Vacuum Seal Mylar Bags - possible answer

[610Alpha]

Can you vacuum seal mylar bags?

Who hasn't seen this or wondered it themselves? I know I have and I may have found a possible answer.

To seal a Mylar bag
Mylar bags CAN NOT be vacuum sealed directly. The Mylar material is very strong: too strong for any food sealing machine. Even the Weston Pro-2300, the highest quality sealer I have ever used, cannot seal these bags directly. Trying to do so may harm your machine.
Part of the reason is the strength of the bag, and part of the reason is the material. Mylar bags were not designed to be sealed. They do not have microchannel pockets for efficient air suction, and the bags surface does not provide a proper grip for use with a sealing machine.



I found this answer here: http://dehydrate2store.com/helpfultips/#TIP57

While I disagree with her statement about mylar bags keeping out rodents, as we have seen on a members video how mice chewed through a mylar bag. To me there seems to be some truth to her explanation.

I know LD3 and Protus will say forget about vacuum sealing and just use O2 absrobers but for those that just wonder why sometimes.

I will stick to using mylar & O2 absorbers.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Wow thats good stuff, didnt know that

[ComputerGuy]

What I do is seal the food, grain, etc in a bag with a 300cc O2 absorber. I then take all like items and put them into a mylar bag inside a 5-6 gallon bucket. Once I inventory the bucket, I will the place a 3000cc Oxygen absorber into the bag and the seal the top of the bag using an iron and a level as my flat surface leaving about 1/2 inch open at the top.

I will extract as much air as possible then I have a sealer with a small tube hose. After a amount of time I will pull the small hose and seal the bag the rest of the way. I will then put the lid on the bucket and number it and put the information into my computer for inventory purposes.

Thats what I do IMHO

[runtothehills]

Edited- Keep it clean- LD3


Do you know if anyone has 55gal mylars? Seen guys packing 5 gal. mylars in a 55 gal. drum. But what would be
nice is, if you could have the double protection. 5gal. mylars packed in a drum, with a big 55 gal. mylar?

[2682nscovell]

So, your double baggin? I like it! I have had women in the past, I should have been double baggin it! lol!
Do you know if anyone has 55gal mylars? Seen guys packing 5 gal. mylars in a 55 gal. drum. But what would be
nice is, if you could have the double protection. 5gal. mylars packed in a drum, with a big 55 gal. mylar?

Couldn't you possibly just melt two mylar bags together to make one colossal bag?

[Matt In Oklahoma]

So, your double baggin? I like it! I have had women in the past, I should have been double baggin it! lol! Do you know if anyone has 55gal mylars? Seen guys packing 5 gal. mylars in a 55 gal. drum. But what would be nice is, if you could have the double protection. 5gal. mylars packed in a drum, with a big 55 gal. mylar?

You could try something like this for the 55gl bags.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Mil-Mylar-Feet-Inch/dp/B000VFW3QS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299638734&sr=8-1

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-55-Gallon-Mylar-liquid-long-term-storage-bag-FDA-aprv-/350422040865?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

I double bag my small 1gl bags in the pail by lining the pail with one of those 5 gl bags. It's overkill or is it? IDK I know mine is protected.

[runtothehills]

You could try something like this for the 55gl bags.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Mil-Mylar-Feet-Inch/dp/B000VFW3QS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299638734&sr=8-1

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-55-Gallon-Mylar-liquid-long-term-storage-bag-FDA-aprv-/350422040865?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

I double bag my small 1gl bags in the pail by lining the pail with one of those 5 gl bags. It's overkill or is it? IDK I know mine is protected.

Sweet! Thanks! Atleast they are made, just gotta find another auction.

[Lowdown3]

I don't get her statement "mylars weren't designed to be SEALED." Did I mis read that or was something left out? We supposed to stick gum between the edges to hold them together? LOL

[610Alpha]

@LD3 - yeah, in the context of vacuum sealing mylar bags, they were not designed to be vacuum sealed is what she says in the full portion of this subject. Note: Like I said in the original post I do not agree with her statement about keeping out rodents.

I always was curious if you could vacuum seal mylar bags and that is why I posted this, this is not discussion about what you do or don't do, this is about whether or not mylar bags can be used in vacuum sealers or not. Also like I said in my first post I WILL NOT BE BUYING A VACUUM SEALER. O2 absorbers in a mylar bag (properly sealed) will work wonders as LD3 & Protus have shown us on the Packing Food videos.

Here is the full text:

Mylar Bags

Mylar bags are strong, shiny bags with a silver color. These bags are durable and puncture resistant, making them a perfect second line of defense for your vacuum sealed bags. Also, the shiny coating reflects sunlight, a powerful food degradation agent.

Mylar bags are very important for long-term storage (up to 30 years!). The bags keep out harmful sunlight, protect against puncturing, and keep out rodents. You should store your Mylar bags in a cool place, such as a basement storage area.

To seal a Mylar bag

Mylar bags CAN NOT be vacuum sealed directly. The Mylar material is very strong: too strong for any food sealing machine. Even the Weston Pro-2300, the highest quality sealer I have ever used, cannot seal these bags directly. Trying to do so may harm your machine.

