Anyone try the Ziploc Vacuum System/Bags?

[solbes]

I harvested and dried the small amount of hops from our first year Cascade and Williamette. I wanted to get a vacuum sealer, but a quality one costs $100-150+. Kind of kills the cost effectiveness of growing your own hops.

So I saw the Ziploc vacuum sealer bags on sale at Fleet Farm the other day and thought I'd try them out. Worked very easy and for about $7 or 8 you can get the vacuum pump and fifteen 1-quart size bags. Not bad at all. It was really easy to use and the pump sucked all of the air right out. I have heard that the vacuum port on the bags can leak some, so I added some packing tape over the hole. Apparently others have had good success doing this.

Anyway the hops are all safely tucked away in the freezer. Now I'll try to see how long they stay sealed.

 

[jerkstore]

I have one, it's hit and miss. Some time the vacuum seal holds, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[passedpawn]

I have one. I tried really hard to make it work, but it truly sucks. (no pun intended there) Most of the bags do alright the first time, but it seems that once they are opened they don't hold a vacc anymore. It's cheap, tho, so go find out for yourself if you want.

IMO, get the cheapest foodsaver you can find (try amazon). I have one and it is so so nice. There are tricks to using them with hops, and minimizing the use of bags.

 

[724b]

I had the same hit or miss experience. I ended up getting a Foodsaver. On the upside, you can cut the zip top off and the bags work pretty well with the Foodsaver.

 

[solbes]

Kind of what I expected, it is a $4 product. I guess I was never intending to reuse the bags though, they are plenty cheap enough to toss after I open the hops. I'm hoping the packing tape trick works out for me.

The proliferation of brewing equipment has me on the dog list with the wife. If I can avoid storing a foodsaver just for hops used in the fall, I'd be plenty happy.

 

[724b]

I've wanted to to try these for a while...
http://morebeer.com/view_product/7722//Valved_Hop_Storage_Bag_1_2_lb

I wonder if that ziploc pump would work with this?

 

[ddrrseio]

I've wanted to to try these for a while...
Valved Hop Storage Bag (1/2 lb) | MoreBeer

I wonder if that ziploc pump would work with this?

anyone have any comments on these? looking at getting some bulk hops but can't if i can't store them!

 

[jiggs_casey]

I bought one a couple of years ago. I found it a pain to get it to work correctly and when it did, the bags really didn't hold their seal.

 

[copyright1997]

Sometimes, on sale, you can get a vacuum sealer cheap. I got this Rival sealer at newegg for $24 shipped: Newegg.com - VACUUM SEALER RIVAL FSFGSL0100-015. I see it is now marked as deactivated, so I don't know if they will be carrying it again. Here's the same item on Amazon: Amazon.com: Rival Vacuum Sealer: Kitchen & Dining for $52.78 so it still appears to be available.

I use my sealer A LOT as I've been participating in grain group buys and use it to seal part of the grain that I don't expect to use for a while. I also use it to reseal hop bags after I open them. (I easily have more than 300 # of grain and over 20# of hops.)

Even vacuum sealed plastic has limits. If you want to keep the hops or grain longer term, I would suggest the technique used by survival folks, namely to buy mylar bags and seal the food (in our case hops) in the bag with oxygen absorbers. After the absorbers kick in, the bag will be crinkled similar to using a vacuum sealer, but the mylar is much stronger and also keeps out light.

For example, here's a link to some supplies on Amazon: Amazon.com: 50 - 1 Gallon (10"x14") Mylar Bags & 50 - 300cc Oxygen Absorbers for Dried Dehydrated and Long Term Food Storage: Home & Garden. You can seal these with a home iron, and this will work better than any vacuum sealer plus foodsaver type plastic. People use this system to successfully store food for 20+ years!