vacuum sealer question

[bregent]

When it comes to vacuum sealers my experience (and a TON of others as well) is that if you don't fork out the money and buy the quality vac sealers you are going to be in for a major disappointment way too soon :(

I would say this depends on a lot of variables - mostly, how much you use it. I bought a FoodSaver from Costco that lasted me over 15 years. When it started dying, I looked into getting a VacMaster, Weston, and a few other more heavy duty sealers. The problem with that is, they are much heavier and more difficult to store. The FoodSaver fits in a drawer in my kitchen along with bags and accessories and I can lift it easily with one hand. Couldn't do that with a HD unit.

So when I saw a Food Saver FM-2000 for sale on Groupon for about $35 I grabbed it. It's been going strong for more than 3 years and I probably seal 15-20 bags a week with it. As much as I drool over the HD units, and chamber sealers, I'll probably get another Food Saver when my current one dies.

If you use a sealer mostly for big processing jobs, then a heavy duty unit is probably a good idea. But if you do a lot of quick, little jobs (sous vide, re-sealing, etc) , then a lightweight sealer will be more convenient and might be a better choice.

 

[tallbm]

I would say this depends on a lot of variables - mostly, how much you use it. I bought a FoodSaver from Costco that lasted me over 15 years. When it started dying, I looked into getting a VacMaster, Weston, and a few other more heavy duty sealers. The problem with that is, they are much heavier and more difficult to store. The FoodSaver fits in a drawer in my kitchen along with bags and accessories and I can lift it easily with one hand. Couldn't do that with a HD unit.

So when I saw a Food Saver FM-2000 for sale on Groupon for about $35 I grabbed it. It's been going strong for more than 3 years and I probably seal 15-20 bags a week with it. As much as I drool over the HD units, and chamber sealers, I'll probably get another Food Saver when my current one dies.

If you use a sealer mostly for big processing jobs, then a heavy duty unit is probably a good idea. But if you do a lot of quick, little jobs (sous vide, re-sealing, etc) , then a lightweight sealer will be more convenient and might be a better choice.

I completely understand your point and can get behind what you say. I'm glad yours is still going. Maybe it all comes down to usage on the FoodSaver units. Light limited duty might be what the FoodSaver handles well.

After my personal experience and seeing so many people (friends and family members) with failing inexpensive sealers I just can't bring myself to really recommend the lighter duty stuff. I guess I am too scarred by my bad experience lol.

I did buy my parents a Weston Pro-1100 it has a smaller footprint and less weight but not much less on the price lol. It has been working very well though I'm not a big fan of it's self locking mechanism.

For $35 and the intention of going light duty the risk is minimal. So I don't see an issue with a light weight sealer.
For needing to store 25-100lbs+ of meat at a time and doing that multiple times a year I would look to something with the power to be relied upon.

And don't feel alone. I too drool over the chamber units but I can't reasonably justify it hahaha :D

OH one more BIG thing... Buying pre-made/formed bags is basically a must for my application! The time savings of not having to make bags for storing food is HUGE!!! Plus you get more bag for less money than the rolls provide! Don't get me wrong I still have a roll in both the larger and smaller size for the custom jobs but I rely upon the pre-made bags.
For example lets say you make 25 pounds of sausage and you want to save it in 1-1.25 pound increments. That is like 4-5 sausage links per bag (using hog casings). So cutting and creating 25 bags from a roll to store the sausage takes a real amount of time that should probably be factored into the overall time to process OR the bags should be created before hand. Well you might as well just buy pre-made :)

 

[johnmeyer]

I bought my Foodsaver Ultra at Costco over twenty years ago. I use it several times each and every day, and it still works great. I consider it one of the most essential tools in my kitchen. In the past twenty years, I'm not sure I've ever thrown out anything that I've vacuum packed, including things left in the fridge for over a month, and frozen items that I kept for over two years.

Right now I have three tri-tip dinners, pre-sliced, in Foodsaver bags in the freezer. I put them in 135 degree water (using my induction cook-top that has a temperature control) to reheat, and simply open up the bag, put on the sandwich, and eat.

