I am considering buying a vacuum storage pump that will help to prevent my freezer items from getting freezer burn. In your experience, which product performs better: a) The battery-operated Reynolds Handi-Vac, OR b) the Ziplock hand held manual pump? Thanks in advance for your input to help me make an informed decision.
I started out with the battery powered Reynolds pump. But after just a few months the pump didn't work right (Reynolds basically told me to go buy another one, at my cost) and the bags didn't keep the air out more than an hour or so. Then I found the Ziplock pump. I have been using it for 6 months now and love it still. No batteries to mess with. Only takes a few pumps and all the air is out. The air stays out too.
I have things in my freezer now that I've had for 2 months and the air is still out, and the food is still good. In the fridge, I have bags that I'm in and out of all the time (lunch meat, fresh produce, etc) and they still keep the air out. I have some broccoli in there now that I've had for 2 weeks, and it is just as dark green and crisp as the day I bought it. My husband is a trucker and he keeps some bags and a pump in the truck too. He is able to make his foods last a lot longer with the Ziplock pump.
If you want to go with the cheapest route, all you need to do is put the food into a ziploc bag, seal the zipper except for a 1/2 inch, insert a straw and suck out the air. It is a very efficient and easy way to vacuum seal anything!
I had the ziplock hand pump and threw it out. I found that the bags did not hold air very well. At first I thought I had not zipped the bag tight enough and gave it another try. 3 times out of 5 the bag would leak and I'd end up having ruined food. I have since switched to a more expensive sealer and am really glad I did. Don't waist your money on these, they aren't very reliable.
They both do the same job very efficiently. One takes batteries & the other doesn't, keeping in mind if you don't want to spend the money on replacing batteries, then the hand pump is great; on the other hand if you don't mind buying the batteries, then its the Reynolds. I have tried both, I like the Reynolds the best but I do have one of those bigger ones that are more costly and they all save a lot of money on preventing the freezer burn.
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