Help needed - picking a Vacuum Sealer

[hammer4reel]

18 minutes ago, Lunatic said:

I don't think anyone is bashing anything. Exchanging ideas and disagreeing makes you see the entire picture.

Yep , just like these two tools . They both loosen nuts 

[Bucksnbows]

I burned out a Foodsaver in not too many years and we researched and replaced it with a Koios that has been great so far.  We buy meat and poultry in bulk and I seal fish and game with ours and I would put us between a low end user and a high end user in terms of usage per year.  I must admit not knowing anything about the chamber sealer, but for now, the Koios works just fine for our needs.  

[archer36]

There is NO one size fits all to people's needs. It is irresponsible to recommend a $1,000 sealer to a person that seals 30-4o bags a year. It is also irresponsible to recommend a "foodsaver" type device if he is sealing a thousand. It shouldn't be a pissing match as to the "best" but what best fits his needs. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by archer36

[bushden]

4 hours ago, archer36 said:

There is NO one size fits all to people's needs. It is irresponsible to recommend a $1,000 sealer to a person that seals 30-4o bags a year. It is also irresponsible to recommend a "foodsaver" type device if he is sealing a thousand. It shouldn't be a pissing match as to the "best" but what best fits his needs. 

Archer is right on target here, if you are just the average Joe doing a couple deer a year and some fish a $1000 sealer while certainly better than a food saver is overkill,  but if you  are butchering or doing a lot of deer or just have deep pockets go for the best.

Edited September 10, 2020 by bushden

[hammer4reel]

1 hour ago, archer36 said:

There is NO one size fits all to people's needs. It is irresponsible to recommend a $1,000 sealer to a person that seals 30-4o bags a year. It is also irresponsible to recommend a "foodsaver" type device if he is sealing a thousand. It shouldn't be a pissing match as to the "best" but what best fits his needs. 

Smaller less expensive chamber sealers out there was less than a grand.

 It's an investment you pay for once.

Any one thinking a good saver does the job of a chamber sealer has no clue what they are talking about.

No different than guys grinding with a kitchen aid .

My times worth more than the difference in the price .

 

[Hitemnasty]

It’s definitely not a one size fits all situation, the size difference between the two are quite significant. Food saver can basically fit in a drawer the chamber sealers need a closet, garage/basement or large pantry cabinet. 
 

I’ve been using the same foodsaver unit for about 6 years. Most electronic stuff has extended warranty plans like on Amazon for a extra ten bucks you know you’re getting at least four years out of it. 
 

You can easily thaw meat out in minutes in foodsaver bags also.  I do it just about every time. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by Hitemnasty

[Redman]

I use a foodsaver , present unit is 5 years old and I've had zero issues. I bulk shop for meat and vacuum pack it all. All fish and pheasant breasts the past 5 years also get packed. The bags can be expensive but I buy them on Amazon to cut costs. I've even vacuum packed cooked food to eat at a later date with success.

[Liv2hunt]

I use a food saver. Those other machines look great. All I do is venison, chicken and Taylor ham.. nothing stays in the freezer that long. So For my needs the foodsaver works perfect. 

[Lunatic]

On 9/9/2020 at 4:21 PM, hammer4reel said:

I went the more expensive route and saved a ton of money in the process .

Vacmaster 215 chamber sealer .

while it’s expensive to purchase , the savings on the bags pays for the machine over the course of 1 year .

food savers DONT even come close to removing the air and preservation a chamber sealer does .

bags cost pennies for a chamber sealer and I find I use it a few times a week .

They are now making lower priced chamber sealers.

another great part of chamber sealers is the ease it allows you to defrost from the freezer .

putting the sealed bag in warm water , 5 minutes the item is like it was never frozen .

majes eating out of the freezer fast and simple

@hammer4reelany smaller units worth looking at? 

[hammer4reel]

1 hour ago, Lunatic said:

@hammer4reelany smaller units worth looking at? 

https://www.thebest.io/category/best-chamber-vacuum-sealer?origin=google&google
 

Avid Armor USV32

I Still like my Vacmaster 215 best , but recently a few of us bought the Avid Armor , and it seems to work very well also .

 

Links to buy:

https://www.amazon.com/Avid-Armor-USV32-Liquid-Rich-Professional/dp/B07YLGRZFJ

https://www.amazon.com/VacMaster-VP215-Chamber-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B005ETDKEA

[CJ3a]

I would almost consider this one.

https://www.amazon.com/BestEquip-Machine-Commercial-Kitchen-Packaging/dp/B07Y47MKD8/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=chamber+vacuum+sealer&qid=1625691903&sprefix=chamber+&sr=8-16

[Greg]

I've had my foodsaver for a few years and surely got my money out of it, but am tired of its downfalls. Started looking at chamber vacs end of last year, getting some funds up and will have one this fall. We get our deer done at eleys so not so much for butchering but we buy in bulk so have to package up 80lbs of chicken at a time.

We also make our own spaghetti sauce/pasta sauce/ gravy what ever you wanna call it, as well as pizza sauce, marinara sauce, chili and so on. Now with the smoker we freeze tons of pulled pork, pulled beef, beef brisket, ribs and the list is almost endless.

 We have been freezing wet stuff in ziplock bags but want better, chamber vac is on the list.

Edited July 7, 2021 by Greg

[hammer4reel]

2 minutes ago, Greg said:

I've had my foodsaver for a few years and surely got my money out of it, but am tired of its downfalls. Started looking at chamber vacs end of last year, getting some funds up and will have one this fall. We get our deer done at eleys so not so much for butchering but we buy in bulk so have to package up 80lbs of chicken at a time.

We also make our own spaghetti sauce/pasta sauce/ gravy what ever you wanna call it, as well as pizza sauce, marinara sauce, chili and so on. Now with the smoker we freeze tons of pulled pork, pulled beef, beef brisket, ribs and the list is almost endless.

 We have been freezing wet stuff in ziplock bags but want better, chamber vac is on the list.

You will love it for everything especially wet foods .

being able to freeze sauces, soups  etc and having nice flat compact packages when they freeze .

IMO when storing bulk bought items is where these machines really shine as the bags only add pennies to the purchase price , food saver bags adds dollars to those savings .….

 

I have friends that recently bought them , and found same as me it’s the most used appliance in the kitchen 

[Booner]

2 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

You will love it for everything especially wet foods .

being able to freeze sauces, soups  etc and having nice flat compact packages when they freeze .

IMO when storing bulk bought items is where these machines really shine as the bags only add pennies to the purchase price , food saver bags adds dollars to those savings .….

 

I have friends that recently bought them , and found same as me it’s the most used appliance in the kitchen 

Friends 

[Booner]

I recently  purchased  the Avid Armor. I really wanted the vac master but I must contend with the better half. 

I choose the avid armor because of its size and good reviews. I needed something that I didn't have to use a fork lift to put away in case the Ole lady said I couldn't leave on the counter top. Well I won that battle. Since I purchased it, I've vacuum sealed a lot. Lots of fish n meat. Like Hammer said. Can't beat it for wet goods. I'm a huge soup guy. Make huge pots every Sunday all year long. I used to use Chinese food containers to freeze the soup. It took up so much room. So I sealed portion size bags of soup. Lay them flat in the freezer on top of each other. They freeze like a single piece of pizza. Freed up so much room. 

I definitely  recommend!!! And it really doesn't take up to much real estate.