Got a chamber vac ... mini review .

[Gyosa]

Received this a few days ago - Avid Armor USV32.
I was immediately impressed with the build quality .
I am coming from a vacmaster pro 140 which has served me well for the last 6 years , but wanted something “up a notch”.
I was considering a vacmaster vp200 or this, and was leaning towards the vacmaster due to their long history . After looking at many reviews I decided to take a chance on the V32 ...
Gotta admit , I’m impressed so far .

Build quality is impeccable , solid and sturdy . One YouTube review intimated that it didn’t have a pump cooling fan , it does - doesn’t come on until you start to seal.

It’s quieter than I expected .

After looking at a few chamber sealers, i was examining the method they were using to hold the bag in place to seal it. This unit uses a magnetic bar on a swing arm that covers the entire seal bar , vs. a couple of clips that only marginally holds the bag in place on others .....genius , and perfectly implemented !

Also this does a double seal vs the vacmaster’s single seal - looks to be more reliable.

It is certainly more attractive than other chamber vacs on the market , and will likely look better on the kitchen counter.

The seal bar is an engineering work of art ... springs , clamps , wires ... very well done ... obviously a lot of thought put into it - and looks to be reliably implemented.


Bonus is the inclusion of extra seal bar , gasket and rubberized “volume plate” included - Nice touch ...

They do have open box units for sale also at a substantial discount.

Sorry about the sideways pic ....

Bk

 

[Dweverett]

Thanks for the review. I’ve looked at one but haven’t pulled the trigger. I have the a100 and have been impresses as well. Great control of the process.

 

[Gyosa]

If you do decide to get one , here’s a 10% coupon I found , if it still works .
Brings the price of a new unit down to what a open box one costs

WILDGAMECOOK

BK

 

[jzadski]

Great write up. I have been using my Mom's old foodsaver and have been having good luck with it. What's the advantage of a chamber? Thanks

 

[Curt.P]

Great write up. I have been using my Mom's old foodsaver and have been having good luck with it. What's the advantage of a chamber? Thanks

Vacuum seal liquids.

 

[sudsandswine]

Vacuum seal liquids.

Yep...it’s because they build a vacuum a different way than the “Foodsaver style” that just pull or suck the air and liquid out of the bag (and your food, if it’s still hot and you let it pull too hard). The chamber vacs create an equilibrium inside the entire vacuum chamber including inside the bag. Then the bag is sealed and the vacuum is released from the chamber, which creates an imbalance where the air inside the sealed bag was done under vacuum. The air outside the bag returns to regular atmospheric pressure, basically forcing the vacuum bag to shrink around the contents of the bag. A similar but opposite example of this is taking a sealed bag of chips you bought at sea level into the mountains and the bag blows up like a balloon at elevation. A Foodsaver style vac sealer works the same way a straw delivers a drink to your mouth.

I have both styles of vacuum sealers and the chamber vac can really build a strong vacuum compared to my Foodsaver - the longer you let it pump air out of the chamber the stronger the vacuum will be. Adjusting the vacuum time to a shorter duration lets you apply a pretty gentle vacuum for more delicate items as well. I can easily apply a gentle vacuum using my Foodsaver by overriding the auto seal and prematurely seal the bag, but it won’t pull nearly as hard a vacuum as the chamber vac can. I keep my Foodsaver around because it still works, easily fits under the counter, and can accommodate larger objects like a slab of ribs that the chamber vac cannot.

I use the Avidarmor vac bags and they work great. The bags that came with my vac don’t heat seal nearly as nice as the Avidarmor ones do. Mine doesn’t really have any sort of bag retention mechanism, which so far hasn’t been a problem for me, but I can see how it could in certain situations. The retention setup of yours sounds ideal.