# Vacuum pump canning.........



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)




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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

readytogo said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfUwEf810g


I have done this and man you better have a lot of hand strength 
but is is great for dry stuff like spices matches and the like.

I just hook mine up to my vacuum sealer much easier.
You need to get both wide mouth and regular sealers 
I got mine from bass pro.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

I agree an electric vacuum sealer is great; however, the point of this (and similar) posts is to provide an alternate way to vacuum seal jars when the power is out. We're working on something similar using a bike tire pump. It's on the "to do" list.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

Country Living said:


> I agree an electric vacuum sealer is great; however, the point of this (and similar) posts is to provide an alternate way to vacuum seal jars when the power is out. We're working on something similar using a bike tire pump. It's on the "to do" list.


Not shooting it down just telling my experience and that I do have a 
brake bleeder set up and can use my power sealer.
another alternative way is to use a motors vacuum even if it does not run 
if you can turn it over it will pull a vacuum.
A siphon or bilge pump can be adapted or built to do the same thing.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

I ordered a similar setup with hand pump a few days ago. Thought is give it a try for the herbs and such. When I get back from this trip, I'll have to give it a try.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

AdmiralD7S said:


> I ordered a similar setup with hand pump a few days ago. Thought is give it a try for the herbs and such. When I get back from this trip, I'll have to give it a try.


I've had a brake bleeder since last summer and it seals when my vacuum sealer gives me a fit--nuff said.
I sealed cornmeal a few nights ago in less than 10 seconds and it stays sealed.
I have cases of dried foods sealed and the hard to seal were sealed with the brake bleeder.
I have no idea why it works when the vac seal won't.

Let no one talk you out of a brake bleeder. It will pay for itself when the grid is down.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

I think and I have not tried it but I always boil lids I guess this soften up the seal and allows for it to seal better than a cold lid, have not needed or tried it with vacuum canning.
so boiling lids may help when vacuum sealing with alternative methods.

_I do this when I water bath_ _can jellies and high acid foods_


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## tleeh1 (Mar 13, 2013)

I've had a brake bleeder as my back-up for a couple of years now to use when the power is out. Works great. I love my sealer and use jars all the time for a lot of my dry items like rice and flour (when I open a larger container), along with spices and dehydrated items. I use it on little jellie jars all the way up to 1/2 gal jars, regular and wide mouth. Most of the time, I can get away with using used lids, but if I have trouble holding the seal, I just pot on a new lid.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

tleeh1 said:


> I've had a brake bleeder as my back-up for a couple of years now to use when the power is out. Works great. I love my sealer and use jars all the time for a lot of my dry items like rice and flour (when I open a larger container), along with spices and dehydrated items. I use it on little jellie jars all the way up to 1/2 gal jars, regular and wide mouth. Most of the time, I can get away with using used lids, but if I have trouble holding the seal, I just pot on a new lid.


I love the fact that we can keep lids used for canning and seal our dry goods.


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## Badley (Aug 18, 2014)

That is an awesome idea, using available tools for something other than their "intended" use. We have & use the sealers with our vacuum sealer and had talked about what we would do in grid down scenario. I was thinking along the conventional line of how to convert battery power to run the regular machine. Gotta keep thinking out of the box:beercheer:!
BTW here is one source for a good bleeder. http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-brake-bleeder-49482.html
Brad.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

Badley said:


> That is an awesome idea, using available tools for something other than their "intended" use. We have & use the sealers with our vacuum sealer and had talked about what we would do in grid down scenario. I was thinking along the conventional line of how to convert battery power to run the regular machine. Gotta keep thinking out of the box:beercheer:!
> BTW here is one source for a good bleeder. http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-brake-bleeder-49482.html
> Brad.


An inverter will run what ever it is rated at as long as you have the 
bank of batteries charged / charging to supply the power.
A battery can only accept so much charge so fast so the bank will only 
be able to supply you with a limited amount of power @120 volts and X amps.
Depending on your use a modified sine wave inverter if you are going to run electronics.

If you want to think way outside the box you can seal a mason jar by free diving with it 
66 foot should give you a good seal, but not a sterile one and no liquid could be near the seal or it would siphon out as it was purging.

If you do not have a jar sealer but have a canister for a sealer if your mason jar will fit in it you can vacuum seal the canister and thus seal your jar inside the canister,

You can bake the jar from a cold oven to around 250 degrees put on a lid and as the jar cools the seal will suck tight.
I have read this on this site or a similar forum as well.

there is another way but it could / would be dangerous.

vacuum sealing is not the only answer dry nitrogen is heavier than air if you know the volume of a container you can flush / purge the contents and fill put in an oxygen absorber 
I have posted how to make them yourself and seal.

