# Food Saver Vacuum Sealer



## jseiber (Jan 17, 2008)

I'm looking at buying one of these soon, and was wondering if anyone has any experience good or bad with the one in this ad.  (I hope the link works)

Link to FoodSaver


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## richtee (Jan 17, 2008)

I have the model above that... Pro3. I love mine, and seen this one too, but I spent the extra 50 or so cause I use it ALOT.

I'm sure someone here has that unit tho.


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## 3montes (Jan 17, 2008)

Others here have highly recommended them. I do not have one. I am not sure if there is a big difference in using one of these or a good zip lock with the air squeezed out of it before sealing. I generally do not leave things in the freezer very long. 
You could probably find one cheaper on E Bay


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## philthysmoker (Jan 17, 2008)

My foodsaver is about 6 years old, I use it all the time.I would go to foodsaver.com look under accessories and buy the foodsaver center,the sealer sits on it and it holds 2 rolls in back and unrolls under the machine and then has a slide  that has a razor on it to cut the bags nice and straight.


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## jseiber (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the input guys. 

I'm not sure exactly which model yet, but I will be getting one in the next few days.


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## smokin for life (Jan 17, 2008)

I'd be lost without mine. I've tried the glad bag pushing the air out, but in my opinion it's ok for short term but if you're going to be freezeing for a long time go with the food saver.


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## osage (Jan 17, 2008)

I went by Sears today looking for one since I already had a gift card.  They had a Foodsaver brand next to a Kenmore.  Both were on sale.  The Kenmore was $20 cheaper (109 vs 129).  They looked so identical inside and out that I wondered if they came from the same factory.  I took the Kenmore along with some bags.  I plan to use the uncut 8" roll for long summer sausage links.


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## crewdawg52 (Jan 17, 2008)

Love mine.  Got it at Costco a few years ago.  Works great!.  Thing is, the model # is different for those sold at Costco.  Lost the instruction book and I looked up the Food Saver web site, no known model #.


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## navionjim (Jan 17, 2008)

Bought mine at Costco about 17 years ago and it's still going strong.


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## k5yac (Jan 17, 2008)

Not sure of my model number, but it is a Foodsaver.  It is a couple of years old and still works great.  Mine also came with a jar sealer, but I've never tried it.  

Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine!


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## minn.bill (Jan 17, 2008)

i own the food saver modle v2440 bought it a walmart for 69$ love it and it works great,but,theres allways a but,lol. before getting this one i brought 3 of the sport modles home  and gave up after the third one not working. they wouldnt do nothing .not seal or vac.i had foodsaver reps on the phone for each one and couldnt come up with a solution.ecept to try another modle.


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## nh3b's (Jan 17, 2008)

Well, Im gonna cut against the grain here 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  and say I didnt like mine. 1, I had the cheaper, smaller one and found that I could vacume seal with my mouth and a ziplock bag the same, if not better.......I can already hear the jokes now....fire away,
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  lol 

2. I found the bags expensive.

3. I freeze alot of fish.....This is how it burned out. It was really next to impossible to NOT suck in water.

Again, I had the cheaper one with less HP on the motor and dont get me wrong, I do think its a good idea and does have some purposes, but, If I buy a vacume sealer, Its gonna be a beefy one.


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## ds7662 (Jan 17, 2008)

Love mine! Have the Pro 3 also.


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## kookie (Jan 18, 2008)

The foodsavers are awsome. I love mine only had it for a year now. But it is great. I use it for jerky and when I buy bulk meat. Great for marinating too. I got mine at Kohl's for 80 bucks and that came with three canisters. I seen some good deals on them at Tuesday Mornings store here.

Kookie


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## smokin' joe (Jan 18, 2008)

Nh3b's...did you put the fish in the freezer for an hour or so prior to sealing in order to solidify the juices?  This is an absolute must to keep from sucking water.  I can seal a bag of tomato soup with mine and not lose a drop if I slightly freeze the stuff to be sealed.  Disclaimer: no tomato's were injured during this post.

Love my foodsaver.  Not the same model as the one mentioned in the beginning of this thread, but they are all great in my opinion.  I shrink wrap (as I call it) just about everything these days and I dont know how I made it this far in life without one.

Check e bay for the best deals on the units themselves and the bags.


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## smok'n steve (Jan 18, 2008)

You need to either put a papertowel over the product before vacuuming or pre-freeze or it won't seal.  This is because the moisture prevents the plastic from melting together and bonding for the seal.  I have the FOOD SAVER V2830--love it.  Bag rolls can be bought at Sams Club.  Mine was a birthday gift so it was cheap!

