Vacuum Sealer Recommendations?

[RCW]

As NHSledogg rightfully pointed out earlier, the Weston Pro 3500 takes up a lot of territory. It was bigger than I expected too.

I did make a shelf in the garage for it. Kind of a hassle, but even a smaller one wouldn't fit on our kitchen counter permanently.

I'm still very pleased with it. Use it 2-3 times per week. Have used 15" bags several times since I got it. That was really my main attraction to this model.

These are 11" bags, but they work too. Per foot, an 11" roll is much cheaper than 15. Only use 15 when necessary.

 

[RCW]

Just a follow up after a couple months' steady use.

Still very pleased with this sealer, and would recommend it, or possibly a smaller version of this one.

This one is large, but works very well. Heavy duty.

I've done breads and cookies on the pulse mode, and quite a bit of meat products.

So far, I haven't used the 15" rolls this machine will take. I have two 15" rolls for it, but so far 11" has worked. 15" rolls are quite a bit more expensive than the 11" rolls.

We have a 40# case of boneless chicken breasts coming this week. Will be a walk in the park with this machine.

Did some chicken tenders this afternoon. My chicken tenders can also be used on for chicken parmigiana, on a sub sandwich, or to row a canoe....

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I'm an ol' farm boy. We always have had enough in the freezers to survive a long while.

Like many, we're storing more freezer stuff than we used to for longer periods. We're buying more 40-pound cases of chicken, have a quarter of beef in the freezer, always bought haddock in 10 pound boxes, etc.

We have a 16 cu. ft. chest "meat freezer", and a 19 cu. ft. upright for veggies, breads, etc....

We used to have 5 bodies here, but down to 2, unless college boy is around. That's not often.

Trying to reduce loss/damage now that it's just 2 of us.

I know many here use vacuum sealers for the same reasons.....

What do you have (make/model), what do you like/dislike about it?

Wat size bags does it take? (Realized some only take small bags?) We often freeze stuff in 2 gallon zip lock freezer bags, so limited to a quart-size isn't good.....

What would you do differently if you bought another tomorrow?

I know absolutely nothing about them...so don't think you'll insult my intelligence, as I have none...just ask my wife...

I used to joke a 1/2 beef was barely frozen before it was gone.......

I’ve had several vacuume sealers for personal use butchering deer mainly but also other game….and I’ve had nothing but problems with the seals not lasting on the machine(I am sure I did something wrong I know others who have no problems.)…and bags are not normally readily found at my store. Recently we upgraded to a freeze dryer…that’s not a cheap option for the initial purchase , however so far it has worked just fine and we put the stuff in a Mylar bag which is marketed to keep perishables that have been dried properly for 25yrs. I don’t have a 25yr durability test to tell you if true or not. Unfortunately the bags are special order for us…not readily available in store near us that we are aware of.

 

[RCW]

Resurrecting my own old thread.

The GerYon sealer I got first didn't last long - big surprise.

I got a new FoodSaver Vaccuum Sealer to keep in the kitchen cupboard for one-time sealing needs. Works Great. Takes 11” bags

This roll of bags was available from Amazon a while back. A little pricey, but 4 mil, so pretty decent gauge. Like them with the roller and a built-in cutter on the box. Other retailers are offering a built-in cutter on a box now. I wanted to see if the heavier gauge was worth it.

I like them a lot.

 

[Fordtech86]

I’m still waiting for my food saver to die so I can consider upgrading, it’s on year 10