Check out my new toy!

[pete lynch]

I'm assuming these retort bags wont work with a Food Saver-type vacuum sealer? So you must dish out for a commercial-type sealer like the one shown in the OP?

[finallyME]

I'm assuming these retort bags wont work with a Food Saver-type vacuum sealer? So you must dish out for a commercial-type sealer like the one shown in the OP?

I am not sure, I haven't tried it yet. My initial response is that it will. It is sealing the same type of plastic. But, I have read on other websites that people are having a hard time with the heat seal. They say that the heat sealer on the food saver isn't strong enough. It is really hard for me to believe that. I will have to try it myself before I believe it.

[Phaedrus]

It might seal them but probably not. They're very thick with a metalized layer. And if it can seal them it can't vac the air out. The Foodsaver needs channel bags with grooves running vertically thru the bag to let the air out. Otherwise, just like trying to drink a thick shake thru a thin soda straw, the bags collapse and won't let the air escape. To evac the air from them you need a chamber vac (or perhaps a nozzle vac device).

[finallyME]

It might seal them but probably not. They're very thick with a metalized layer. And if it can seal them it can't vac the air out. The Foodsaver needs channel bags with grooves running vertically thru the bag to let the air out. Otherwise, just like trying to drink a thick shake thru a thin soda straw, the bags collapse and won't let the air escape. To evac the air from them you need a chamber vac (or perhaps a nozzle vac device).

I have solved that problem in the past by cutting the channel layer out of a food saver bag and inserting it into the bag without it.

[Phaedrus]

I have solved that problem in the past by cutting the channel layer out of a food saver bag and inserting it into the bag without it.

I saw a couple of workarounds like that on YouTube. I'm curious to see if you can get the bags to seal. If nothing else, if they sealed even temporarily you could reinforce the seal with a dedicated stand-alone sealer.

I'd be willing to send you a few of the 7 mil two ounce retort pouches if you want to try it without buying a whole pack of 125.

[finallyME]

Well, I learned something today. It actually started yesterday, when I was talking with a co-worker about one of the materials he is using to seal a product. Anyways, he said the inner layer was Polypropylene. I was surprised, cuz I thought it was Polyethylene. Anyways, so I did a search for "retort" bags, and low and behold, they use PP for the sealing layer. Check out this wiki article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retort_pouch
Anyways, that explains why I read on some forms that people can't seal them with their standard vacuum sealer heat sealer. Most clear vacuum bags are polyethylene or PE with a nylon outer layer. PE melts at a lower temp than PP, so if they are set for PE, then they wouldn't be hot enough for PP. Anyways, there are metalized PE bags, and they are very common. But a "retort" bag isn't PE. My guess, and this is purely a guess based on observation, is that if the bag is 4 mils or less, then it is probably a PE bag. If it is more than 5 mils, than it is probably a retort. Retort pouches are 4 layers thick, which is why they are thicker.

I am pretty much always right, except for when I am wrong.

[finallyME]

I saw a couple of workarounds like that on YouTube. I'm curious to see if you can get the bags to seal. If nothing else, if they sealed even temporarily you could reinforce the seal with a dedicated stand-alone sealer.

I'd be willing to send you a few of the 7 mil two ounce retort pouches if you want to try it without buying a whole pack of 125.

Capri-sun uses retort packaging for their drinks. Also tuna packets are retort, so I can just buy some of those and then clean them out and try and vacuum seal them.

[Phaedrus]

I'm eager to see how that works. Just don't put Capri Sun in a tuna pouch!