This is my second sous vide cooker ru-vid.comUgkxK2YRU9uBOXzuIEV660Qo3sX7dJDJLg72 and I don’t know why you would cook meat any other way. This model is more compact and quieter than our older version that this one is replacing. We have done creme brûlée, cookie dough and tons of meat. They all come out perfect every time. I recommend this to EVERYONE. The app is great and easy to use. It stays at a consistent temperature. This model is extremely quiet. I just love it. We also have the anovo sous vide cooker 16L box thing and this fits inside that which is great because I can store them together. I just love that I can set this and walk away to deal with the rest of dinner.
OK, now for a food vacuum packing tip. Freezing fresh fruit such as strawberries or foods with high moisture content should be pre-frozen till hard, then the food is ready to vacuum seal. Liquids too can be vacuumed packed by first pre-freezing.
... I thought the point of vacuum sealing was to prevent ice crystals from being inside the food? If you, "pre-freeze", what is the point of vacuum sealing? Do the crystals form when having the food frozen for longer periods of time? Thank you. .
@@240LTS To me it can happen either way, but once you freeze something and then you open the fridge you let moisture in that then freezes on whatever is in the fridge. So a quick freeze and then vacuum sealing can work. At least that's been my experience.
I bought mine at a resale shop for $12.. The important thing is to NEVER store a sealer with the lid latched closed because it compresses the seal and causes air leaks when you try to seal a bag.
I have a foodsaver sealer and I think it was designed to have the top half 'latched' in place. I've had it for years and it seals just fine, but you make a good point. It also disassembles well for easy clean up.
I feel like you missed some of the important performance aspects. As several others mentioned, sealing wet foods--even meat that is raw--can be problematic for some machines. Also, recycle time is extremely important if you're freezing substantial quantities of foods. If you need to seal 10 packages and you have to wait 5 minutes for the sealer to re-warm between each, it's a pain in the neck. Also, for meats, if you tightly wrap with cellophane freezer wrap before vacuum sealing, you'll double your storage time.
I'm sure your analysis is spot on for the occasional user but I think you overlooked one important factor., duty cycle. I purchase in bulk when prices are low and stock my freezer after vacuum sealing the food. Over the years I have tried most of the home user machines in their basic and more elaborate "pro" versions and the weak link in all those machines is the vacuum pump. The Weston machine you mocked for its heft is the only sealer I have found that will stand up to repeated cycles without failure. Waiting 20 seconds between bagging cycles will let you process food all day long. My experience with all the others is that after some use, the machines require a significant cool down period before the vacuum pump will operate properly. A family pack of steaks from the local grocery store was enough to overtax the machines. Also if you hunt or fish, don't waste your time and money on the lightweights.
I completely agree with this commenter. I have used a Weston Pro-2300 for a few years. It is a "heavyweight" vacuum sealer that I keep in my pantry, and move to the counter top when I use it. I can understand that someone in an apartment with limited storage space would want to use a smaller, lighter vacuum sealer. The one limitation is sealing liquids, which is a risky task, as the liquid can be sucked into the sealer, with deleterious consequences. A chamber vacuum sealer can seal liquids (soups, stews, etc.), but they cost more than $700, are very large by comparison, and weigh well in excess of 50 pounds;
Over the years I've processed many pounds of venison and fish with my FoodSaver without any problems. Using a little common sense goes a long ways. For example, I fill a bag, seal it, label it and move onto the next bag. Nothing gained by filling a stack of bags, then expecting the pump/sealer to be in continuous operation for long periods of time. Approximately the same amount of time is needed to complete each processing method, so why overload the machine? Even if there's 15 minutes difference, is it worth the hundreds of dollars difference in price? I don't know, I've never owned one of those high end machines. Never had a problem with my FoodSaver either.
@Avshalom Chotawm My experience with FoodSaver is that the 2 I've owned, each lasted much longer than 2 years. I've vac sealed venison for myself and some friends. Have vac sealed no telling how many pounds of fish, BBQ chickens, and a host of other food and non-food items. If the one I have doesn't last the rest of my life time, I'm sure another one will, based on my own experience. A $450 dollar vac sealer is fine for anyone who wants one and/or anyone who can justify the expense, for themselves. I can't. As long as a FoodSaver does what I need for it to do, that's all I need.
Don't if you guys are vac/sealing 55 gallon bags or what, but I just did my meat order yesterday with my over two year old Foodsaver. I fill about 20 bags at a time. Chicken, pork and beef. Never needs a cool down period. Would I like a bit stronger vacuum pulled, sure, but then It likely suck juice into the tray. Plus it's light weight and easy to store in the cupboard. To each their own. Just find the "needs a cool down period" comments odd.
Totally agree about the Food Saver. Mine stopped being able to evacuate the bag after several years use and it was necessary to really push on the lead to get the bag to seal. It also sometimes required a second heat cycle to seal. Thanks for the suggestion about the Weston.
