This is the page we'd rather you read before you order than after. Every one of our pouches is smooth PA/PE film made for chamber vacuum machines. In a FoodSaver, or any other machine that grips the bag opening and sucks, they don't seal. Not badly. Not at all.
The machines this applies to
Edge sealers, also sold as external, suction or bar sealers. If the bag hangs outside the machine while it works, it's one of these.
- FoodSaver, every model, including the handheld ones
- Andrew James, Swan, Salter, Russell Hobbs, Lakeland's own-brand sealers
- Caso VC series (Caso's VacuChef is a chamber machine and is fine)
- NutriChef, Bonsenkitchen, Inkbird and the rest of the £30 to £150 kitchen sealers
- The Anova vacuum sealer (not the circulator)
- Most sealers sold as an accessory to a sous vide circulator
Why it doesn't work
An edge sealer has a nozzle at the bag opening and nothing else. It sucks air out of the open end. As the air goes, the two sides of the bag are pressed together by the atmosphere, and if the film is smooth they meet and block the path to the nozzle. The pump is now sucking against a closed door. The machine either seals a bag with most of the air still in it or times out.
Bags for edge sealers get round this with an embossed side: a moulded pattern of channels that keeps a path open to the nozzle even when the film is pressed flat. That texture is the entire difference, and it's why embossed bags cost 8p to 15p against 2.7p for a smooth pouch. The embossed vs smooth guide goes into the film.
A chamber machine doesn't need the channels because it pumps down the whole chamber, so the pressure inside and outside the bag falls together and nothing gets pressed shut. The chamber vs edge guide covers the two machines side by side.
What to buy instead, if you're keeping the edge sealer
Embossed bags or embossed roll. Any brand's will work in any edge sealer; the channels are the same idea everywhere. We don't make them. Buy them from the machine's manufacturer or a general supplier and check the width fits your sealer, which is usually 300mm maximum.
When a chamber machine starts to make sense
If you're packing for a business rather than a household, the switch usually pays for itself faster than people expect.
| Packs a day |
Embossed bags at 10p, per year |
Smooth pouches at 2.7p, per year |
Saving |
| 20 |
£520 |
£140 |
£380 |
| 50 |
£1,300 |
£351 |
£949 |
| 100 |
£2,600 |
£702 |
£1,898 |
| 150 |
£3,900 |
£1,053 |
£2,847 |
Based on 260 working days and our 200×300mm pouch. A new tabletop chamber machine with a 250 to 300mm seal bar starts around £500 to £900; a used Henkelman Boxer or Orved VM in good order is £700 to £1,500. At 50 packs a day it's paid off within 18 months on bags alone, and you get liquids, marinades, a deeper vacuum and a machine that runs hands-free.
The producer setup guide walks through buying one.
If you've got a chamber machine after all
Then you're in the right shop. Check the compatibility guide for your seal bar width, start with the 200×300mm and 160×250mm, and ask for a free sample pack if you want to try before buying a box.
Not sure which type you have? Email a photo of the machine to orders@flexipol.co.uk and we'll tell you in one reply.
