I have a hankering for a 15" vacuum sealer.

[realdocBBQ]

Currently using an Avid Armor, and I'm pretty happy with it overall. It was cheap, like $30. I'll keep it for use with smaller stuff, I love using Wevac 8" premade bags and can do a ton of stuff with it - and it double seals automatically, which I love.

But doing LARGER cuts, like especially pork bellies, I can barely fit them in the 11" bags, and last night bagging up a bone-in Berkshire pork belly to be used for L&L-style Bacon Ribs, It was quite an effort to get them in the bag, and then ended up having to double bag anyways, as the bones we poking holes and breaking my seal. I know I should put some paper or something on them, but I wasn't sure if I should use parchment paper or wax paper or what, and eventually just shoved them in a second bag and it held ok.

But then I started looking for some 15" bag material, thinking I could seal it at an angle to make it work, and then started looking for actual 15" sealers...

Anyone got any suggestions? I'd like to get a chamber sealer, but they're just so bulky and large, I have enough huge tools for kitchen use - like my 142-pound meat slicer, lol.

So, anything out there in the 15" sealer range that isn't an arm and a leg and actually works well, like my little Avid Armor? And doing automatic double-seals would be a mega-bonus round win, too!

[Hulagn1971]

I bought this roll off Amazon last Christmas for a large bone in dry cured country ham. Worked perfectly. I have the same Avid Armor sealer.

https://www.foodsaver.com/shop/vacuum-seal-bags-rolls/vacuum-seal-rolls/expandable-rolls/foodsaver-11-x-16-expandable-vacuum-seal-roll/SAP_2159418.html

[texastweeter]

If you are talking about the appliance itself, I switched to LEM a couple years ago and love it.

[realdocBBQ]

I looked through their lineup - to get to a 14" or higher size, it looks like $350-600. Just not prepared to drop that kinda coin on this just yet. <sigh>

[texastweeter]

You can often get factory refurbished ones at a steep discount. My smaller dehydrator was like that, and its as good as brand new.

[realdocBBQ]

I've been a holdout on the 'Vevor' stuff for the most part (though I do have one set of their pipe stands), but I'm looking at this one and it looks like it ticks all the boxes.

https://amzn.to/4cEh8qK

I mean, it does double seals, 15" bags, etc. It looks like it's a big beast, yes, though. And at around $200, it's not a small investment, but...


Ooooh I just looked at the reviews. I think we all know that POSITIVE reviews on Amazon are pretty much unreliable. But in my experience, looking at negatives, if I see more than 6-7% or so 1-star reviews, that's a bit of a warning sign. It depends on the product, some things, I see one stars that obviously aren't the fault of the product, and there IS a certain amount of expected failure points depending on what it is.

But this thing has like 12% 1-star reviews, mostly about it working and breaking relatively quickly, and a total of 23% are 3-star or below. That's a warning sign to me.

So, I'll keep thinking about it. But don't wanna spend $200 on something nearly 1/4 of the purchasers are not happy with.

[cruiseplanner1]

Excellent research on your part. I like your percentile theory on reviews

[JGo37]

Parchment versus Wax Paper - just get a big roll of Butcher's Paper from Amazon.

[realdocBBQ]

Yeah I've got that, too.

[cruiseplanner1]

I bought that same roll last fall getting ready for this year's smoking. We don't smoke here from November on.

[tstalafuse]

I bought one by PrimalTek on Amazon that has worked really well. The only odd thing is they only sell precut 15in bags, so I use fresh vac bags to get them in rolls. The Weston is also highly regarded and can easily be “fixed” if something goes out, but again they don’t sell the 15in bags.

[briano52]

I have been using Vac Sealers for 30+ years. They allow you to save leftovers, buy in bulk and preserve fresh fish for a week or two. Best, they let you freeze food with no chance of freezer burn for 9 months or more.

Started with a Food Saver. Went through several Costco specials. A couple of years ago I settled on a Weston 15" model. More expensive than the cheapies but it has been performing very well. It is in the semi-pro category. I am very happy with it and would buy again.

[texastweeter]

The amount of wild game we process would probably biggle most people's minds. I am an all LEM man myself, but yes Weston is probably their biggest competitor. I have LEM grinder, sausage stuffer, mixer, dehydrator, and vac sealer.