Hey Seven Bates, did you take the time to click the link and read the full review? If you had spent half your time reading, instead of shitposting, you would have seen that they fairly reviewed a few more models. They also state on their website that they purchase these machines at retail stores and do not accept freebies from manufacturers. Just because you believe something does not make it so. Maybe they are lying? In that case, get an attorney, show harmful intent, and take them to the cleaners! Or maybe just stop posting bullshit in everyone’s comments.
Great. Can you do a review of vacuum sealer bags? I have a Food Saver that has served me well for years. I tried some bargain bags that I wasn't happy with but it would be nice to know if there is a decent brand of bargain bags out there.
There is another video on the handheld models that go into the fact that some bags contain polyester and some contain nylon. The “polyester “ bags allow air to get in during the test period while the “nylon “ bags do not. Not sure if the label shows this information. It should.
@@quinlanharsch for example if you wanna sous vide something for a long time inside a bag with marinade, a ziplock might not be able to withstand it. I've had multiple freezer-grade ziplock brand bags break while cooking sous vide, leaking liquid into the bath and forcing me to stop to clean my circulator
Wish they would have ranked them. I have the one that was in the middle Walmart I think ? and I buy bulk bags two sizes 1 larger 1 smaller in bulk from amazon. If I have cooked meat or raw meat I will put them in a store brand freezer bags and then Use the vacuum sealer. Keeps the vacuum bag clean and I can reuse it for something smaller. Also if I have something that has some liquid in it such as pineapple/oranges etc. , I will vacuum the air out until I see the juices reach the lid area and hit the seal button early. Sometimes the liquid will prevent a good seal when it heats up. Allows me to buy/cook meats in bulk and save it cooked for use at a later time ....
Love how you mentioned that, essentially, all the machines did an okay job vacuuming, so the differences in features was more about the user experience! As a someone on a student budget, really appreciate that. On that note, maybe you could branch out and do a student essentials recommendations video, or a residence hall living haul, or the like. ATK is getting more creative and contextual, and I'm here for it!
I got a vacuum sealer off of Wish that works really well and isn't complicated at all. And it was 1/4 the price of the cheapest model they tested here.
It doesn't look like you tested your previous winner, the Weston Professional Advantage, which is still available. My 5-year old model is still working fine, not sure why you didn't include it. It has replaceable seals, which I've done once. It would still beat most or all of these.
I'd love to see them tested with moist/wet foods, that's my struggle at the moment with my sunbeam model, I have to freeze most meats before I can seal them and if I'm cooking sous vide with a bit of oil or other liquid in the bag it's just not possible to seal up
I use that Foodsaver model for sous vide all the time - I've got a Chuck roast with a flavored oil in the cooker right now. If you've got alot of liquid, you can manually squeeze out most of the air then just use the machine to seal the bag.
DrMilkPillows: Try setting the machine near the edge of the counter so you can dangle the bag over the edge. Gravity will keep the liquid down and the air up. Then, stop the vacuum cycle when almost but not quit all the air is removed, but before any liquid reaches the seal level. (If your sealer doesn't have a manual stop button, just pull the plug.)
So where's the FoodSaver?? Also, you need to do the tests where you look for making several bags of food. Often, we will buy large numbers of corn on the cob, blanch them and then cut the kernels off into individual family size bags. When returning from fishing Salmon in Oregon, we filet them and then make several bags of meal size fish. There are many other items we buy in bulk, hunt for or fish for and then use the FoodSaver. It is a workhorse that I have had for years and is still doing the job. We also use the Food Saver for quick marinates. Lastly, there are many vacuum sealer bags on the market. SO, if you are going to do a test on the appliance, I would like a test on the bags being made. Durability, how long they hold a seal, suitability for freezing and sous vide, etc. Seems like you may have left out what many of us are looking for in this appliance. Try Again!
There are ambient room vacuum sealers and vacuum CHAMBER sealing devices. It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for an ambient room vacuum sealer to NOT suck up liquids because the ambient room air pressure will push liquids out of the bag and into the sealing device while the vacuum is activated if you want a high vacuum. To seal liquids, you need a vacuum CHAMBER sealing device where the entire bag is inside the vacuum sealer itself. That allows all the air to be removed from the chamber AND the bag before sealing takes place. Vacuum chamber sealing devices run $700 to $1500 dollars. They are also very large and very heavy. For some reason, the vacuum bags for vacuum chamber sealers are pennies a bag while vacuum bags for ambient room vacuum sealers are fifty cents to a dollar a bag depending on size. If you have a lot of counter space and use it frequently, you will make up the initial increase in cost because the chamber bags are very cheap.
@@garykitzis1335 While I do agree with you, my Foodsaver, model #FM5200, does a pretty good job, it has a small removable tray to catch liquid, from say, meat. Things that have more liquid, I do freeze, before sealing, easiest way to store stocks and broths.
