Kitfort KT-1507 Test: En användbar och rolig hjälpare

efore talking about the experience of handling Kitfort KT-1507, let us briefly recall what a household vacuum cleaner or vacuum sealer is, and why you might need it. Such a device is designed for packaging products in special plastic bags by pumping air out of them and sealing the seam with a heating element. The concept of ”vacuum” in this case is conditional, but it has already become established within the description of the work of household packers. In addition to bags, many evacuators allow you to remove air from special containers using a hose.

Vacuuming solves many problems:

• extends the shelf life of products both in the refrigerator and outside;
• locks in odors and saves space in the refrigerator and freezer;
• packs food for sous vide cooking;
• keeps herbs, spices, tea, coffee and other dry products from moisture;
• protects things and documents from getting wet and dirty while traveling;
• significantly reduces the volume of clothes, blankets and pillows during storage.

Kitfort’s packaging design stays true to the black background, white print, purple accents, and the schematic. We waited for its slogan for a long time, but were disappointed – the manufacturer limited itself to the boring “I extend the shelf life”. On the sides of the box are the technical characteristics of the device and information about the manufacturer.

Kitfort KT-1507 is packed in a narrow oblong box and is securely fixed with cardboard inserts on the sides. Inside is also a manual, a spare seal, flyers and a collectible magnet (which finally went to the testing team).

At first sight

The hero of today’s review turned out to be the record holder for lightness – only 600 g. Turning it this way and that, we made sure that the case is completely made of black plastic. Fingerprints easily remain on the glossy insert on top, but just as easily erased with a cloth. The appearance of the closed device is very laconic: the logo on the left and two signed buttons on the right.

Inside is a standard vacuum chamber with bottom and top foam seal and pump fittings. At the right edge there are control buttons that receive a signal from pressing the cover. Closer to the outer edge there is a metal heating element under the teflon tape, and a heat-resistant pressure material resembling rubber is installed on the lid above it.

There is a hot surface warning sticker on the front of the case. On the sides there are lid opening buttons, signed by Push.

Attached to the back is a power cord with a 2 cm protective cover and a 5 mm diameter inlet hose fitting to evacuate the container.

Instructions

Kitfort guides always delight us with useful information and easy-to-understand language. In the case of the evacuator, our expectations were fully justified: we read the A5 brochure on thick glossy paper with sincere interest. The device itself is devoted to 12 pages in the measure of small print, describing the device structure, methods of working with bags and containers, rules of care and storage, precautions, possible malfunctions and a table of shelf life of products in vacuum packaging and without. Very sensible recommendations are given for the packaging of wet products.

The most useful section was general information and advice, including even a recipe for quick salted cucumbers (0.5 kg for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator). From there, you can learn that vacuum packaging not only extends the shelf life of products and allows you to cook them according to sous vide recipes, but also accelerates the penetration of brines and pickles, saves space and protects against moisture. It would not have occurred to us that we could prepare a whole plate of snacks in advance for the arrival of guests, and they will not wind up. Moreover, the scope of application of the vacuum machine is not limited to food: you can compactly store fluffy clothes or save documents and things from the water on a hike. You can solder the bag with the phone without vacuuming, so as not to damage the electronics, and feel free to go on rafting.

Control

The Kitfort KT-1507 has a logical, simple control with just two buttons and a head. Let us explain: in some devices, separate buttons regulate the work with dry and liquid products, start vacuuming and sealing separately. Common sense is included here: the first press of the button starts the process, the second stops it. In most cases, one touch of the ”Auto” button is enough: it first turns on the vacuum pump, and after the sensor is triggered, it turns off and the sealing begins. The automatic mode proved to be adequate in testing.

If there is a lot of moisture in the bag and it threatens to get into the vacuum chamber, it is enough to press the ”Auto” button again to stop the pump. After that, there are two options: blot the food with a napkin or not pump out all the air. Then you should press the ”Solder” button, and the bag will be sealed with a strong seam. It is narrow in width, but really strong, and not a single time out of ten turned out to be defective.

To form the bottom of the bag from the roll film, one button ”Solder” is enough. If you pump air out of the container through a hose, you can also rely on automatic mode or interrupt the pump yourself by touching the Auto button. A manual stop may also be needed for packing delicate crumpled products: sandwiches, fragile herbs and tea.

Exploitation

The device is ready to benefit right out of the box. No extraneous smells and sounds were noticed. To get started, you need to position the bag so that its open edge is inside the vacuum chamber and does not exceed its width. After that, close the lid and push until the lock clicks on each side, preventing the bag from moving. After completing the packaging, press down firmly on the side buttons to open the lid (the left button is especially tight). We recommend that you immediately check the quality of the seam sealing and, if necessary (or for safety reasons), step back a few millimeters and make a second seam. Re-sealing of the first seam is also allowed by the instructions.

The buttons on the body are not so much buttons as petals partially cut out in the body, with pressure on which small control buttons inside the device are activated. On the one hand, a drop of water from fingers or dirt can get inside through the slots, on the other hand, it was not difficult for us to touch the device only with clean and dry hands. During operation, the diodes inside the case light up blue (vacuum) or red (sealing), which can be seen through the slots in the cover. It seemed to us unusual that pressing the button is not accompanied by a sound, and the backlight is not particularly noticeable in a brightly lit room, so the first time we pressed the button several times until we figured it out.

We used a typical roll film with corrugation inside and formed bags from it. The width of the vacuum chamber of 28 cm was just enough for us to comfortably place the bags. Since the hose and special containers are not included in the package of the vacuum unit, we have not tested the operation of the external fitting.

Care

It is quite elementary to keep the device clean: wipe the case with a dry or damp cloth as it gets dirty, clean the vacuum chamber and seals. They are removable, but they can deteriorate with frequent movement, so it is important not to crease or bend them. During testing, we made sure that the edges of the bags were clean, and that moisture from the products did not get inside the device, so there was nothing to clean – the vacuum apparatus remained as good as new.

Our measurements

During the most intense test, Kitfort KT-1705 slightly exceeded the declared power of 100 W, in standard tests the wattmeter showed a consumption of only 3.2 W, and in standby mode, 0.5 W. The duration of the seam sealing ranges from 4 to 6 seconds, plus 3 seconds we gave it to cool down as recommended in the instructions.

Kitfort KT-1507 Conclusion

The Kitfort KT-1507 model turned out to be an excellent illustration of the national criterion for choosing ”cheap and cheerful”. For a modest price, we found a truly varied functionality, smooth operation with minimalistic controls. No frills: just a vacuum, film and any item for packaging. The device allows you to store longer and more compactly, protect from moisture and odors, make blanks and simply isolate any things and products using only a seal.