Vacuum Sealers revisited

[old sarge]

Hello SI Family - The old machine, Food Savor Pro, has died. Was looking at chamber sealers but walked that back to the more ordinary variety.  Toss up between the Vacmaster 380 and the Weston 2300 but also considering their smaller siblings.  Opinions?  Experience?  And thanks to one and all.  Dave

https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/65-0201.html
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/west-65-0601-w.html
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ary-876380.html
https://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ary-876350.html

 

[NDKoze]

I know you said that you have walked back from the Chamber sealers. But, I will say that I am 100% happy that I went with the VacMaster VP215 and would do it again in a heartbeat.

The ability to seal liquids, canning jars, WAY cheaper bags, all have me convinced that many people who regularly use their vacuum sealer can justify the extra cost of the VP215.

That being said, I have had some experience with the VacMaster 350 which is a very similar machine to the 380 and have found it to be a very Heavy Duty well-made unit that is great because most if not all of the parts are readily available for order should you ever need to replace for example a seal gasket or something like that. The ability to choose the length of the vacuum as well as the seal is very important for those that do repeat sealing which eliminates the need to let your seal bar cool down when you are doing a large number of vac seals in a row. But, the 350 has now been relegated to only being used for long items such as ribs and briskets that do not fit in the chamber sealer.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Koze

 

[old sarge]

Thanks Koze.  Still pondering this.  I have a fair amount of bags and a roll or two that I want to use. I tried to justify the cost of the chamber vac but we just don't do much that would need the liquid capability.  Sauces and broth we just zip lock and lay flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Works well for us. But I have not kicked it to the curb yet.  Thanks for your insight.  Greatly appreciated. 

 

[Limey]

I too am very happy with my Vacmaster 350. If I need to vacuum pack liquids or proteins with lots of fluids I simply stand the bag upright in the freezer until the liquid is frozen and then vacuum pack it.

 

[NDKoze]

FYI, you can use your suction style bags with chamber sealers in addition to the specific Chamber Sealer bags.

 

[old sarge]

That I was not aware of.  Thanks.

 

[old sarge]

Took the plunge and against all advice here and elsewhere, ordered a LEM 1088A. I did not consider the lack of a dual piston pump to be a liability. LEM had it on sale plus signing up for emails and a catalog netted an additional 10% off. Very few reviews. But for me the strongest selling point was the 5 year warranty. We shall see in a few weeks if it is a diamond in the rough or just ordinary anthracite.

 

[EFGM]

I think you made a good choice and it will serve you well for years to come!

 

[old sarge]

I certainly hope so. Very little information on this vac sealer.  It doesn't pull as much mercury (24Hg) as the Weston 2300 (28) or the Vacmaster  380 (27.5Hg) but that should not affect the quality of the vacuum and the resulting seal.  At my altitude of 4600 ft, the vacuum will drop some but hopefully not much.  Time will tell.

 

[EFGM]

It had great reviews on Amazon, not a large number but good.

 

[old sarge]

I put the MaxVac1088A through its paces in preparing for the annual feast.  We roast a lot of root vegetables and squash and rather than prepare the day of the event, decided to get it all done prior and vac seal.  I have a lot of sealed produce now, ready to use.  This sealer is impressive.  Very quick and a very tight seal.  And pretty quiet. And I was able to use my left over Food Saver bags without a hitch.  Overall, I am extremely pleased with this machine.  Well worth the price.