We have had a Vacuum Sealer for over two decades having received it as a wedding gift. Although we originally used it for food storage over the years we have found other things to vacuum seal for survival. Here are some of our thoughts and experiences on vacuum sealers
For Prepper Food Storage
When we first got our vacuum sealer I started sealing up white rice. I did packages with two cups of rice and then placed them inside a five-gallon food-grade bucket. As time went on we started to seal up five cup packages as well. The two-cup packages are great to grab for a side dish, whereas the five-cup bags would be for dishes where rice is part of the main dish. The other purpose for the two-cup packages is so we can hand out to those in need. We also printed off and cut out cooking instructions for the rice that we store inside the buckets for people who may not know how to cook rice without a microwave. Although having the two and five-cup vacuum sealed pouches are great for rotation purposes, we are not able to fit as much rice inside the five-gallon buckets as we do when we use one large Mylar bag inside a five-gallon bucket.
We also used the sealer for dry beans. Before we moved to our bug-out location (BOL)/homestead full time we would buy meat in bulk and use the vacuum sealer to repackage the meats into smaller portions. If you have never compared bulk meats to those that are packaged for family use, you will be shocked. At one of the big warehouse stores we looked at hard salami. We could buy a whole uncut hard salami stick for half the price (per pound) as we could the salmi that was already cut and packaged in a smaller quantity for family use. We had a meat slicer that we picked up at an estate sale, so it was an easy task to slice and repackage the food, saving us some money. We soon found out that our vacuum sealer was also useful for non-food purposes as well.
Bug-out-bag
I was re-packing my go bag and was perplexed by how to save space and how to protect some of the items from water. I grabbed the vacuum sealer and a roll of bag and started to seal things for my go bag. Space always seems to be one of the primary Prepper commodities that we never have enough of. A wool watch cap, a pair of heavy-duty wool socks and a pair of military polypropylene glove inserts took up a considerable amount of space. Once put into the vacuum sealer bag and all the air was vacuumed out I saved about 2/3 of the space. So not only did I save space but I also waterproof these items as well. I started to look for other things in my go bag that I could seal up. My first aid kit was bulky, especially the container, so I took the items out and vacuum-sealed the bandages, rolls of gauze, gauze pads, and tape. Again about 2/3 of the space was saved and my first aid items were now protected from water. I kept a 120-round bandolier of 5.56mm in my bag as well and that got sealed. Also in my bag is a 4”x6” metal container that housed smaller items such as a wire saw, a pen flare gun, a bottle of water purification tablets and the like. I put that in a bag and it got sealed up too. I did not save any space with the bandolier or the metal container but the sealing provided excellent moisture protection.
Medical Supplies
Having seen the space that I was able to save, I looked for other items to vacuum seal. The one item I was able to save the most space on was on the hundreds of gauze pads we store. In the photograph you can see the space saving on 400 2×2 gauze pads. We easily saved half the space. Besides the gauze pads I also vacuum-sealed rolled gauze and Kerlix gauze saving additional space. I considered vacuum sealing vet wrap (aka Coban) but considering the properties of vet wrap (clinging to itself) I believe I would have ruined it. I had boxes of different types of medical tape and I took those out of the box and sealed them to help protect them from dirt and dust. Something else I do with the vacuum sealer and first aid items is put together re-supply sets. For example, I take 24 gauze pads, 8 rolls of gauze and 2 rolls of surgical tape and seal them together. When we use up the gauze in our first aid kits instead of having to open up a sealed bag of 400 gauze pads and a sealed bag of 48 rolls of gauze we can just grab one of the re-supply sets.
Ammunition
As a reloader I have also vacuum-sealed some of my reloaded ammunition. I have read articles warning readers to NOT vacuum sea ammunition due to the potential of having the projectiles come out of the cases. I use a crimping die on many of my calibers but not all. I have had zero projectiles separate from the brass. One thing you really have to watch with the vacuum sealing of ammunition, especially those with pointed tips like .223, 5.56, .308, et cetera, is that the points may puncture the bags. This is an issue with other sharp objects as well. The corners of a cardboard box could even puncture the seal bag thus breaking the vacuum and exposing the contents to air/moisture.
Preventing Holes
In many instances, I like to take the items I am vacuum sealing out of their original packaging. One reason is that many types of packaging (like the cardboard boxes we just discussed) can poke holes in the bag. The original packaging may also require the use of an additional bag which adds to the costs. The last reason is that it saves space and reduces weight by getting rid of the packaging. Sometimes, depending upon the item, I may cut the label or box top and place that in the bag and vacuum seal that with the item for reference. I always seal the bags at least twice. That is I will make a seal and then move the bag and place another seal above the first seal. Is it necessary? I have had very few bags that have lost their vacuum seal. But since doing the double seal I no longer have that issue.
Re-use of bags
Sometimes, when I am cutting my bag material, I add a few extra inches. I place the seal as high up as I can so that when I cut the bag open I can either re-seal it or I can re-use it for other items. I never re-use a bag that had food in it for other food. I have found you can put the bags in the dishwasher to clean them but I think that is overkill. I normally do not re-use bags that had rice or pasta in them since those foods seem to make microscopic dents in them. Bags that were used to store something fatty, like meat are more difficult to clean but can be done. We also do not reuse bags for our medical supplies. I also use a “Sharpie” marker to write the contents and date sealed on the bag above the seal line, that way if I want to re-use a bag there is no writing on the bag.
Longevity
I have been using the same vacuum sealer for over 20 years. I picked a new one up 10 years ago on clearance with the thought that I would have to replace mine as it was getting lots of use and older. That sealer is still in its box. Like other preps, we keep a good supply of rolls of plastic to make the bags. Since the bags are plastic, oil prices affect the costs. Since the sealer use very little electricity, it is one of the few electrical appliances that we plan to post end of the world as we know it specifically for food items.
Expanded Uses
We have only ever used our vacuum sealer with bags. However, our brand/model has the capability to vacuum seal jars. We have the accessories to do both regular-mouth and wide-mouth Mason jars. I was watching a YouTube video that popped up in my suggestions about vacuum sealing and the video was watching a lady who used a vacuum sealer canister to vacuum seal non-canning jar glass contains with one piece solid metal lids (like a jar of salsa). The lady put a filled jar, with the lid hand tightened, inside of the canister. The vacuum sealer then pumps all the air out inside the canister thus sealing the jar that is inside the canister. This is only for dry goods that do not need to be refrigerated or otherwise processed like water bathing or pressure canning. She was sealing up items that she dehydrated from her garden.
One of the issues that I am concerned about is having the ability to store all the food in our gardens. We plan on dehydrating/sun-drying much of the food in our garden post-SHTF. We have hundreds of “Mason” jars for canning but with the canister idea we can recycle other types of jars to store our dry goods. I went online to look for the canisters and the company that makes our vacuum sealer discontinued the canisters. I looked at thrift stores and yard sales for months and never found one. I did however find a set of 3 on eBay for a very reasonable price so we picked those up. We plan on “experimenting” with them this year as we dehydrate food from our garden.
Our vacuum sealer has allowed us to save money by buying in bulk and repackaging and has saved us a lot of space by compressing fluffy items. It has also allowed us to make various kits. If you have vacuum sealer and are only using it for food you are not using it to its fullest potential. If you do not have one, I highly suggest getting one or more of these very versatile implements.