@@drwgisblaidd2650 Thanks for your reply. I have one of the Food Savers too and I have excellent results freezing foods for quite a while and using it for sous vide prep, but my point was if you have fairly wet or juicy food or straight-up liquids you want to vacuum bag, you must use a vacuum chamber sealer.
We could tell who your pick was going to be throughout the video. It was that status indicator on the Nesco. The Foodsaver may not have a countdown timer, but it lets you know when the sealing is complete. It's an absolute workhorse in my kitchen since portioning out proteins and sous vide cooking helps reduce waste and ensures nothing gets overcooked.
Agree 100%. Plus, it doesn't take long to learn the sound changes it makes as the process completes. Can't remember how long I've been using FoodSaver. I know it's well over 20 years. During that time I've only owned 2 machines. The first one was still working when I gave it to a family member. Last time I mentioned it, she said it was still working.
I have had a Foodsaver for well over 30 years. I watched this to see if it was time to upgrade. They didn’t mention jar sealing at all. My Foodsaver is old and has yellowed a bit but still works just as well as when I got it, so the answer is , no upgrade.
This episode was lacking. I thought y'all were supposed to go deep into the pros/cons of a product category... testing their performance across different scenarios. Like, how the performance varies for different food types. Delicate vs robust... dryer vs items that contain more liquid. Editors trying to game the RU-vid algorithm for quick digestible content instead of living up to the promise of the show's title.
I used to love this show series until I started seeing the "holes" and the DRAMA and the darker side of it. NOW even more so I'm starting to see the transparent biased behaviors that comes along from America's Test Kitchen company. NOT LETTING THERE EMPLOYEES AND HOST REALLY "TEST", you can see them at the beginning of this video focusing on ONE PRODUCT WITH POSITIVE FEEDBACK noticing every compliment about one specific machine was giving a PURE FAVORITISM. Making this video more an infomercial than product review and comparison. I know every company is based on marketing and making business sponsorships and endorsements but geez could you at least gave us in depth analysis?
you imagined a cool show that delved extremely deep into the usage of vac sealers. They never promised that. They're creating a video in which they show some of their actual testings (involving tens if not hundreds of employees gauging the products through robust testing) of different models being performed by their hosts. If you want _everything_, you can check out their website. The title of the video is "Gear Heads | Which Vacuum Sealers Seal the Deal?". "Gear Heads" is a generic show title indicating they're going to focus on gear. "Which Vacuum Sealers Seal the Deal?" literally says that they'll be reviewing and comparing different models.
I have the lower priced Nesco sealer, and it is just wonderful. It actually got a place to live on my counter because I use it often enough, even though it's lightweight and easy to store elsewhere. I find myself using it for other than freezing, like resealing potato chip bags. When I make burgers to freeze, I put about 10 in a package, freeze, and when I need two, I cut open the package, remove and reseal. Years ago, I had a FoodSaver, but it unexpectedly died one day just after the warranty expired - my Nesco has had zero issues. The only thing to remember is not to lock it when not in use and to wait about 30 seconds between seals.
I've contemplated buying a vacuum sealer for years but just couldn't pull the trigger because of the initial price, worse yet the cost of the bags/rolls, they're noisy, slow and take up far too much valuable kitchen real estate. I'm so glad I didn't buy one! The enemy of frozen food is air, you don't need to pull a vacuum, so enter the "water displacement technique" which uses Ziploc Freezer Bags that are 1/4 the cost of vacuum sealer bags, it's silent and fast. I fill a large pot halfway with water, zip the bag almost completely except for the last inch, lower the bag into the water which pushes out all of the air until the zipper is under the water but the top edge is above and zip that last inch. I then take the bag out letting it drip for a few seconds and then dry it off with a kitchen towel. I've got gorgeous bright red beef roasts that are 3-5 months old and frost free in my deep freeze along with everything else from chicken to fish. I even freeze 3lbs of butter sticks in gallon bags and the bottom corners are perfectly flattened triangles just as though they're vacuum sealed, it's amazing. For vacuum sealing canning jars I grabbed the Foodsaver Jar adapter set and a $20 vacuum brake bleeder kit and it all works silently and quickly. Best of all, both techniques are completely independent of electricity, just in case. Pro tip: Turn down the top 2 inches of your Ziploc bags (like a turtleneck) when you fill them to keep the zipper completely clean. I can't stress enough how well this works and what a much nicer and less expensive solution this is. Cheers!
You all prolly dont care at all but does any of you know a method to log back into an Instagram account? I was dumb forgot the login password. I love any tricks you can offer me.
@Joziah Royce thanks for your reply. I found the site through google and Im trying it out now. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
Needed to include the Foodsaver in more of the comparisons as it is the arguably the most popular. Many other features to compare for all, including accessories, length of time the bags stayed sealed, improvements ( such as there are now mylar bags that fit in the foodsaver) and many more. Not very informative and a little silly.
