Impulse Heat Sealers, things to look for

[Lin19687]

I tried to search here but nothing is coming up. Might just be that the site isn't finished updating.

Anyway, I would like to know if there is anything I should /SHOULDN'T be looking for in an impulse sealer.

I am thinking that the 8 inch one would be fine and I see them on Amazon, which is where I will be buying from.

I will be sealing the soaps and bath Fizzies/ shower melts. I can't think of anything else that would make me want to buy the 12 inch one ? Am I missing something?

Also read that the ROUND strip is better then the Flat strip heating thingy. Are all sealers able to use both kinds?

And I know to buy the sealer with the beveled edges so you get a better seal.

There is someone local that has a 8" ($25) and 4" ($15) both for $35 but I don't think I need both and I can buy a new 8" one for $20. And since I don't know how old they are I might do better on Amazon

TY in advance

 

[earlene]

Here are a couple threads on impulse sealers at SMF:

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/question-on-impulse-sealers.58992/

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/impulse-sealer-problem.57900/

I know there are more, but these were pretty standard from others I remember reading when I was looking to make a decision.

I have the 8 inch heat sealer and am fine with that size. I see no reason for two and did not realize that a 4" was even possible. The adjustable heat setting is important, so if the one you are looking at has that, I'd say go with the one you picked out. I got mine from Amazon 2 years ago and it's never given me a problem.

Don't forget to get a heat gun, too. Oh, and read the customer reviews before putting in your order for any product, just to get an idea of what to expect.

 

[shunt2011]

I have an 8" I got from Amazon 3 years ago. Never had an issue. Mine has a flat strip but it was inexpensive and works well. My husband uses it to seal other bags on occasion. I agree with a good heat gun. I have a Wagner I paid about 20.00 for 4 years ago and it's going strong. I do have a back up just in case I got for 10.00 on Black Friday last year but it's still tucked away in it's box. I do no recommend cheap heat guns (Harbor Freight) I went through 3 in 8 months. Just couldn't keep up with the volume.

 

[Lin19687]

I already have a heat gun and a HUGE roll of wrap tubing from before.
My heat gun was bought to take off old THICK paint. Works great, I think I paid about $50 for it at Home Depot. I no longer buy anything form Harbor freight unless I assume it will only work for a month.

I saw one of those threads but i am not sure why the search feature is not working well on here. I had found it through a google search.

 

[Misschief]

I have a semi-professional impulse heat sealer with a 6.5" roll (100 ft per roll) that I bought from my boss (he's an auction hound) for $100. I love it. And I second the heat gun. Years ago (25 or so), I bought myself a Black & Decker heat gun to use with my rubber stamping; about 3 years ago, I gave it to my boss for use in our sign shop because they needed an extra one and mine wasn't being used for anything. It's still going strong. When I bought the heat sealer from him, I bought myself a new B&D heat gun for about $25 and it feels just as good as the old one. (Just don't try to grab it by the nozzle.... believe me!)

 

[Lin19687]

Nice Score !

 

[cmzaha]

I much prefer the 12". Since I do outdoor markets I shrink everything to keep it clean, so when sealing lotions I have to go sideways with the shrink bag and the 8" will not work. You can get good buys on ebay for impulse sealers. My 12" I purchased quite inexpensively on ebay is still going after 6 years and thousands of shrink bags, so why get the little one when you can get a larger one for not much more money

 

[DeeAnna]

I second Carolyn's point of view. I've used my 12" sealer really hard in the 10+ years I've owned it. In our busiest season, we will seal as many as 1000 bags per day and around 10,000 to 15,000 bags per year. I have a replacement parts for it, but I've never had to use them.

Unless the cost of the 12" is a LOT higher or you simply don't have room for anything bigger than an 8", I recommend you get the larger one. As she pointed out it gives you more flexibility for the future to seal somewhat larger bags. If you never seal anything bigger than 8", it's still a good idea -- a 12" sealer won't require you carefully place an 8" bag precisely on the heating element to get a full seal, unlike an 8" heating element.

Another advantage of the bigger sealer is when the kapton tape (the heat proof ribbon that covers the actual heating element) starts to burn through -- and it will eventually do that at one end or the other -- you can shift where you seal your bags to a part of the tape that is in good shape. That will let you get some more life out of the tape before you have to replace it.

 

[Lin19687]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AHFMD7U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I bought this one, 8", some reviews are not great but are more for the defective product.
This is why I don't buy from Ebay, Amazon I can just return it and they pay for the return for defective product.
Price of $21 is nice and from the picture it looks like the better.
Will see how this works for now. If I need larger in the future I can buy one but yes I am trying to keep the 'start up' price down.

Thank you all