Vacuum sealers

piney

I am interested in a new vacuum sealer. I just bought a Foodsaver brand and returned it because it was hard to get to seal, and did not vacuum as tight as I wanted. Has anyone ever used the Weston Pro 3200? Also what kind do you recommend? I would like a chamber model but, I just don't use one that much. Any insight will be appreciated.

Little Steven

Once you use the chamber sealer you WILL use it a lot. You can pay for it by shopping specials and saving. Vacmaster 215 is the bomb!

Carolina Q

The Weston is a PRO2300. I have one and it works very well. Just works with vac bags though, no plastic jars or marinating containers. Also, it is HUGE!! About 18" wide and 8-10" deep. Pretty heavy too (if you don't want to leave it out on the counter). Expensive too. Sucks well though. And the seal is about 3'16" wide. Haven't had a seal fail yet.

Little Steven

You nearly had me buying that.

RRP

What FS model did you buy? And how many times did you try to seal with it? I've had one for 13 years making it a really old model, but I swear it could suck chrome off a bumper...I just learned that different foods need different handling to maximize the use and value to me. OTOH since you already took it back go buy yourself a chamber sealer, but for 80% of the rest here I bet FS sealers will work fine for our needs!

Little Steven

Easy Ron. It's chrome off a trailer hitch round here.

RRP

Little Steven said:

Easy Ron. It's chrome off a trailer hitch round here.

LOL - so you know that joke too!

td66snrf

@RRP and @Little Steven said:

Easy Ron. It's chrome off a trailer hitch round here.

I thought it was a golf ball through a 50 ft  garden hose!

piney

Ron I also have had FS in the past... and they worked wonderful, I bought a FS-V4800 (Sams Club) it was horrible. The older ones worked great the newer ones are trash. 

piney

Carolina Q does this thing vacuum very tight? The FS was real loose after vacuuming and I don't want that. 

Little Steven

RRP said:

Little Steven said:

Easy Ron. It's chrome off a trailer hitch round here.

LOL - so you know that joke too!

Not a joke Ron. She was my girl!

Carolina Q

piney said:

Carolina Q does this thing vacuum very tight? The FS was real loose after vacuuming and I don't want that. 

Seems like it to me. I've never owned a Foodsaver so I can't compare. I read one too many stories about failed Foodsavers so I spent the money on this. Here are some pics...

Burgers

Pulled pork

Salmon

Little Steven

Michael. Do not make me embarrass you with my 10 cent bags.

Carolina Q

Go right ahead. I've always wondered what those $8000 chamber vacs do.  

Little Steven

It will pay for itself in 200 years or so.

nolaegghead

Little Steven

Here you go Michael. Tonight's dinner. God I worked my butt off.

Canugghead

Nice LS.  Damn, with all the dough sucked out of my pocket by FS, I could have bought a Vacmaster!  btw, your dinner looks like an Indian buffet but the chili chicken is 'out of place', it's Hakka Chinese )

Little Steven

Gary....really? Cali told me you are from Calcutta. You told me you were Hakka. Fess up!

Canugghead

LS, you have PM.  @piney sorry to thread jack.

Little Steven

And where the heck is Calcutta Cali? That was a tough meal to cook!

twlangan

I bought a Weston Pro last Fall. The thing sucks big-time - in a good way! Yes, they are very expensive. However, I will argue about the 200 yr payback though. If you check out Weston's website on these sealers, you will find that you can buy replacement parts for anything that might go wrong with these units. Most cheaper brands are throw-aways. You may buy several cheaper brand models before anything starts to go wrong with the industrial build of the Weston and then can replace anything that goes wrong with it.

I agree with the poster above - these units are quite large and heavy. This is not something you will leave sitting around on your countertop. We have a large family so there are rarely leftovers that we would want to preserve for extended periods of time. I use mine to seal large qty's of sausage and bacon that I have begun making over the past year. I get it out, spend a day sealing meat, and stow it away again. If a sealer is something you intend to use often, you may wish to look into a smaller unit.

BTW, I have spent some time looking into bag prices. I have found Weston's prices for rolls to be about the cheapest I could find. I buy 11" W X 50' long rolls. If I need smaller bags, I cut them in half to make 5.5" wide bags. A 50' roll goes a LONG way. It is more work than precut bags but considerably less expensive.

Little Steven

twlangan said:

I bought a Weston Pro last Fall. The thing sucks big-time - in a good way! Yes, they are very expensive. However, I will argue about the 200 yr payback though. If you check out Weston's website on these sealers, you will find that you can buy replacement parts for anything that might go wrong with these units. Most cheaper brands are throw-aways. You may buy several cheaper brand models before anything starts to go wrong with the industrial build of the Weston and then can replace anything that goes wrong with it.

I agree with the poster above - these units are quite large and heavy. This is not something you will leave sitting around on your countertop. We have a large family so there are rarely leftovers that we would want to preserve for extended periods of time. I use mine to seal large qty's of sausage and bacon that I have begun making over the past year. I get it out, spend a day sealing meat, and stow it away again. If a sealer is something you intend to use often, you may wish to look into a smaller unit.

BTW, I have spent some time looking into bag prices. I have found Weston's prices for rolls to be about the cheapest I could find. I buy 11" W X 50' long rolls. If I need smaller bags, I cut them in half to make 5.5" wide bags. A 50' roll goes a LONG way. It is more work than precut bags but considerably less expensive.

