Which Vacuum Sealer

[Camille Eonich]

I have an ancient Foodsaver that still works like it did when it was brand new which means I can seal about four items making my own bags before it overheats.


I like to buy primal cuts and butcher them myself which means that only being able to seal a few bags at a time is a serious pain PLUS my cousin needs a vacuum sealer so I could get rid of the Foodsaver and make someone happy all at at the same time. Win win.


So main thing is that I need a vacuum sealer that won't overheat and gives a good seal. I usually double seal anyway because I do a lot of quick thawing in sinks full of water. I also sous vide occasionally and I like to have the option of sealing jars.



What are your experiences with different brands and models? The over heating thing is a pain in the butt, seriously.

 

[PatAttack]

Weston.

 

[glitchy]

If you want to stay in the more affordable range, you might look at the bigger Anova one. I have the little one and have been very happy with it. I’ve only sealed about 8-10 pre made bags in a run, but the bigger newer one double seals and is rated for more continuous work. It wasn’t out yet when I bought mine or I would have bought that one. The small one is far better than the Foodsaver it replaced.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Vac Master 350...

Bullet proof.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

I would stay away from any food saver with auto sensors. You lose over an inch off the roll every time you seal. The vac went on my old food saver but i am forced to keep it because the higher end model i bought to replace it was costing me 3 inches loss every time i made a bag. It adds up, so i now seal the bottom with the old food saver and use the new ones to vac/seal. If i didn't spend like $200 on it i would just buy a new vacuum sealer.
/rant

 

[sudsandswine]

As soon as you trip the auto sensor you can pull the bag back out a bit. It’ll seal with only a 1/4” or so in it, maybe less. Sealed hundreds of bags that way.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

As soon as you trip the auto sensor you can pull the bag back out a bit. It’ll seal with only a 1/4” or so in it, maybe less. Sealed hundreds of bags that way.

Yeah, i got tired of playing that game. I buy pre-made size bags in bulk now so i dont have to play that game. I still keep a Roll or two on hand for large items but i rarely use the rolls anymore. Food saver shot themselves in the foot with that scam though. It force me to seek other bag/roll options. I can't remember the last time i bought a food saver brand bag/roll.
/rant

 

[airedale]

Weston

 

[KB BBQ]

VacMaster VP215 is very popular and works great for me. A little pricey but I have no regrets.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ar...achine-with-10-1-4-seal-bar/120VMASVP215.html

 

[Dweverett]

If you want to stay in the more affordable range, you might look at the bigger Anova one. I have the little one and have been very happy with it. I’ve only sealed about 8-10 pre made bags in a run, but the bigger newer one double seals and is rated for more continuous work. It wasn’t out yet when I bought mine or I would have bought that one. The small one is far better than the Foodsaver it replaced.

Agreed. Anova makes a really high quality product at a lower price than a comparable Weston.

 

[BDAABAT]

I'd dearly love to get a chamber sealer. It's frustrating to not be able to seal liquids or things that have a lot of liquid (e.g., when marinating items). Have looked covetously at the VacMaster linked above (and other chamber sealers) dozens of times.

Unfortunately, it's just not practical for the amount of food I'm sealing (which is, I cook enough to fill my freezer...am not running a restaurant or feeding lots of people; I also use for cooking sous vide, but that's it).

I also don't have the space in my kitchen for a chamber sealer. I despise things left on the counter. I want counter space available to be able to use, as much as possible. Those chamber units tend to be quite large in volume as well as in weight. Not easy for me to store it someplace then bring out as needed to seal stuff. Just not very practical for me.

I got an Icetek sealer that was ~ $30 at Amazon (like this one: https://www.amazon.com/ICETEK-Vacuu...ds=ICETEK+vacuum+sealer&qid=1628160546&sr=8-4) that works fairly well.

