Customer Reviews

S C Johnson Wax Ziploc Vacuum Pump/Bags Food Storage Bags & Wrap

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Former Reynolds Handi-Vac user here. I like the Handi-Vac, but the bags are no longer for sale at any stores around here. Saw the Ziploc Vacuum Pump at a local store for a few bucks and decided to give it a shot. This review will focus on comparing the two since they are a similar product.

Key points:

* Ziplock pump does not use batteries; it is a manual pump. Reynolds Handi-vac is a battery hog.
* Ziploc pump is extremely easy to use. Doesn't require you to find a "sweet spot" like the Reynolds one. Takes maybe 3-4 pumps to get all the air out of a bag. With the Reynolds pump you sometimes have to sit and fiddle with the position of the bag/pump to get it just right before it will start vacuuming the air out (all while wasting battery life). This is a non-issue with the Ziploc vacuum.
* The Ziploc bags are much higher quality than the Reynolds bags. They just seem thicker/more durable.
* Cost of replacement bags isn't bad. $2.75 for them on sale locally
* Ziploc vacuum can be disassembled to clean it in the event that you vacuum liquids into it.
* The Reynolds Handi-Vac works with the Ziploc vacuum bags (but not vice-versa), I don't know that you get a better seal with one pump or the other. This is worth mentioning in case any Handi-Vac users can't find replacement bags -- the Ziploc bags work fine with it.

I really have no complaints at all. It is smaller, easier to use, doesn't require batteries, and the bags are higher quality than the Reynolds bags. I'm of the belief that simple designs are far superior when they work. This thing is about as simple as it can get and works great. No need to spend $100 on a commercial food vacuum when this thing does the job and only costs a few dollars. Definitely a winner.

A couple of reviewers noted that although the vacuum forms well, the bag doesn't hold the vacuum well. That's true, but that doesn't obviate the usefulness of this device. Using this you can get MUCH more air out than by the old method of "pressing"the air out, yet you don't have to pay $50-$100 for a more expensive system.

Users should note the simple valve design: it's just a hole in the bag, covered by a stiffer piece of plastic that has a semicircular cut in it. So under vacuum, the stiffer plastic seals against the bag.

So, logically, if you want the vacuum to hold better, I suggest taking a 2" square of clear packing tape and taping over the valve, making sure there are no seams. That should do the trick.

Also, note that it's a ziploc-style bag--I doubt that the ziploc seal itself is capable of withstanding a vacuum perfectly for that long. If you have a $15 handheld bag heat sealer, you could heat seal parallel to the ziploc for a much longer lasting seal. If you do it on the "open" side of the ziploc, you could even be able to cut off the heat sealed part and reuse the bag.

Try the packing tape over the valve, though, as that "seams" to be the lowest hanging fruit here. That's what I'm going to use on mine, and I'll leave a little "flippy" section so I can peel it off without damaging the valve. (Put a little square of paper over the valve flapper itself to protect it from being torn when you pull the tape, and just overlap it on all sides with packing tape).

I may post back when I see how it works. It seems like it could be a useful product as long as you understand how it works and know how to work with it. I would guess it would be a better product in general for storing meat in the freezer, as opposed to beans, because once the meat freezes with the vacuum sealed plastic hard up against it, the plastic will stay on and the air will stay off, even if the vacuum starts to give.

I bought this product at a local store specifically so that I could store dog food. It's much more economical to buy a big bag of food than several smaller ones, but the food in the big bag goes stale before my small dog can eat it all, so I was excited to try the vacuum bags. I bought the starter set and a box of gallon bags, figuring I could buy refills online.

First of all, the instructions should explain that you need to leave about an inch or so of space at the top of the bag so that both layers of the area where the vacuum seal is can lie flat on the countertop. If this area is not perfectly flat, the pump won't work.

The pump itself works great--I confess I got a little thrill to see it actually removing the air, and to pick up a bag of dog food that was now seemingly solid as a rock. I quickly filled, sealed, and vacuumed the second bag, with similar results.

When I picked up the first bag to stack them and put them in my pantry, however, the previously immovable block of dog food pieces was...movable pieces. The vacuum was gone. I thought perhaps I'd done it incorrectly, but when I looked at the second bag, I realized that it, too, had already lost its seal. It didn't even last five minutes. I even re-vacuumed both bags, but the seal did not hold.

I disagree with the above poster who suggested using tape to reinforce the seal. If the product is flawed--and it seems to be--SC Johnson should fix it, not the consumers!

First, I do agree that this seller's price is ridiculous. Get them in your local Walmart, Target or big box store.

I strongly disagree though that they don't work, at least in my experience. I use them regularly. I usually prep food for the week on one day, and package things for the freezer or fridge like ground turkey, turkey burgers, pasta sauces, etc. Not only are they great for keeping things fresh, but they are great space savers too! The best discovery for me was that I can vacuum seal lettuce and it stays fresh and crispy much longer than it does even in my green containers. I live in Alaska, so getting anything fresh in the winter months is a challenge, and even fresh the quality seems to be poor, so keeping what we can get fresh as long as possibly so it isn't wasted is great!!!

