DIY Homemade Vacuum Chamber 

Hi Eleanor. That's great! I love when people repupose items into another practical application! I've got other canners so this did get dedicated to being a vacuum chamber. It comes in so handy when I'm buying in bulk and I'm able to do many jars at once. 👍 Thumbs up to your husband! 😊

Hi Jenny. Yes, I learned that trick awhile after I made this video. Saved quite a few metal flats doing it that way. OR using Tattlers gives me endless uses. 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor I use a bottle opener also but will now try a spoon. I don't know what a tattler is. Can you explain?

@desertfox3860 Hi desertfox. Tattlers are a BPA free reusable lids with gaskets. I do over 95% of my canning with Tattlers. 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor okay, thank you. I'll have to look them up.

@@astatine0085 Hi Astatine. I'm glad this was helpful and thank you for watching! 😊

Hi Blanche Raudio. I'm sure you could do this on your own, but I know husbands enjoy helping and fixing things. Have a wonderful day and God bless 😊

Hi Howard. Someone else suggested that, too. Thanks for that tip!👍 😊

@OuttheBackDoor I should read from top, sorry . Vacuum is pulling in, not like

@@forgottentechnology I understood what you said. 😊

Hi resurrectionsunday. Thank you. Love your name! 🙌💗

That works, also. I've got a video showing how to use the FoodSaver with jars or bags for storage. With the chamber I'm able to do multiple jars and sizes at one time. Time saver! 😊

Hi Nutsandbolts. Thanks! It's really not necessary to go beyond 15. 😊

What ever works for you, go for it. I re-purposed this pressure canner I was no longer using to fabricate this vacuum chamber. You can find them cheap at garage sales or thrift stores. 😊

Hi Elaine. Heidi has some really good videos and this is a good tip! But by fabricating this vacuum chamber, I'm able to do any size jar and multiple jars at one time. 😊

Hi Evie. I'm glad you enjoyed it! God bless 😊💖

@@bw3506 😅

@@jamesdouglaswhite Hi James Douglas. You sure may if you want. Me? I don't waste my money on them because IMHO I think it's a gimmick. I've vacuum sealed jars and bags without O2 packs for a few decades and have never had an issue. I also worked in the retail and advertising world for many years and this is a marketing tactic, plain and simple. It's an add on cost making you think you have to have this. I laugh when I buy a pair of shoes and there's an O2 packet in the box. What was the purpose? I'm just giving you examples of why I don't. If you like and use O2 packs, that's wonderful. I don't. 😊

Hi Orville. This list is to mainly help those that don't know to resource parts on their own. 😊

@@rickrose2235 Hi Rick. I agree with what you said, but vacuum canning is for DRIED foods ONLY. This does NOT replace water bath or pressure canning. I hope this helps. 😊

Hi Gene. Yes, you are correct and I said that incorrectly. My error! 😊

Hi uncle George. Thanks. I actually stated it incorrectly and I should have said 15 Hg (inches of mercury). I have found that 15 works the best for me. When I've used a brake bleeder and have done only 13 Hg or so, I've had a few failures. I've also had some guys tell me to run it until it maxes out. That will also depend on your elevation. But again, 15 Hg has worked well for me. I hope this helps and thanks for watching. 😊

Hi Teri. Thank you. I appreciate you watching and I'm glad this was helpful! 😊

Tip: Using a coffee filter on top will keep the flour from clogging it.

to avoid getting flour into your pump, first place the flour into a paper lunch bag, fold the top over, and then place it into your jar or seal-a-bag. The air (vacuum) will pass right thru the paper, but the flour can't. No more clogged vacuum pump!

Put flour in a Kraft paper bag before vacuum sealing in plastic to avoid ruining your food saver.

@@1charlastar886 thank you for that helpful hint.

Hi Em. I said it incorrectly in the video and have been corrected a few times in the comments. My mind is always on pressure canning. This is measuring in mercury inches.

Hi Robert. I haven't run the vacuum anymore than pulling 17 Hg. On average I do 15 Hg and the seals hold just as well as using my FoodSaver adapter for the jar lids. Someone suggested running it until the vacuum maxed out, but I didn't feel it necessary. My elevation is almost 1200 feet. The gasket that is in this Presto and the spare one I've got on hand are black. I've always got spare parts on hand for my kitchen equipment. Interesting information about the V cut. I thought it was just as a guide. If you ever come across and old All American pressure canner, grab that to use. They are heavy duty cast aluminum with its own built-in metal gasket. I've got 3 different sizes of the AA PC's for canning, but the AA941 would make an awesome large batch vacuum chamber with a capacity load of 42 quarts. Thanks for watching. 😊

Thanks for the feedback and yes, I always have my eyes open for any AA on the cheap.@@OuttheBackDoor

Hi micstica. I've dedicated this canner to a permanent vacuum chamber so a bread of silicone did the trick. Thanks for the tip, though! 😊

Hi ForgottenMan. I store my main bulk of dried foods by using my FoodSaver and bags, besides in canning jars. That would work for camping. When we head for the Boundary Waters camping, no glass or metal cans are allowed. Here's a link of how I put up dried foods other than using the canning jars. You could do this on a smaller scale. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qHZAash4H8I.html

@@OuttheBackDoor Thanks; you may have saved a life here [I try to avoid sharp objects, and sooner or later glass; well you know].