[Manxman]

My previous Polyscience 300 chamber vacuum sealer gave up the ghost recently and I was determined to move from a 12 inch / 30 cm seal length to a 15 inch / 40 cm complete with double seal for the larger cuts of meat.

Although retired from the UK Health Service I still go back and do locum work occasionally and typically use the bonus £££ / $$$ towards something specific usually either boat or BBQ / grill related. Just bought this, cant really justify it but sometimes a man / woman just has to do what a man / woman has to do! I have spent hours playing around vacuum sealing everything under the sun to the extent our Jack Russel is now giving me worried sideways glances!

Joking apart the extra couple of inches makes all the difference and as yet I haven't had one seal failure .

[fzxdoc]

Wow, that's quite the beast you have there, Manxman , especially since it can handle bags in the size range of 15x17inches or so(?). I bet you can seal bags larger than that outside the unit (using the textured vac seal bags, of course) as well.

What does it weigh?

Congrats on treating yourself to that vac sealer. It looks like a great choice.

Kathryn

[Manxman]

It is big and heavy, weighs in at 45 kg / 100 lbs and given I live on an "offshore island" midway between England and Ireland fortunately the shipper waived the £200 / $270 shipping fee ! I have found a spot in the garage to set it up, it would take over the kitchen and they are quite noisy!

Yes bag size up to around 15 x 17 inch. :-)

[realdocBBQ]

I'm looking at this one, anyone have any experience with it?

https://avidarmor.com/products/avid-armor-a420xl-vacuum-sealer-seal-two-bags-at-once-with-16-extra-wide-seal-bar-fits-50-ft-rolls-food-saver-for-bulk-storage-sous-vide-marinating

Avid Armor A420XL Vacuum Sealer – Seal Two Bags at Once with 16" Extra-Wide Seal Bar, Fits 50 ft Rolls

It sells for $250 right now on Avid Armor's site, and I have a $20 off coupon for signing up with them, not sure what shipping is. But with Amazon, it's $379! Wow. Definitely better to buy direct from AA.

I have had good luck with the AA I have, I've been pleased with it, even though it was their cheap cheap model. It does do double seals, which I like. However, I think this A420XL does NOT double seal, though in some places it says "Extra wide seal" or "Double strength seal". Not the greatest reviews on Amazon, around 13% 1-star, which is above my usual cutoff.


Ehhh.... shiesse. I think I've talked myself out of it. For nearly $300, yes it has a 16" seal bar, but I just don't feel confident in the quality with the poor reviews. One guy posted a video of it not suctioning, he said later on an update they sent him another one and it did the same thing. <sigh>

I really don't want a chamber sealer. They're nice, but it doesn't solve my main problem, which is wanting to use the WIDE rolls, plus it is a large bulky appliance that takes up MORE space I don't have, since I have so much stuff already.

So, I'm still looking - for a 15"/16" good quality unit that hopefully will ALSO do double seals like my smaller AA unit.

[Jerod Broussard]

What does LEM have? I have the MaxVac 500. The little beef jerky facility I go to has a chamber sealer but they use really small bags and they can line multiple bags inside the chamber.

[Panhead John]

https://www.meatyourmaker.com/preserve/food-sealer/vacuum-sealers/16-external-vacuum-sealer/1159180.html?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=17924012116&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17338970599&gbraid=0AAAAACendNNKH1hYrmuR1iS5CvM0Rcg8C

[realdocBBQ]

Yeah, I've looked at LEM and Weston options, gotta step up to the $450-650 options and really get into the commercial type units, it seems like. At least in order to avoid the poor reviews of the larger consumer-style ones. I think that's the direction I'm going to have to go (eventually).

PJ has a good point, though... I know I've seen several people on the sausage/bacon groups talk about their MEAT! sealers - I'm going to have to go back and look into those. We do use a 1HP MEAT! grinder and it's a great machine.

One thing I'll have to look into is repair/rebuildability. I thing the LEM/Weston units I can get parts for to replace things like the heating strips, etc. I've NOT read good things about the repair and parts availability of MEAT! products. So I'll need to look into that.

But that is a good price on that one. I'll need to do some more research...

