Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: Burning Babylon on May 18, 2013, 12:28 am
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For a short definition on what Heat Sealing is see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sealer - basically equipment used to seal plastic bags and/or other types like Mylar Bags.
I would like for this thread to be a summary of the Heat Sealing Equipment out there at the moment with the following attributes explained:
* Name: What kind of name the product goes under, pretty straightforward.
* Availability: To what countries the product ships to.
* Link: A direct link to where the product can be bought.
* Price: The current price of the product.
* Electrical: What kind of socket or battery the equipment uses to function. (This can make a big difference if the equipment requires a lot of power which only good electrical voltage converters can solve)
* Seal: What kind of seal the equipments creates in terms of how well done it's made and how it looks. Described and/or a link to a video or picture which shows the end result.
* Size: Light (Handheld/Portable Equipment), Medium (Machine Type Sealing) or Heavy. (Industrial Use, for example Chamber Vacuum Sealers)
* Miscellaneous: Any additional information and comments, possibly a review of the product itself if the user posting about it has used it for a while.
I'm personally looking for equipment for Europe/Sweden in the Light/Medium category which has a consistent seal so I'm hoping I'll get some recommendations from other users about that. There's appears to be good Heat Sealing Equipment available in the US but unfortunately can't be used by me as they don't ship to Europe. I'm aware there are US mail forwarders like Shipito / http://www.shipito.com/ and MyUS / http://www.myus.com/ but this is not a viable option most of the time as the equipment usually require fairly good/expensive voltage power converters which weigh a ton thus making shipping very expensive.
A good power voltage converter like LiteFuze LT Series 2000 Watt Heavy Duty Voltage Converter Transformer - Step Up/Down 110/120/220/240V ( http://www.amazon.com/LiteFuze-Series-Voltage-Converter-Transformer/dp/B002IU36J2/ ) is to my knowledge impossible to buy directly in Sweden. If anyone knows where to get something similar in Europe that would be very interesting. Just a small comment for anyone that might feel like commenting on it later yes it's fairly easy to get something like a Simran SMF-200 Deluxe 200 Watts Step Down Voltage Converter for International Travel to AC 220V/240V Countries ( http://www.amazon.com/Simran-200-Converter-International-Countries/dp/B000W9DJ1Q/ ) but this simply isn't strong enough for most types of Heat Sealing Equipment.
I'll make a post below with some examples on how I would ideally want it presented.
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Name: Portable Storage Food Bags Heat Handheld Instant Sealer
Availability: United States
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Storage-Handheld-Instant-Sealer/dp/B0055E8XH8/
Price: $3.90
Electrical: 2 AA batteries
Seal: Makes a very narrow and inconsistent seal due to it's user driven nature, the seal is almost impossible to make straight which makes it look very bad.
Size: Light
Miscellaneous: Completes the definition of a heat seal but it looks so bad and the seal itself is so unpredictable one can never be sure the seal will hold.
Name: SealerSales KF-300CS
Availability: United States
Link: http://www.amazon.com/SealerSales-KF-300CS-Coated-Direct-Sealer/dp/B00B29NXSO/
Price: $269.00
Electrical: North American
Seal: http://www.sealersales.com/files/715834/uploaded/KF-200CS_small.jpg - Makes multiple seals very quickly on a span of 15 millimeters. Picture is of a model with slightly shorter seal length.
Size: Light
Miscellaneous: Multiple seals very quickly makes this product stand out from other sealers.
Name: Weston Vacuum Sealer Pro-2300
Availability: United States
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Weston-65-0201-Pro-2300-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B001GP81R2/
Price: $399.99
Electrical: North American
Seal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfLhA0JNwXg&t=1m18s - A very straight and strong seal.
Size: Medium
Miscellaneous: Seems like an excellent option overall but there are no models with European sockets and this one most likely requires it's fair share of power which makes it an expensive option for Europeans.
Name: Sammic SV-306T
Availability: United States, is produced by a spanish company though so should be some way to aquire these within Europe.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sammic-SV-306T-Chamber-Sealer-Retort-Sous-Vide-Food/dp/B00994NQ68/
Price: $4,150.00
Electrical: North American
Seal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd0Vpw08cgQ&t=4m52s - A very straight and most likely strong seal.
Size: Heavy
Miscellaneous: A very professional, quick and expensive solution to Heat Sealing. Worth keeping in mind is Chamber Style Vacuum Sealers like this one is capable of vacuum sealing Mylar Bags and other Moisture Barrier Bags which for example the Weston Vacuum Sealer Pro-2300 can't.
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Helpful list, thank you.
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My favorite after research:
Name: 3M Vacuum SEaler 235
Availability: United States + ?
Link: http://www.qsource.com/p-16455-3m-235vacuseal-14-235-vacuum-sealer-economy-performance-025-seal-bar.aspx
Price: $3,200
Electrical: North American
Seal: 1/4'', Heat
Size: Heavy
Miscellaneous: Heat Seal + Vacuum, great for 3M MBB