I bit the bullet and used my stimulus funds to buy a new sealer. It’s a VP215. So far, I’m just getting it set up.
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Fed Up With FoodSaver Vacuum Sealers
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7136
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
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My wife helped me pull it out of the box and set it on the counter. She had a sore back for 2 days.
I sealed a couple of Tri-Tips 2 days ago and put them in the fridge at 34 degrees. The next day I pulled them out and they looked like spider webs. The myoglobin had spread thru the creases. I’m thinking I need to change a setting. It’s currently set a the factory recommended settings. Any ideas or is that normal?
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Randy-Phx Use the gauge, go to just the green, halfway through the green, etc. Figure out where it works best for you, or what you are sealing, then either set the time to match it, or hit the stop button when it gets there. When you do liquids watch it like a hawk. If it starts towards the opening, hit the stop button. With practice you'll learn how much suction which foods can take.
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Thanks God I read that before I order a foodsaver from a site with comparison of sealers. Their "experts" say it's a good model of sealers, but after reading this thread I'm not so sure. Now I think of nesko, but still I'm not sure. But fortunately now I know foodsavers are not good choice, thank you author for your review.
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I think this is one of the top threads on this forum. Ton's of good information here for anyone wanting to purchase a sealer.
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Agreed. Thanks to this thread I pulled out my wife's old foodsaver, found out it still works (yay!), and have now had to order more bags from one of the sites mentioned. My wife thinks there are worse things I could be enthralled by...
- 2 likes
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7136
-
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Dan Deter , in my experience the old FoodSaver vacuum units were amazing. I had one purchased in the late 90s that lasted for over 15 years of regular use. Then I flooded it with juice from corn cut off the cob and it died. After that, I began to go through the new crop of Food Saver machines at the rate of 2 or 3 a year. They'd work fine for a couple of months then die. FoodSaver replaced them under warranty but it became a real pain. After a couple of years of that I gave up and got the VacMaster Pro 350. So far so good with this new beast.
So hang on to that old generation Food Saver vacuum unit. It could last a few decades more.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; May 15, 2020, 05:42 AM.
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Club Member
- Sep 2019
- 2540
- Gainesville, FL
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I of course love smoked meats of all kinds, but also like quick cooks like chicken portions, pork tenderloins, steak and fish. Really into cooking of all kinds.
My outdoor kitchen has a Lone Star Grillz Adjustable and it is wonderful. There also is a Pit Boss 5 Burner Ultimate Griddle.
There is an outdoor fire pit that has grilling capability and limited Santa Maria-style grill raising and lowering.
BBQ Guru UltraQ
Anova Precision Cooker Nano
Being basically cheap at heart, I ordered the Geryon vacuum sealer. It arrived today, and I just froze half a pound or so of pork butt I smoked on Sunday. I got a good seal on the first try and I'll work to treat it with kid gloves to see if I can get several years out of it. I don't anticipate really heavy use, so there really was no way to justify the higher end units for my use.
And there's this $800 Breeo fire pit that I'm getting oh so close to ordering...
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I'm likely late to this party, but I have been using a VacMaster (the big one, forget the actual number) for several years now, without issue. I was concerned about the websturaunt store reviews, but pulled the trigger anyway and am very happy.
I buy bags buy the roll. The big 15" bags (slightly smaller than the heat strip) are great for brining large cuts for a while, such as briskets and pork butts, or several ribs worth of a roast.
I use smaller bags for 1-3 lb portions after the cook. Haven't sous vide much, but when I was messing with it, the bags held up fine. I triple seal.... just because. No Issues, just kinda OCD I guess.
I'll bag up maybe 3 pork butts or brisket at a time. At three seals per end when making my own bags, that is a lot of sealing.
What I really like is that it doesn't matter much where I set the vac pressure at, when I see juices starting to run towards the seal strip, I hit the seal button and it gets sealed before the juices get there. If I'm sealing fully cooled or chilled meat, then I set it high, and don't worry about juice.Last edited by journeymanjohn; June 10, 2020, 10:48 PM.
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I came close to getting that VacMaster Pro 380 like yours, but settled for the VacMaster Pro 350 because in all the years of using a vacuum sealer I've never needed a bag wider than 11 inches. So I let logic rule the decision instead of my usual "more is more" mentality.
It's good to hear from another satisfied VacMaster customer.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; June 11, 2020, 05:50 AM.
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Definitely need a vacuum sealer. With prices of meat fluctuating so much - usually higher and higher - I want to be able to take advantage of big sales.