That won't happen unless FoodSaver is paying them. ATK is no longer an objective and independent testing organization. They're just a marketing platform for whoever pays them.
Why was the Food Saver not talked about at all? It was front and center but never mentioned. I have had the food saver for 3 years and it does a great job.
you didn't take into consideration vacuuming juicy or very wet items such as steaks with marinade. you also didn't take into consideration clean up after vacuuming wet items. one of the two sealers I've used (food saver) was absolutely horrible at both. I was looking forward to an episode like this and was hoping that the two test cases mentioned would have been covered, especially since I've been getting into sous vide cooking lately.
They sell food saver bad with what looks like a square bit of paper towels towards the top of the bag to catch juices on very wet items. This prevents those juices from getting into the seal - drip- tray channel. But the bags are not reusable and are rather expensive.
That would be a good request to make. I'd be interested in seeing that one as well. They certainly did not do all they could have, but then that is probably a producer decision and not the tester's choice.
I own that exact Foodsaver model, and gave one to each of my kids as gifts. We are all completely satisfied with this product, which is $30 cheaper than your recommendation, uses generic bags easily, and is very lightweight and easy to store and clean. Over 2 years of frequent use and still going strong.
Lisa Boban I was wondering if longevity was a factor they could have looked at! I wonder how the more expensive ones held up comparatively, especially since lots of vacuums tend to lose power over the years
Another issue I have experienced with more than one machine is the vacuum bags lose seal after a short time. I'd like to see that tested with these machines.
I've heard of people leaving a wide margin on the top of the bag, and putting 1 seal like 1 inch above their food and a 2nd seal an inch above that, so your bad actually has 2 seals. Perhaps that will help. I found the bags 'ready to use' with the little round sealer 'seal here' indicator spot, do not hold a seal all that well.
most of these sealers do the same but I've learned that it comes down to the bags that truly out perform one another as far as freshness and longevity... ok just gave you your next episode, your welcome
I have 2 things to say. 1: Why is it that the Weston Professional Advantage was not even shown in this comparison? I bought one of these after watching a regular episode of ATK, and it was rated as BEST BUY for vaccum sealers under $200. I have absolutely no problems with the machine, I just wish it was a little faster. 2: I just want to recommend the “Out Of Air” brand, vaccum sealer bags and rolls of make your own bags. They are cheaper than food saver, and IMO far superior. You can but them on Amazon.
I have a food saver. It sits on my counter top and it has about the same foot print as these. I use a lot of mason jars to store spices, rubs etc. I suspect they didn’t include FS as all of the ones you tested would have been beat coming out of the gate. I buy whole chickens for $0.99 a pound and break them down and vacu seal the parts. Love my food saver.
I usually like and respect Lisa but in this episode, it felt like I was watching an infomercial as the two women exageratingly fumbled with some of the machines to emphasize their problems. Too bad too. I have a Foodsaver and live it. There is nothing complicated about.
I must say I tend to agree. The way they tested it standing behind the machines for one was ridiculous. Leverage to close models they clearly didn't like made them appear worse than what they probably are, and there were other things that made it seem rather a farse. I have an old foodsaver, still works great. No real review here, just infomercial.
I got the Nesco V12 machine after watching this, and that machine is amazing. It seals tight, vacuums tight, and works everytime. Thank you for guiding me with the right choice!
@@Mandy_39 Kinda'! LoL 😅 BTW, I ordered the Nesco one. I DID get this one to work but it's quite unreliable. I wasted so much time, bags, the entire roll of plastic. It's just not reliable.
@@Mandy_39 I got my Nesco VS-12 and I just LOVE IT! I've sealed EVERYTHING I could find and have not wasted even ONE piece of plastic like I did with that miserable Nurti thing. I JUST LOVE IT! I created a video as I just HAD to share! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rREHULyrDgs.html&feature=share
Holy Air Suckers Batman! Your price for the Nesco was $90...the link shows it at $249 & $250. Must be like the normally cheap backyard pools, the manufacturers are Corona-Gouging!
If you're talking about on Amazon, people buy things up and relist them at much higher prices, it isn't the manufacturers, hell many of them aren't even open to make things. Go to Nesco's website, same thing happened to me with the Mealthy Crisplid, $59.00, on Amazon, someone bought them all and relisted them for $129.99, went to Meathy's site, and paid 59 bucks.
You may want to have a separate episode to evaluate and review the chamber food sealers. They do a much better job than the cheapies shown in this episode, and they can even seal liquids in the bags. And some models are quite affordable.
