• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Everything about Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers

FrugalFannie

FrugalFannie

NES Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
15,872
Likes
12,029
Location
Texas
Feedback: 14 / 0 / 0
I have to first say, YouTube rocks!

I have been using mylar bags and oxygen absorbers for several years for LTS. So I was tooling around and thought I would share a few videos with y'all.

This first one is basic but tells you how to know if your absorber is good or bad (and no, it's not the pink tab in the bag that tells you this!) as well as a few other tips like how to store unused absorbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUfh9Th69Dw
 
Last edited:
My bag didn't contract! Oh no!

My Bag Didn't Contract, are my absorbers bad???

In almost all cases (99.99%), most certainly not! Our oxygen absorbers are used by food processing companies worldwide, and there is no way they would accept a product that only worked 'some of the time'. Also, because we sell pallets of oxygen absorbers every month in both retail and wholesale quantities, we are always turning them and have the freshest stock available.

There are several reasons your bags might not contract. For example, there are certain types of foods that will almost never contract, such as very dense foods like flour and very fluffy foods like oats. A second reason bags may not contract is they are only removing the 20% of oxygen we talked about above. Meaning the bag will always have the 80% nitrogen remaining inside (nitrogen is inert, so that is ok!). In some cases, you can even be storing the same type of food and notice some bags compress and some bags do not. This can be caused by just a tiny variation in the amount of headspace (air) remaining in each bag.

Also, when using oxygen absorbers with very low moisture content food, they will take longer to activate (this is normal). Where in some cases an oxygen absorber can work in hours, in very arid and dry conditions, it can take up to a week or more to fully remove the oxygen from a container.

Finally, sometimes folks will not use enough oxygen absorbers for what they are storing. Remember, if you are storing in 5 gallon bags, but buy 100cc oxygen absorbers, you will need to use 20 or more absorbers per bag!
Click to expand...

http://www.discountmylarbags.com/oxygen-absorbers-info/


And no, I do not work for www.discountmylarbags.com
 
What is the rule of thumb for how many / what size O2 absorbers to use in a certain size container?

Does the number / size of the O2 absorbers depend on what the food being stored is?
 
Palladin said:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006T5G676?

60 gallon bags & 60 absorbers $36.00 That's 35% less than Discount mylar
Click to expand...

That's a decent deal. I actually could not find the exact pack from Discount but a 50 pack is the same price so that would be a savings of about 16.7% using Amazon on a per unit basis.

- - - Updated - - -

PennyPincher said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl5-z77jDow
Click to expand...

Andy in NH said:
What is the rule of thumb for how many / what size O2 absorbers to use in a certain size container?

Does the number / size of the O2 absorbers depend on what the food being stored is?
Click to expand...

Watch that video from post #3

yes and no. very tightly packed foods displace more air by themselves so theoretically there is less O2 to absorb. I use the 50% rule on the video and then always go on the safe side. So if I need 400cc in my storage bag but I have 500cc absorbers, it's easier for me to use 1 500cc instead of 4x100cc absorbers.
 
Last edited:
PennyPincher said:
Watch that video from post #3

yes and no. very tightly packed foods displace more air by themselves so theoretically there is less O2 to absorb. I use the 50% rule on the video and then always go on the safe side. So if I need 400cc in my storage bag but I have 500cc absorbers, it's easier for me to use 1 500cc instead of 4x100cc absorbers.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Andy in NH said:
What is the rule of thumb for how many / what size O2 absorbers to use in a certain size container?

Does the number / size of the O2 absorbers depend on what the food being stored is?
Click to expand...

Personally I'm using 2,000CC for 5gal mylar bags in 5gal Uline ratchet lid pails. If I use 1gal mylar bags, I use a 300cc absorber. I've never had a bag not pull vacuum using those sizes.
 
Sealing the mylar, I use the iron and a cheap level with a ridged surface:

iron-box_300.jpg


s-l225.jpg


The level is the really shitty, cheap aluminum extruded one. You can usually find them at Walmart/Bennies/etc. I prefer it because as you run the iron along it, you get 5 individual sealing closures due to the ridged surface, instead of the single one you would get when using a machined level or piece of wood.
 
