What are the best vacuum sealers for the money?

[Bo2103]

I am also tired of food saver vacuum sealers. Maybe it’s the bag material but nothing seems to last...
frustrating when good venison isn’t holding up after 2 months in chest freezer.

It’s the bags. The sealer pulls the air and seal and don’t need a commercial grade for that simple process. I have noticed some bags don’t even seal at times because there garbage.

 

[Huntfish53]

My food saver has been solid


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[william schmaltz]

I grew up working in a butcher shop. First job at age 4 was washing the kill floor, second job at age 5 was operating the chamber vac. I personally don’t see a need for a chamber vac in my life. I unfortunately just don’t kill enough stuff to justify it. On top of that, I don’t have a place to store it where I do my processing so I don’t want to have to move it or meat around to use it.

We've had a couple food savers over the last few years and blew them both up. That includes the "top of the line" model. I went with a VacMaster 380 pro last winter. It had plenty of guts to do a moose in a day, 150 sockeye after a weekend of dip netting, and 250+ lbs of fish one evening after a day on the saltwater. It has an 18 inch bar so we can do two packs at a time if needed and it’s cooled by a fan. The only way a chamber sealer would’ve been more effective is if it was one that has room for 4 bags. I do whole bear hams, large packs (~12lbs) of deboned meat, and broth with mine too. It’s perfect for what little I’m doing. Maybe some day when the kids are older and we can get 500lbs of Fish a weekend and a couple moose a year we can justify a chamber! But for now there I don't see a need for it. Someone mentioned the similar Wesson one. From what I can tell, they're about the same quality and power. I went with the VacMaster over the Wesson because from what I read the few people that had issue were able to get parts directly and do an easy fix on their own.

 

[bsnedeker]

I grew up working in a butcher shop. First job at age 4 was washing the kill floor, second job at age 5 was operating the chamber vac. I personally don’t see a need for a chamber vac in my life. I unfortunately just don’t kill enough stuff to justify it. On top of that, I don’t have a place to store it where I do my processing so I don’t want to have to move it or meat around to use it.

We've had a couple food savers over the last few years and blew them both up. That includes the "top of the line" model. I went with a VacMaster 380 pro last winter. It had plenty of guts to do a moose in a day, 150 sockeye after a weekend of dip netting, and 250+ lbs of fish one evening after a day on the saltwater. It has an 18 inch bar so we can do two packs at a time if needed and it’s cooled by a fan. The only way a chamber sealer would’ve been more effective is if it was one that has room for 4 bags. I do whole bear hams, large packs (~12lbs) of deboned meat, and broth with mine too. It’s perfect for what little I’m doing. Maybe some day when the kids are older and we can get 500lbs of Fish a weekend and a couple moose a year we can justify a chamber! But for now there I don't see a need for it. Someone mentioned the similar Wesson one. From what I can tell, they're about the same quality and power. I went with the VacMaster over the Wesson because from what I read the few people that had issue were able to get parts directly and do an easy fix on their own.View attachment 249291

Sweet Maria, if YOU can't justify a chamber vac how in the hell am I going to convince the wife that I need one? You're killing me Smalls!

 

[h4everything]

I just picked up one of these. Haven't used it much but it had great reviews so I hope it works.

120W Vacuum Sealer Sealing Machine 110V Commercial Packing Machine 1~4pcs/min | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 120W Vacuum Sealer Sealing Machine 110V Commercial Packing Machine 1~4pcs/min at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Guys,

Used this to package 2 beef cows. It was mediocre at best. Wore out the metal sealer heat tape after less than 200 packages. We had to put 30 lb dumbell wrapped in a tool so it would hold a vacuum.

I will probably send this back and get a more expensive one.

 

[Michael54]

I went to 3 different butcher friends and they all had a weston pro2500 at their house so thats what i ordered. Now to wait for it to show up.

 

[sdfuller]

I am also tired of food saver vacuum sealers. Maybe it’s the bag material but nothing seems to last...
frustrating when good venison isn’t holding up after 2 months in chest freezer.

Sounds like you're getting a bad seal or there are pinhole leaks. What brand bags and machine are you using? Also if blood or any moisture gets in the seal area this can cause a bad seal which will leak. Usually leaving the bags out on the counter for 20-30 mins after sealing will show any leaks (loss of vacuum in bag).

 

[sdfuller]

It’s the bags. The sealer pulls the air and seal and don’t need a commercial grade for that simple process. I have noticed some bags don’t even seal at times because there garbage.