I usually like ATK's Gear Heads episodes. I've bought several of the recommended products and, for the most part, they've served me well. This episode is seriously lacking. Our family has two vacuum sealers comparable to those tested. While both worked well when new, and still work today, they both have a serious shortcoming: They won't let you vacuum seal more than one or two bags of food before needing a half-hour (or more!) to cool down. For example, if we buy 10 lbs. of hamburger at Costco, we're going to want to bag and seal that meat in 5 - 7 bags for freezing. Or, if we're having a group over on the holiday and want to sous vide several steaks or, possibly, racks of ribs, we might want to vacuum seal several bags of food. We don't do that everyday. We don't even do it every month. But, we do do it. When we do, the fact we can only get two bags per machine before having to wait 30 minutes or more to bag the rest is a royal pain! Which vacuum sealers can reliably do several bags of food in one session? That's an important question that was not answered in this review. (Note: They all can seal several bags in one session right out of the box. But, can they after the machines have been used a few times?)
it's unfortunate that we keep expecting ATK to provide us with quality content like they used to, but unfortunately they only care about who's paying them to make their videos now. That's why we don't see them testing a large number of products, and they try to keep the videos super short to increase the number of views. It's all about money now.
@@AirrowRocket I doubt that the handsome and talented Mr. Bates can prove his claim beyond a reasonable doubt. However, after Christopher Kimball left America's Test Kitchen, there has been a noticeable shift in the editorial direction of the America's Test Kitchen empire. Under Kimball, the company received virtually its income from its magazine subscribers (and the donations of public television). The new direction is to receive more revenue from 'alternative sources' -- which one suspects includes product placements and endorsements. Under Kimball, ATK was kinda sorta a Consumer Reports for foodies. If CR started accepting advertising and product placement revenue from the manufacturers of the products it reviewed, no one would blame you if you suspected that the dollars from the manufacturers affected CR's reviews. You might not be able to PROVE it, but everyone would understand your doubts. Also, CR wouldn't be able to PROVE that the dollars DIDN'T bias their reporting. That's the issue with ATK.
I have a $59 Foodsaver brand 5 almost 6 years ago. I buy bulk at Costco biweekly. Go home and use it till the project is done without having to stop and let it rest. I don't know about anyone else but if I get that kind of usage for that little amount of money then I am a happy camper just like my 16 year old B+D $20 coffee maker.
We bought our first food saver from Costco years ago. When they wear out we return it to Costco for a full refund and get another. We seal and tape the receipt to the back of the unit so it is available.We use them a lot, and have been very happy with each one for a year or three.
i bought the Nesco thanks to this video and couldn't be happier. You guys did however forget to mention one of the greatest features of the Nescao which I use ALL the time and that is the double seal function.
What about vacuum sealing wet items, cleaning and accessory sealing (i.e. mason jars)? A lot of us use vacuum sealing for sous vide these are very important for that.
Agree! Especially with accessory sealing of both jars and various canisters. I would like to know how the others stack up to FoodSaver. I have a number of newer & older canisters and both sizes of mason jar sealers. What better way to keep ground coffee fresh than vacuum sealing the canister each morning? Or to do a quick marinade in the canister designed for just that purpose? How well do the other brands function in this area?
I love your reviews, BUT: You didn't review any FoodSaver models, the industry leader. You didn't even mention wet vs. dry sealing. You didn't mention any of the extra features, like jar sealing, or any benefits. You didn't mention sealing items that would loose their shape if crushed. You didn't mention using off-brand bags or mylar. Bags can be pricey. You didn't mention making bags. You didn't mention double sealing or the need vs. lack thereof. You didn't mention making many bags or sealing a big harvest where you need to process many back-to-back where the heat strip has to cool down. You didn't mention which models require more waste of bags off the roll. You complained about the operation, but the entire video showed you operating them upside-down. AND FOR GOD'S SAKE PLEASE REGULATE YOUR VOLUME DURING TRANSITIONS!!!! (This is a problem with ALL of your videos.) This video is an epic fail. It's as if you've never used any model of vac sealer before. Delete this one and try again. For the record, I have had a FoodSaver V2490 for years and years and I really like it. I use it many times a week. It seals wet or dry extremely well and jars easily. Ease of use is a 10/10. The only drawback is that it can 30 seconds or so between sealing to cool down when doing large numbers of bags. I wouldn't trade it for any of the models you tested.
Hell you can't even find a jar sealer anymore, If you do, the plastic attachment ALONE, will cost you over 100 bucks on Ebay. oh and that's used. Oh and Foodsaver FM5200, think I paid about $180.00 at Walmart, No issues in about a year and a 1/2.
One important thing to note: The defrost cycle in your frost-free refrigerator is the villian in freezer burn.☹️ Chest freezers don't have this problem. I have frozen foods in my chest freezer that are well over a year old and have no freezer burn.🤗 That said, I LOVE my Nesco, especially the double seal option. 🥰
I have the Food saver model and in most of the comments i did notice that you didn't mention that brand, its a very popular brand a most used.. you test wasn't based on much, i like your reviews and tests.. don't take me wrong, but you need to do a review on all food sealers.
They would have to be reviewing for months with all the different food sealers! What they should've done is taken a few from the same price point. Then switch the bags around in them to see if it was the bag or the sealer that was the best.
