Vacuum Sealers: Need Recommendations (Brand, External vs Chamber, Bags)...?

FoodSaver V4400 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine with Automatic Vacuum Sealer Bag Detection and Starter Kit, Safety Certified, Black and Silver 5 year warranty
 
Can you vac seal a whole pork butt in a chamber vac unit? I get the feeling you can on the external ones, if you have a 16" wide opening and cut off a long enough bag....?



Thank you in advance!!!

cayenne


20240306-210411.jpg
 
Vacmaster 215. Yep, I also paid $1k several years ago, but works great. I like it for brining venison pastrami. As stated you need a permanent spot, too heavy to move around.
 
IMHO - it really depends on how much you're using it. I usually buy the generic roll of bag (two different widths) from amazon. I also bought an off brand sealer and it has performed flawlessly for the past 2-3 yrs. that being said, if i were planing to do huge quantities of stuff I'd invest in a nicer unit, but honestly, for us, it's been great at $20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LVC7NR6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

unless you are bulk freezing large animals yourself I wouldn't spend huge bucks on one. but that's me.
 
Wow..that's impressive.

Might I ask...how many lbs that butt is?

Also, what make and model chamber vac are you using there please?

Thank you in advance,

Cayenne


7lbs and ive listed my make/model and a amazon link in the previous page, you even quoted my post, lol.
 
My food saver drove me crazy. I lost a ton of food to bad seals and freezer burn, and it was always finicky. About a year ago it finally upset me enough that I threw it in the trash and ordered an Avid Armor chamber and their bags. Love it, use it regularly. It's fun to watch the chamber pop at the end. I haven't had a single seal let me down. The air removal is faaaaaaar superior to the food saver. I keep it on a cart now so I can easily wheel it out and zap something real fast. It's great when there are bulk meat sales, for leftover BBQ, marinades, etc. Wish I had bought it a decade sooner.
 
When my last food saver started slowing down and not sealing great I bit the bullet and went Weston with a lot of good advice from this group that's helps ya spend money :becky:.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=307474

I got the 2600 which is overkill but it is awesome. Weston has 15% off on the site right now on with promo code "shopweston". Wish I had seen that discount when I bought the other month :-D.

It pulls air so much better and seals better too especially if liquid is involved. Don't get me wrong.....food saver is great and for most home general use its awesome. Ironically I don't seal as much now and should have got the weston years back, but wanted a better toy.

It does weigh more so something to keep in mind. More durable professional models typically means heavier.
 
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Chamber Sealers

Perfect timing on this thread. Pulling the trigger on a chamber vac this month. What model is your Avid Armor (looking at USV1 or USV20) and does anyone know how Avid Armour compares to the Vevor DZ 260S?

My Avid Armor chamber vac fits in my cupboard and only weighs 30 pounds compared to some that push up to 3x that.

To the OP.... Get one of each as they each have their advantages. :thumb:



Vevor DZ 260S chamber vacuum. I had it for over 2 years and use it twice weekly. Works great. Comes with replacement heat strips but i have not needed to replace.


I use it a lot to marinate meats fast and quick pickle vegetables. ( you can pull vac for 99 seconds, but you can go longer if you hit stop right before the timer ends so you can pull vac even longer. I use my vac tumbler for longers vac marinating but that deserves a whole other thread. lol



Its on sale for $298. I payed $315 when i bought it. Its $340 now when not on sale. Take advantage now!



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y47MKD8/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
 
Perfect timing on this thread. Pulling the trigger on a chamber vac this month. What model is your Avid Armor (looking at USV1 or USV20) and does anyone know how Avid Armour compares to the Vevor DZ 260S?


Keep in mind those Avid models can only vac items 2 1/4 - 3 inches thick. The Vevor has a bubble top that can fit 4 inch thick items. Great for pork butts and marinating stuff in tupperware containers.
 
Resurrecting this thread....I've been out of state a month, and now back home.

