Is your foodsaver vacuuming but never completing? This shows disassembly, testing the pump and each part of the vacuum system, a temporary fix for a leaking gasket, and how to replace them. This should work for any foodsaver model.
This is such an excellent video...along with your other FoodSaver repair videos! In today's throwaway and replace society it's great to know and share how these units can be repaired and work like new again. So many people get so frustrated that they paid a pretty penny for their FoodSaver units only to have them begin to not function properly after a couple of years but aren't bold enough to disassemble their units and attempt to see if they can troubleshooot and make the repairs on their own. Thanks for all your effort in doing this, recording these videos and sharing them with all of us.
My foodsaver has been sitting in the closet for almost a year now because it wouldn't seal. I followed your video step by step and did the exact instructions to my food saver and guess what....all my meat is now sealed and in the freezer thanks for your video!! It works again and after checking all the hoses, etc...it was as simple as the seal not seeded well. That would have been about a $100 fix if I would have done what my husband said and that was "just buy a new one". WOW! Thank you!!
Hey, thanks man, you saved me at least an hour. Saturday I was about to tear into mine troubleshooting it like your video. After seeing your solution I put it back away and ordered new gaskets on Amazon, $9 for 4. Received today and works like new again. Awesome!
Thank you! I've had my food saver on a shelf for a few years unsure what's wrong with the thing! I have the same model you used here and now feel comfortable working on it myself verse buying a new one! You saved me hundreds and now looking to pick up the mason jar attachment for preserving my garden this summer!
This video gave me the confidence and know how to repair mine. I did it in under 15 min. Finding A thin small screwdriver was imperative. Thanks for the video MITEEman!!!!
Just recently unpacked my old Food saver and found it not sucking the internal air out. It’s hardly been used and it’s about 15 years old. Going to try wetting the gaskets. Thanking so much for your investigation into this matter. I will up date my results. 😊
Thanks for the great instructional video. I just bought a Foodsaver 2000 at a bargain store. The woman there said she had tested it and I trusted her so I didnt do as i normally would have done and tested it in the store. I got home and it seals bags fine and i can hear strong motor when i press Vac & seal but I get no vacuum. I didn't know the seals were removable. Judging by your video I bet i have same problem you had. Wish me luck.
Thank you for the help! Now I know why my FoodSaver wasn’t working well. Ordered new gaskets and wet the old ones in the meantime. I really appreciate it.
Rhank you for the video! I bought a FoodSaver B3230 at a garage sale yesterday. I tried it out tonight, and it doesn’t vacuum. Ill troubleshoot tomorrow. Thanks for showing how to troubleshoot and test.
Thank you! My mom and sis were going to donate our foodsaver because it wouldn’t suction right. Guess what it was the foam gasket! Thanks for saving us money and time!!!!
The photo is my wife, not me. Can't figure out how to change it, so will post under her name (BTW, I'm Gary). Great diagnostic video. I started the same way by opening the case, but figured out very quickly there may be a way to shorten the process. Test the component most likely to be the problem first - the foam gaskets. Since I knew it wasn't working properly with the current gaskets, I plugged the vacuum port in the lid with a soft plastic item, shut the lid and turned it on. It worked perfectly! So, the obvious conclusion was the gaskets were either bad or needed cleaning. I soaked/cleaned them in some hot water and dish detergent, rinsed them in clean water, patted them dry and reinserted them in the lid. Worked perfectly. I will also order new gaskets, like MITEEman, but this shorter diagnostic may eliminate the need to open the case from the start. Thanks MITEEman!
Thank you for this video. Mine has not shut off for quite some time. Took it apart and first thing I found was a loose hose connection at the sensor. Works great now.
Thanks for your video. Mine is about 8 years old, with only minimal use in the fall. I had mine apart and checked all the hoses. I even ran my finger over those seals and I thought they were fine. However, this is obviously the problem. I'll try wetting, or putting a thin shim under the seal to push it out further. Thank you.
Dude, thank you for explaining what is really going on inside that machine. I washed and flipped my gasket and ‘ding’ it vacuums AND seals again! My smoked Brisket also thanks you.
This is an excellent vid for teaching how to trace down a problem, my FS is probably older, it is a Vac 820. I cleaned all the tubing and the T's. The port works just fine for jars but the bag sealer never completes, the pitch never changes. My problem is the foam seal for the top is slightly different shape I'll try to find something to rig it with.
I agree that the problem is the gasket. I also agree that by wetting it, it will work until it dries out again. I don't agree that it's because the gasket gets compressed and worn out though. I think it's because it becomes porous. Which is why wetting it works. The water seals the pores. If you could seal the pores with something that doesn't dry out such as silicone grease, it could be a long term solution.
I agree; I would guess there is a quick fix with a smear of silicone, or a spray of silicone water proofing we would use on our shoes for example. I would also like to see what to do if the vacuum itself didn't work what parts can be ordered to repair the piston seal.
Thanks! That was helpful though I wish I watched the whole video instead of following your steps as I watched 😂. Could have saved me some time but yea, on a positive note I know what the inside looks like!
The first rule of troubleshooting is to try the easiest thing first :) Wetting the seals is the easiest. You would have been done then. I think that you were really trying to do a complete troubleshooting guide. I had the same problem with mine. The model I have is no longer supported and they told me the seals were no longer available. It looks to me that most have identical seals. I'm not convinced that the seals for other models won't work on mine. So for now I just wet the seals and test for completion before I use it. Even if it doesn't complete I can do an instant seal and that seems to be providing a pretty good vacuum.
