Vac sealers?

[Chasdev]

My low profile Foodsaver just went tits up after two years (and LOTs of use).
That makes two Foodsavers that died on me in the last 5 years, the first having been a pricey one.
So who makes a good one for under $100?

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I just spent lot of time going through them. I have been through 3 in last 5 years. Just make sure you get one with a removable tray to clean. I ended up with this one but only time will tell:

 

[Fueling Around]

I have a Ziplock brand vac unit for 10 years and wish they still made it. Been a workhorse until I wasn't paying attention and sucked up a big gulp of clam juice. Now it won't auto seal and I haven't figured out how to open it up without damaging it.
I recently bought a Cabelas for $100 and pretty satisfied.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-heavy-duty-vacuum-sealer

 

[HalfSmoked]

Cabela's has some reasonable.

Warren

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I’m on my second inkbird. All I can say about it is fooled me once, then fooled me again. It will be replaced with a foodsaver once I move

 

[spohnat]

I would buy the Foodsaver from Costco. If it fails, you can return it anytime for a refund.

 

[normanaj]

It's just the two of us and our food saver is 15+ years old and has seen better days.

Been looking at the Lem MaxVac 100.

 

[Chasdev]

I would buy the Foodsaver from Costco. If it fails, you can return it anytime for a refund.

Wonder if I can return after a couple of years?
Surely not..

 

[tallbm]

My low profile Foodsaver just went tits up after two years (and LOTs of use).
That makes two Foodsavers that died on me in the last 5 years, the first having been a pricey one.
So who makes a good one for under $100?

Oh the old vac sealer replacement discussion lol.
I am giggling a bit because many many many of us have been there.

My lesson learned is that if it isn't a good name brand/quality at about $325+ it's probably going to fail on you in too short of a time.

It seems your best options are going to be Weston (2100 model or higher, though 1100 is good as well) or LEM MaxVac (500 model or higher I think).

I bought and own a refurbed Weston 2100 for about 10 years now and no issues with it. Two monthsa go I replaced the teflon tape on the lower heating bar for the 1st time in 10 years. For a birthday gift, I asked for a roll of 1/4 inch Teflon tape from amazon so the maintenance cost was very low. I believe the tape was less than $5 for a lifetime supply/roll I'll never use up on this thing if I relace tape every 10 years lol.

I got my mother a Weston 1100 maybe 7 years ago and it works fine but the sealing bar isn't as wide and they "lock in place" while sealing feature is not really a necessary feature and can get in a the way a little bit at times.

I bought a high end Foodsaver for like $225 in 2011 and it lasted basically 1 year, 1 deer hunting season's worth of processing. It limped through on year 2 but had tons of failed seals and was a major pain. Tried to repair and replace parts and no luck, so moved on to a Weston 2100 (refurbed) and never looked back!

Vacmaster seems to only make chamber sealers these days. Chamber sealers seem super nice but they are big AND seem to take a while to seal which I do not have when it comes to my hunting processing week, so I need the speed of the Weston which can go as fast as I can feed it for as long as I can feed it.

Vac sealers seem to be may be the most notorious gadget for failing I have ever come into contact with. The only solution I found was to spend the $$$ on a brand and model that is known to last and then never look back.
Everyone I know that gets a $50-$200 vac sealer seems to have it fail in short order with any moderate use over a year or 2.

I hope this info helps :)

 

[chopsaw]

I’m on my second inkbird. All I can say about it is fooled me once, then fooled me again.

Yup . DON'T buy an Inkbird at any price .

 

[hondabbq]

What are you guys doing to your FS to burn through them that fast?
I have had the same on from Costco for 8 years. I have put hundreds and hundreds of pounds of meat and food through them. I have ordered 3 times through the lady that sells bags on here each time ordering 600 + bags plus how many hundreds of bags before I found her business.

 

[Colin1230]

I've had my FS for a long time, maybe 15 years. Granted, it doesn't get heavy use but it has vac sealed a lot of food over time. I have been waiting for the pump or heating element to go out so I can replace it with the one at Costco with the roll holder and cutter.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I'm thinking about the same as tallbm , the old saying of you get what you pay for. Bought a vac master 380 before they quit making them, it works great and only issue I've had was my fault... sucked some liquid into it using the tube for canisters. Also thinking some of these units like the foodsavers maybe used to be built a bit better.

Ryan

 

[normanaj]

This thread pushed me over the edge. Just bought the LEM 100.

To many enablers on this site!

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Yup . DON'T buy an Inkbird at any price .

You’re not lying. I gave my cheap food saver to my parents when I bought the inkbird thinking it was better….. boy did they get the better end of the deal

 

[whistlepig]

Although out of your price range I have a LEM MaxVac 250 I have been using regularly for about 8 years now. No complaints.

 

[Chasdev]

I wish I could buy the 8 year old version.
The Foodsaver I had back then did indeed last at least 5 years.

 

[gmc2003]

We've had the FS V4980 for quite a few years. It's been really reliable.

 

[millerbuilds]

After 2 food savers, I switched to Avid Armor and have been pleased, I have had it for 5 years and have processed ~10 deer, 1- 1/2 bison, a bunch of fish, countless "deals on beef and chicken" and other stuff and it works as though it was brand new.

- Jason

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I've had my Foodsaver V3440 for around 10 years now. It's been pretty solid. It's definately not commercial grade, but it gets the job done around here.