Now the Nesco winner from this video is 300 bucks! Not $90 like advertised. 17 days after this video dropped, Nesco more than tripled the price :( UPDATE: Dec. 21st Nesco dropped the price down to $134! Still not $90, but affordable now.
Without mentioning foodsaver, they eliminated comparison between the models and brand that is basically industry bench mark. So it’s hard for me to believe this review
I'm curious why you didn't test a food saver? I've had 2 different food saver vacuum sealers(one basic and newer one seals jars) and they work great! Easy to use.
This is what you get when you allow girls to review any kitchen equipment more complicated than salad tongs. "It's too complicated". "It's too heavy". "It's too noisy". Guys want vital equipment statistics. What's the horsepower of the vacuum motor? How many inches of mercury can it pull? How many watts is the sealing bar? Can you drop it from a 10 foot ladder without any functional damage?????? Come-on girls!!! Stop womansplaining to the men in your audience!!!!
Yes, because I'm Sure the two hosts of this video were exclusively the only people in their entire company that knew about, or had any creative control, for this video. You spectacular gender genius. DON'T go back to the kitchen. You aren't welcome.
Would have loved to see what optional equipment each can use (jar sealer). I felt this review was abrupt and lacking important information that people would generally consider when doing food storage. I want the most bang for my buck and a machine that I can use for more than one way of storage is a huge plus. Guess I'll keep looking for more youtube reviews.
The Foodsaver. Picked my last one up on a sale at Costco very reasonably. My old one still works from 25+ years ago but the accessory port broke and Foodsaver said they couldn't tell me when I could get parts for it unfortunately.
Anyone in the market for a vacuum sealer should check out the chamber vacuum sealers made by avid armor. You can use much cheaper bags, vacuums seal wet things or even liquids like soup, and still have a port for accessories like their containers, or jar sealers.
My basic 20-year-old FoodSaver just keeps plugging along. I use it 3-4 times a week. When we renovated our kitchen, I had an electrical outlet installed in the pantry specifically for it.
Do you think the sealer pouches/bags pre-bought have anything to do with how well the machine seals? I ran out fo the bags that came with my machine and bought new ones online. My machine definitely is having an issue sealing.
Your preferences happen to be the cheapest quality. Those, "clunky" models...are the heavier duty choices that usually don't wind up as an overpriced paperweight after just a few light uses.
That is a toughy. Around that price range I went though a few different brands, including a few Foodsavers, preferring the 4840 over the 5200 which lasted maybe six or seven sessions. It does depend on your workload. You do need to give them time in between to cool down. This is why I'm going for the commercial grade models without going with the chamber systems which seem to be the best. The commercial models normally have a heavier duty vacuum motor for larger workloads and normally last a lot longer. However, after a lot of research, I find you are pretty much flipping a coin for any of them because some people can have a cheap model that lasts them for years where others can pay through the nose and it craps out on them immediately. (Foodsaver 5200) To be fair, I've heard of people having that same model for years without a hitch. The best advice I can give is to pick one with the heavier duty components and a great warranty. Although I do not like Amazon, I use them more often than not just for their warranty. That alone has paid off for me several times. This way, if you go over your $200 budget, which you probably should if you use the unit very much, then with an extended three or more year warranty, it will definitely pay for itself many times over. Again....It will depend on your use and needs. I hope this helps.
I have since purchased a vacuum sealer. I wound up going with the LEM 1000. I cannot tell you enough how tickled I am with my purchase. It is so simple to use and quite powerful. I was actually a bit upset to discover they had reduced the power and ripped them a new one for it. However, I had to apologize later after using it for a few months and found the power (which is far beyond almost every other except the Weston's top model.) to be far more than just adequate...it was spot on! The LEM is a BEAST! Yes, a bit on the heavy side, but it is top notch quality. If you want a cheap piece of plastic that with any regular use, you will have to buy a new one every other year....if lucky, then by all means go for it. The LEM and other brands such as the top Weston, are heavy for a reason, they are built to last you for years to come under even heavy uses. Their "Winner" is the Nesco Deluxe. It is around six lbs. with a 120 watt motor. It also comes with a 1 year warranty. The LEM MaxVac1000 however, is almost 22 lbs.. I forget how many watts, but I remember it to be just under Weston's. It also has an incredible 5 year warranty!!!! Does it have all these (what I consider to be useless) ridiculous bells and whistles? No. It relies on the user to have at least a 90 IQ and use common sense to get the great vac and seal you desire. This unit was designed for those who want a hard working and super reliable beast of a machine to process large quantities of things in one sitting. A good example would be hunters. Let's say you need to process a deer or elk or two. If you try it with anything less than the Weston in their reviews then you will be gravely disappointed. If they don't break completely, then you will at least have to spend a lot of time waiting for the unit to cool down so you can seal a few more packs and then wait yet again for it to cool down from that one. Did I pay a pretty penny for it? Yes...yes I did indeed. However, for my needs and uses of at least an hour or two every week of repetitious sealing.....I wouldn't buy anything else.