When using the machine continuously the seal bar can heat up and cause the bags to seal prematurely before reaching vacuum. Other issues are liquid in the seal area. Sometimes the bags are just crap.

What brand were you using?

 

[Runningwater]

FWIW this is what I got.

https://www.costco.com/maxvac-pro-chamber-vacuum-sealer-.product.100536866.html

The costco price is significantly below what Leman sells it for. Its been fantastic so far. That said, I can see picking up a wide non-chamber sealer to complement it. This only goes 10 inches wide, and 15 length for a bag. While that accommodates the lions share of duties, I can see having the need for a wider bag option at times. I'm not aware of any consumer level chamber vacs that are wider than 10. I think to get wider you are getting more into the $1500-$1700 range for a chamber.

 

[Pahunter1]

I have one from cabelas and have never been happy with it

 

[300ELK]

I have a Food Saver thats at least 10 years old. Have done multiple elk a year. Also we have been raisin meat chicken, do 25 a year. It has worked good, Like other guys have said need to let it cool back down give it a minute break Between cycles. Thats when I write on the bag so I know what inside

 

[UtahJimmy]

Just pulled the trigger on one of the costco MaxVac pro chamber sealers. Their inventory appears and disappears so finally got to order one. I've been using a WESTON brand vacuum sealer that has worked great. I've been careful about not using it for soups and liquids and have wanted a chamber sealer for a while but haven't wanted to spend a thousand bucks. The ones at Costco from LEM seem to get good reviews and this should work pretty well for sous vide and fish. I use the heck out of my Weston one and look forward to having one now for more liquid applications....

How is this working out for you?

My FS shit the bed after 6 seasons. Went back to Costco and bought the replacement: dud. Exchanged it: dud. Don't want to exchange it again, so leaning towards this chamber.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Reviving this thread. Does anyone have experience with an LEM MaxVac refurbished chamber sealer? Saving 300 seems nice, are these as good as a Vp215?

Refurbished MaxVac® Pro+ Chamber Vacuum Sealer | LEM Products

The LEM MaxVac® Pro+ Chamber Vacuum Sealer packages virtually everything, from meat to fish to liquids. With chamber sealing technology, you'll be able to increase the shelf-life of your home packaged perishables better than ever.

www.lemproducts.com

 

[UtahJimmy]

Reviving this thread. Does anyone have experience with an LEM MaxVac refurbished chamber sealer? Saving 300 seems nice, are these as good as a Vp215?

Refurbished MaxVac® Pro+ Chamber Vacuum Sealer | LEM Products

The LEM MaxVac® Pro+ Chamber Vacuum Sealer packages virtually everything, from meat to fish to liquids. With chamber sealing technology, you'll be able to increase the shelf-life of your home packaged perishables better than ever.

www.lemproducts.com

Costco has that unit for $600. That's what I ended up with and it's awesome! It's HEAVY though, and larger than I expected. But way better than the external bag units

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[Michael54]

Costco has that unit for $600. That's what I ended up with and it's awesome! It's HEAVY though, and larger than I expected. But way better than the external bag units

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I got a stainless steel utility cart for mine from sams. I keep the cases of bags on the shelf under it and can wheel it where ever i need it.

 

[Dogman-K]

We have had several Food Savers. The first 2 lasted only a couple of years but the last one has been running for over 5 years with no complaints. My son and I have run about 500 ducks and several hundred geese, 3 deer, about 100 doves through it. Additionally, we use it for left-overs and for freezing coffee beans that I buy in bulk. Maybe we got lucky or maybe the new ones are better than the earlier ones.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

We just bought a Lem MaxVac Pro from Costco, but we had to return it after we found that the vacuum wasn't effective enough. It sort of worked but would usually leave decent sized air pockets. Friends with the same model said it definitely wasn't working as well as theirs. Nice that Costco has a great return policy. The lady at the return counter remarked that they often see duds get returned. We rented a VacMaster 215 years ago and it did a fantastic job, but for the Costco price, we might roll the dice again on the Lem.

 

[RAPTOR]

We just bought a Lem MaxVac Pro from Costco, but we had to return it after we found that the vacuum wasn't effective enough. It sort of worked but would usually leave decent sized air pockets. Friends with the same model said it definitely wasn't working as well as theirs. Nice that Costco has a great return policy. The lady at the return counter remarked that they often see duds get returned. We rented a VacMaster 215 years ago and it did a fantastic job, but for the Costco price, we might roll the dice again on the Lem.

I'm looking at the LEM from costco as well. Hard for me to justify the $1100 for a VP215. Hope you just got a dud.