@@ForgottenMan1 I'm glad I was able to help. 😊

It all depends on what I'm cooking, canning, or baking at that time. I do things in large batches. The quality of the spices and herbs hold well when vacuum sealed also, so buying in bulk (less expensive) makes better sense. 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor Great video BTW

@@dptp9lf Thank you, Lyle. I appreciate you watching! 😊

Hi BeachPeach. Thank you. I got tired of doing one jar at a time and wanted to use my repurposed jars. 😊

Hi rocketplumber. I've been corrected a couple of times on my verbiage regarding mercury pull. 👍 I didn't feel it was necessary to pull anymore than 15" MG when the seals haven't failed me yet and I did this video a few years ago. I could give it a try next time and do the same ingredients in two jars, with one at 15" and the other at 30" and see if I notice any difference. Thanks for your input! 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor Glad to help. I had a technician in Mojave California (2700 feet up) who didn't understand that there was no way to reach 30" vacuum because the air was too thin.

@r0cketplumber I look at it this way... you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and I try to learn something every day. It will be interesting to see where my gauge bottoms out and won't pull anymore. I'm at 1200 ft.

@@OuttheBackDoor You should be able to get 28.7", but vac gauges can often get beat up by rapid changes and have an offset even when equalized. Many smartphones have a pressure sensor and can record the values they reach, if you feel like doing experiments, just put a phone inside the canner while logging the readings.

@r0cketplumber thanks!

Hi FOXBOROPC. I'm glad this was helpful. Thanks for watching! 😊

Hi Raul. Because personally, I think they are a gimmick. I know some people put them in the jars or bags and then vacuum seal them also. As soon as the jar is opened, you've "ruined" the OA. I've been vacuum canning and vacuum sealing for many years with wonderful success. That's why. 🤷‍♀️😊

@@OuttheBackDoor I use OAs with dry goods sealed in mylar bags. They do make the bags shrink down a lot, so I can see that they are working. This is for goods I want to store at least five years or so. If Cheers!

Raul, only 21% of air is oxygen. Oxygen absorbers only absorb oxygen in the air _which is 21% of air._ That means roughly only 1/5 of the air volume will be removed, but 4/5 of the air remains no matter how many oxygen absorbers are used. Are you vacuum sealing your mylar bags or just sealing the bags with the food and OA in them? And please, if you feel better using the OA, by all means, do so! I'm just saying why I personally chose not to. I store foods for long term storage (10+ years) and have not had any issues with NOT using OA. I started doing this back in the mid 90's because buying in bulk just made economical sense to me. Have a blessed day! Mickey

Hi Susie. I'm glad it was informative and thank you for watching! 😊

Hi Kricket B. Thank you! 😊

Hi mucksforbucks. Thank you, I'm glad it was informative. And have a blessed day! 😊

*Tell me about it!* The very first time I used my All American (I bought the big AA941 for my first one) and decided to can late in the evening (I've learned not to do that anymore after several canning projects ending at 2 am or later) and the pressure finally came down to zero at 1:30 in the morning. I was so tired. I unscrewed the wing nuts and went to turn the top to release it and NOTTA!!!! *I couldn't budge it!* It was dry locked tight and was getting tighter by the minute! FORTUNATELY, I had read the manual from _front to back_ before using it and recalled a section (in troubleshooting) that told me what to do if this happened. I ran downstairs to get me a BIG slotted screwdriver and ran back upstairs to start prying the lid loose. When the dry lock broke loose, it sounded like gun fire! Dang, that was a big cracking sound! I jumped and I'm surprised it didn't wake up my husband! I had forgotten to lubricate the gasket area with olive oil. Tell you what! I've never forgotten to do that since! I'm sure as long as the gasket is lubricated, it could easily be used as a vacuum chamber, but I'm not going to mess with any of my AA's as long as I've got the Presto I wasn't using. If a person came across an old AA with a petcock at a decent price and already had an All American for pressure canning, I'd use it to make into a vacuum chamber. Just make sure to lubricate the metal gasket!!! 😉😄

Hi Carlos. Thank you for watching. I've learned from several comments that I should have been using measurement terms of Hg (inches of mercury) instead of PSI (pounds of pressure). My brain is always in pressure canning mode, but it's good when people help me learn with kind correction. Have a blessed day! 😊

Thank you for the reminder, Teresa!!! 🤦‍♀️ I'm writing myself a note right now and I'll get to it hopefully tomorrow after I shovel all the snow we're getting tonight. 😊

Thank you for the update. I really would like to make this vacumn sealer.