I got one for my mother years ago and ended up using it for her more than she did. It was REAL simple to use but for whatever reason she always had trouble.🤷🏾♂️
I agree with Dan, I have a food saver model from a few years ago that I purchased through Amazon and have used it for the last 7 years without any issue of loss of sealing integrity. Best purchase ever for under $70.00 and I don't have to hold the lid down, single push button to start and it lets you know when the bag is sealed - plus I can create a bag any size I want. Very disappointed ATK didn't include this brand as they're # 1 in the consumer market.
I have a food saver and have had it for many years and it was losing it's power so I bought a new one and it was defective and the company is giving me a run around for over a year now. I ended up buying anther brand to find one that would work like I needed it to. I won't buy a food saver again and am glad to see these tests. I now have an idea of what brand I will buy if I need anther vacuum sealer!
So glad to see this. Have been using the FoodSaver brand for about 15 years and we are on our 3rd one, though, to be fair, one was lost in a wilfdire. They are not holding up very well, and seem very glitchy, sometimes working well, sometimes not at all. I believe part of the problem is the terrible quality of the bag material itself. One could reasonably expect such material to hold up well in the environment for which it is designed, but in actual practice that isn’t the case. These bags often lose their seal in the freezer, if almost anything with an edge, like a food brand which comes in a plastic zipper lock bag, like french fries, for example, brushes up against them. This brands bag products are very spendy in my opinion. Will be replacing the Food Saver with the Nesco. Thanks for the compare!
Vacuum baggers are overkill. I have been bagging food in ziplock baggies by merely hand pressing excess air out of the bag, then freezing the contents. Frozen foods of all kinds cooked three years later: excellent. So I don’t waste money on machine and special bags, or time and electrical power (I live off grid utilizing Sun and wind-generated power).
MARINADE CONTAINER BURST INTO PIECES - Terrible Products - I prepared the pork and buttermilk marinade and put in my container. I used the marinade function only once, positioned to close and stuck in the fridge. Not more than 2 hours later I heard a big bang like a shotgun when off. There is a Villa being remodeled next to us so I just left my office checked around the kitchen and thought maybe it came from the other Villa even though it sounded like it was in my kitchen. But everything look normal..... for a bit. My husband is working from home most days due to Covid-19 and with in few minutes came down stairs out of his office to get a drink. He called me in immediately and the marinade was pouring all out the bottom of the fridge and when we opened the doors the marinade container had burst open like a hand grenade was in it. It was everywhere! Literally everywhere! Had that container burst open while someone was next to it, they would have been seriously hurt or worse. It was horrible, absolutely horrible. Here I am afraid of dying from Covid-19 but now I have to worry about my Food Saver Marinade container that I have left killing me possibly. I want to know why this could happen and I also feel I may need to warn other people regarding my experience. I have loved my Marinade Containers and have enjoyed using this. I am hoping this is a one-off incident but would like to know if others have had issues? What is this container made of exactly? The least you can do is send me another marinade container, I guess. I am a little leery but can't help but feel it was highly unusual. I am attaching a photo, the best quality I could get because the of the buttermilk marinade getting all over. My husband and I both were very upset. It took us 3 hours to get everything out of the fridge, wiped down, wiped off all food condiments, veg container etc. It was a freaking mess! It went under the fridge so we even had to move that to clean and mop. NEVER HEAR FROM FOOD SAVER CUSTOMER SERVICE- NOT WORTH THE MONEY
You missed the big issue with these - how well do they seal the bags after they have been used a while. I've had several and they are OK when new, but lose the ability to seal effectively as they age. A great tool - just wish they would last longer.
Is the Nesco vacuum sealer available in Europe? I know it's called Pro-Line in Australia but I could not find any information on its availability here in Europe. UPD: It's called Maxxo.
Used the Weston in a professional setting, holy crap its a POS. Only works on its own bags, which are not easy to source nor are they of any decent quality. I think they put a brick inside it to weigh it down. After about 15 bags of sealing, the machine gets heat soaked & can't seal. Had to replace the Teflon bands (which are brand specific AGAIN, & are different sizing from the top & bottom). No one stocks the strips so if you buy this hunk of crap be sure to buy extra strips plus the hardware to install. Weston should stop fooling themselves in selling this product. It's garbage.
I love America's Test Kitchen, but this review was lacking. You guys sealed up coffee and fresh fruits? Who cares? Units like the NutriChef (which I own... or used to before it went into the bin) are completely worthless for sealing large cuts of meat. The sealing bar is unable to compress and seal through a thin layer of liquid. Professional grade vacuum sealers may be big and bulky, but for budget-minded food purchasers like me who buy in bulk or buy entire animals from my local pig farmer or cattle rancher. If you regularly buy bulk packs of steaks, large chicken quarters, etc from your butcher or wholesaler, you need a vacuum sealer than can draw a vacuum on wet meats and reliably seal. Do not get anything from NutriChef.