The VacMaster website lists zero external suction machines (which I believe would suit my uses much more than a chamber sealer). Are they all out of production? What else do y’all recommend?
- Likes 1
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7136
-
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Santamarina If you google the VacMaster model that you are interested in, dozens of sites pop up. I ended up getting my VacMaster Pro 350 through Amazon where I found the cheapest price and an extended warranty option. I don't usually purchase extended warranties except for computers. But at the time I was so gunshy of dicey reviews for every single vacuum sealer that I was considering that I wanted the extra protection. Turns out that (so far) my VacMaster Pro 350 is working like a champ and I probably won't be using the warranty coverage. From reviews for most sealers, it seems like when a newly-purchased vacuum sealer fails, it does so early on.
Kathryn
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Kathryn,
Thank you for starting this thread. I too have some initial good impressions with the FoodSaver brand; however, it’s time to upgrade. Just ordered a VacMaster 360, will be giving that a try.
We were kind of late to the vacuum at home thing, initially thinking it was just a marketing gimmick. One day, after repeated exposure to the Costco floor demo sales pitch, we brought one of those FoodSaver’s home and I must say that it did change our food management practices in a very positive way.
We are a family of 3. Before, we would ignore buying anything like chicken, beef or pork at Costco or Sam’s, because we had no reliable way to properly keep nor freeze items without ruining them. The FoodSaver system really impacted us in a positive way. Since then, we take it for granted and have become accustomed to buying in bulk, prepping different cuts, freezings portioned servings, seasoned-frozen raw and ready to drop in a sous vide bath, or for grilling, smoking or pan cooking later.
This thread has been one of the most relevant conversations I’ve been following for a while here and once again, thank you.
RicardoLast edited by Ricardo; June 28, 2020, 12:35 PM.
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You're quite welcome, Ricardo . I'm glad you found the information helpful. I sure did, and I'm happy as heck with my VacMaster Pro 350. I wouldn't have known as much about it before the purchase had it not been for this topic, so I know what you mean. Enjoy your new toy when it arrives!
Kathryn
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I have been unhappy with my Foodsaver sealer for a while. I vacuum pack a lot of food. Mine overheated every time I used it. It pulls moisture out of anything. Seals then didn't stay, even with double seals. I tried saving my sourdough starter by drying it and sealing it, the seal doesn't stay. Powders don't work with it. Can't do stew or soup. Found a vacuum chamber sealer at Costco online, a LEM. At $600 it was $3-400 less than any other place that had it. I was looking at a Cabelas suction sealer that cost about $300. Most chamber sealers we would buy are $1000 as this one is at most places, so $400 off at $600 was a price point I couldn't pass up. I pulled the trigger, got it a couple days ago and have sealed about 30 bags with it. Perfect! It weighs 100 pounds, I like that too, but not moving it often. It is pretty cool watching it work. Could be a great conversation piece. It uses different bags than a Foodsaver type, cheaper. I have a couple thousand bags on the way, less than a nickel a piece. . It double seals automatically.
The disclaimer is that I could make my Foodsaver work for about anything, but once I saw how chamber sealers work I didn't only want one, I needed it, MCS sort of thing! This is one place I figure people would understand what I am talking about saying that. I am really happy with it so far.
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Razor There is an inclined tray leading up to the sealing bar that you would have to take out. Then, you would have a height of about 4 inches to work with that would be roughly 9"
by 9". So, I think a pork butt would fit. I have not tried that since the pork butts I have bought have been in the bag already.
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Razor I bought from this place. I bought 3 sizes, mixed in 3 and 4 mil thicknesses, and 1000 ct. I have not had a problem with the 3 mil thickness. Note that this vacuum sealer will only seal bags with 10" or less openings. You should measure your sealer bar to make sure that is correct! Also note that these bags will only work with chamber sealers, you need the other type to work with the suction sealers. Suction sealer bags will work in chamber vac machines, though.
Shop now the industry leading chamber vacuum sealer pouches. In stock over 70+ sizes and 3-Mil, 4-Mil, Re-Therm and Zipper. Low Prices. Fast Shipping. Shop Now.
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FYI for anyone out there unhappy with their FoodSaver, Costco did an admirable job of taking mine back. I was upfront an honest with the person at the counter. While I had mine for a long time, definitely outside of any other store’s return window, I didn’t use it that much relatively speaking. Probably didn’t hurt that I just ordered a new VacMaster from them so my story checked out.
