What are the best vacuum sealers for the money?

[ramses342]

I am curious if people have any recommendations as to good bang for your buck vacuum sealers? Me and my wife have a cheap one I got from my parents which does not work very well at all, and produces a pretty weak seal. My buddy has the 1000 dollar Vacmaster VP215 which I absolutely love but its a little to big for me to borrow all the time. I am curious if people have recommendations I am not looking to spend any more than 400 dollars, we do use it quite a bit we salmon and halibut fish quite a lot.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Unfortunately, you will not find a “good” vacuum sealer for under $400. The Foodsaver’s will work for a little while, but they will quickly fail if you’re doing up a fair amount of sealing. If you want a sealer that will last and vacuum/seal like they’re supposed to, you’ll have to spend the money. At least that’s been my experience.


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[MtnMuley]

Save another $600 and buy the VP215. In the long run, you won't regret it.

 

[Rhinoblake]

Following this. I am in the market. Thanks guys.

 

[menhaden_man]

Save another $600 and buy the VP215. In the long run, you won't regret it.

I'm following too... crush more fish than the average guy by a fair margin and the foodsaver is not for killers.

MtnMuley, I'm interested in your suggestion. Typically drop a few hundred lbs of tuna at the coastal shop for packing at a couple bucks a pound, and do a couple hundred rockfish, salmon, and freshwater fish at my own place while my wife is all in my ear piece. Have always wrapped my red meat in freezer paper with a LEM burger wrap, though like the idea of vacuum seals on the sweet meat.

A solid testimony will make me a customer!

 

[EasilyExcited]

The vacmaster is awesome. I'm a cheap ass and got tired of vac sealers and got the vp215. It will vacuum a bag so tight jerky will poke holes in the bags if I dont buy the thicker bags.

 

[Brendan]

I have a Vacmaster VP112 which I love. The thing is damn big and heavy though. Probably weighs 40 pounds and almost hangs off the front of the kitchen counter when I use it.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I too got tired of the food saver disposable sealers...went with a weston 2300 pro last year. I think it's a good middle of the road sealer for the money and you can order replacement parts. Last year it did 2 tails, an elk, an antelope, couple hogs, turkeys, ducks and a wide range of fish. No issues. YMMV

 

[sndmn11]

I'm following too... crush more fish than the average guy by a fair margin and the foodsaver is not for killers.

MtnMuley, I'm interested in your suggestion. Typically drop a few hundred lbs of tuna at the coastal shop for packing at a couple bucks a pound, and do a couple hundred rockfish, salmon, and freshwater fish at my own place while my wife is all in my ear piece. Have always wrapped my red meat in freezer paper with a LEM burger wrap, though like the idea of vacuum seals on the sweet meat.

A solid testimony will make me a customer!

I bought myself the LEM chamber sealer for Christmas and have a few hundred seals already. It allowed me to buy 7 or 8 full NY and Rib roasts at $5/lb and cut them up into steaks. I figured I saved $5/lb plus there. I use it for leftovers and tossed all of the crappy tupperware that has accumulated over the years. It also allows us to buy bulk chicken breasts and seal individually since my wife likes those for lunch. That saves a few dollars per pound. I had questions about it after getting it and when I called in I got fantastic help from a young lady who actually knew the product. I chose it over the Weston and Vacmaster similar versions because it has a 5 year warranty and a good sized chamber/sealing bar. https://www.lemproducts.com/product/maxvac-pro-chamber-sealer/maxvac-vacuum-sealers

 

[SwampBone]

Check out the LEM Max vac series. I have a version of the 1000 and it’s been working great for 4 or 5 years now.

 

[danarnold]

we have a 10 yo cabelas heavy duty that has been great, step dad has the vacmaster chamber style that they use daily and is badass but they have a dedicated area in the laundry room off the kitchen, we dont have a spot for one and its pro more than 40# which makes it a pain...gotta be easy to use to justify, he got his before the china tariffs that drove price from 800-1k
my .02 save your 400 or try to find a quality unit on CL for a good price

 

[KChunter71]

Vp215 can’t recommend any else. Tossed the others in the trash. The end product was worth the extra spent for me.

 

[Dos Perros]

I've had a Foodsaver for 5 years and put up a half dozen animals, deer and elk, and it still works like the day I bought it. Lucky?

 

[ramses342]

I've had a Foodsaver for 5 years and put up a half dozen animals, deer and elk, and it still works like the day I bought it. Lucky?

When I used my Foodsaver I have to make sure the fish is super, super dry which is not the end of the world but a bit of a pain. My buddy with the VP215 just seemed to rinse the fillet and throw it right in the vacuum sealer. I have done bear and deer in the foodsaver and it seemed to seal a lot better and work better for that then it does on fish for some reason.

 

[The Real SG]

vacmaster pro 350 is awesome. Have sealed over 500 bags and no problems. great customer support too, if you ever break anything they will ship you the part and talk you through replacing it on your own.

 

[MtnMuley]

I'm following too... crush more fish than the average guy by a fair margin and the foodsaver is not for killers.

MtnMuley, I'm interested in your suggestion. Typically drop a few hundred lbs of tuna at the coastal shop for packing at a couple bucks a pound, and do a couple hundred rockfish, salmon, and freshwater fish at my own place while my wife is all in my ear piece. Have always wrapped my red meat in freezer paper with a LEM burger wrap, though like the idea of vacuum seals on the sweet meat.

A solid testimony will make me a customer!

Well, I'm not getting any kickbacks from Vacmaster, so I'm not sure my testimony is up to par, but if you are processing as much fish as is sounds like, I will guarantee you won't be disappointed in the VP215. I've wrapped and double wrapped much of the wild game and fish over the years in freezer paper with good results, but have literally switched to vacuum packing nearly 100% these days with the VP215. Burger and sausage comes out amazing flattened out in the 6"x10". Fills the freezer with zero wasted space too. Buy one and prove me wrong......LOL

 

[EasilyExcited]

flattening them out is perfect ! also using a sausage stuffer with the biggest nozzle to squirt it into the bags makes 0 mess !

 

[Huntingbob]

I have not had a problem with my Foodsaver Vacuum sealers so far. The first one I bought about 10 years ago still works like a champ I have up-graded to a newer model with the bag or roll compartment in the top and it works like a champ. The older one did two Moose and other stuff too! Having said that if I had the money I would buy a chamber sealer so you can seal up liquids as well as solids.

 

[88man]

Im very happy with my weston. It has packed tons of meat

 

[jwasbullfrog]

Another vote for VP215. We upgraded a few years ago and it has paid for itself. My wife has almost completely quit canning and we freeze everything. Meat, fish, veggies, even sauces. That thing is amazing.