It costs me 17 cents to wrap one 2.1 oz bag of Jerkey, which allows me to keep bags in the freezer for spur of the moment gifts.  It even Mails well.  Preserve lots of smoked meat which makes it easy weeks later to make supper because its already cooked.  Also, if not freezing, its great for next weeks sandwich meat--smoked sliced turkey breast, chicken, meat loaf, whatever


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## k5yac (Jan 18, 2008)

I went and looked at mine... it's the Foodsaver Vac1050. It has two buttons, "On" and "Manual Seal". It will continue to run (vacuum) until one of two things occur... 1. Max vacuum is achieved, at which time the sealer function is applied, or 2. manual seal is pressed. 

I use manual seal to make bags, as I'm sure everyone else does, but I can also use it when I see juices being sucked towards the sealer to immediately stop the vacuum action and seal the bag. Works great!  Actually, I've found that even when the sealer sucks up a bit of juice, I still usually get a good seal.  

This model gets great reviews, and from what I can tell by just doing a quick Google search it sells for $120 - $180 depending on attachment options. Yes, bags are a little pricey, but with proper care some can be reused and even fresh bags probably cost less than throwing away all that food, and there is really no better way to keep food. 







Ok, I've tried several times to post a pic of this thing, but it doesn't seem to be working today. If you are interested you'll have to click the link.


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## minn.bill (Jan 18, 2008)

since i got the one that works .i dont know how i got by with out one.i also bag a lot of fish,and alsodo the freezer or paper towel trick.


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## philthysmoker (Jan 18, 2008)

freeze first vacuum later,I put soups in tupeware then freeze over night, put the tuperware upside down under warm running water it will fall out into your hand, then vacuum seal


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## nh3b's (Jan 18, 2008)

Hummmm, why didnt I think of that!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









  Wish I discovered this forum a few years back.

I get by fine, for my purposes. Eventually I will try it again and like I said, Im gonna go with a beefy one. For my fish, fillets or whole trout, I freeze them in water.


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## 1chaos52 (Jan 18, 2008)

Well nh3b's, if you ever need any of that fish vacuum sealed, I am right up the road and it will only cost you a fresh fish or two. 

I also have the Foodsaver V2480 and it has been great for storing and marinating. I can't see not having one since I also have a Sam's membership, and I can't quite eat that much in one sitting. I ahve had some liquid get into the vacuum channel, but never really causes an issue for me. Just clean the tray out and you are set to keep going.


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## mrgrumpy (Jan 18, 2008)

I just got a V485.  I love it.  I found it on Craigslist still in the box, brand new, for $25.... 

I did, believe this or not, read the instruction manual and watched the video that came with it.  It does tell you to either freeze first the liquid juices, soups, etc first then vacuum seal.  Meats etc., freeze a couple of hours then vacuum seal. Also for just moist stuff, place a paper towel below the seal line then vacuum and seal.

Lots of great info in the manuals and video... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			










  be sure and also check out their website.  There is also info there.  

Bill


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## ba_loko (Jan 18, 2008)

Linda and I got the model V2840 for Christmas (for ourselves).  It's worked very well.  We seem to use it daily and don't know how we got by without it.  We haven't invested in the vacuum canisters yet.  We don't know how much we'd use them.  Probably as much as we use the bags once we get used to it.


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## erain (Feb 3, 2008)

i agree vac packing is the way to go. however foodsaver is not the machine for anyone serious about it. if you have time to pre freeze anything that has moisture in it you will be ok, but if you want a machine that you can use whenever you want, like as soon as you get done cleaning them fish or deboning that deer, then you want a vac-u-pack, i got tired of replacing food savers, granted they have good cust service and will generally replace a unit even if out of warranty for $30.00 (at least they have for me) but it is always an inoppurtune time when it quits. it is the moisture that kills them. with the vac-u-pack you actually run water thru the pump periodically to clean it. all mechanical not electronic. only thing it seems at first to be not as easy to use but it dont take long to get the hang of it. also you can get great deals on food saver bags and even greater deals on non-brand bags on ebay. the cost on a vac-u-pack would compare with a proIII.


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## mossymo (Feb 3, 2008)

erain
I tried Googling the vac-u-pack that posted about and found either home units that were styled, what appeared to be the same as a Food Saver or commercial units that started around $1300. Can you post a link of the style you are talking about? 
Thanks in advance !!!


