Avid armor chamber sealer, a couple questions

[bowhnter]

The past week I have opened up the freezer only to find several food saver sealed bags have lost suction and have freezer burn.
I’ve reviewed several previous threads and some online reviews.
We think we would like the Avid Armor USV32, but it’s not available to ship until at least mid June.

I am willing to wait, but do I really need the 32 over the USV20?
Occasionally I will vac seal a whole smoked point for burnt ends later, or a whole flat, but I believe I can do both of those externally, so the 20 would be sufficient.
Typically if we freeze broth, we do that in one cup portions vs two, so again the 20 would be sufficient.
I think we would do sauces and any other liquids in one cup portions.

Below are some differences of the two.
I think the 20 would be good enough, but don’t want to have buyers remorse and wish I had the 32.

I know several of you have this brand, would you wait for the 32 or pull the trigger on the 20 based on your experiences with avid armor.

Even if you don’t have this brand, weigh in if you would wait, and spend $250 more, which I really don’t want to do. ($350 for the 20 vs $600 for the 32)
Is it really worth it?

What are the differences?

Besides the size that we already discussed, there are a few other differences between the two.

1. The USV20 has an accessory port for vacuum sealing external jars and canisters, the USV32 does not.

2. The USV20 chamber is made from a molded plastic, the USV32 chamber is made of stainless steel.

3. The USV20 weighs approximately 33% less at only 17.55 lbs, whereas the USV20 is 26.4 lbs.

4. The USV20 has a small metal pouch clamp to hold the pouch in place, where as the USV32 has a pouch clamp bar.

5. The USV20 has a flat, tempered glass lid, the USV32 has an arched, tempered glass lid to give more height to the chamber.

 

[snadamo]

I was in your boat a few months ago. I went the buy one cry once method and got the 32. Honestly we really haven’t even come close to maxing out the chamber, but it’s there if needed.

Only negative is that it’s heavier. And in my situation it’s kind of a pain, but I get by.

It’s used regularly here. We store it in a plastic bag on a shelf in the garage with all my other food appliances.

Mind you I did get it on a discount and leveraged a bunch of Amazon points so it made my decision easier.


I hope this helps.

 

[bowhnter]

…..and got the 32. Honestly we really haven’t even come close to maxing out the chamber, but it’s there if needed.

Are you saying the 20 would have been sufficient? In your brief use

 

[Itsdone]

I have a chamber vac and love it, so im not going to tell you not to get one, but the reason you are having "lost suction" is probably due to a puncture in the bags. You need to get a thicker mil bag. I buy Avid armor chamber vac bags and they get punctured from time to time if im freezer diving. That said, i would not get that USV20, it only has a length of 8.5 inches, and the width is misleading, look at the protruding suction inlet, no way your putting anything thicker then 3 inches in there that is 12 inches wide.

Anyway, thats my /0.02 cents, take it as you will.

 

[txsmkmstr]

I have the 32 and wouldn't want to go any smaller. I didn't see the stainless vs. plastic spec until you posted - that would "seal" the deal for me - 32 for the win. As far as weight.... I was comparing to some of the other brands out there and the 32 weighed much less so I was happy at less than 30 pounds. The 13" bag length is a really nice feature when doing some cuts or multiple pieces of the same. The accessory port is somewhat missed, however I have a Foodsaver that I use for that. Good luck but I'd go with the 32.

 

[bowhnter]

Thanks for the confirmations, I will wait for the 32

 

[jeffshoaf]

I think there's only three reasons for choosing the 20 over the 32:
o You just can't afford the price difference
o You have to store it between uses and either don't have the storage space or can't deal with the extra weight of the 32 when moving in and out of storage
o You just don't have the space for the 32

I have the 32 and have it in an easily accessed space near my kitchen so it's always ready for use; i find myself using it for things that I'm not going to freeze but want to extend the refrigerator storage life and things that i used to portion out and vacuum seal (like bacon) but will now vacuum seal in a larger than needed bag so I can open, get some out, and then vacuum seal again in the same bag. I rarely did this when i was storing my old non-chamber sealers.

Also, they now have an accessory port for the 32 to vacuum seal canisters, etc.

 

[airedale]

We have the 20 and I agree with @jeffshoaf's list of tradeoffs. In our case, space is an issue because we like to have the sealer handy on the countertop for a quick bag or two of leftovers -- not stored away. Plus we are only two people and the smaller size is not much of a limitation. The 20 will work fine as an external vacuum sealer so bigger bags, like for a rack of ribs or a pork belly are not an issue. We will never buy a 32 simply because of the real estate it needs.

I set a price alarm on https://camelcamelcamel.com/ and waited. Ended up buying from Amazon Warehouse for $234 plus tax. So patience saved me well over $100.

Re Foodsaver BTDT, Sealing is unreliable due to the very narrow seal width and the light sealing pressure. Foodsavers can be made to work with careful checking and, if necessary, double sealing.

 

[ModelMaker]

I have no experience to share except I would have to own a butchery before I would spend that much on a bag sucker!
Ed

 

[bowhnter]

Plus we are only two people and the smaller size is not much of a limitation. The 20 will work fine as an external vacuum sealer so bigger bags, like for a rack of ribs or a pork belly are not an issue.

yeah., that's what I wondered. We are only two people as well, but 9 times out of ten if I buy something smaller I think will work, I end up wishing I would have bought the larger.

 

[airedale]

yeah., that's what I wondered. We are only two people as well, but 9 times out of ten if I buy something smaller I think will work, I end up wishing I would have bought the larger.

I'm the same way, but in this case and for us, bigger is not better. Counter space and height are issues that will keep us from the 32. Also, most of our packaging is easily small enough for the 20. Your experience with the FoodSaver should help you decide whether you'd need the larger capacity.

 

[snadamo]

Are you saying the 20 would have been sufficient? In your brief use

For how we use it right now, most likely yes. Been one or two times we got close to the size limit (London broil cuts I think).

I was getting tired of buying “smaller” and ended up needing the “bigger” version on some of my last purchases too.

 

[bowhnter]

Your experience with the FoodSaver should help you decide whether you'd need the larger capacity.

Agree.. Ill need to get the 32. Even though I CAN use external sealing, I don't really want to keep buying the foodsaver bags, because you can't use the chamber bags externally.

 

[Histrix]

I've had the USV20 for more than a year. Am very pleased with it. I bought it mainly for sealing liquid-y items and for those needs its capacity is way more than adequate. Most of the other stuff I use it for - chicken breasts, hot dogs/brats/kielbasa, spices/rubs, it is also more than adequate in size. For the few times I need to seal big items like racks of ribs I'll continue to fire up my Weston Pro3000.

I considered getting the USV32 at the time but I didn't really think I would need the extra capacity, nor spend the extra money. I also quickly came to appreciate how small and light the USV20 is - makes it easy for my wife to bring into the kitchen.

Anova sells a variant of the USV20 and they usually have it on sale. Might check it out if you still have any interest in the capacity of the USV20 - Anova Precision™ Chamber Vacuum Sealer

 

[bowhnter]

I seen that Anova and thought about it too.

 

[worldbfreebase]

What are you guys talking about a chamber vac and "external" sealing?

 

[bowhnter]

What are you guys talking about a chamber vac and "external" sealing?

Items too large for the chamber can still be sealed (like a suction sealer), but you can't use the smooth chamber bags.

 

[worldbfreebase]

Oh christ, i've cum.

i've had a chamber vac for 4 years and never knew you could farken do that.