I have only had one incidence when a bag lost it's seal, and on inspection it wasn't that the seal didn't hold, I had not 'zipped' the bag tightly, so I re-sealed it and it was fine. You do have to be sure they are tightly sealed before you pump.

I have an electric vacuum sealer but the cost of those bags became way to high. The Ziplocs can be washed and re-used several times depending on what was stored in them as well, I use the same one for lettuce over and over until it wears out.

Give them a try, pay close attention to 'zipping' the seal and I think you will find they work just great!

For the price of this item is a a very good buy.

I have a commercial sealer that I have only used a few times because it is bulky and requires a little preparation before use.

I have started a sweet potato pie business online and need a reliable sealer for shipping my pies.

[...]

Just like Michael Bishop has said, it lost the seal after a couple of days and someone else mentioned about the liquid seeping through the vacuum hole.

Both of these are a concern however, I HAVE A GREAT SOLUTION TO BOTH.

First of all, if you use the bags for freezer stuff, chances are you will place the item into the freezer immediately and you may never discover the flaw of the leak.

After I discovered the leak from one of my pies, I made another one and sealed the pie "THEN" I place a small square of vinyl packing tape over the vacuum hole and mailed the pie from Ohio to Georgia.

The pie was sent USPS parcel post which took FIVE days to reach my fiancee' in Georgia.

She assured me that the seal was tight and the pie was fresh and silky as intened. I was elated because now I felt confident that I could ship my Great tasting pies from Ohio to California in ease.

It really was very easy to remove the air. Just make sure you have solid flat pressure on the pump as you pull the plunger up and down then once you are done place the tape over the vacuum hole and you are done!

This is very quick. I use about seven solid pull on the pump or until the sound changes that let me know I have all of the air out that I can get out. I pray that this helps you and I do think this is a great product for the money.

Try one of my pies and see how well the pie ships from [...]

I really wanted to like this product. The vacumm pump was hand-operated (no electricity), the bags were cheap; ziploc has a great idea with this product!

The problem is that the seal didn't stay for me. I put coffee beans in the bag and used the pump to seal it to tight that the cluster of beans was held solid in the bag. I was overjoyed until the next day when the beans wre again loose in the bag, indicating that air was somehow getting back in. I obviously had a good seal, or the beans wouldn't have been in that solid configuration to start with.

I want to love this product. Please make the seal better!

So far I really love that ziplock vacuum pump and bags! It is so convenient to have for those who always have leftovers or to have partially completed meals when you are having that lazy or super busy evening! The pump doesn't take batteries nor does it take up your much needed counter space. So far all of the food in the bags has been fresh when we open them up.
My con with the product is when foods are really juicy and the ziplock pump sucks up the juices through it's little hole in the bag, kind gets messy! Plus you need to leave space around the suction part of the bag to lay flat on the counter. And you do need to pump air out of bags more than once, it just depends how much air is left in the bag and how full the bag is.
But besides that this is a great product to throw your leftovers in the freezer for a later meal! It's also great because it is so inexpensive, as are the bags as well! I have warmed food in the microwave in the bags, and I've re-vacuumed the bags after using some of the food from the bag! Overall, this is a really great product!

Just reading some of the reviews that claim the vacuum seal is lost. My bags of rhubarb chunks are sitting in the freezer just as tightly sealed as the day I stored them - about a month ago. I did not fill the bags to a level where food might interfere with the sealing mechanism - in fact, I left plenty of room. This is an inexpensive alternative that works just fine. Obviously, if you over-pack the bags you're not going to get an effective seal. Keep things neat and avoid gunking up the seals (both the zipper and the vacuum valve) with crumbs, debris, liquid, etc.

My wife got it. the bags does not keep vacuum for more that 30 min.
If you are looking for a totally useless product don't look further. You found it!

I am a coffee lover and was excited to come across these bags in my search for ways to store beans without air.

I have found that NEW bags will hold the vacuum about half the time. I learned that once you open a bag and try to reseal it again, the chances are very slim that you can get a seal to remain. I've also tried putting a wide piece of packing tape over the entire plastic tab assembly after suction, with no success.

So in my experience, this product is not reliable for dry goods. It makes sense that people who are freezing foods find success with the bags, so it is important not to discount those who are finding success there.

But in terms of product reliability, I am not impressed.

I even tried to blow air into a used bag, seal it off, and then dunk it under water, squeezing it to see where the air is coming out from. With a little pressure on the bag, tiny bubbles begin to emerge from the plastic tab, while the ziploc seal at the top of the bag held up well.

My advice for coffee drinkers is to find a jar with an air pump to displace the air, or to buy many little quart bags, and to store one serving of beans in each bag. Just plan for second and third attempts to reseal bags that do not "take".