Overview of the Polaris PVS 1310 vacuum cleaner

A friend recently came to visit us and brought Korean carrots as a gift. Although she carefully packed them in a container and a plastic bag, the carrots still leaked along the way. As a result, I had to wash my pants, bag, and even take a shower, because you can imagine how strong the smell of Korean carrots is?

A modern vacuum sealer can significantly extend the shelf life of products, be used for sous-vide cooking, marinating kebabs and fish, and preparing things for storage and transportation. If our friend had used a vacuum sealer to pack Korean carrots, the problem we were talking about could have been prevented.

^* Contrary to popular belief, this is not a period after which the device will necessarily break down. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its functionality and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.

The box is designed in the Polaris corporate style: on a black background there is an image of a vacuum sealer, and on the left are listed the features of this device.

Inside the box we found:

• the device itself
• a vacuum hose
• a bottle vacuum nozzle
• a 5-meter vacuum roll 28 cm wide
• an operating manual and a warranty card

However, despite the presence of a hose and a bottle vacuum nozzle, there were no containers in the kit. We also did not find containers on the Polaris website and did not risk purchasing containers from other brands, since the nozzle diameter may not match the diameter of the containers.

The vacuum sealer turned out to be a small compact device made of black plastic.

At the bottom you can see soft anti-slip feet and a sticker with information about the manufacturer.

Opening the cover of the device, we find a thermal tape — a sealing bar with a Teflon coating, a vacuum chamber, cover clamps and a separate compartment for vacuum bags (see photo in the «Operation» section). A notable advantage of the device is the presence of a built-in bag cutter: the roll does not need to be removed from the vacuum sealer to cut off a bag of the desired length.

The kit includes a vacuum hose, which can be connected to a separate port on the lid if necessary:

and a vacuum attachment that fits onto the hose.

Simple and clear design, which should not cause any difficulties in operation.

The manual is a 58-page A5 brochure available in Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh. It contains a description of the device, safety measures and operating principles.

The operating manual is provided with pictures and explanations, which makes it easier to understand the operating principles of the device.

The device is also easy to operate. On the top panel we see six buttons and a hole for connecting the vacuum hose.

The top panel has the following controls from left to right:

• Port for pumping air out of the external vacuum container — Accessory.
• Button for vacuuming dry products — Dry.
• Button for vacuuming products with a small amount of liquid (up to 10 ml) — Moist.
• Manual vacuuming mode for soft products — Pulse.
• Button for sealing a bag without vacuuming — Seal.
• Button for pumping air out of the external container or bottle — Canister.
• Button for stopping all operations — Cancel.

The device is very easy to operate: place the product in the bag, insert it into the vacuum sealer and select the appropriate button depending on the type of product.

Operation also did not raise any questions. We especially liked the presence of a compartment for vacuum bags and a cutter with which these bags can be cut off

The cutter is guided by a small runner with a knife,

which cuts the package and moves easily in both directions.

To vacuum seal food, place it in a bag with a sealed bottom. Open the lid of the device and place the edge of the bag in the center of the vacuum chamber. Close the lid, fixing it with the side latches until you hear a characteristic click.

Select the «Dry» or «Moist» button depending on the type of product. As soon as the required vacuum is reached, the air pumping process will end automatically, and the device will proceed to forming a seal. When sealing is complete, the indicators of the «Dry» / «Moist» and «Seal» buttons will go out.

The seal will be hot, so wait 2-3 seconds for it to cool down. Open the lid by pressing the latch release buttons.

To prevent overheating, the device requires cooling, so take breaks of at least 40 seconds between seals. If used too intensively, the device automatically switches off. We did not use it actively enough to test this mode.

In general, the process of using the vacuum sealer does not have any special subtleties and nuances.

The vacuum sealer is easy to use. After each use, wipe the body with a damp cloth. Do not immerse the device in water, do not wash under running water, and do not use rough cloths, sponges, or abrasive pastes. The device is not dishwasher safe.

It is also not recommended to store the vacuum sealer with the lid snapped on to avoid deformation of the vacuum chamber seals due to prolonged compression, which can lead to air leakage during vacuuming.

The wattmeter showed a maximum energy consumption of 93 W. The noise emitted by the device during vacuuming is quite intense, but short-lived.

To pickle cucumbers, we needed just a few ingredients: cucumbers, dill, garlic and salt.

The cucumbers were washed thoroughly, the ends were cut off and they were pierced several times with a toothpick.

The dill and garlic were finely chopped, then placed together with the cucumbers in a vacuum bag, sealed on one side. We added 1 teaspoon of salt and half a spoon of sugar.

Shake the bag to mix everything, put it in the vacuum sealer and turn on the wet food mode.

The bag compresses the cucumbers on all sides, and they release a little juice.

We put the bag in the refrigerator for 2 hours, after which the cucumbers were ready, and we happily ate them.

We took a salmon steak and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.

They put it in a bag and vacuum-sealed it.

We placed the vacuum-sealed bag of salmon in the multicooker, setting the temperature to 60 degrees (the recipe recommends 55°C, but our multicooker is not that precise) and the cooking time to 50 minutes.

After the specified time, we took the salmon package out of the multicooker. It is worth noting that the package remained airtight.

The salmon was very soft and fell apart a bit when we transferred it to a plate, but that didn't stop us from drizzling it with a sauce made from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.

and eat with appetite.

Our next test was making ham. We took a pork neck, chopped garlic and carrots and stuffed the meat. Then we rubbed it with salt, spices and mustard.

We put the neck in a bag and tried to seal it on the wet food setting… and it didn't work. The vacuum sealer sucked out some air, but not all of it.

We cut the seam off the bag and tried to vacuum-pack the future pork again. And again, nothing worked.

After that, we decided that perhaps we had used too large a bag, and we did the whole procedure again, transferring the meat into a smaller bag.

With a smaller package we succeeded, as you can see in the photo. But what the mistake was remains unclear: the instructions say nothing about the size of the package.

We put the vacuum-sealed package with meat in the refrigerator for 6 hours, and then put the marinated meat in the multicooker. We set the temperature to 60 °C and the cooking time to 6 hours.

As a result, we got excellent pork, which we vacuum-packed again: one part was sent to the guests, and the other was kept for ourselves for later. The meat arrived to the guests in perfect condition — nothing leaked or spilled. After four days, the sliced ​​pork retained its taste, color and freshness.

This is the meat we got after cooking, and it is clear why we only lasted four days before eating it.

We took a rather voluminous mohair stole to test how the vacuum sealer works with dry products.

We sent the package with the stole to the vacuum sealer

and turned on the Dry mode.

The package with the bulky stole quickly transformed into a strangely shaped package, in which it was difficult to determine what was inside initially. The air was pumped out, and the stole can now be put away for storage.

The Polaris PVS 1310 vacuum sealer has shown excellent results in testing and has once again proven its value for the household. It has convenient controls, all the necessary functions, and does not cause problems when used.

With the help of a vacuum sealer, you can marinate barbecue for a picnic, preserve vegetables or prepare products for sous-vide cooking. In addition, it can be used to prepare things for transportation and storage, without worrying about how to keep matches and a passport dry on a hike.

Pros:

• compartment for bags
• bag cutter
• simplicity and ease of use
• possibility of vacuuming containers and bottles

Cons:

• lack of containers for vacuuming in the set of accessories
• inability to buy branded containers for this device