Have you ever wanted to vacuum-seal leftovers to keep them fresh? Looking for a way to keep your popcorn or coffee beans fresh for longer? Want to vacuum pack dry goods for long term storage? If you answer "YES" but don't want to lay out $100 or more dollars for one of the commercial vacuum sealer machines, then do what I did - assemble your own for $30 from readily available parts! Using a $20 brake bleeder and a mason jar sealer, you can vacuum seal anything you can fit into a mason jar. I call this "the Alvin" vacuum sealer, after my late pop, who always taught me to do more with less and set aside the extra for later.
PLEASE NOTE: This IS NOT a substitute for wet-pack canning using a pressure canner. This technique will not prevent botulism or spoilage in wet-pack foods (meat, fresh fruits/vegetables). This technique is ONLY appropriate to prolong the shelf life of dry goods to be stored at room temperature ( dry means <10% moisture such as popcorn, wheat, coffee, beans, dehydrated meat, fruits & vegetables) OR moist foods stored in the refrigerator / freezer.
PLEASE NOTE: This IS NOT a substitute for wet-pack canning using a pressure canner. This technique will not prevent botulism or spoilage in wet-pack foods (meat, fresh fruits/vegetables). This technique is ONLY appropriate to prolong the shelf life of dry goods to be stored at room temperature ( dry means <10% moisture such as popcorn, wheat, coffee, beans, dehydrated meat, fruits & vegetables) OR moist foods stored in the refrigerator / freezer.
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You'll need:
1) A brake bleeder/vacuum pump from Harbor Freight (cost=$19.99).
2) A Tila FoodSaver mason jar adapter (I bought mine from Bass Pro Shop for $9.99).
3) A clean empty mason jar with a new lid. You can get these from WalMart or some grocery or hardware stores. Or ask your grandmother for one.
1) A brake bleeder/vacuum pump from Harbor Freight (cost=$19.99).
2) A Tila FoodSaver mason jar adapter (I bought mine from Bass Pro Shop for $9.99).
3) A clean empty mason jar with a new lid. You can get these from WalMart or some grocery or hardware stores. Or ask your grandmother for one.
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http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96677
and no hand pumping
This tool need compressed air to create a vacuum for sucking moisture out of an AC system.
You could probably take the compresser that you need for that 4.2 CFM @ 90 PSI and use the inlet of that to get you your vacuum.
If you want cheap and easy, there's plans out there to hack a bicyle pump to save seeds with.
http://www.redwoods.quik.com/webteck/george/seedsaverlinks.html
Also will vacuum sealing kill any flour moths or the typical grain larvae that will hatch if you do not consume it for a long time? . Since i had a flour bug infestation due to a box of flour i hadn't touched in ten years(pre divorce food), i now freeze everything that is grain or bread mix, for a week to kill any larvae. and try and keep everything in plastic, since the work of cleaning everything, plus a second outbreak, I sealed the tiny gap around the kitchen cabinets, since some hideaways were in there preparing for the second assault. Larvae are normal, there is no way they can keep them out of foood unless they nuke it, i will stick to freezing and now vacuum seems good also.
Producing vacuum is different than producing pressure. Standard atmospheric pressure (at sea level) is 14.7 PSI (or 29.9 "Hg). When producing a vacuum you're moving air out of a container into the atmosphere, so a perfect vacuum would be 14.7 PSI outside the container and 0 PSI in the container. It's tempting to think "my bicycle pump can achieve 60 PSI, so 14.7 PSI won't be any problem"...but it doesn't work like that. When pumping air into a container, you're essentially packing more air molecules into the container from a limitless supply of molecules outside the container (the atmosphere). When trying to draw a vacuum you're trying to pump a very limited supply of molecules (in the jar) out. That's more difficult because molecules tend to spread out to fill the volume of the jar and pump in a somewhat uniform fashion. So the first dozen pumps are relatively easy...you're moving a large number of molecules. As you continue to pump, the "fill" stroke on the pump gets filled with fewer and fewer molecules each time. Common piston pumps (like the brake bleeder or bicycle pump) have a relatively low mechanical limit. A more expensive commercially available compressor pump has a higher limit, but still can't achieve ultra-high vacuum levels for the same reason (UHV requires other pumping technology).
Fortunately, to preserve foodstuffs in this way doesn't require ultra high vacuum levels. You just need to remove enough air to suffocate the ever present critters and minimize any oxidation. FYI 23 "Hg vacuum means about 77% of the air has been removed. That's about the pressure of the atmosphere at 45,000 feet (1.5x higher than Mt. Everest...well into the stratosphere). In my experience that's been plenty enough to keep larvae at bay.
Hope this helps.
http://www.pump-n-seal.com
But now you've got me thinking...I have access to extremely powerful turbo vacuum pumps at work that can get down to ~.00001 atm. I should try that.