Most of the people who buy these machines end up giving them away. I see them at our local charity shops for less the $10. I got mine for $6.99 and mainly use it with mason jar vacuum sealer attachments.
I bought 3 new food savers every one had a problem sealing after a 6 or 8 seals. I will never buy this machine. I bought in October 2020. It is there new machine bought at Target storet And another at Walmart. all failed
wondering how long the Nesco lasts before wearing out and if you can get replacement parts for it. my foodsavers wear out in about 2 years with light use . also wondering how much the Weston weighs because I know you can get replacement parts, but i can only pick up about 7 lbs at a go. can you help, please? i see this is 2 yrs old and that's about when my last food saver died. so am looking again now.
Sorry, but you airheads are so wrong about the level of vacuum and adjustable seal bar time being unimportant. Another consideration for anyone doing more than the occasional bag or two of sealing is duty cycle and longevity. You are rating on the wrong things. Ease of use and lightweight generally equal wasted money as a throwaway product with a short lifespan for use. The ones you poo-poo’d as too complicated (they aren’t) and too heavy have some major advantages over those cheaper models, such as dual pistons for more complete air evacuation, wider seal bars, and fans to cool the motor. I suggest learning more about the products before reviewing. I give your review a failing grade.
It did not seems to be apples to apples some was commercial grade machine and others machines tested was an average kitchen use.. If your doing bulk saving or harvesting a garden with multiple use back to back thinking of the seal and suction would you have pick differently..
The nesco deluxe was complete junk! Nice features, but it only lasted 2 uses before the air pump started to go out, not to mention it is very very slow! A countdown timer that starts at 9 and sits there for 2 minutes before it starts counting down isnt much of a feature. returned for a second one and that lasted one month. I'm shocked to see you didn't even test a single food saver brand. Mine was 5 years old and worked great until it was dropped.
I’ll never buy a FoodSaver brand. I bought one and a year and a half later, it stopped sealing. Motor runs, but it never pulls a good vacuum. Cleaned the seals. But apparently the model I got doesn’t have replaceable seals, so you have to throw the f***er out when it fails.
I checked on your winner vaccum sealers and my husband read a lot of complaints about this machine. After 2 seals they has to press down on it to seal. And they are not very happy with it. 🤑😡🤬
Why would you skip bagging the bag? It's crucial to show that part. The open part of the bag is opposite the top so how on earth do you bag and then seal when it seems like it would be upside down. I think that what you did was cut it by the peripheral line, turned it upside down/filled/bagged it then turned the camera back on.
I don’t have a sealer so I came up with my own way. I put my item in a freezer bag and close it all the way except for a tiny end where I put a straw in. I suck out the air through the straw and pull the straw out as I push down the seal. It’s not as great as a machine but it surprisingly does pull out a lot of air. If it’s something in powder form I put it in a brown paper bag first.
I have had the Nesco now for several years but I cannot find a replacement foam gasket for the VS-12 that won the contest. Are those available or do I have to chuck it and get another Nesco? I have had several Foodsavers and they were not sufficient the Nesco is head and shoulders above those.
We found that the vacuum sealer works to seal and remove air but the question you should ask is how long does it keep the seal. We found that the food saver was letting the seal go after a few months. If you are truly looking at longer storage that doesn’t work. So, what do you think and did you do seal any items for say 2 months, 3 months, how about a year? That becomes the true question for vacuum sealer performance.
You need to test how long it takes to do like 20lbs of chicken. Doing one thing is good for no one. The people who use these machines buy in bulk. You proved nothing.
Hi before even seeing your vid, I had the Nesco in my cart. The only thing that is stopping me is that there is no hose attachment. Do you have any recommendations for a hose for this unit and also containers to go with the hose? Thanks so much!!!!
You didn't even test the best vacuum sealer. If you ever use a chamber vacuum sealer, you will throw rocks at every one tested here. I should have bought one years sooner.
The key performance drawback of vacuum sealing in my experience is how many consecutive sealings can you do? I like to vacuum seal my fish catches, or large quantities of meat, and my sealer fails after about six to nine sealings, and had to be rested. Would like one that doesn't fail in this department.
I use my Ziplock vacuum sealer when I'm stocking up on meat, have not found a limit on number of seals yet! I'll make upwards of thirty bags from rolls and then seal fifteen or twenty pieces of meat! Everything from hamburger, to chicken leg quarters, or thighs, to pork chops, to steaks, and fresh corn on the cobb! I have found it's best to freeze the meat first, the Ziplock machine will pull the juices right out and prevent a good seal!
I got the Nesco machine based on these recommendations and even when used correctly and double sealed, some of the seals failed both in the refrigerator and freezer. Would not recommend.
I’d really love to see you review some smaller models. I am in an apartment and have very limited space. I really want to use one of these, but I just don’t have the room.
