Equipment Expert’s Guide to Vacuum Sealers



If you regularly buy or prepare food in bulk, a vacuum sealer can save you time and money—but only if the machine is quick, effective, and easy to use.

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50 Comments

  1. I have the vac master pro 350 and highly recommend it. I was going through the plastic ones about once a year, but I have het the pro for 4 years now and it’s still going strong. It’s stainless steel, heave, and larger than the rest, but it lasts. If you only use them occasionally, the plastic ones are ok, but if you use them a lot, go with the vac master pro. Wish they had rated durability but I suspect the winner was chosen before the test started.

  2. What about making bags from rolls of plastic? Mine does that and I can customize the bag sizes. I had a problem with it because I needed to clean the sealing surfaces due to sealing in wet foods but that is all the problems I've had. What are the operating costs? Bags can be expensive.

  3. THIS was the video that convinced me to buy the VS-12.
    You let me down.

    Not that it doesn't seem to vacuum and seal well, but you missed that the canister accessory has been discontinued and NO ONE sells one for this machine.
    If I want to use that functionality, and I do, I will have to spend money on a FoodSaver accessory and hope that I can modify it to work. Not ideal.

  4. Watching the coffee sealing you could see the grounds being sucked up toward the vacuum source. This is why when dealing with fine-grains and powders such as flour you would be advised to put it in a paper sack first or in the case of jarring/vac-packing, place a coffee filter over the top of your intended product. Otherwise it will suck up into the works and clog your machine. It is my understanding that once done, it is no easy task to get the clogging undone.

  5. I used 2 LUV food saver. Had 3 in 10 years. Usually lasted 3. Contacted food saver becaus of their 5 yr warranty. Used 2 they only asked 4 # on plug and send pics. Now they want all of this PLUS send it bac. Not worth the hassle. Bought Nesco but original seal requires twice press 2 seal.

  6. I also use mine to seal plastic bags, bags of frozen vegetables, bags of pasta, bags of coconut, etc. When I want to use what's inside, I cut the seal, take out how much I need, and reseal it. I do the same thing with my preformed burgers; each time I take out two burgers, I re-vacuum seal the package and put it back in the freezer. This is the only way I can make family-size packages work by portioning them out, bagging, and vacuum sealing. The best!

  7. So the main criteria was ease of use? What about actual suction? I have a Nesco, which replaced a high-end FoodSaver in my kitchen. The FoodSaver was a pain to use, but when I used it to vacuum seal my meats, it got ALL the air bubbles out. The Nesco is really easy to use, but it leaves bubbles in the bags I seal meat in, which is not good because the meat gets freezer burn where those bubbles are. There just isn't enough suction. I'm now looking for one to replace the Nesco, and I'm sad to say this review wasn't much help.

  8. The Nesco sealer does not want to work with Nutri lock bags. It does not work with anything but their bags yet there info does not mention this anywhere and they are not responsive when you complain bags are not vacuuming… I do not have an answer except to say I am not a happy camper that the bags I have will not work with the Nesco VS-12.

  9. Nesco doesn't have a removable cleaning tray — juices can tend to get sucked up into the machine if you aren't careful and give it inches of extra bag beyond the food item. Just use a folded paper towel as a little absorbent pad to soak up juices — placed in the bag nearer to the edge that will get sealed. The paper towel doesn't need to touch the food at all, and– there's no problem with it in the sealed bag.

  10. Does the pulse give it a seal without taking air out? I would like to seal powder supplements in travel size single serve packs. I do not need the air to be removed (despite that removing air would not affect my use. Personal preference.)

  11. I own the NESCO. It is XLNT for dry goods, but for anything like meats or wetter type items it sucks. I have to constantly clean the interior, which is not as easy as other sealers I have owned, and, most importantly, it has serious issues sealing. Whether I use the double sealer or the wet sealer, it does not work well. I even have to use the gentle or manual vacuum with limited success. This unit does not like any liquid between the plastic. So, if you do a lot of meats in the freezer this is not the best choice.

    I happened to come across this video after cutting up a large warehouse Fillet strip. Being tired of the hassle, I typed in Best Wet Food Vacuum Sealer and came across this video. I had to give you a thumbs down on this one.

  12. I purchased the Nesco because my previous unit had difficulty sealing the compostable bags. The best feature of the Nesco is that it forms a double seal however, I found the vacuum to be less than that of my old unit and one thing that was not tested here was vacuum storing of liquids like soup. I make lots of soups and store them in the freezer so I always have some handy for dinner. The problem with the Nesco is that you need three arms if you are sealing liquids, two to hold the liquid containing bag and the third to close the lid. Unlike the Foodsaver which simply allows one to put the unsealed end of the bag into the slot and automatically seals it, one has to lower and lock into place the Nesco. In addition, the Nesco doesn't have an attachment to seal reusable bags or the containers that require the same type accessory.

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