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fzxdoc The one pictured a couple of posts above? If that is the one you are asking about it, it is an LEM. I saw them on the shelf at Costco. I wasn't aware you could get a VacMaster at Costco.
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fzxdoc and ComfortablyNumb I apologize, I ordered a LEM MaxVac. 🤦 All this Vacmaster MaxVac…. 🤪
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I have been using FoodSaver for years. The ones Costco sold kept increasing gimmicks, from standing upright, to auto detecting the bag, with cutters, to marinade trays, etc. When I decided to attempt dry aging with the Umai Dry bags, it became apparent that the auto detector Food Savers - where you 'simply' slide the end of the bag into the slot - wouldn't work with the floppy Umai Bags and their air channel inserts. So, I changed to the simpler FoodSaver which opens like a clam shell, manual controls. Costco also carried this, the V2244. It's been working great, and I use it a lot, including resealing large (yes, Costco size) potato chip and popcorn and tortilla bags.
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7136
-
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Well, after over 2 years of dedicated service, the VacmasterPro 350 fell in the line of duty when I hit it with a bit of beer from a sausage-in-beer sous vide experiment. It was, I swear to gosh, the teensiest amount of beer that got into the tray. I wiped it out, tested it, and it worked fine for several sealings the rest of that afternoon, and for a few weeks thereafter. But one day I went to use it, and it was DOA from the pantry to my kitchen counter. RIP, Vacmaster. So, lacking forensics, I'm not sure what actually killed it.
Boy did I feel stoopid, though.
What made me feel better was that I had purchased the Vacmaster Pro 350 from Amazon and paid $40 additional bucks for their 4 year warranty, offered through Asurion. I contacted Asurion, and they immediately sent me a free-shipping label to send it off to them. Within a week, they also pronounced it DOA and refunded every bit of the money that I originally purchased it for. No proration. I was pretty impressed.
Since I use my vac sealer at least twice a week, I quickly went to the Avid Armor site and ordered the itty bitty Avid Armor AVS7900 vacuum sealer for $50. I figured I could use it while I pondered my dilemma and then when something better came along, I'd pass it on to one of the girls.
I decided I wanted a chamber vacuum sealer but didn't want1. One that weighed in the neighborhood of 100lbs and required either a gym membership (not going to happen) or a rolling cart to move around. I hate letting appliances be the boss of me, or, more importantly, the boss of my pantry or countertop space.
2. One that cost more than $600.
3. One that came from a vendor who did not have a real-deal footprint in the USofA.
Avid Armor to the rescue. I bought the Avid Armor Ultra Series USV32. $579. Twenty-seven pounds. Max bag size 10x13. 27.5 mmHg. Adjustable sealing times and pressures. Comes with a replacement gasket and seal bar. Company based in Kansas.
I've been using it pretty heavily for the past couple of weeks and really love it. Here are 6 one-pound bags of smoked pulled beef chuck clustering around the beast. Mr. Fancypants, my WSCGC, is supervising the proceedings through the kitchen window.
Now I know that, at 4 cents a bag vs. upwards 40 cents a bag from vacuum sealer rolls, it will take a while to recoup the difference, but at least I won't have blood (uh, beer?) on my hands if this one dies. It loooves liquids.
Oh, and I chose to purchase it from Amazon because I could purchase the Asurion 4 year warranty along with. It is based on cost, so this one was $80 additional. Plus Avid Armor gives a 2 year warranty--one year at purchase and one year for a review of any sort, not necessarily positive. I had such a positive experience with Asurion refunding me the entire purchase price for my Vacmaster, that I didn't even hesitate to get the extended warranty.
I may keep the itty bitty Avid Armor vacuum sealer for sealing up stuff like briskets that are too large for the chamber vac. That said, there is a hack to use the chamber vacuum unit with the filled large bag hanging outside of the unit and the bag's opening stuck into the vacuum chamber area. I saw that in one Amazon review, but haven't tested it yet. Maybe I won't tempt fate.
So my sealing saga continues. Bye, bye Foodsaver (no problem there). Bye bye, Vacmaster (Sorry I killed you. Maybe I just scared you into dying.). Hello, Avid Armor. I hope we're friends for life. My life, not yours.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; August 17, 2021, 12:39 PM.
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Great post, Kathryn, and thanks for the review. BTW, Mr. Fancypants sure has a nice view!!
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JoeSousa There's a response on he Amazon FAQ for this model and the Avid Armor rep said something along the lines that if 50 or more bag seals per day they recommend an oil style vacuum pump unit like the VM 215 or similar.
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