[realdocBBQ]

Here's some things I've found so far:

Weston:
Pro-2100 15” 935W, no fan - $463 (unk warranty)
Pro-2600 15” 935W, fan cooled, stainless - $475 (2yr limited warranty)
Pro-3000 15”, 1020W, fan cooled, stainless - $629 (5yr limited warranty)


LEM:
LEM MAXVAC 500 14”, 462W, no fan - $400 (2yr warranty)
LEM MaxVac 1000 14”, 880W, no fan - $640 (5yr warranty)

MEAT!:
MEAT! 16”, unk power, cooling fan - $263 (Limited Lifetime Warranty)

Some additional info from Gemini AI


Heavy-Duty Vacuum Sealer Comparison

	Weston Pro-2100	Weston Pro-2600	Weston Pro-3000	LEM MaxVac 500	LEM MaxVac 1000	MEAT! 16" External
Seal Bar Length	Seal Bar Length 15 Inches	Seal Bar Length 15 Inches	Seal Bar Length 15 Inches	Seal Bar Length 14 Inches	Seal Bar Length 14 Inches	Seal Bar Length 16 Inches
Power (Watts)	Power (Watts) 935W	Power (Watts) 935W	Power (Watts) 1,020W	Power (Watts) 462W	Power (Watts) 880W	Power (Watts) 500W
Cooling Fan	Cooling Fan No	Cooling Fan Yes	Cooling Fan Yes	Cooling Fan No	Cooling Fan No	Cooling Fan Yes
Housing Material	Housing Material White Powder-Coated Steel	Housing Material Stainless Steel	Housing Material Stainless Steel	Housing Material Stainless Steel / ABS	Housing Material Stainless Steel	Housing Material Polycarbonate / Stainless Accents
Warranty	Warranty 1-Year Limited	Warranty 2-Year Limited	Warranty 5-Year Limited	Warranty 2-Year	Warranty 5-Year	Warranty Limited Lifetime

Key Takeaways for Big Volume Processing

• Continuous Batching: If you process large quantities of meat or food at one time, avoid the Pro-2100 and both LEM models, as they lack internal cooling fans and will require cool-down periods to prevent melting bags or overheating the heat bar.
• The Budget Value Pick: The MEAT! 16" External Vacuum Sealer stands out significantly on paper. It offers the largest seal bar (16 inches) for handling wide primal cuts or multi-bag sealing, features a cooling fan, and comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty at a much lower price point ($263).
• The Heavy Raw Power Picks: The Weston Pro-2600 and Pro-3000 carry massive wattage (935W–1020W). This gives them incredibly fast cycle times and extreme vacuum pressure, pulling a tight seal very quickly, which is highly efficient when working through massive hauls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interesting stuff there. The LEM and Weston appear to be user serviceable with parts available to replace the seal bar, etc. MEAT! stuff doesn't seem to be, as far as I know - yet. Their customer service answers to questions on the website indicate they do not sell replacement parts. Also, interestingly, it doesn't seem as if the MEAT! unit has a locking seal bar - you have to hold it down until it pulls suction, then it holds itself. Honestly, this seems stupid. Even my $35 (sale/clearance price) Avid Armor unit has a locking bar.

[realdocBBQ]

Another note about the LEM.

14" seal bars - I don't see many 14" rolls of bag material on Amazon. LEM sells their own - for $1 per linear FOOT. OUCH.

But LEM does sell Mylar bags, which makes me think their machines are ok to use Mylar. One question I saw on the MEAT! site, someone asked and they specifically recommend NOT using Mylar bags.


But most of the larger rolls of material are 15". I saw one of 13" on Amazon, unknown quality. 14" seems a non-standard size, and somewhat limiting, as well as their lack of a fan on either unit. However, in looking at them, they do seem to have large vents which must help in cooling. Not sure their recommendation yet on time between seals. MEAT! recommends "20 to 45 seconds in between" sealing attempts. Ouch. That seriously sucks, honestly.

[realdocBBQ]

Interesting. I like the Weston units best, I think. Their flagship is $630, but it has an actual 16" bar for 15" bags, locking, CLEAR LID which is a nice touch for eyeballing bags before sealing... I really like that.

AND, I found it on MartExplore for under $500 before tax with the 5% Memorial Day coupon. Interesting... wonder how irked The Wife will be at me?

[Jerod Broussard]

Just tell her if she got a problem with it to go see a doctor.

[realdocBBQ]

Jerod Broussard... I'm already in the doghouse after yesterday.



Apparently working on my home theater and playing sine waves with 10Hz tones at 108dB is... frowned upon.

Who knew???

[Jerod Broussard]

Break out the ELF (Extremely Low Frequencies) and she'll call 811.