Part of the reason is the strength of the bag, and part of the reason is the material. Mylar bags were not designed to be sealed. They do not have microchannel pockets for efficient air suction, and the bags surface does not provide a proper grip for use with a sealing machine.

To seal a Mylar bag, simply put your vacuum-sealed vacuum bag inside of a mylar bag and use the "heat seal" setting on your vacuum sealer. If you do not have a heat seal setting, you can use a hot iron and a metal surface.

Just like vacuum bags, the quality varies depending on company. Using high quality bags is important to ensure your food lasts the maximum time. For the high quality 3.5 Mil durable bags I use in my videos visit the shop page at

[ComputerGuy]

@LD3 - yeah, in the context of vacuum sealing mylar bags, they were not designed to be vacuum sealed is what she says in the full portion of this subject. Note: Like I said in the original post I do not agree with her statement about keeping out rodents.

I always was curious if you could vacuum seal mylar bags and that is why I posted this, this is not discussion about what you do or don't do, this is about whether or not mylar bags can be used in vacuum sealers or not. Also like I said in my first post I WILL NOT BE BUYING A VACUUM SEALER. O2 absorbers in a mylar bag (properly sealed) will work wonders as LD3 & Protus have shown us on the Packing Food videos.

Here is the full text:

Mylar Bags

Mylar bags are strong, shiny bags with a silver color. These bags are durable and puncture resistant, making them a perfect second line of defense for your vacuum sealed bags. Also, the shiny coating reflects sunlight, a powerful food degradation agent.

Mylar bags are very important for long-term storage (up to 30 years!). The bags keep out harmful sunlight, protect against puncturing, and keep out rodents. You should store your Mylar bags in a cool place, such as a basement storage area.

To seal a Mylar bag

Mylar bags CAN NOT be vacuum sealed directly. The Mylar material is very strong: too strong for any food sealing machine. Even the Weston Pro-2300, the highest quality sealer I have ever used, cannot seal these bags directly. Trying to do so may harm your machine.

Part of the reason is the strength of the bag, and part of the reason is the material. Mylar bags were not designed to be sealed. They do not have microchannel pockets for efficient air suction, and the bags surface does not provide a proper grip for use with a sealing machine.

To seal a Mylar bag, simply put your vacuum-sealed vacuum bag inside of a mylar bag and use the "heat seal" setting on your vacuum sealer. If you do not have a heat seal setting, you can use a hot iron and a metal surface.

Just like vacuum bags, the quality varies depending on company. Using high quality bags is important to ensure your food lasts the maximum time. For the high quality 3.5 Mil durable bags I use in my videos visit the shop page at

Sorry didn't realize that this was a diatribe and wasn't a how do I, or how too?

[Klayton]

Actually mylar bags can be vacuum sealed, they are just not designed to be specifically as vacuum bags.

To vacuum seal a mylar bag it is easiest done by "chamber sealers" these actually vacuum the chamber, whiche the mylar bag and its contents are inside, then seal the ends, then releases air back into the chamber allowing you to removed your freshly sealed bags. The down side, the lowest priced chamber sealer is around $3K (maybe you can buy a used one?)...

There are also some standard vacuum sealers that have a tube adapter that would be perfect for mylar. But for those of us that don't have it, well see the redneck method below.

The redneck method is the one I will be using next packing day I have.
You seal the mylar bag, minus the tip of the very end, with a WIDE seal (2-3").
You then insert your "shop vac" suck it into a vacuum (this part sresses the vacuum so you will eventually burn out the vacuum).
while still on (much easier with 2 people) you pinch off the hole (nice strong pressure) turn off vacuum, seal it, release your pinch point, and complete your 2-3" seal. This is not the specific youtube I watched a month ago, cant seem to find it, but this guy does the same priniciple using a very small vacuum (not recommended by me)... but any who:

[Bull]

I guess this sort of applies, but I just got a chance to use my new sealer last night. I used it on the high setting with 4.3 mil mylars and it worked really nice. So if anyone is in the market, you may check this one out. http://www.sorbentsystems.com/hotjaw.html

[610Alpha]

@Bull - thanks for the info on the chamber style vacuum sealer, never heard of it. Found out they solve the problem of vacuum sealing liquids. Here is a compact one for $750 http://www.homesteadharvest.com/vpcochstvase.html

@Klayton - thanks for the vid. I love finding redneck ways of doing things, saves me a lot of money. Don't know if I will go through all that work when I can just use an O2 absorber and get the job done.

[Klayton]

@Bull - thanks for the info on the chamber style vacuum sealer, never heard of it. Found out they solve the problem of vacuum sealing liquids. Here is a compact one for $750 http://www.homesteadharvest.com/vpcochstvase.html

@Klayton - thanks for the vid. I love finding redneck ways of doing things, saves me a lot of money. Don't know if I will go through all that work when I can just use an O2 absorber and get the job done.

I was like dumb me, I am talking about stuff somebody already mentioned. But didn't see where Bull mentioned chamber vacuums? hehe just messin' with ya man, no worries. It is Saturday and I need my Krispy Kreme doughnut.