Oxygen absorber salt and steel wool or equivalent tied into a muslin white cloth bag
the salt causes the steel to rust the rust has converted oxygen / removed.
White muslin first it is a tight weave so nothing will escape if tied well the color because dyes are chemicals and can break down causing smells / vapors although white is bleached the scent is usually expelled after being stored.

AS far as I know nothing lives in dry nitrogen the only other thing to watch is light / sun bleaching of the contents.

Do not beat me up there are things called books some are really thick on just one singular subject written by some bi polar person with a fetish and in extreme almost painful focus will describe down to the slightest detail with formulas and diagrams if your lucky maybe some pictures all the details you will ever need to know about any subject.

Information I provide is only to get the ball rolling sometimes I am sorry I post 
as then I have to in fine detail explain it all over again.

just to get people thinking you do not need heat to distill a mash into liquor.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Nightwing--baking in my oven requires expensive electricity so I killed two birds with one buy--no power?? brake bleeder. pressed for time?? 10-20 seconds with brake bleeder.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

You can reverse the plunger and check valve in a foot operated bicycle tire pump an make it become a vacuum pump.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/homemade-vacuum-pump-zmaz81jfzraw.aspx#axzz3BWvfAvED

http://www.scribd.com/doc/150129328/DIY-Vacuum-Pump

http://www.instructables.com/id/make-a-manual-vacuum-pump-for-under-$20-by-convert/

http://www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/showthread.php?536-Home-made-vacuum-sealer&


> Appropriate Technology for Small and Subsistence Farms
> 
> *Hand Operated Vacuum Packing System for Seed Storage*
> By Allen Dong and Roger J. Edberg
> ...


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

I`m glad I`m not the only one,the pump may not be any good for canning but for dry goods is excellent and no power needed,is just one more tool to have.I haven`t used the 1/2 gallon jars yet nor really taken a good look at them but if the foodsaver wide mouth jar qt sealer works on them I will definitely get one,I do lots of baking and it will be great for cookies and crackers.
Anybody knows for sure?.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

nightwing said:


> just to get people thinking you do not need heat to distill a mash into liquor.


Vacuum distillation has been around for centuries.

It still takes a few tricks to make it work right, though.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

nope guess again not vacuum


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

nightwing said:


> nope guess again not vacuum


Freezing comes to mind.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

readytogo said:


> I`m glad I`m not the only one,the pump may not be any good for canning but for dry goods is excellent and no power needed,is just one more tool to have.I haven`t used the 1/2 gallon jars yet nor really taken a good look at them but if the foodsaver wide mouth jar qt sealer works on them I will definitely get one,I do lots of baking and it will be great for cookies and crackers.
> Anybody knows for sure?.


Yes, the jar sealer works fine on 1/2 gallon jars.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

JayJay said:


> Yes, the jar sealer works fine on 1/2 gallon jars.


Thanks,will be getting my kit soon.


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## Badley (Aug 18, 2014)

Nightwing, agree that solar panel, battery & inverter would run our vacuum pump and got all that stuff. Was just responding about the manual brake bleeder, especially since it was not the "intended" use of the tool. The article about bicycle pumps is great too, but will require some fabrication. 

x2 on the foodsaver sealer working on the 1/2 gallon canning jars. WM has the jars, about $12 for a box of 6 jars with lids. Don't know if this is a new item for them or I have just not paid enuf attention in the past. Great for sealing stuff you are using currently in the kitchen. Easy to reseal for max freshness.

Since we have been putting beans, rice, etc. away in mylar bags inside plastic food buckets, I fabricated something to make the process a little easier and improve the final result. It is a simple wooden stand to hold the 24" impulse sealer horizontially at the correct height to seal a bag that is filled inside a 6 gallon bucket (add a 2x6 spacer under bucket and it is right height for 5 gallon bucket too). Our process is as follows;

