Gotta get me a new vacuum sealer, which one?

[chiroken]

Hello everyone, been on a long hiatus from the forum, miss all the awesome pics that leave me drooling!

I have a Canadian Tire VS230 Seal A Meal that I bought a few years back from probably $100. Works great for a few things but when I'm doing cheese and have 40+ bags it loses its suction often every 4-6 seals and I have to let it sit before I use it again. Extremely frustrating!

I am looking for recommendations for a better product, under $300 would be great. I see Cabela's has a few but I don't know which brand they actually are? I've heard Weston? I come across some posts about Food Saver as well. Gets confusing when a manufacturer has so many models.

I mostly use it for: smoked salmon, beef jerky, cheese, fresh salmon fillets, and probably next year for fresh garden veggies like beans. I often smoke several pork tenderloins at once then vacuum seal chucks for later use in the kids' lunches. That sort of stuff.

The vacuum is lost because the motor gets too hot is that it? So better ones have a cooling system or just better motors? And what about how much draw/suck they have? I find mine doesn't always get all the air out when doing fresh fish, I need to sort of massage the fillet to get the air pockets out.

Any specific ones and retailers any of you Canadians know of too that can maybe get me something bought up here rather than shipping north?

Thanks a ton....back to bagging cheese, it should have cooled down by now :(

[Tiny Tim]

I like my Food Saver (think it's model number is V3485, but it's been too long ago I don't remember...one of the upright ones that was on sale around 5 years ago at Christmas time, should be a post on here somewhere if you're willing to look. lol).  Only reason I don't use it more is my budget...Ziploc bags are cheaper and anything I bag/freeze will be consumed within 30 days anyway.

[Habanero Smoker]

I've purchased a few FoodSavers, and was never completely satisfied with them, except for the convenience, size and light weight. I've been concerned with many of the issues you outlined, plus the thin seal would leak (on more than a few occasions). I finally purchased a Weston Pro 3000. Cabela's used to sell this line of Weston Pro sealers, but I didn't see them on their site lately. It is above your budget, but it is worth looking at. If I had purchased this prior to the three FoodSavers I have gone through, I would have saved money.

It has a clear lid, so you can see and align the bag for proper sealing. The lid is very heavy, so it help hold the bag in place. The sealing strip is 1/4" wide, so when it seal, you know there will be no leakages. It has a large fan that cools the motor, and the fan will run a few seconds after turning the power off, to help cool the motor. I probably never used it to the extent you have planned, but I can't foresee it over heating, though in the instructions it does have some statement about the possibility of over heating.

What FoodSaver has an advantage over the Weston, is that the FoodSaver is much lighter. The Weston is much heavier, and takes up a lot of counter space. Also the Weston does not have a built in bag cutter. I have to use my Fiskar rotary paper cutter to cut bags, but you can also buy precut bags. You can also use the FoodSaver bags in the Weston.

Here is a link to were I bought mine. Right now they $150 off, for a price of $399. Plus I also got a free maintenance kit, when I ordered mine. That is a $35 value. The kit had 2 chamber seals, and 2 Teflon strips, to use to replace the seals and tape if or when the original parts wear out. I don't know if they are still including the kit. I purchased mine more than a year ago.
http://www.thehuntersbutchershop.com/Weston-Vacuum-Sealers-Weston-Vacuum-Sealer-Bags-s/42.htm

Walmart had the Weston Pro 2300 for $379. I believe the only difference in the 2300 and 3000, is that the 3000 had digital settings, and you have more control over the vacuum and sealing times.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/16420818?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227000770646&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40345101272&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78310439792&veh=sem

[KyNola]

Spend the money once and purchase a Vacmaster VP-112.  It is a chamber sealer, weighs about 50 pounds and never overheats.  It is over your budget but if you want a sealer that never stops working the VP-112 is the one for you.  Also, chamber sealer bags are much less expensive than the Food Saver type bags.

[chiroken]

thanks for the links, the VacMaster is huge! Not sure I can get the space to store that one! I see Weston has an 1100, seems to have the same vacuum strength, also with a fan, but does up to 11" bags rather than 15". I typically actually prefer the 8" bags for most of what I do.

[Habanero Smoker]

That is a good choice, and that model comes with a bag holder and cutter. Anyone of the Pro series will last you a long time. Plus with the out of chamber sealers, you are not limited to the length of the object you seal, just the strength of the vacuum, and you have plenty of vacuum power. So if you want to vacuum seal a whole side of spare ribs, salmon, etc. you can.

[chiroken]

That is a good choice, and that model comes with a bag holder and cutter. Anyone of the Pro series will last you a long time. Plus with the out of chamber sealers, you are not limited to the length of the object you seal, just the strength of the vacuum, and you have plenty of vacuum power. So if you want to vacuum seal a whole side of spare ribs, salmon, etc. you can.

Didn't think about the length of bag I make. Those salmon fillets won't fit in the chamber style! :)

[manxman]

I started off with a FoodSaver when they were one of the only vacuum sealers available on this side of the pond..... the failure rate in terms of bags losing vacuum always seemed pretty high and I was never that impressed. Perhaps it was just me!

The one Habs recommends looks very good.  :)

I switched to an Italian make called Tre Spade which I would thoroughly recommend if available in Canada. The model I have got has a double seal bar which is a great benefit.

However this is now a good few years old and showing signs of wear so when it does give up I plan on switching to a chamber vacuum sealer. I was interested in KyNola's opinion of the VacMaster VP-112 which is high on the list, I know what the chamber size is but it would be useful to know what size of meat / fish it can accommodate or is it the same as the chamber size specification?

Good luck in your seach chiroken.  :)

[tailfeathers]

Spend the money once and purchase a Vacmaster VP-112.  It is a chamber sealer, weighs about 50 pounds and never overheats.  It is over your budget but if you want a sealer that never stops working the VP-112 is the one for you.  Also, chamber sealer bags are much less expensive than the Food Saver type bags.

x2


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[rexster]

This is what I got from Foodsaver last year about this time. Nothing automatic to break, just a solid tank build with dual seal bars> Foodsaver Gamesaver Titanium

[Bear1968]

Dang Rex that sure is Purty!  :)