The fix on my food saver was also as simple as the seal but I am thankful he went step by step because in the future, I will know exactly what to do. I think we were the lucky ones having the easy fix but the full instructions were extremely beneficial for the future and others on here that needed one of the many fixes he covered in his video.
+Patsy Smith My comment acknowledged that he was doing a t/s guide, didn't you see that? I tested by using water but using petroleum jelly is longer lasting and is still working and maybe mineral oil would work too. Can't replace the seals, no longer supported, so I improvised. Just to be sure, I always do a dry run with nothing and if the vacuum takes, I know that it will work.
I had the issue where it wouldn't vacuum to the level and then heat the sealing wire. The problem with mine was the bottle sealing port was leaking. If you put your finger on that port and see if it is sucking. You shouldn't feel it sucking. There is a small ball bearing pushed into the seat with a spring. Apparently moisture was sucked into the valve and rusted it. You could put a piece of tape over that port. Or you could make a port that was blanked off and stick in the hole. I haven't found the replacement port yet. This is what fixed mine.
If I may make a suggestion: always check the most common area/item of failure first. It is often the most accessable, too. The drawback? It would have made the vid too short!! 😀
Thanks for the tutorial. that is what I figured was the problem, but I have and ancient 1050 so cleaning the gaskets will probably give me a little more time out of the heat sealer. The parts are obsolete!!!
Clear and informative. I have an issue with my foodsaver not switching suction to the accessory side for the canister. I opened it up and not sure how the machine is meant to physically switch the suction over to that hose section. Do you know how it this happens?
I found this video very helpful, thank you! However, after taking my Foodsaver V2440 apart, I was left with 2 gray parts left and cannot remember where they go? The fact that they have not been put back does not affect the operation, but I would like to get them back where they belong? I took a picture, but cannot upload. Can you help?
Have the identical one but black and had the same problem with dry seals.... weakest link in the chain really but I am not sure you can even buy these replacement seals.
no need to purchase another gasket, unless it is THOROUGHLY trashed. simply put something behind the gasket, I used tiny slivers of some rigid foam insulation I had handy, to lift the gasket a tiny bit and regain good contact between the upper and lower gaskets. My Food Saver came from a salvage store and always had a slight curve in the top, at first all it took was putting your hand on the top to get a seal but over time the gasket got compressed to the point that I dangnear had to sit on the thing get it to vacuum. Feels silly that it took me this long to figure out to lift the gasket with something, works great now.
I have the same foodsaver V2490 and when I connect the hose to vacuum seal the jars or just to vacuum seal a bag. I have noticed that the hose does not vacuum it blows. I have made sure that the hoses on the inside are correctly connected. How can I fix it to vacuum not blow air?
I have a V2860 model and replaced both upper and lower gaskets. It works like new, but the top gasket seems to fall out partially each time I go to use it. Is there a solution for this?
I have a Vac 500. The vacuum is poor. I took apart the pump piston and it had a "ring" that was broken, allowing air to seep past. Any ideas about how to find a new ring? Here is a link to pics: www.instructables.com/answers/FoodSaver-Vac-500-pump-parts/
Hi! Following you training trail, I have discovered that the accessory port intake is slightly cracked. Even though it’s a smal and removable part, apparently FoodSaver does not sell it as a part 😕 Do you know if this part might be available elsewhere? I’ve got a smidge of JB weld on it at he moment, so that may fix it, but I’m looking for replacement in the mean time. Thanks!
Foodsaver replaced my entire unit as a warranty because it wasn't a replaceable part. I end up with a free upgrade. They provided amazing customer service when I contacted them.
Mine is over 9 years old. Still works great except for the accessory port 😢 I ended up getting a brake bleeder to do the vacuum. It works well, gives me a small workout, and takes up less space lol
How do you clean the tube connecting the Foodsaver to the cannister and the tube that is not visible, as inside that allows evacuation of any residue into the removable drip tray? I can't find any information and concerned about bacterias building over time in those tubes.
remove the gasket from the upper portion (mine has triangular ends), they are made of foam and after being compressed repeatedly don't quite fully recover from compression. you can either buy a new one, currently 6.99 on Amazon, or if you want a quick fix put something about an eighth of an inch thick in the groove behind the gasket then put the gasket back on top of it. i used slices of rigid foam ( commonly known as blue board) insulation, since I happened to have a piece just a few feet away, but you could use pretty much anything, pieces of cloth, more foam, you could fill the groove slightly with caulk (but that would definitely need to dry completely before replacing the gasket), hell you could probably use modeling clay, almost whatever. you just need to lift the gasket enough so that it regains it's firm contact to the gasket on the side. just remember to take gadget out and clean it, as well as whatever you put behind if necessary.
It seems a lot of these units have a foam and a rubber gasket. For the rubber gasket, silicone is the only restorer for this type of seals. Regular automotive silicone sprays are not foot safe. Here is a food grade one: www.zoro.com/crc-food-grade-mold-release-16-oz-aerosol-03301/i/G4581105/ $12.31 a pop. Will probably do 200 to 400 of these seals maybe more. Don't quote me on that either. The foam ones... better buy a new one. All foams deteriorate over the years eventually failing when you least expect them.
Type of Seal material is lousy, Nice idea to wash .... and Flip, for that matter. Smart Tube check. *Thanks!* 7:28 ummmm, you don't think Pencil larger than post tube attached too, extended beyond Split in tube, thus avoiding any Leaks in area of Split. _just saying_ : }
You got it. This is like having a mechanic take your entire engine apart and verify what works then change the fan belt. Did this guy ever think to start at the simple stuff first?
hello, thank you very much, It was the seals. I tried calling the 800 number and no one ever answered. They may need to be replaced later, but for now, they work. Alice
