Best vacuum sealer?

SmittyJonz said:

I like Chit I gotta replace every few years - that way I'm always getting New Chit instead of having Old Chit. :becky: ( I wish it worked with Wives.......Just Joking! (Sorta)).

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I am with you there, bro. [I think]

NRA4Life said:

I've had a Weston Pro-2300 for 4 years with pretty heavy use with no problems. If you want a good vacuum sealer, but a Weston. If you want to buy something you'll throw out and have to replace in a year or 2, buy something other than a Weston.

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I also have had the Weston 2300 for over 4 years. Not only does it last longer, but replacement parts are available to make repairs if needed, or you can send it back for repair if you wish. I use up to 100 bags a month depending upon the season and have never had a bad seal.

qman said:

OK, couple of questions:
One, definition of "good". Does the Weston seal better than the Foodsaver?

Next: How does the Weston compare to a Foodsaver on price?

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The sealing bar on the Weston is much wider than the foodsaver. Foodsaver has a -7 psi pump whereas the Weston has a -14 psi pump. The Weston will take 15" wide bags whereas the Foodsaver cannot. As far as price.... If you like cheap, maybe the Weston really isn't for you.

You need to figure out what you want from your sealer and just how often you will use it before making an educated choice.

I started out with a FoodSaver which made poor seals and within 4 months it bit the dust. After a second FoodSaver which lasted a little over 6 months. However, I used it a lot, much more than the average kitchen. For occasional use it probably would be a great unit. After the second FoodSaver went bad, I realized that I would have to keep buying these units for who knows how long... They are not repairable, parts are not available for them, and they are considered disposable units.

For someone who does not seal items on a regular basis, it is probably a great unit for the price and will work very well with low frequency. It is light and it stores easily between uses in a cabinet or on a shelf taking up very little space.

After my second failure, I figured I had already spent enough to buy a heavy duty unit, so now I actually figured it was time to purchased one and be done. I chose the Weston because it has dual piston pumps rather than a singe pump. Although a perfect vacuum is 0 psi, the food saver draw is -7 psi whereas the Weston is -14 psi. We all realize that neither will ever exceed the 0 psi of a vacuum, the Weston unit does get you to the vacuum state with more consistency over a shorter period of time with a stronger seal. It has both manual and automatic seal functions, so one can manually seal wet foods with "manual" operations or let it automatically seal with dry operations.

The Weston also has user serviceable parts readily available so you can repair the unit if need be, or you can send it back for repair. I have had mine for 3 years now and only recently I replaced foam seals and heater bar for less than 30 dollars. It took less than 10 minutes with minimal effort. Although the unit was still working properly, I felt preventative maintenance is also part of caring for the unit.

I choose the Weston Pro-2300 model because it had a stainless steel shell, the 2100 is identical but has an enamel finish for about fifty dollars less. Weston now has the Pro-3000 model which is the Pro-2300 with a visible vacuum gauge and an adjustable seal timer.

I have had the Weston for over 3 years now without incident, sealing 10 to 20 bags a week depending upon activities for that week. The downside of the Weston is that it has a very large footprint and weighs about 40 (or more) pounds so it does not store easily unless you have a second kitchen or private prep area where you can leave it out all the time.

The Weston unit seals appears to be twice as wide as FoodSaver, and it seals flawlessly with liquids or food residue present. I have never had a weak or faulty seal with the Weston Pro-2300. The Weston bags are rated food safe for use in boiling water and they are also dishwasher safe. I have never reused bags, but many others have said they have washed and reused bags.

The marketing for some sealers is geared toward recurring sales of sealing bags. they make much more from sales of the bags than from the machine. They lead you to believe that you save money by purchasing their bags on sale, but they won't tell you that other bags of the same size are compatible with their sealer. FoodSaver regularly has sales on their bags and rolls which give you up to 50% off if you buy in volume. The sale price even at 50% off is still higher than the normal prices of Vac-Master and Weston brand bags and rolls. When you compare the prices of other micro-channel bags to FoodSaver, you will save a great deal of money.

I pay $9.99 for 100 pint bags 15.95 for 100 quart bags. Weston Pro Series will also seal the 15" X 18" bags which will easily seal 2 - 3 pulled pork butts. Weston will use any brand of micro-channel vac-seal bags including Foodsaver and vac-master. Vac-master and Weston bags are so cheap they make the use of rolls to save money an antiquated choice. However the use of rolls is still a great choice for sealing whole racks of ribs and other long items.

But don't be misled here, no vacuum sealer likes liquids, and liquids can damage the unit if it gets into the vacuum chamber. This is even true with both FoodSaver the Weston Pro. Chilling soups, stews, and chili for a few hours makes sealing these items easy without incident. You also have the manual seal button which you can press if liquids start to flow into the collection tray before they can be sucked into the the vacuum port. You can also freeze the liquid in a shallow dish and then put the frozen item into the bag and Vac-Seal. The only unit that does well with liquid content is the vacuum chamber sealer which draws the air our of the chamber rather than the bag. But the price of a chamber sealer is usually cost prohibitive, even for the seasoned vac-seal user.

The best advice I can give you, is to do your homework before you buy, Compare, compare, and compare again!!! The final decision is yours and only you will have to live with your choice, whether it be good or bad. In today's market a higher price does not always mean higher quality, but sometimes it is just an opportunity to make a greater profit from an uneducated customer. A higher price does not always mean a better unit, that's why it is important to do your research.

Yes, sometimes you get what you pay for, but without research on the different units you could also wind up a lot less that what you paid for.

I would agree that the FoodSaver sealers work well, for low to moderate use. I have used my most recent one twice to seal numerous racks of ribs (42 racks last time around). It does shut itself down after a few racks. You have to wait a period of time, and/or power it off and back on to get it to reset. I'm sure I was pushing it beyond it's intended use. The seals were generally good, but at times it would not achieve the necessary pressure to trip the seal function. I would have to push the manual seal button. I appreciate the question, as we may be in the market for a more durable option for next year's charity events.