With the chamber sealers, what about maintenance? I've been hearing you have to regularly "change the oil" in them?

Can someone describe that to me, what it takes....effort/tools and type of oil?

I thought I'd heard there were oil free varieties of chamber sealers?

I've not read about having to do the oil thing on regular vacuum sealers (non-chamber)...am I missing that you have to do this on them too?

Thank you in advance,

C
 
Mine specifies oil change interval in the owner's manual. Off the top of my head it's something like hundreds of hours of use. I just change it when it starts looking cloudy. If you dont want to mess with oil changes then just buy a model with an oil-less pump. If you can change the oil in a car then you can definitely change the oil in a vacuum sealer.
 
Resurrecting this thread....I've been out of state a month, and now back home.

With the chamber sealers, what about maintenance? I've been hearing you have to regularly "change the oil" in them?

Can someone describe that to me, what it takes....effort/tools and type of oil?

I thought I'd heard there were oil free varieties of chamber sealers?

I've not read about having to do the oil thing on regular vacuum sealers (non-chamber)...am I missing that you have to do this on them too?

Thank you in advance,

C


With my Vevor, i havent had to add oil in the two years ive used it twice a week. But theres a hinged lid with a thumb screw that you losen to lift the lid and a filter cap you remove to fill the compressor. Takes very little oil, but you must use vacuum compressor oil. My Vevor came with a bottle with a long screw cap tip of oil, that still has some in, but the oil is pretty cheap on amazon.


I personally would rather have a unit i can fill with oil, then a unit i have to worry about going dry years down the road that i can't add oil.
 
Ok, I'm looking now towards a chamber sealer more....

Any opinions on this:

WeVac CV-12 Chamber Sealer. ??

It looks to me to be maintenance free....no oil changes.

It has a 12" sealing bar....and seems to use max bag size 12x13.

And, the price seems right....has decent reviews on YouTube.

But wondering if anyone on the list knows about this or has experience with them...?

Thank you in advance,

cayenne
 
With regard to the Vevor unit...

I've been reading and can't find any reference to being able to use it to vac seal jars or canisters via a hose type addition....

I see this capability on other chamber vac sealers....but is it missing on the Vevor units?

It appears not to be an option on the Vac Master units too.

I've been trying to think of the use cases for this functionality....and I was thinking if nothing else...I tend to buy spices in bulk at Costco....thinking it would be nice to put them into smaller containers for immediate use and then vac seal the bulk to keep fresh.

It also seems to be useful for things like coffee...and I'd think tea, etc....in bulk.

So, I think I want it.

I'm narrowing it down to the Vevor and the Wevac CV-12. The clearance on that is 3.9"...call it 4".

I just measured the pork butts I have in my fridge and the largest one is right at 4"...thinking I should be able to squeeze it in there...

I'm thinking Butts when I get them would likely be about the only LARGE cut of raw meat I'd want to seal...as that everything else, I'd cook.

The pork roasts need is due to them selling them here in 2-paks....and I might only want to cook one for pulled pork and save one for sausage later....

But most anything else, come vac pack and I'd cook the whole thing.

The pork shoulders here often come in cheap like last week for $0.88/lb...and I try to stock up my deep freezer as much as possible when they hit that low price.

Anyway...while I'd prefer a bubble top chamber to more readily accommodate the bigger butts....thinking I might can get by by being selective on the size of butts I buy....smaller will cook faster too.

I wish I could get the BIG Avid Armor GS53...which has 6.5" clearance...but I just can't justify dropping $1200 on that right now....

Anyway...I'm narrowing things down.

C
 
With regard to the Vevor unit...

I've been reading and can't find any reference to being able to use it to vac seal jars or canisters via a hose type addition....

I see this capability on other chamber vac sealers....but is it missing on the Vevor units?

It appears not to be an option on the Vac Master units too.

I've been trying to think of the use cases for this functionality....and I was thinking if nothing else...I tend to buy spices in bulk at Costco....thinking it would be nice to put them into smaller containers for immediate use and then vac seal the bulk to keep fresh.

