Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Vacuum sealer

What is everyone using? Narrowed it down tot he Weston 2300 or Foodsaver 4440? pros, cons or other options to consider?

my first food saver only lasted 15 years. I'm hoping I won't have to buy another.

Ive read some of the older units are they way to go. New ones dont get terrible reviews either, jsut trying to get some feedback from actual end users here who will likely use it for the same stuff I will.

My wife bought the cheap food saver a wal-mart, dont like it, I would like more control over the machine. Going to get a better one, someday, the old one going strong after 10 or so years.

Yeah, id like to be under 200.00 but will pay more for a machine that will last and work well in the meantime. Its probably the most important piece of the processing equipment to me.

After getting the bill from the locker this year I probably could have bought a commercial sealer.

Check Costco online. I picked up a Foodsaver 4980 this past January for $149.99. Great value.

They have a newer model out now. The 5480. Same price. $149.99.

On there now. Have you tried using non Foodsaver brand bags?

I'm using these bags and haven't had any issues.

I have the older version of the Foodsaver 5480 that I bought at Costco about 6 years ago. I'm not in love with it and would probably buy something else but it keeps working so I keep using it.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11405079/Re:_Need_Food_Vacuum_Sealer_Re#Post11405079

BP...

What would you change or do differently?

Thanks, not sure how I missed that. I'll have to look at the long term value of the vacmaster. Definitely more than I was planning on spending.

Foodsaver but I ordered one of the Vacmasters. I believe several us us did.

That was a great deal.

You know we should start forming and asking for 24HCF membership prices. Just a thought.

The chamber sealers are indeed temping simply on their capabilities but take up a lot of real estate when in use if that's a consideration for some of us.

Pard is a butcher with is own shop and does a lot of killing along with several hundred deer each year. He has a huge chamber sealer that will package a half beef after cutting and wrapping and his wife does a good business packing dry goods for her soup mixes.

Versatile.

It's really more about having high quality bags.

But i use a cabelas commercial sealer

Both of the above comments…space and bags are very valid points!!!

Married one of those. 20 years strong and still no deaths in the family !!

The American test kitchen show did a special on vacuum sealers.

What they found out was that the cheap bags were actually punchered by ice crystals and let the air right through.

Then they took thicker bags that the ice crystals didn't makes holes in and found out that many (not all) of the cheaper sealers could effectively seal them.

On the sealer side of the equation was the more vacuum removed more air by compacting the meat - so higher vacuum is good as well.

Regards,
Spot

I have had a few different foodsavers and a cg15 from cabelas. I finally spent the money on that vacmaster deal (vp215) and I am really glad I did. After having one I would never go back. It might hurt to pay that much, but it will only hurt once.

Weston. Went through 3 or 4 different food savers in 6-7 years when we lived in Alaska.
If the Weston ever breaks next step up will be a chamber sealer.

I'm not a big fan of the "automatic" bag closer because it can be really finicky and would probably go with a manual one. Other than that it works well.