1. Put 20" x 30" mylar bag in bucket & fill with dry ingredient of choice.
2. Add O2 absorbers.
3. Seal entire bag as close to the top as you can. Don't worry about removing air at this step. This leaves plenty of bag sealing space for the rest of the steps.
4. Cut off just enough of the top corner of sealed bag to expose a hole big enough to allow insertion of plastic hose from vacuum sealer. (I am using leftover hard plastic hose from icemaker hookup, it slides perfectly on the end of the canister hose fitting that came with vacuum machine and gives us plenty of length to go into the bucket. Also is hard enough that it will not collapse under vacuum. Cut business end of tube at an angle to make it easier to insert into the bag which always wants to stick together).
5. Inset hose into bag about 3" and use manual cycle on vacuum machine to suck most of the air out of the bag. This only works because the bag is sealed except for the small opening for hose which you can hold tight enough for this purpose.
6. When you have enough of a vacuum pulled, remove the hose and QUICKLY seal up the corner of the bag you previously cut. Now you can put an additional full width seal below for added protection if you want without concern for air entering the bag. Helps if two people are doing this, one can remove the hose and hold bag shut while the second activates sealer.

We end up with bags that have O2 packets in them, the majority of the air removed, and sealed up in food grade bucket. As good if not better than commercial products in that regard. I'm sure this is nothing new to many, but hope it can help someone who may be trying to figure it out like we were not too long ago. 

In fact I am being called to finish up the current batch right now! :kiss:

Brad.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Badley said:


> Nightwing, agree that solar panel, battery & inverter would run our vacuum pump and got all that stuff. Was just responding about the manual brake bleeder, especially since it was not the "intended" use of the tool. The article about bicycle pumps is great too, but will require some fabrication.
> 
> x2 on the foodsaver sealer working on the 1/2 gallon canning jars. WM has the jars, about $12 for a box of 6 jars with lids. Don't know if this is a new item for them or I have just not paid enuf attention in the past. Great for sealing stuff you are using currently in the kitchen. Easy to reseal for max freshness.
> 
> ...


You lost me at mylar bag!!


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## tleeh1 (Mar 13, 2013)

readytogo said:


> I`m glad I`m not the only one,the pump may not be any good for canning but for dry goods is excellent and no power needed,is just one more tool to have.I haven`t used the 1/2 gallon jars yet nor really taken a good look at them but if the foodsaver wide mouth jar qt sealer works on them I will definitely get one,I do lots of baking and it will be great for cookies and crackers.
> Anybody knows for sure?.


The 1/2 gallon jars work great. They use wide-mouths (I have both a regular and a wide-mouth sealers for my foodsaver). I really like using them for Chinese chow mien noodles -- keeps 'em fresh for a long time. I did one for brown sugar. In over a year, it never hardened -- I could take out what I wanted and re-seal. Super!


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## NolanHoug (Aug 28, 2014)

JayJay said:


> Nightwing, agree that solar panel, battery & inverter would run our vacuum pump and got all that stuff. Was just responding about the manual brake bleeder, especially since it was not the "intended" use of the tool. The article about bicycle pumps is great too, but will require some fabrication.
> 
> x2 on the foodsaver sealer working on the 1/2 gallon canning jars. WM has the jars, about $12 for a box of 6 jars with lids. Don't know if this is a new item for them or I have just not paid enuf attention in the past. Great for sealing stuff you are using currently in the kitchen. Easy to reseal for max freshness.
> 
> ...


Well it sounds really very interesting..I do need a good vacuum pump..I will try to search for some reviews about the device and if suitable I will surely get it..


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

Caribou said:


> Freezing comes to mind.


you got it :trophy1:


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

My old vacuum machine was an air conditioner compressor off an old Ford. It would collapse most containers. A decent crank mounted to it would probably do well for sealing most containers. Might be worth a try if you don't have anything better to do on a weekend day.

(Will also work as a low pressure tire pump used by switching the intake and output)


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## NolanHoug (Aug 28, 2014)

NolanHoug said:


> Nightwing, agree that solar panel, battery & inverter would run our vacuum pump and got all that stuff. Was just responding about the manual brake bleeder, especially since it was not the "intended" use of the tool. The article about bicycle pumps is great too, but will require some fabrication.
> 
> x2 on the foodsaver sealer working on the 1/2 gallon canning jars. WM has the jars, about $12 for a box of 6 jars with lids. Don't know if this is a new item for them or I have just not paid enuf attention in the past. Great for sealing stuff you are using currently in the kitchen. Easy to reseal for max freshness.
> 
> ...


Well finally decided to get a vacuum cleaner.. Hope I have invested in right product..


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

good thing "brake bleeders" work for vac sealing food, because using one on a brake system is a really good way to get crap sucked into wheel cylinders. pressure systems are designed for pressure not vacuum. Just because some "genius" builds a tool for something does not mean that it is good for that.


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