For most domestic users and small delis/restaurants the initial cost of even a small vacuum chamber machine (£1,500) is usually prohibitive and the external bag machine is the only option. Similarly, if you are packing large items then chamber machine with a sufficiently large capacity may prove to be a non-starter. The table below shows the price you can expect to pay (including vat) for different sized vacuum chamber machines. The figures given are approximate and you may be able to find a slightly better deal if you shop around.
You can compare this to the table below which shows the price you can expect to pay (including vat) for different sized external bag machines.
As you can see, if you need to pack items up to 50cms then you can expect to pay £4,000 for a vacuum chamber machine whereas you could spend as little as £200 on an external bag machine provided that the number of packing operations was not too high. Even a commercial external bag machine of this size would only cost one sixth of an equivalent vacuum chamber machine. The difference in price is even more dramatic if you need to pack bags up to 80cms. The vacuum chamber machine will cost you £8,000 as against £900 for a commercial external bag machine.
The Effect of Throughput on Vacuum Packing Costs
If you are packing significant numbers of items per week then you will need to consider the ongoing cost of the vacuum packing pouches as well as the up-front cost of the machine. There is a significant difference in the cost of vacuum pouches suitable for use in vacuum chamber machines and external bag machines. This means that the decision of whether to buy an external bag vacuum packing machine or a vacuum chamber machine is usually dependent on the number of packing operations that you expect to do.
This can be illustrated using an example. Suppose that you need to pack items in 20x30cm vacuum pouches. A 20x30cm vacuum pouch will fit into the cheapest vacuum chamber machine (approx £1,400) and will also work with a commercial quality external bag machine costing £700. This represents an initial price difference of £700. So the question is; Allowing for the difference in vacuum pouch prices (chamber machine pouches are cheaper), how many packing operations would be necessary to recoup the cost of the more expensive chamber machine?
One thousand vacuum pouches for a chamber machine cost about £30, whilst the same quantity of vacuum pouches for an external bag machine cost £100. This represents a difference of £70 per one thousand bags.
You would therefore need to use 10,000 vacuum pouches to recoup the additional cost of the vacuum chamber machine. Whether or not this makes sense depends on the time it takes you to use that number of vacuum pouches. The table below shows the time that it would take to use 10,000 vacuum pouches depending on the number of packing operations per week.
This assumes that you can pack all of your items in 20x30cm vacuum pouches. If you need 30x40cm pouches for example then the figures work out like this.
A 30cm x 40cm vacuum pouch will need a vacuum chamber machine costing approx £4,000 but will still work with a commercial quality external bag machine costing £700. This represents an initial price difference of £3,300.
One thousand 30x40cms vacuum pouches for a chamber machine cost about £70, whilst the same quantity of vacuum pouches for an external bag machine cost £190. This represents a difference of £120 per one thousand bags.
You would therefore need to use about 27,500 vacuum pouches to recoup the additional cost of the vacuum chamber machine. Whether or not this makes sense depends on the time it takes you to use that number of vacuum pouches. The table below shows the time that it would take to use 27,500 vacuum pouches depending on the number of packing operations per week.
As you can see, if you are packing a large volume of similar sized items then a vacuum chamber machine is probably the way to go. If you are only occasionally packing larger items then it may be cost effective to buy a small chamber machine for the large volume of smaller items and an external bag machine for the larger items. This would give you the best of both worlds – it would save several hundred (or thousands) of pounds in up-front costs and would enable you to take advantage of the lower consumable prices whilst giving you the ability to pack larger items where the consumable prices are less critical.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Vacuum Chamber and External Bag Vacuum Packaging Machines
Some packaging applications need to have all of the air removed but cannot have a tight package that a vacuum normally produces - think of potato crisps and sandwiches. The solution is to remove the air and to replace it with something else which does not allow the product to oxidise. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are both inert gasses which can be used to produce an environment where all of the air has been removed but where the packaging is not drawn down tight onto the product.