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## erain (Feb 3, 2008)

http://www.profmarket.com/VacuFresh.htm, also query on ebay for more description and off brand bags, also brand name bags but in larger rolls at cheaper price. they may appear to look simalar to foodsaver but there is where the simularity ends, they have a nozzle type port that you slip bag over to suck air out, sounds complicated but eliminates gaskets on both sides. also under the plastic is mechanical or analog parts which after warranty would end you could service yourself if needed. you can indeed  get parts for these if you needed them. try getting an internal part from foodsaver, the only thing they will do for you is have you send unit in and pay postage both ways to refurb it. i reccomend going to ebay and searching for vacum packer and reading the add there. this same outfit sells them on ebay. they will not sell them thru retail chains only thru pmg or ebay. foodsaver and vacupack were at one time the same but company split and went sparate ways, needless to say one side went to asia and the other didnt. i did purchase mine on ebay but i had a ton of questions before i bought and great communication thru this pmg outfit convinced me and i have not been disappointed.


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## 1894 (Jun 16, 2008)

Dang Erain , that sounds good but lots of $$$ too 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Saw this on the food saver site ,http://www.jardenstore.com/product.a...pid=5196&cid=0
  but wondering if the two stage is the same as the "manual seal " to stop any liquids before they reach the seal ?

 Got to get something , just my wife and I  , so we could use to vac and freeze a bunch . 
 Wally world had one (forget which # ) at 125$ but no canisters , and just a couple bags . But if it is a better machine , I've no probs with a few extra $$.  Theses are what they have http://www.walmart.com/search/search...uery=foodsaver


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## bustedluckbarbq (Jun 16, 2008)

I got the food saver V2240 for Fathers day... couple boxes of bags and roll of bag stuff..... I sealed a couple things to try it out.... seamed like it will work pretty good... the directions that i actually read said to partially freeze fish or stuff with moisture - like stated earlier.... glad to read some good on it i am tired of sucking on a straw in a "zip-lock" bag.....


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## seboke (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm on my second FoodSaver. Nothing wrong with the first when I bought the second, just newer, cooler features on the secone (bag roll storage and cutter built in, instant seal). I don't stick anything in the freezer in a ziplock anymore! Love my FoodSaver!  Not a big fan of the canisters.  Never used one as far as I can remember.


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## erain (Jun 17, 2008)

close to same as foodsaver proffessional models, just wont have to replace them. also non of that prefreezing. worried about moisture from fish in pump simply suck water thru an rinse it. sorry foodsaver folks but no comparison. they cost around 290 bucks. i have way more than that invested in the 5 or 6 foodsavers i have boughten in the past 10 years not to mention the inopportune times they have failed. here is a link on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VacUpack-Vac-U-P...QQcmdZViewItem

if you are going to buy or continue using a foodsaver i have a tip though. in the vacum channel roll up a very absorbant paper towel and lay it in the channel to catch any moisture. it is the moisture wich kills foodsavers. if everything were dry there would not be a prob. i cannot prefreeze a whole processed elk or a deer or a hog, not to mention the excess time this takes. when i doing this i need to get it done. so i am not twisting anyones arm but just passing on my expierience with vacum sealers.


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## 1894 (Jun 17, 2008)

Guess I'll just keep savin my money and use the ziplock in a bowl of water and double bag it then freeze method. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 The 100$ + price of the foodsaver would have put a big dent in our budget , thought it would be worth it though. Doesn't make sense to spend that much and have to replace it in a few years though. 
 Oh well , smaller smokes and short term left overs , We can deal with that 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




 Thanks for the insight


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## steve s (May 9, 2009)

Avoid the Food Saver Canisters, they crack after a couple months of use and are then no good as they leak and slowly loose the seal. Very price for two months use.  I am on my second Foodsaver and I love it. I wore out the old one after 15 years of use.  Now I am divorced and instead of cooking for 4 I cook for 1. Foodsaver to the rescue, I still cook for 4 and vac together meals for a few days and freeze.  Bags are cheap when I figure out how much meat I have thrown away over the years for freezer burn.  I just ate a venison steak that was three years old and tasted just as good as the day it was froze.


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## woodentrout (May 15, 2009)

I have packaged a lot of fish too, and find that a paper towel placed in the bag after the fish works wonders. As the liquid moves toward the machine as the vacuum is being pulled, it hits the paper towel, and that gives the sealer long enough to complete the cycle and get a good seal on the bag. I've not found a downside to this technique. I usually just fold it up and place in the bag against the fish making sure it goes across the entire width of the bag I'm using.

This also works with products that I might be marinating for more than a few hours too.


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