Don't forget to use the Comm2a link for Amazon purchases: shop.comm2a.org

I haven't started storing in mylar yet though I suspect that when I do, my foodsaver (slight vacuum, mostly seal) will be used when the mylar fits.
 
When I put away a bunch of food a couple of years ago, this was the video I learned from. Mostly because of the cute Mormon gal. Sadly, she hasn't made any new videos since then.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
flippinfleck said:
Don't forget to use the Comm2a link for Amazon purchases: shop.comm2a.org

I haven't started storing in mylar yet though I suspect that when I do, my foodsaver (slight vacuum, mostly seal) will be used when the mylar fits.
Click to expand...

You can't vacuum seal mylar without a "work around." Since the surfaces are smooth there are no "air channels" for the machine to pull a vacuum. You CAN use a strip of sealer bag to create the necessary air channels but a lot of the plastic sealers will NOT seal a mylar bag, depending on thickness and strength of sealer bar. I tried to seal a bag on my machine and it didn't even get it anywhere near close to sealing. A short strip of wood and a clothes iron will work fine to seal the mylar.
 
I normally add the O2 absorber, seal the bag 90% for the way across, squish out as much air as possible , then seal the last 10% at a 45deg angle over lapping some of the initial seal.

So the seal looks like ------\

If you have something compressible, like flour, you can use a vacuum cleaner after doing the first 90% with the corner/slit attachment and have someone hold it there while you seal it he last 10%.
 
Do I need to use oxygen absorbers with everything I store?

Do I need to use oxygen absorbers with everything I store?
Most foods will benefit in longevity when using oxygen absorbers. However, they are unnecessary when storing sugar or salt. In some cases, using an absorber with these foods will cause signficant clumping, although it won’t harm them otherwise. Also note that some foods may not store well for long periods of time no matter the method used (for example flour, yeast and some spices).
Click to expand...

http://adviceandbeans.com/food-storage-faq/
 
Has anyone else ever heard the tip to allow the O2 absorber to "activate" before using? Simply, put them out on your table for a few minutes and when they start heating (activating) throw them in your bag and seal up. Obviously this would only be for the ones you are using in the next few minutes. I saw this somewhere a few years back and have sometimes done it. I don't know if it's been better or worse or just completely unnecessary.
 
PennyPincher said:
Has anyone else ever heard the tip to allow the O2 absorber to "activate" before using? Simply, put them out on your table for a few minutes and when they start heating (activating) throw them in your bag and seal up. Obviously this would only be for the ones you are using in the next few minutes. I saw this somewhere a few years back and have sometimes done it. I don't know if it's been better or worse or just completely unnecessary.
Click to expand...

I would say it is a bad idea. Any O2 that is absorbed outside the sealed bag is O2 that can't be absorbed inside the sealed bag.

How Do Oxygen Absorbers Work?
Oxygen absorbers perform their action through a chemical reaction. They contain iron powder which reacts with the oxygen in the air causing the iron powder to rust. When all the iron powder has oxidized, the oxygen absorbers are "loaded" and the absorbing action stops. Remove the oxygen from an active absorber and the chemical reaction stops. Put them back in the air and the reaction starts again until the iron is gone.
Click to expand...

Maybe the thinking is that they need some moisture in the air to kick start the reaction? I don't know. Chemistry class was a LONG time ago.
 
PennyPincher said:
Has anyone else ever heard the tip to allow the O2 absorber to "activate" before using? Simply, put them out on your table for a few minutes and when they start heating (activating) throw them in your bag and seal up. Obviously this would only be for the ones you are using in the next few minutes. I saw this somewhere a few years back and have sometimes done it. I don't know if it's been better or worse or just completely unnecessary.
Click to expand...

I've never heard that and it seems unnecessary. Once it starts warming up it's using oxygen and I want it to do that in the sealed bag right?
 

Similar threads

Sealing food in Mylar Bag Question
Replies
9
Views
373
samsonsjack07
S
Amish WARNING about Growing Food at home
Replies
9
Views
368
Penniepup1
Penniepup1
FREE….seed starting and basic garden planning & questions seminar. 4/6/24 Hardwick MA
Replies
7
Views
95
mousegunguy
mousegunguy
Mylar bag questions
Replies
7
Views
601
BriMac
BriMac
Kefir and Kombucha
Replies
9
Views
809
DarthRevan
DarthRevan
Back
Top Bottom