I'd gotten a different brand initially that worked OK for the first couple bags. It then stopped working consistently. The Icetek works better than that original unit. NOTE: It will overheat if I'm doing a lot of sealing at one time (e.g., more than 6 items within ~ 10 minutes). Again, I'm not typically doing a lot at one time, so this doesn't often happen. YMMV.

Bruce

 

[Dweverett]

Agreed. Anova makes a really high quality product at a lower price than a comparable Weston.

My mistake. I didn’t mean Anovo. I meant Avid Armor. I have the A100 and it’s really well designed

https://avidarmor.com/products/vacuum-sealers/

 

[Swine Spectator]

I make sausage and make lots of packages. I burned up two Foodsavers and a Seal-a-Meal before I bought my Weston. The Weston is great. It makes a wide seal and is serviceable. You can get parts and rebuild it if anything breaks. I have had mine for 4 years now and the only thing I have replaced was the Teflon strip over the heating element.

 

[Jrogers84]

I make sausage and make lots of packages. I burned up two Foodsavers and a Seal-a-Meal before I bought my Weston. The Weston is great. It makes a wide seal and is serviceable. You can get parts and rebuild it if anything breaks. I have had mine for 4 years now and the only thing I have replaced was the Teflon strip over the heating element.

I agree with this. I bought a Weston. Waited until I found a good NIB deal on offerup. Things a tank

 

[Camille Eonich]

I would stay away from any food saver with auto sensors. You lose over an inch off the roll every time you seal.
/rant

I despise the auto sensor. Pretty sure that it feels the same way about me too.

I'd dearly love to get a chamber sealer. It's frustrating to not be able to seal liquids or things that have a lot of liquid (e.g., when marinating items).

I freeze liquids before sealing and although a bit of pain it works ok. I have the Food Saver marinade/vacuum thing for marinating.

I also don't have the space in my kitchen for a chamber sealer. I despise things left on the counter. I want counter space available to be able to use, as much as possible. Those chamber units tend to be quite large in volume as well as in weight. Not easy for me to store it someplace then bring out as needed to seal stuff. Just not very practical for me.

I have enough on my counter tops as well.





Thanks for the ideas. I have a couple of suggestions to get me started anyway.
:clap2:

 

[txsmkmstr]

Another STRONG vote for AvidArmor....

Check out the chamber vac line of theirs - the larger one (x32?) weighs in at only 29 pounds making it ideal for storing when not in use (compared to the 90 pound monsters). Never seems to overheat - great customer service and wide variety of bag choices.

 

[airedale]

I have enough on my counter tops as well. ... Thanks for the ideas. I have a couple of suggestions to get me started anyway.

For counter space considerations (which we have too) you might want to consider Weston's Pro-1100, which is limited to 11" bags, not the 15" bags that the larger sealers will take. For us, more counter space for smaller bags has been a good tradeoff. For comparison, 11" bags have been big enough to dry cure pork bellies prior to smoking, though they will not take a whole turkey.

We have been very happy with this sealer and have found Weston's customer service to be outstanding. Weston also sells refurbished products from time to time, but the refurbished page is presently 404. (https://westonbrands.com/Refurbished-Products-s/147.htm) Scoring a refurbished sealer might take some patience.

 

[TBASS]

I have a Vacmaster Pro 360 that I am happy with. I am able to seal 15” bags with no problem.

 

[Dplorable]

Weston.

What he said.

 

[jzadski]

For counter space considerations (which we have too) you might want to consider Weston's Pro-1100, which is limited to 11" bags, not the 15" bags that the larger sealers will take. For us, more counter space for smaller bags has been a good tradeoff. For comparison, 11" bags have been big enough to dry cure pork bellies prior to smoking, though they will not take a whole turkey.

We have been very happy with this sealer and have found Weston's customer service to be outstanding. Weston also sells refurbished products from time to time, but the refurbished page is presently 404. (https://westonbrands.com/Refurbished-Products-s/147.htm) Scoring a refurbished sealer might take some patience.

Food saver has 11" wide bags that are expandable. I can seal a full size foil pan no problem and it has a bunch of room still left