What (non-chamber) vacuum sealers do you guys recommend?

I was looking into getting a vacuum sealer for sous vide cooking and I was wondering what your guys' thoughts are. I wouldn't want to get a chamber style vacuum sealer since they're so expensive. What do you guys recommend? I was looking into getting one of these three:

https://www.costco.com/FoodSaver-FM5480-2-in-1-Food-Preservation-System.product.100310211.html

https://www.amazon.com/Weston-Pro-2300-Stainless-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B001GP81R2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1493759851&sr=8-4&keywords=weston+vacuum+sealer

https://www.amazon.com/Weston-65-0501-W-Professional-Advantage-11-inch/dp/B00GD7PU5O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493759851&sr=8-3&keywords=weston+vacuum+sealer

While I'm mainly looking for something to help me cook sous-vide, food preservation is also a factor. My one problem with the Westons is that they don't seem to accommodate bags that can be vacuumed again, unlike the foodsavers which generally have a hose attachment for those kind of bags (similar to Oliso brand vacuum sealers), which are convenient for things like large blocks of parmigianno reggiano that I'd be pulling in out of the freezer from time to time.

I know that if you go on the Joule app, Chefsteps will recommend Foodsaver vacuum sealers, but my guess is that these aren't necessarily the best ones for people who might be willing to spend a bit more on vacuum sealers, but instead they're more accessible and have better customer service for people who are new to the whole sous-vide/vacuum sealing thing. What have you guys learned about non-chamber style vacuum sealers over the course of your time cooking sous-vide?

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Comments

Whiteboy_Brown_564208

Monoprice just came out with their "Strata" line of products and one of which happens to be a vacuum sealer at $79.99 it isn't to pricey I have my eye on it and will probably be picking this up when I have the money to spare.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=122&cp_id=12239&cs_id=1223901&p_id=21596&seq=1&format=2

It has nice features for the price; bag storage, various options for vacuuming (dry, moist, etc...) although the ones you are listing are a little more than this one so I doubt this would be interesting for you but for anyone that is looking and doesn't have a lot to spare this is an option to go with.

pd3ski_278514

I personally think Foodsaver customer service sucks. For a piece of seal bar tape (maybe 2cents on their end) they told me that basically I would would need a new machine in not so many words. I had one for many moons and it worked fine so instead of a long time happy customer they now have minus 1 customer and I'm not alone by any means in that category, many lines of bad press in forums elsewhere.... rant over ;-)

That said, I just picked up a cheap ARY 110 from webstraunt for doing stuff you describe. It has an accessory port that works with all the old jars from the "other brand" so that's a plus . It is a bit slower that the other but it think it's worth the trade. Plus it's a pleasure to deal with webstraunt and ARY customer service... that's a fact! I also recently picked a 215 c/vac from them as well... save your pennies up!

Link..http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-pro-110-external-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-12-seal-bar/120VMA110.html

artstype

I had the experience that my foodsaver had apparently died, nothing would seal. Did a little research and discovered I needed to clean the heating element. Good as new, 6 years old

Janet_harvey_416925

I use FoodSaver.

pd3ski_278514

Hey Clay, mine is still working after almost 20y... the tape cracked and broke which screws up the seal. I can get the stuff on eBay but you would think that they would want to 'help' instead of shun their customer for such a small item as that.

Jack_Mayer_85396

I would pass on the Foodsaver and save the money for a bit and then get the Vacmaster 110 from Webrestaurant store. Its about double the cost of the Foodsavers I've seen at Costco and far more useful. Go with Ziplocs until you are able to get a chamber vacuum. You'll use it for more than you think, at least I do ...

anonymous.sam1223

How long have you been using this vacuum sealer?

pd3ski_278514

I think about three months.