Really though, I don't find the pumping action to be very taxing at all, but I don't see any reason why your idea wouldn't work. The handle does have a return spring, btw.
When I first wrote this instructable 3 years ago, I sealed up some gatoraide, popcorn, and a few other items. I just recently opened some of the gatoraide and popped some of the corn. It was still as fresh as the day I bought it :)
This is a really smart tool, even if you have a vacuum packer because you can reseal food supplies while surviving a major disaster -- even without electricity!
This is the foodsaver wide mouth jar accessory with half of a T17-0059 hose and an Actron Vacuum Pump CP7830.
I use it for coffee, dried herbs, fruits and vegetables. It is good for flour as well. Would also be good for bulk spices.
Note: I also have the regular foodsaver electric pump. I used a T-connector and it seems the Foodsaver usually pulls between 20 and 25 "in. Hg vac", which I assume to mean inches of mercury. I use this as my target pressure when hand-pumping.
My one issue is that for people with small hands the pumping ( up to 25 inHG) can become very difficult, switching hands would be very useful, but not possible as letting go of the hose will prematurely seal the jar.
I find the easiest way to do it is to have someone else hold the hose tip in the jar sealer while I pump.
Anyone know a better way? Or should i just buy the accessory hose to get the proper connector so i can seal jars myself?
http://www.pump-n-seal.com/
The glasses at Harbor Freight look exactly like widemouth can and freeze jars. They're glass, but made such that frozen food can expand upward instead of breaking the jar. I have a ton around her to freeze chili/soup/stew/taco meat in single serving portions.
It does, however look like that you need to use their four supplied lids for their pump
I've been using the manual hand pumped brake bleeder from Harbor Freight for over a year now. It works great! It comes with several attachments and one of them works perfectly. It seals my quart seed and milk jars so well that I have to pry them open with a can opener and usually damage the lids.
The only thing is you have to watch out for the screw on the handle rolling of on you after a while. It works it's way off after about 6 months of heavy usage. I just check it occasionally and tighten it up. I love this system, and wouldn't be without it. I love the fact that no electricity is needed, which is a plus for when the SHTF.
Oh yea, Harbor Freight had me waiting for delivery for 2 months! I didn't like that!
I have the zinc die cast version of what Harbor Freight designed a copy of. Works great.
I have only used it for "testing" automotive vacuum components and for bleeding/replacing automotive brake system brake fluid. Works great for one who works alone.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92474
I think this is a link to the one mentioned by Snoyes:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96414
Has anyone tried this? I think it might be worth it just to give it a shot.
I posted last year about saving my rare heirloom veggie seeds using the vacuum sealer. It's been a great success! I now have a huge home seed bank and after recent testing found the germination rates are still very high this year.
I also raise and breed dairy goats for the milk and I used the vacuum sealer to seal my milk before freezing. I cannot describe to you the difference in the flavor of the milk after thawing. It has a fresh, and refreshing flavor that is out of this world! The milk was good before, but NOTHING like it is now after being vacuum sealed. It's kind of like comparing 2% milk with the flavor of heavy cream. It has a much richer flavor.
Thanks again Alvin! :)
Just to make sure... you can remove the Food Saver top and leave only the Kerr or Ball lid, correct? The reason I don't like the Food Saver vacuum system for dry goods, besides the price and a machine that can wear out and break is that you have to buy a special lid for each jar. ( I could be mistaken)
I tend to run my jars & bottles through the dishwasher (filling a load & timing setting it off to finish at the right time, I don't just stick half a dozen jars in on theor own) just before the jars are needed, so they are hot too. Alternatively, heat them in the oven. Be careful with plastics, as not all can cope with the heat & may deform - test them in the oven or dishwasher beforehand.
Unless you don't recycle (or recycle *very* little, under 10%) or your food has to travel a huge distance, glass is more environmentally friendly anyway.
I stuck the suction cup adapter on the cone fitting you show and it will pull suction. So I made some PumpNSeal clone tape valve strips and it works fine on normal jars. The valves are effectively free, which means you can save an additional $10-20 buying the mason jar sealer(s) by piercing the lids and using the valve strips, a la PumpNSeal.
The idea for making free PumpNSeal valves came from this page, in the Valves section.
The author refers to the valves as being like a plaster (ie, look like a band-aid when completed).
- keep the lid on
- kill any weevels or other critters
- remove as much O2 as possible
more is better, but even just enough to keep the lid on should help. If you are really worried about the weevils and such, you could just pop the whole thing in the freezer. I do this with every bulk bag of flour, rice, etc that comes in to the house.I use it for the storage of any dried bulk goods. Things like seeds and nuts will store better because there isn't any (or very little) O2 left in the jars to make the fats in the food go rancid.