If you use the search facility for 'central vacuum' at the bottom of the "Messages" page (first page of this site) you will see the subject has been discussed many times and in some depth. My personal experience has been that my CV with Hide A Hose has been one of the best, if not the best, investments we made in our new house. I now can't imagine living in a house without one, they just make sense, and make light work of a major chore! I do my best on this site to alert others who are building a new home to the window of opportunity they have to install this time and effort saving device.

We moved into our current house 18 months ago and had a Vacuflo Maxum 7 installed. Our basement was unfinished so the installation was pretty easy. The power unit is in the garage and they ran a second story outlet up through the garage ceiling and installed the outlet in our loft area. The system is terrific! We initially had a problem with overheating. After the second service call I requested a new unit. The installer then found out that Vacuflo had changed the overheating circuit. When a replacement was installed we have been problem free. We have three Hide-a-Hose outlets. We love the Hide-a-Hose as it goes back into the wall and eliminates having to find a place to store it when not in use. The bag collects all the dust and debris. We change it about every 8 months even though it still has room to collect more. We did a lot of research before selecting a unit. The installer recommend the Maxum 7 when we stated we wanted a bagged unit. We are so happy he did. Replacement bags cost around $20 for three but since we only use one around every 8 months we feel that is a small price to pay to have all the dust and debris collected and disposed of without ever being exposed to it when emptying the unit. Highly recommend the Maxum unit.

1. Universal Lid can be sealed with the hand-held FreshSaver - no hose or lid sealer needed. I'm glad you asked, I've never tried using the FreshSaver for that task. The Universal Lids come in two sizes and you can use them on any "solid" container that has a smooth rim. I do have one concern using the FreshSaver instead of the FoodSaver with hose and jar sealer. When all the air is out of the container, the FoodSaver stops. You're never really sure that's true using the hand-held FreshSaver. You might want to call FoodSaver and talk to them for more information. 2. From FoodSaver user manual: To Vacuum with Mason Jar - Always pre-soak new metal lids. Bring water to boil, then turn off. Pre-soak lids 5-10 minutes. Helpful hint: Make sure your lids are separated during this process. When you do several lids at a time they tend to stack. I love my little Lid Sterilizing Rack for this process. You can put 12 regular or wide-mouth lids in the rack, which keeps the lids separated for maximum exposure to the hot water 3. It works great for salad greens, just make sure you do NOT vacuum-seal strong smelling vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Do not vacuum package whole avocados with their pits, but I do vacuum-seal guacamole and it will stay fresh much longer. 4. If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you, you might want to look there for FoodSaver items. That's where I got my FreshSaver. I also bought a FoodSaver there for $60 (included bags, rolls of bags, 1 canister, jar sealer and hose). 5. One thing to keep in mind with a new dehydrator, make sure it has a variable temperature thermostat. Check out the link below for more general information. Sounds like you are ready for a new food adventure! ;-) -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Dehydrators

We usually put juicy things in a zip lock bag and close all but a tiny bit of the zipper. Then we put the zippy in the sealing bag with the zipper opposite the end to be sealed. The machine pulls the air out of the inner bag and seals before the juices escape and get to the machine. This works with things like very juicy cuts of meat or berries that would release juice with pressure but I doubt it would work on something very wet like stew or sauce. Sometimes we freeze food before sealing it so that it will not be squashed by the sealer. That might work best for your gravies and such. Is there some reason you don't want to do that? Otherwise, I think the manufacturer recommends that you use those ridiculously expensive canisters they sell.