_Teresa, the parts list and links for the parts are listed in the description box._ *Thank you for being patient!* Mickey 😊

Thank you so much!

@@teresahoye6477 You're very welcome and I'm sorry it took this long AND thank you for the reminder!

Thanks for watching. I appreciate it! 😊

Hi Sandra's Stitches. Thank you for sharing your tip of putting pin holes in your bags. I could see this working with beans, rice, etc., but doesn't the powdered items get pulled out through the holes along with the air? Also, you mentioned doing this with meat. Vacuum canning meat is NOT meant to be used in place of actually canning it! Please don't! You're going to make yourself very ill unless you are storing the jars in the freezer and then I would just use a vacuum bag instead of a jar. I vacuum can dried (dehydrated) meats, but never raw or cooked meats.

@@OuttheBackDoor oops sorry, I should have clarified that I vacuum seal my meat before freezing. 👍🏼 I take the meats out of their original, bulky packaging, place them in ziplock bags then into the vac seal bags. They take up less room in the freezer and are better protected from potential freezer burn. No, I haven’t had any issues with the sealing the flours this way. I’ve been using this method for a few years now. 😊

@@sandrasstitches Sandra, thank you for clarifying! I was getting nervous. 😄

Hi Barbara. Thank you and I appreciate you watching! 😊

Hi Cindy. I like that you think out of the box too! Great work! I've been on a social media fast (technically I still am) and have been dealing with medical issues as well. But it was mentioned by a few viewers that my content went AWAL. Right now I'm trying to upload a small amount of videos per day (RU-vid only allows a few daily to make sure I'm not a spambot) and I'm starting with the more popular videos. I have links to many other videos of mine that aren't uploaded yet so I don't have anything to link to quite yet. And as far as links to parts, I'll get to that but I'm really trying to stay off the internet as much as possible right now. I'll be back with new content, but I can't say exactly when. Thank you for sharing how you made yours! 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor Thank you for the reply, I did read some comments and saw the AWAL trouble you are dealing with. Best wishes on the medical issues as I'm also having issues like a fractured hip and all these yrs I thought it was sciatic nerve pain... not looking forward to future surgery.

@@cindys.w.8566 Cindy, I had my hip replaced 1 1/2 years ago and I think that's easier than fixing a fractured hip. I'm surprised that if this has been an issue with you for a long period of time that the bone hasn't healed on its own. I had surgery on my knee last summer and it hasn't been right since. I don't look foward to seeing the surgeon again.

Good morning Sandra. I'm slowly plugging along at uploading the videos again. And then I'll need to go through them all to put links in place. 🤦‍♀️ Thank you for sharing how well your seals are holding! Rarely do I have one unseal but it's usually so to operator error. 🥴 Not enough headspace or my rim wasn't completely clean. Yes, this applies to vacuum canning too. 😉 Have a wonderful day and God bless. 😊

Hi N Packer. Thank you! I hope your doing well! 😊

Thank you for the reminder, Teresa! 😊

Hi Stringer. Oh my goodness! You're going to really make my brain work! 🤭 Honestly, I cannot give you an answer on that. I am guessing you are referring to molten metal? And if so, the only way I'm aware of is by pouring it directly into a mold. I've only done that with casting bullets or making smaller lead bars for future use. I'm sorry I couldn't be of help on this question. I do appreciate you watching though! 😊

Thanks for the idea. 😊

Hi Allen from Maine. 👋 Thanks for watching. 😊

Hi Zina. I'm glad this was helpful! 😊

Hi Keith. The reason I used the pressure canner is because I wasn't using it anymore so I repurposed it. 😊

Yeah, they're not very expensive. I think I got mine on Ebay for about $125 or so, with a vacuum pump.

Hi Sharon. Thank you! 😊

Hi Windmolen Farm. I'm glad this was helpful! 😊

Hi Tony. Great idea on reversing the plug! I don't use this canner any longer for anything but a vacuum chamber so that would be a permanent fix. I'm still holding my finger on it. 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor Thank you! You could in fact replace the plug with a 1/4" bolt and a couple of washers and some sealant I suppose, since the vessel has been retired from pressure canning.

@@TonyGarrett-p1c true, but I think flipping the plug would be just as easy. I'm going to give that a try!

