough". I also cuff the top of the bag before filling in order to avoid contaminating the seal area. I have also found that, depending on which side of the bag you intuitively feel should be "up" (I think the untextured side), that flipping the bag over will often help in those cases where the vacuum pump keeps running, but the heating element doesn't automatically cycle. (Mine doesn't have the manual seal feature.)
 
Thanks all. sounds like bag failures are a rarity when using good technique. I've been pleased but was concerned by the one issue.
 
BTW, I'm not sure I would want to make a regular practice of nuking a sealed Foodsaver bag. The word I keep think of is "Kaboom!" I'd rather have pork juice leak into boiling water than a blowed-up microwave, all things considered.
 
I never reheat food in my foodsaver bags in the microwave...don't like the taste/smell it seems to leave on the food. You can use an almost boiling pan of water to heat if need be. I usually just take the food out and put on another plate/bowl to reheat in the microwave.
 
I will also add that my wife got some "knock off" bags that were much cheaper. After some bags losing their seal in the freezer it became clear that we got what we paid for. just an FYI for those like me that are trying to save a buck anyway possible.
 
Originally posted by Doug D:
the vacuum pump keeps running, but the heating element doesn't automatically cycle.QUOTE]

I had this problem with one of my FS's a few weeks ago so I took it apart. I found that there is a filter inside the 1/4 tubeing that runs from the pump to the switch on the circuit board. I forced this filter out with a stiff piece of wire and rinsed it real well and put it back. So far it is now working great.

PS, When I have a lot of fresh meat to store I use my Vacupack. It can stand sucking up blood because you can run warm water through it to flush it out when you are finished. It takes a dab longer because you have to place a flat nozzel into the bag.
Click to expand...
 
I always use a folded paper towel in the bag if there is even a slight chance of moisture. I also double seal the bag after loading it. Seems to help.
 
I'm just about ready to take an ax to my FS!!! I ahve almost stopped using the wide-11" material because I get about a 90% failure rate,either at the time of the seal or waht's worse after the item ahs been in the freezer for a while and developes frostbite! The narrowr bags are slightly better but not by much. My wife bought one of those Ziplok vacuum gizmos and it works a lot better. Plus the abgs are resealable. This is ny second FS. Am I the only one frustrated by these things? Now I'll get down from ny soapbox to prevent further injury.LOL
 
I was considering buying a FS but thought I would try out the ziplock gadget and give it a try. Not sure how good it really works.
 
I made mistake!! Our's is the REYNOLDs vacuum thing.
Thried to pack two chicken halves with the FS Friday. No go again!!! It sealed but wouldn't vacuum. It may be time to take my ax to it!
 
I was making room in the freezer last night and discovered five reynolds bags that had failed. The zippers still appeared to be sealed, but air had infiltrated. I rebagged and resealed all those porterhouses, but I'm losing confidence. I had hoped that stepping up to a heat sealed foodsaver would help, but after re-reading this thread I'm not sure.
 
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