It also seems to be useful for things like coffee...and I'd think tea, etc....in bulk.

So, I think I want it.

I'm narrowing it down to the Vevor and the Wevac CV-12. The clearance on that is 3.9"...call it 4".

I just measured the pork butts I have in my fridge and the largest one is right at 4"...thinking I should be able to squeeze it in there...

I'm thinking Butts when I get them would likely be about the only LARGE cut of raw meat I'd want to seal...as that everything else, I'd cook.

The pork roasts need is due to them selling them here in 2-paks....and I might only want to cook one for pulled pork and save one for sausage later....

But most anything else, come vac pack and I'd cook the whole thing.

The pork shoulders here often come in cheap like last week for $0.88/lb...and I try to stock up my deep freezer as much as possible when they hit that low price.

Anyway...while I'd prefer a bubble top chamber to more readily accommodate the bigger butts....thinking I might can get by by being selective on the size of butts I buy....smaller will cook faster too.

I wish I could get the BIG Avid Armor GS53...which has 6.5" clearance...but I just can't justify dropping $1200 on that right now....

Anyway...I'm narrowing things down.

C
There's no external way to vacuum. I was referring to being able to put a 4 inch container inside like tupperware and pull vac to quickly marinate stuff like steaks, chicken ect..ect. You can set it to 99 seconds and just repeat it a few times to get more liquids absorbed into the meat. If you are set on that Wevac you mentioned, go with it. I just like how the Vevor looks more commercial quality with heavy duty metal chamber with a thick plexiglass top and the parts are easily accessible and easy to replace like the heat strips which do wear down over time. And the compressor can be replaced and are around $60 on amazon if it ever goes.
But you do you bro.
 
There's no external way to vacuum. I was referring to being able to put a 4 inch container inside like tupperware and pull vac to quickly marinate stuff like steaks, chicken ect..ect. You can set it to 99 seconds and just repeat it a few times to get more liquids absorbed into the meat. If you are set on that Wevac you mentioned, go with it. I just like how the Vevor looks more commercial quality with heavy duty metal chamber with a thick plexiglass top and the parts are easily accessible and easy to replace like the heat strips which do wear down over time. And the compressor can be replaced and are around $60 on amazon if it ever goes.
But you do you bro.
Ok thanks for the info.

I think right now, I'm trying to juggle in my head if I'd really use the external vac stuff or not....

So I've pretty much narrowed it down between the Vevor and Wevac.....decisions, decisions.

Thank you VERY much for all the input!!

C
 
Ok thanks for the info.

I think right now, I'm trying to juggle in my head if I'd really use the external vac stuff or not....

So I've pretty much narrowed it down between the Vevor and Wevac.....decisions, decisions.

Thank you VERY much for all the input!!

C
Going to throw this out there since i noticed that Wevac claims it has a 12 inch heat strip. The Vevor has a 10 inch. This isn't an issue for me since i buy premade vacuum chamber bags that are 10x13. I just don't want to leave that out and you be mad at me even though you haven't asked or mention that being an issue.

EDIT: actually you did mention it, so glad i caught that before you pulled the trigger.
 
Going to throw this out there since i noticed that Wevac claims it has a 12 inch heat strip. The Vevor has a 10 inch. This isn't an issue for me since i buy premade vacuum chamber bags that are 10x13. I just don't want to leave that out and you be mad at me even though you haven't asked or mention that being an issue.

EDIT: actually you did mention it, so glad i caught that before you pulled the trigger.
Thank you for the update.

I've been looking at this Vevor:

VEVOR Chamber Vacuum Sealer DZ-260C

It seems to have the 12" sealer.....

I do really like that extra depth with the bubble top....trying to weigh that vs having the ability to do external vac sealing of containers and jars....with that hose attachment.

I'm close to pulling the trigger...I'll report in what I end up. with.

Again, THANK YOU for al the input!!

C
 
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