Need advise on a good vacuum sealer

[UGAsmokin]

Since smoking takes quite a bit of time and effort I am looking to buy a good vacuum sealer to freeze smoked meats. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Not looking to buy the highest priced one but one that will do a good job that won't break the bank. Thanks for your input.

 

[kruizer]

I use mine infrequently but i works very well. It is called JZ Brain and is available at Amazon for fifty or sixty bucks.

 

[Tinbeers]

We bought a foodsaver 540 at a yard sale along with an older model. Had lots of bags with them and both worked. It has done a good job for us.

 

[dave17a]

Got a Food Saver, basic model, bought around 6 yrs. ago. Done at least 200# of bacon, 50# cheese, plus other stuff. All manual, think it is all different now. Have read that the auto's are not as good.
Good luck, read reviews

 

[old sarge]

If you are on a tight budget, you cannot go wrong with a Food Saver (FS). They are available just about everywhere: Target, Fry's/Kroger's, Walmart, Costco, etc. where you can actually look them over. I had a FS for many years that never let me down. When it died, it was instant; no warning. Did some research and bought a LEM. Very happy with it as I vac seal 30 to 40 lbs of meat at a time. No down time as the machine does not overheat or need a rest. A lot of folks here like the VacMaster. You'll find reviews and comments, pro and con, regarding vac sealers at this link:

Slicers, Grinders, Tools, Equipment

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[pineywoods]

Here's the one I and a lot of others around here have

VacMaster Pro 350 Replacement Seal Bar Kit - Vacuum Sealers Unlimited

Replacement seal bar assembly for the VacMaster Pro 350. Includes a seal wire, Teflon tape, and a lid gasket. If you have any questions, please send us an e-mail.

vacuumsealersunlimited.com

Might seem a bit much for a vacuum sealer but to many of us it's worth every penny I used to own two foodsavers so when one overheated while sealing a batch of bags I could switch machines and keep going. Well the price of those two sealers was around the same as the one I linked and having had this one a few years now I can tell you I've never had it overheat and it still seals like it did when new

 

[udaman]

as said above, i have used food savers for years , went threw a few, the bags are pricey, but work well.
never did get a lem or vac master bag sealer, i got a chamber sealer at a steal price , bags are very cheap compared to bag sealers but they are not light and not easy to move.look at steve h review of his new sealer here in slicers grinders etc section

 

[old sarge]

Whatever you get, think storage when not in use.

 

[Brokenhandle]

We had, or still have a foodsaver but its getting real tired. Been a very good machine for many years, sometimes have to take a break from sealing to let it cool tho. We just bought a vac master 350 and love it for the little time we've used it. But storage is different for it cuz it does take up some real estate. Wanted one for a couple years and also wanted to support Lisa with vac sealers unlimited since she is a sponsor here.

Ryan

 

[ofelles]

Had a Food saver and got tired of waiting in between bags for it to cool down. Got the VacMaster 380 and I'm very happy with the performance. Went with the 380 instead of the 350 for the larger bag capacity.

 

[Steve H]

How much are you willing to spend?
How much meat are you looking to seal at a time?
I have used a Foodsaver for 25 plus years. Still works fine. But the more involved I got with this
disease. The more I started to grumble about the waiting between seals when I had a lot of cheese, summer sausage, sticks, etc to vacuum seal.
Lucky for me. My son overheard my rant one day. And I found a LEM MaxVac 500 under the tree this year.
So, if you are doing smallish amounts. A 75.00 foodsaver will meet your needs.
If you have visions of doing more later. Then perhaps you should pull the trigger on a more robust unit. There are a lot of folks here using the vacmaster models. And swear by them. I just did a review on the MaxVac 500

LEM MaxVac 500 review

Thought I would give my opinion of the LEM MaxVac 500 sealer. Received this as a gift from one of my sons. Awesome gift! There was also a pack of quart, and gallon bags. The unit included a 25' roll of 8" film as well. The sealer is fast on removing the air. And does it very well. The 1/4"...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[SmokinAl]

I have the VacMaster 380. So far so good, and I've had it for a few years. We use it so much that we just leave it on the counter. The only con that I would say is it takes up a lot of space, but it has a 16" wide sealing bar. So you can use the 15" bags & rolls.
Al

 

[rcpandr]

I have sealed 15" bags on my VacMaster 350. Put your stuff in, cut off the corner and seal it. Then you can vacuum and seal the top. That is actually a blanket I keep in my car.

 

[Fainim]

If you don't want to spend a lot of money you can check the GERYON vacuum sealer. We've ordered this on Amazon for ~$55 when our old one needed to be replaced. Our previous sealer was in this price range and it was broken out of the box so we were somewhat skeptical when we ordered this. But the reviews on it on Amazon and other resources were good and we bought it. Luckily this thing is great. I seal everything now and it saves me a lot of time and money.