I bought a chamber sealer last year. The bags are literally 10 cents each. The machine was another story altogether.

piney

Thanks to all, I would love to have the chamber but I just don't think I will use it enough to justify the price I do like the fact that twlangan pointed out saying parts are replaceable. I just think the newer FS does not preform as goos as the earlier ones did. The pics Carolina Q sent have a lot tighter vacuum than I got with the FS....Looks like a Weston for me!  

4Runner

I really wanted a chamber sealer for the added ability to seal liquids....but, the price was high and so was the size and weight. I keep my stored away so I would be getting out and then putting it back. Just need something a bit more portable. I ended up with this model and it works very well. Bags are cheap too. http://myvacmaster.com/cgi/ary.wsc/product.htm?p-item-num=876305

DMW

They all suck. I have a FS 3840 and have been happy with it so far.

horseflesh

(Last time I tried to reply to this thread, my post got held for moderator approval. I am trying again without quotes and without links...)

I did a TON of research on vacuum sealers and I can sum it up this way--

A chamber sealer is a lot more versatile than an edge sealer, and chamber sealers use smooth bags which are also much much cheaper than textured ones. 

An oil-filled pump will pull a stronger vacuum than a dry piston pump, and it is tolerant of water vapor, too. 

In my opinion, if a person is serious about getting a sealer and anticipates using it a lot and having it a long time, a chamber sealer with an oil-filled pump is worth the extra scratch. If you need something cheaper or smaller, I don't think there is a point to buying anything less burly than a Weston-class edge sealer. 

The cheapest chamber vac bags I have found are at Vacuum Sealers Unlimited, and I looked everywhere. 6" x 10" 3 mil pint bags cost about 4 cents each (shipped) but you do have to buy 1000 of them. They are my most commonly used size by FAR. I use about 5 pints to every quart, and maybe 10-12 pints to every gallon bag.

I use my chamber sealer much more than even my most optimistic estimates. It was pretty darn expensive but I am really glad I went for the Cadillac. 

I hope this helps someone, feel free to post or PM if I can answer more questions. 

4Runner

Good info. I always thought the rolls would be the cheaper option. I have had good luck at http://www.webstaurantstore.com

Little Steven

horseflesh said:

(Last time I tried to reply to this thread, my post got held for moderator approval. I am trying again without quotes and without links...)

I did a TON of research on vacuum sealers and I can sum it up this way--

A chamber sealer is a lot more versatile than an edge sealer, and chamber sealers use smooth bags which are also much much cheaper than textured ones. 

An oil-filled pump will pull a stronger vacuum than a dry piston pump, and it is tolerant of water vapor, too. 

In my opinion, if a person is serious about getting a sealer and anticipates using it a lot and having it a long time, a chamber sealer with an oil-filled pump is worth the extra scratch. If you need something cheaper or smaller, I don't think there is a point to buying anything less burly than a Weston-class edge sealer. 

The cheapest chamber vac bags I have found are at Vacuum Sealers Unlimited, and I looked everywhere. 6" x 10" 3 mil pint bags cost about 4 cents each (shipped) but you do have to buy 1000 of them. They are my most commonly used size by FAR. I use about 5 pints to every quart, and maybe 10-12 pints to every gallon bag.

I use my chamber sealer much more than even my most optimistic estimates. It was pretty darn expensive but I am really glad I went for the Cadillac. 

I hope this helps someone, feel free to post or PM if I can answer more questions. 

What make and model did you get. I opted for the dry piston just based on the price. Mine gets used daily and I was told that it will last many years. Hope that is true

horseflesh

> I always thought the rolls would be the cheaper option.

While I do have a couple of rolls I've been using pre-made bags because I wanted to avoid the extra work of cutting the roll making an extra seal. I'm also sure rolls are more expensive. But now I am curious about how much more expensive...

vacuumsealersunlimited sells a pack of 4 8" x 20 ft rolls for $23. (These are chamber-style bags, with no texture.) The cheapest shipping I can find on their site is $8, for a total cost of $33. 

Let's compare the roll cost to the cost of 8x10 bags. Obviously you can be flexible with the size of bag you make from a roll, but we have to pick something to compare to... 

There are 4 * 20 ft * 12 in/ft = 960 linear inches of bag in our $33 shipment, right?. At 10" per bag, those four rolls should provide 96 8x10 bags. 

$33 / 96 bags comes to $0.34/bag. Sometimes they have a 10% off coupon on the site, which takes another 3 cents off, if it applies to this item. (The coupon code won't work for pre-sized chamber bags.)

Now, they sell a box of 500 8x10 chamber bags for $31, but shipping brings it to $44.45. That comes out to $0.09/bag. 

Smaller bags and bags bought in bigger quantities cost even less. Like I said, my 6x10 bags were about four cents each, shipped cost. 

horseflesh

Little Steven said:

What make and model did you get. I opted for the dry piston just based on the price. Mine gets used daily and I was told that it will last many years. Hope that is true

Your dry pump should serve you well, though as I understand it you need to take care not to boil the things you seal, and introduce moisture to the pump. The oil-filled pump shrugs that off, which is one of the reasons I decided to save my pennies for one.

I got the Minipack MVS-35XP. It was a custom order from BigTray--they left out the printer. That saved a BUNCH of money. I paid WAY WAY WAY LESS than the Polyscience price, and I will be happy to share the details with anyone who wants to know. 

The Minipack product lineup is complicated, and hardly anyone carries the 35XP... it isn't even on their official web site! However, I believe it's one of the best values in a chamber sealer for the enthusiast home cook.

My unboxing photos: http://imgur.com/a/qgmwN