Food saver vaccume sealers? Anything better?

jtcBoynton

84 pounds plus packaging.

YukonRon

Got a Food Saver from Costco, burned up the first one in 1 yr. Took it back, got another replacement for free, no issues. Does a great job.

Canugghead

@GlennM the beast is 84lb! you have pm.

mlc2013

maybe you guys can chime in im looking at a chamber vacuum as well and I have it narrowed down to the Weston PRO-2500, LEM maxvac Pro+, VacMaster VP215. Any recommendations or warnings on above units or any suggestions on a different unit would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry to jump on this thread figured it would be better then starting nother

Canugghead

@mlc2013
warranty: vp215 1 yr, LEM 2 or 5 yr?, Weston 2 yr.
max bag size: vp215 10x13", LEM 10x15", Weston 12x14"

One important consideration for me was oil pump vs. dry piston pump. Oil pump is considered better.

vp215
spec says 1/4 HP rotary oil pump. Owner's manual has reminder to perform oil change as part of maintenance.

LEM 
Warranty info is confusing, first link says 5 yr, second link (owner's manual) says 2 yr.
Has no specs on pump, I deduce it's an oil pump because setup info mentions adding oil.  No mention of oil change! 
http://www.lemproducts.com/product/maxvac-pro-plus-chamber-sealer/vacuum-sealers-bags
http://cdn.lemproducts.com/downloads/1250%20Warranty%20Manual.pdf 

Weston
No mention of pump type.  Answer to one of the questions in the link claims "maintenance free", I guess that means dry piston pump?
https://www.waltonsinc.com/weston-pro-2500-chamber-vacuum-sealer

Not sure if I've helped in any way 

mlc2013

Canugghead said:

yes you did ty

baychilla

GlennM said:

We are vacationing in Florida until Apr. I saw that price and that’s what prompted my search for the Canadian price. I could buy it here but it may be too heavy for the plane?

The shipping weight is 116lbs, the item itself for the 215 is 84lbs.  Looks like it'd be an extra charge to fly it back.

The VacMaster 112c is shipped @ 58.4 and has a unit weight of 40.

The VacMaster 112s is shipped and has a unit weight of 57lbs which doesn't make sense.

It seems they make a "crossover" vacuum sealer:
https://www.amazon.com/VacMaster-Suction-Chamber-Ultimate-Machine/dp/B00WAJJDB6/ref=pd_sbs_79_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00WAJJDB6&pd_rd_r=YZ5YW8SET8JSEXNZF2EG&pd_rd_w=GDUaN&pd_rd_wg=cBVj4&psc=1&refRID=YZ5YW8SET8JSEXNZF2EG

DoubleEgger

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

lkapigian

DoubleEgger said:

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

I'm really going to have to look @ that bag price- I was given a food saver XMAS 2016 with Extra Bas ( rolls) I used that thing pretty regular for a year and just on my last roll, I am afraid to look @ the bags

Carolina Q

You can buy 1000 11x16" bags from foodvacbags.com for $265 and you don't have to fool with cutting a roll and sealing the cut end. It's not $78, but it's a far cry from $625!

HeavyG

DoubleEgger said:

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

I guess if I was vac bagging lots of stuff every day the price of bags would be an issue.

I can buy gallon size bags (11x14) for  about $250 for 1200 bags for my non-chamber vac. That's likely a lifetime supply for me so the higher price over the chamber vac bags isn't much of an issue in my case.

Photo Egg

I looked at a chamber sealer and really thought I wanted one.
But I just don't do enough liquids to make it a benefit. I opted for VacMaster instead that could handle the larger bag size as well as vacuum containers.
For me, being able to use the larger bag size was more important.
I vac sealed a rifle. Put that in a chamber vac...lol
The other thing I did not like about chamber sealers was that the Vac process actually heats up the food.

This is a solid unit as is the standard size version.
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ary-876380.html

little cheaper here and probably other places as well.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-pro-380-external-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-16-seal-bar/120VMA380.html

lkapigian

Photo Egg said:

I looked at a chamber sealer and really thought I wanted one.
But I just don't do enough liquids to make it a benefit. I opted for VacMaster instead that could handle the larger bag size as well as vacuum containers.
For me, being able to use the larger bag size was more important.
I vac sealed a rifle. Put that in a chamber vac...lol
The other thing I did not like about chamber sealers was that the Vac process actually heats up the food.

This is a solid unit as is the standard size version.
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ary-876380.html

little cheaper here and probably other places as well.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-pro-380-external-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-16-seal-bar/120VMA380.html

Looks like a solid built unit

Carolina Q

Photo Egg said:

I looked at a chamber sealer and really thought I wanted one.
But I just don't do enough liquids to make it a benefit. I opted for VacMaster instead that could handle the larger bag size as well as vacuum containers.
For me, being able to use the larger bag size was more important.
I vac sealed a rifle. Put that in a chamber vac...lol
The other thing I did not like about chamber sealers was that the Vac process actually heats up the food.

This is a solid unit as is the standard size version.
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ary-876380.html

little cheaper here and probably other places as well.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-pro-380-external-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-16-seal-bar/120VMA380.html

The other nice feature I recall you mentioning to me was that there's a warp drive button that lets it continue to suck when most machines would be finished and ready to seal. Often wondered if that would prevent bags from floating in a water bath. 

We probably don't need to know why you sealed a rifle.

Photo Egg

Carolina Q said:

Photo Egg said:

We probably don't need to know why you sealed a rifle.

Funny...I have an old rifle that has been in the family for some time.
It's not worth much except to me. All Coastal areas are not made equal.
Everything rusts like crazy here. Tools in a tool box will rust.lol
So I cleaned up the rifle, oiled it good and sealed it up.
I seal up lots of metal parts and important papers. Hey, we have been know to get high water. I seal up my little tool kit I keep under my motor cycle seat. Camera gear and computer hard drives also.
Funny to lots of people and I get it. But my sealer earned a place in my house.
Yes, it does have an extended vac but it's a beast on normal settings.

baychilla

If one were to make jams/preserves would a chamber sealer be safe to use for long term storage in canning jar - or is the old school water bath a safer way to go?

HeavyG

baychilla said:

If one were to make jams/preserves would a chamber sealer be safe to use for long term storage in canning jar - or is the old school water bath a safer way to go?

Canning sterilizes. Vacuum sealing just sucks out air. Not the same thing.

dsrguns

DoubleEgger said:

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

DoubleEgger said:

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

DoubleEgger said:

dsrguns said:

lkapigian said:

I have 0 issues with my Food Saver and it is a workhorse. That being said when I get another, it will be a Chamber Sealer

When my food saver took a crap I upgraded to a chamber vac. It is a beast and the bags are 1/10th of the cost of food saver bags. The unit is quite large and heavy though. If it weren’t for cashing in credit card points the price would have made it a tough sell to SWMBO.

That’s really nice. I like how well it does liquids.  I looked it up and you can buy 1000 10x12 bags for $78. It would cost about $625 to buy Foodsaver rolls to make the 1000 bags. That basically pays for the unit. 

Sealing liquids is a nice ability. Whenever I make soups or chili, I always double up and vacuum seal batches for quick fixes later. It can continuously seal bags and not overheat as some vacuum sealers do. Of course I can't vacuum seal my guns...at least not my long guns, I use ZCORR mylar bags for those if needed.

TN_Voleggteer

I have a FoodSaver and have had good luck with it.  Costco has some great deals on combo packs of rolls and individual cut bags.  I find I use the quart bags most often. 

GlennM

Has anyone used a duo550?  That seems like a nice machine

55drum

I bought 3000 4 ply bags in three different sizes for $211.00