I use not only the Foodsaver plastic bags, but also the canning attachment which lets me store things in both Foodsaver canisters as well as standard wide-mouth canning jars. I plan to make split pea soup for dinner tonight, and with just the two of us, we'll have enough for at least two more meals. I'll put the extra in a couple of quart canning jars and simply put that in the fridge. In a few weeks I'll nuke it for a minute or two and serve.

I have a lot of positive stories to tell about my vacuum sealer. It has been a little flaky for years: the vac sensing switch is sticky, so I have to press the "manual seal" button to get the bags to seal. Pretty minor problem.

 

[chopsaw]

OK ,,, alot of opinions on this . I HAVE that exact model . I have been using it for over 5 years . I used it today to seal and freeze left overs . Did 3 quart jars of pickles . 10 pounds of smoked sausage . Works great . I vac'd up some wings for the 4th . It sells for 200 bucks or better . I don't consider it entry level . It should have the the canister hose with it , a wet collection tray that removes for cleaning
( in the sealing area ) hose storage clips . If she wants to sell it make an offer . Like I said that's a 200 dollar sealer .

 

[cal1956]

about all we would be doing with it is storing meat ....both fresh and processed
after reading all the posts i'm convinced it do what we wanted one for however i am a bit concerned
about the size of what they can be used for , i would like to be able to put 5 lbs of sausage per bag
not sure if thats feasible

 

[TomKnollRFV]

about all we would be doing with it is storing meat ....both fresh and processed
after reading all the posts i'm convinced it do what we wanted one for however i am a bit concerned
about the size of what they can be used for , i would like to be able to put 5 lbs of sausage per bag
not sure if thats feasible

I've used my far cheaper model to seal up 5 pounds of meat at a time. I've sealed a whole chicken up actually. Just broke it down first. I've sealed up 4 sausages in casing at once in the same bag. Shouldn't be a problem as long as you have the bags long enough. For uncased I strongly recommend putting it in the bag, then in the freezer up right/etc so the moisture doesn't come out for 30 mins or so. The auto vac/seal function gets fussy when it draws moisture out. I just hit seal on mine normally when it's vaccumed but the seal doesn't get done. It'll manually seal it either way!

 

[chopsaw]

about all we would be doing with it is storing meat ....both fresh and processed
after reading all the posts i'm convinced it do what we wanted one for however i am a bit concerned
about the size of what they can be used for , i would like to be able to put 5 lbs of sausage per bag
not sure if thats feasible

Cal ,, if you have the roll bags , you just pull it out . Seal the end and then make it as long as you want . You can get 11" rolls or 8" rolls , or pre made bags . I have the jar sealer , and a vac canister . I use mine all the time . They sell it under another model name now . Mine is the game saver deluxe . I said 5 years , but I bet it's more like what you said 8 to ten .

 

[chopsaw]

Another comment ,,, about manual hitting of the seal button . No . If it does not auto seal , cancel then operation . Check the bag , adjust and try again . Yes if you want to seal at a certain time that's fine . That unit will auto seal if all is " right " . It's made to make a good seal for freezing . If it does not pull enough vacuum on the bag it won't seal . That's another feature of the unit .

 

[cal1956]

thanks to all of you for a lot of good information , if she will sell it for a reasonable price i think we will buy it

 

[SonnyE]

I think a lot of failures depend on how something is used.
My methodology allows for my $50 sealer to operate at a nice steady pace. And as far as bags are concerned, I can make 150 bags in not too long a time MUCH cheaper than buying pre-made bags.
I can sit on a stool and use my paper cutter (roller style) and cut as many as I want (or a whole roll). Then seal one end and not waste a lot.
Instead of loading up 47 bags, then cuss the sealer because it overheats.... I take my bag, load it, seal it, and while I'm loading the next, my sealer is cooling and resting. And no need to be frustrated or wanting for the next hundred dollar mark machine.
But then.... I am retired, I'm practical, I do think and find ways to do things that work for me. And, I get by just fine.
YMMV.

 

[nanuk]

I have an old piece of junk sealer that won't seal right.... bad bags, dirty wire.... what ever...

so today, I just bought a local FS3460 on sale.

Ima try to use both to see the difference, but I'm assuming the sealing feature is much improved.... not a wire on this one, looks more like a teflon pad.

Anyways, I do need to get the accessory pack to do jars and such....

We shall see!

ETA: just tried this new unit. compared to my old POS, it works FABULOUS