Sunbeam Vacuum Pack Machine

[Thefatdoghead]

I was asking a while back about storing grain as im sure others have in the past. I have only recently bought 100kg of different base malts and I was looking at how to store all of it so it would last 2-3 or more years (not that it will the amount ive been brewing since tasting my first AG). I bought air tight buckets first but they just didn't hold enough for my thirsty needs.

So I thought if I get the grain vacuum packed off Ross why not buy one myself. I went and bought a sunbeam and payed for the extra 3 years warranty and away I went and vacuumed all my grain and hops. I currently have about 130kg of grain vacuumed and ready to go, it all fits in a small space and it will last forever being vacuumed. I filled a 5kg bag then vac'ed it and it takes about 2min to make the bag and seal the bag. The machine was about $320 from memory but the space saved is well worth it. I'd recommend one of these to anyone short of space and who would like to store grain for a long period of time having peace of mind it will be fresh and no nasty s getting in.
I'll be doing all my steak from the butcher with it (no more freezing and thawing) and all my herbs ect.
So there you go there is my review and plug of the old Vacuum system. Now what else can I vacuum.....

 

[pokolbinguy]

Plenty of us here on AHB use vacuum sealers for hops. I like the idea of storing grain that way. I have used my vacuum sealer on plenty of stuff. Steak, pies, hops and other stuff.

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Plenty of us here on AHB use vacuum sealers for hops. I like the idea of storing grain that way. I have used my vacuum sealer on plenty of stuff. Steak, pies, hops and other stuff.

Do you find it does keep food for a long period of time. I think meat is like 6 months in the fridge?

 

[Tim F]

Nah man even vac packed you can't keep fresh meat anywhere near that long in the fridge. I'd say a week or so max. Vacuum packing doesn't stop bacterial growth, and some very nasty things even thrive in vacuum. But if you vac pack and then freeze it the sunbeam manual says you can keep it for up to 3 years.

 

[pokolbinguy]

freezer is the key. The vacuum seal stops freezer burn etc

 

[barls]

have used the sunbeam, while it was good, it didnt do very well with the foil bags used for hops. ended up buying a seal and pack unit a couple of years ago havent looked back since

 

[Thefatdoghead]

have used the sunbeam, while it was good, it didnt do very well with the foil bags used for hops. ended up buying a seal and pack unit a couple of years ago havent looked back since

What is this seal and pack you speak of Barls??

 

[barls]

http://www.sealandpack.com/homevacuum%20sealers.htm
we did a bulk buy awhile ago from this bloke, details are in the bulk buy section

 

[CONNOR BREWARE]

Do you find it does keep food for a long period of time. I think meat is like 6 months in the fridge?

the retails do this, call it wet aging. But thats after slaughter and they use a gas with it as well. once you have the meat home and open you need to dry age, freeze or eat. Left in bag it will just rott.

I've taken my little sunbeam unit on fishing trips to bring back some fish (within bag limits) and have been really happy with results. BTW mine cost $170 with bags and rolls.

Currently the black ring seal is broken so i havent been able to get a good vacuum for the hops. need to get onto fixing that

But grain seems like a big hassle to be honest. I bought a 160 litre plastic tub with lid from bunnings and have everything in there in cool shaded spot. end of the day the 25kg sacks are breathable so if you move through the grain in a reasonable time frame it should be much different than buying it from LHBS.

mind you now u have me thinking, maybe I will vacuum seal up some of the specialty grains

i'll go hunt on ebay for replacement seals

 

[Thefatdoghead]

the retails do this, call it wet aging. But thats after slaughter and they use a gas with it as well. once you have the meat home and open you need to dry age, freeze or eat. Left in bag it will just rott.

I've taken my little sunbeam unit on fishing trips to bring back some fish (within bag limits) and have been really happy with results. BTW mine cost $170 with bags and rolls.

Currently the black ring seal is broken so i havent been able to get a good vacuum for the hops. need to get onto fixing that

But grain seems like a big hassle to be honest. I bought a 160 litre plastic tub with lid from bunnings and have everything in there in cool shaded spot. end of the day the 25kg sacks are breathable so if you move through the grain in a reasonable time frame it should be much different than buying it from LHBS.

mind you now u have me thinking, maybe I will vacuum seal up some of the specialty grains

i'll go hunt on ebay for replacement seals

I really didn't find it a hassle at all. It took me about 1.5 hrs to do all my grain. I didn't have room for a big ass tub from bunnings because im in a townhouse. I did see the cheaper sunbeams but I went for the larger type because I didn't want it to take a lot of time. Now I can happily buy a wide variety of grain spec malt etc and it'll keep. Fresh fish is a great idea ill have to try that....well if I can catch any fish!!

 

[stux]

Vacuum packed my leftove choc malt the other day. It's not too hard once you work out how much bag you need. Tis funny, makes it look like vac packed coffee or something

 

[bignath]

I have the sunbeam vac420 unit. It's pretty good.

I've done all of my hops in it. Not too hard to work out how big the bag needs to be and does an awesome job of keeping my hops fresh.

 

[CONNOR BREWARE]

I really didn't find it a hassle at all. It took me about 1.5 hrs to do all my grain. I didn't have room for a big ass tub from bunnings because im in a townhouse. I did see the cheaper sunbeams but I went for the larger type because I didn't want it to take a lot of time. Now I can happily buy a wide variety of grain spec malt etc and it'll keep. Fresh fish is a great idea ill have to try that....well if I can catch any fish!!

I'll def start using it on specialty malt, probably not my base malt.

Ive got the Vac 440

for fish if you ice chill straight after catch and bleed they will come up tasting fresh 3 months later. my unit has traveled rivers and up to ningaloo reef. for now though I've sadly only vacuumed up some EK Goldings plugs but with a dodgy rubber/foam seal it doesnt really work properly right now.

 

[jimmysuperlative]

Never tried this ...only just thought of it, but what about a "space vac" bag for keeping larger quantities of grain for longer periods?

The bags make an appearance on infomercials every so often. Basically a heavy plastic bag with a one-way valve and you suck out the air with your household vacuum cleaner.

Maybe someone's tried it already?

Quick search says it's not a new idea... b_thomas offered it up on AHB a few years ago

Sept 2009

 

[Florian]

Never tried this ...only just thought of it, but what about a "space vac" bag for keeping larger quantities of grain for longer periods?

The bags make an appearance on infomercials every so often. Basically a heavy plastic bag with a one-way valve and you suck out the air with your household vacuum cleaner.

Maybe someone's tried it already?

Quick search says it's not a new idea... b_thomas offered it up on AHB a few years ago

Sept 2009

Not sure how good they are, but ALDI has them on offer on Thursday for $6.99 for one large or two smaller ones.

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_18941.htm

Was planning on grabbing a few for travelling anyway, might try them on some of my low turnaround grains like wheat. Can also always carefully place smaller amounts in open bags into the large vac bag and vac seal them all togehter. Good idea actually, might seal off all my spec grains that way.