i saw these units too and was wondering the same thing. They look pretty much like the exact same units to me, but I have no definitive knowledge of any of the differences other than listed below:
My comments below are in regards to comparing the oil pump machines (as that is the one that I would recommend and have experience with).
I do like the double seal, but not sure that that would be a deal breaker if these other ones have 1 larger seal.
If you do get one, I would highly recommend getting the filler plates though, especially if you vacuum a lot of thin items as the filler plates will definitely let you use less time on each vacuum as they help reduce the amount of air that needs to be vacuumed out of the chamber.
Not sure if the cooling cycle would be a deal breaker either. However, it is nice to prevent you from pulling the bag off of the bar before the seal is cooled well enough to prevent damaging it while removing from the seal bar.
Couple of additional interesting differences that I found:
- The Vac-Pak-It is actually about 1" smaller in Width and Depth and almost 3" shorter in height.
- Vac-Pak-It shows more Amps/Watts/Voltage than the VacMaster - Amps: 8.33 vs 4.2 / Watts: 1000 vs 462 / Volts: 120 vs 110
All things being considered, I don't think that the Vak-Pak-It would be a "bad" choice at all.
But, considering the starting price point difference of $170, minus the cost of the filler plates, 75 bags, Cooling cycle, uses less power, and double seal, for me personally I would still get the VacMaster 215.
This is a long-term machine that has replaceable parts if necessary that if I keep this for 10+ years, the $17 per year difference would be worth it for me to have the unit made by the more established company.
My 2ยข for what it is worth.
