Help! Loading buckets question
 

I got my food-grade buckets, food-grade mylar bags, 02 absorbers and the like, and am not trying for the first time to load buckets and seal them with a foodsaver.

The seal doesn't seem substantial enough to hold on the mylar bag. It just opens right back up.

How important is the mylar seal?

I'm using 3 750 cc absorbers inside each bag and 2 more in the 4 gallon bucket. My back is sore from wrestling loaded buckets into the foodsaver.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

My guess is that the temperatures aren't high enough. If the mylar bags are not sealed, there's little or no reason to have mylar bags. I'm sorry about your back pain. But the bags need to be sealed. Instructions that I've seen call for using a teflon coated iron on its highest setting. How does your foodsaver compare to that?

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

I'm sure that the foodsaver utterly pales by comparison. I bought it specifically for this effort because I saw a youtube video where it was referenced for this purpose.

Ah, well. Back to the drawing board. Thank you!

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

the food saver isn't hot enough to seal the mylar... I use an iron and wood board. I seal the bag almost completely shut with a hot iron except for a small area on the corner big enough for the food saver canister hose. I put my Oxy absorbers in there. Then suck the air out the nearly sealed bag. Then after the air is pulled out I hold the seal with my fingers until I can get on the hot iron on it..

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

When I do large quantities, like 10-20 buckets I also use dry ice. CO2 is heavier than air(nitrogen/oxygen) and as it sublimates the heavy CO2 will push the air out of the bucket from the bottom. After letting it sit for several hours I will put in several O2 absorbers and seal it with the iron and board.

I recently opened one of these and the O2 absorbers were still good. So I am a definite believer in the CO2 although it is slightly more work.

s

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

I have had good success sealing mylar bags with the Food Saver. You might have to do it a couple of times, but the seal holds quite well for me.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Yes, That's how I do mine too. Works great! Just be careful not to suck any powder type stuff into the vacuum hose/foodsaver. BTDT:banghead:

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

After a few tries that is xactly what I do also. I dropped the dry ice as I only usually do three buckets at a time.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

I tried to use my foodsaver, and I could see how it would work if done correctly, but I'm kind of lame. I found that using a hot iron and 2x4 worked a lot better for me.

Somewhere there is a link posted for a video by Wendy Mae... that particular video was the most helpful for me as far as a demo for packing buckets... anyone have the link handy?

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pal88...d.php?t=307873

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Wendy Mae packing buckets

Part 1

Part 2

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Its worth buying a hot jaw sealer from sorbent systems if you plan to pack a lot of food, especially when packing gallon sized mylars. Its not as neccesary for large buckets, but makes things a good bit easier and quicker, especially if the bags dont have a lot of excess slack to work with. Mine was $130 and money well spent.

http://sorbentsystems.com/images/hjsealer2.jpg

http://sorbentsystems.com/hotjaw.html

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Reality--

When using the sorbent systems sealer, how many seals do you end up making per bag? Two diagonals on the sides and one center, or what is your preferred method?

Thank you to everyone for the tips!

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

I'd also add extra oxygen absorbers. In my experience all Mylar bags will still allow some leakage, if you only use a few 750cc absorbers, in a few months that tight vacuum you got a day or two after sealing will 'open up' again (observed when not also using pails).

In the same vein I'm pissed that the all the sources for pails in my town sell cheap product, the white pails are so thin you can easily see light through it (I asked, they said they did not sell any thiker food grade). Thus I cannot expect the pail long term to add much additional oxygen protection.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

Just one seal horizontally on the top centimeter or so of the bag.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

You must have either had some bad seals or holes got poked in the mylar. The air permeability of the aluminum lined mylar is negligable. If they normally leaked within a few months there would be no point in using them.

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

OW!

Hot iron, even set on "wool," is still hot. And so are the mylar seals you just made.

Word to the wise.

Oh, and question to RealityCheck regarding the hot jaws sealer--if it's one seal across the top, do you also try to vacuum out air? If so, then would you please share your technique?

Thank you all so much!

Re: Help! Loading buckets question
 

I seal all the way across the top except the last couple inches. Then fold the mylar down and push the excess air out, leaving the unsealed corner of the bag up. Then finish the seal with the hot jaw and fold it down. It comes out like a brick every time so I dont bother trying to vaccuum air out. Just pushing most of it out is enough.