Hi Teresa. I had 180 videos go AWAL. I'm slowly trying to get them uploaded again starting with the more popular ones. Many of the links mentioned in the videos are not uploaded yet so I'm not able to link them as of yet. Sorry for the inconvenience! 😊

Thank you for your reply. Please let me know when your links are uploaded.

I'll need to leave myself a note. I'll have a lot of links to work on. 😉

@@OuttheBackDoor I was also wanting to see the link, I guess we shall wait.

@@OuttheBackDoor Or we can just keep bugging you for the links LOL great video!!!

Hi MP. I'm glad it was helpful! 😊

Hi Paula. Thank you and I appreciate you watching! 😊

Hi HoRodLincoln. Thank you for watching! 😊

It's on my list of to-dos! 😊

Tony, that's a good thought! I'm wondering though, how much vacuum canning is a person going to do and using the vacuum pump from the freeze dryer? If it's a minimal amount, I would say there's no need to purchase and additional pump. But, if a person plans on doing a lot of vacuum canning, like I do, isn't that going to be more wear and tear on the FD pump? I've researched FD for the past 6 years and still have not been convinced to buy one. The pump wearing out within a few years was one of the reasons I haven't. But then again I was looking at the more heavy duty pump that costs more money. I've been trying to get feedback from FD owners, besides the research I've done. FD cost + maintenance vs dehydrator. I've got 2 - ten tray dehydrators that I've been running for years and then I vacuum can or bag the contents. I realize there's a difference in taste and appearance with the two different methods, but it's a FD really worth the price and maintenance? 😊

@@OuttheBackDoor There are very many serious preppers who are quite happy and secure without one. Me -- I like gadgets I guess and the science behind them. It's given me other options to store food. And I have a brother with a big farmer's market garden and wants to try marketing some of his produce in FD form. It might make a buck or two. A machine such as this would generally be of most use to people like us who have some concerns with food security, in this day and age. Cheers, T.

@@TonyGarrett-p1c I guess I'm one of those preppers that is ok with not having a FD yet. I'm a gadget queen myself, but over the years with prepping (since '98), I've been acquiring non-power tools for my arsenal. I've even got a couple of brake bleeders to vacuum seal my jars. Don't get me wrong, I like the convenience of having power equipment, but that's not going to do me any good if the grid goes down. How would I use a power drill or saw? I've got old tools of my dad's and grandpa's that will serve the purpose. I guess I don't "need" a ton of electrical gadgets. I'm giving an electric meat slicer that's like new to our church. I bought it thinking I was going to use it for slicing venison to make jerkey. I have a mandolin that takes the place. I've got an electric meat grinder (which I truly like!) but I've got several different types of manual grinders for meat and grains (and coffee!) that do a great job. I think back to what my great-great and great grandparents had and used. Even my grandmother shared common sense wisdom with me without her realizing it. Talking about this could easily be an hour or more video, but I think there's enough people out there covering that. I can many different foods, dehydrate (how much water do I want to waste on rehydration?), water glass eggs, and want to learn to cure meat for long storage, as well. We hunt and fish for the majority of our meat. The gardens generally produce a good harvest. And I forage in the woods and abandoned homestead locations for different foods. Understand what I'm getting at? Sorry for bunny trailing away from the FD. I think selling FD foods at farmer's market would be a wonderful idea and a great niche! I haven't seen anyone around our area selling any FD foods. For us it would probably have to be FD produce only (rules & regulations). I haven't checked into anything like that. I just sell preserves, canned fruits and pickled vegetables, and bath & body products. So, maybe this is my main reason I haven't invested in a FD yet. I'd rather invest that kind of money into something I'll still be able to use when there's no power. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the FD. Have a wonderful day. Mickey 😊

One big difference between FD and dehydrator is that the dehydrator uses heat and therefore the end product has fewer nutrients left than the FD.

@@victorialw1 Well, the FD exposes the food to heat as well; perhaps less of it though.

_Forbidden Chocolate, you have _*_NO IDEA_*_ how hard I am laughing right now!_ Reason is, *I AM a distant relative of Richard Dean Anderson!* 😂😂😂 Yes, keep an eye out at garage sales or Marketplace for used canners. I had too many parts hooked up to this to begin with and hubby told me there were a few I could eliminate. He was going to use one of his live minnow buckets he fabricated using a large beverage cooler, but I wanted something more substantial like the pressure canner I was about to give away. Teamwork!

@@OuttheBackDoor omg, what are the odds?!! 😂 (Probably about the same as the seal failing in the ham canning video I just watched! 🤣) I'm so glad you're back on RU-vid, you're such a sweetheart and have really great tips!

💗 Thank you