What are the best vacuum sealers for the money?

[akrdkill]

Just got an email on this thought someone would be interested in
View attachment 190197

I just picked one of these up....we vac-pak'd up some salmon the day it came in...easy to use & only weighs 25-30lbs....will do a 12' wide bag

 

[BPN_PNW]

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....

 

[Sanchez]

Another vote for the VP 215 (or a comparable chamber sealer). We do lots of elk and deer as well as halibut, tuna, salmon etc.. I use 4 mil bags which do not puncture easily and are cheap. The quality of my frozen product is far better than I could ever get with a suction style sealer or by hand wrapping.

Also for things like raspberries or mushrooms you can reduce the degree of vacuum in the chamber so you can seal them without crushing the product.

For another hundred bucks, I got a metal hand cart with a shelf for bags to wheel the sealer around.

 

[Longranginidaho]

LEM

 

[Marbles]

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

I have a Weason pro, they are great. For a good chamber sealer you easily need to spend over a grand. The Weaston will creat a seal where the food saver failed.

It also works well for liquids, you just have to manually start the seal.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

Another vote for the VP 215 (or a comparable chamber sealer). We do lots of elk and deer as well as halibut, tuna, salmon etc.. I use 4 mil bags which do not puncture easily and are cheap. The quality of my frozen product is far better than I could ever get with a suction style sealer or by hand wrapping.

Also for things like raspberries or mushrooms you can reduce the degree of vacuum in the chamber so you can seal them without crushing the product.

For another hundred bucks, I got a metal hand cart with a shelf for bags to wheel the sealer around.

Speaking of bags, what do you all use for sealing bags? Are there better brands than Food Saver and can they be interchanged with other products/sealers?

 

[Elkslayer67]

It would depend on the type of sealer you have. You can use the external sealer bags in a chamber vacuum but not chamber sealer bags with an external vacuum sealer. VacMaster sells both types.

VacMaster | Commercial & Industrial Vacuum Sealers

Shop high-quality vacuum sealers for commercial and industrial use. Preserve freshness and extend shelf life with our reliable vacuum sealing solutions.

www.vacmasterfresh.com

 

[Sanchez]

For my VP 215 I buy bags in orders of 1000 from a restaurants supply store. The two sizes that we use most are 8 X 10 inches 4 mil that cost $ 60 and 10 X 12 inches 4 mil that cost about $ 80 for a thousand.

Vacuum Sealer Bags in Bulk: Chamber, Rolls, & More (webstaurantstore.com)

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

Thank you gentlemen for the information.

 

[martensmax]

Have had my foodsaver for dam near ten years still going strong. Did 7 deer so far this year. I must of got lucky and got a goos one.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Have had my foodsaver for dam near ten years still going strong. Did 7 deer so far this year. I must of got lucky and got a goos one.

I got tired of keeping the seals wet.

 

[peterk123]

Following. I have not used a vacuum sealer for years because I blew through two in four years. I also found the bags to be expensive. I just wrap things in cellophane first and try to squeeze the air out, then use heavy duty butcher paper. Not an issue for the last ten years, but I also eat my meat within a year. I keep thinking about trying another sealer though. Pete

 

[T.R.]

I have a fish and game vacuum sealer from outrigger outdoors that I've been using for several months now. It hasn't caused any problem with vacuum sealing and what I really like is that it can run off a 12v battery or off a standard 110v wall outlet. Seems like every public fish cleaning station we go to doesn't have power, so my spare battery has saved me several times in the past month. They have pretty good prices on vacuum bags too. https://outriggeroutdoors.com/collections/fish-game-processing/products/fish-game-vacuum-sealer

 

[Michael54]

Anyone use the meat brand vacuum chamber sealers? They seem to be the maven of the meat processing industry and prices seem pretty good.

 

[TDL]

nesco vs-02. Under $100, My buddy's had one for years and we've put literally probably 15-20 elk and more deer than that through the thing. I bought one a couple years ago and have put a couple elk and a handful of deer through it. Works like new today. I've found meat in the bottom of the freezer older than I would like to admit, still ate fresh. I find it ridiculous to spend $1000 on something like this. Maybe I'm missing something, I'm not using it every day, but we use it for more than hunting season. Sealing chicken when its on sale and what not.

 

[sdfuller]

I'm the engineering manager at the company that manufactures the FoodSaver product. Our quality lab has just about every single FoodSaver machine ever made. I highly recommend the FM2000. I've tried the fancier ones but this thing has been bulletproof for me and our QA lab has run countless bags through them.

However, if you have the money for a chamber machine the bags are significantly cheaper and allows you to seal liquids. The downside is obviously the upfront cost and the amount of space they take up. We have a couple chamber machines in the lab and the Weston is by far my favorite. I have not tested everything out there though.

I haven't taken the time to calculate the number of bags to breakeven for a chamber machine vs FoodSaver since I don't have to pay for bags. I would think a chamber machine makes sense for someone who is processing a couple hundred pounds of meat per year. If you're only shooting 1-2 animals per year a FoodSaver is probably the way to go.


If you guys have any questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[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

 

[Elkslayer67]

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

Awesome price if it works. Let us know. I am always skeptical of really low prices.

 

[Bo2103]

My food saver has been going for 10+ years.

 

[firewoodwolf]

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.