I need one....NOT to ship lure or skunk essence, but for food! They all sound great when you read their resumes. I don't mind spending more for quality......price ranges are from $50 to $500......any advice????

Zagman

The local butcher shop has several profesional models. They look to be high end If I was going to get one id start there. I can pm a number

Don’t forget to look into the cost of the bags.

I've had a few and don't like them. Seal seemed good, tossed meat into the freezer only to find that the seal let in air and the meat formed ice crystals and became freezer burnt. I wrap all items with plastic wrap, then freezer paper making sure to have at least 3 layers of paper on all surfaces and I have pulled out meat that was 3 years old with no problems.

ive never had that happen krisp. mine is a ziplock brand and I buy food saver brand bags at the local orshelins

Food Saver. Wally World. About $120. If you buy the roll ya can make whatever size bag you need or buy pre made bags. We have done about 100 bags a year for last 3 years. No problems. But if your going to do more volume you may look at commercial.

The key is to get quality bags and don't try to seal soaking wet meat, this prevents a good seal. Mine keeps for 2 years at least.

x2

I am on my second food saver , first was the original white one , the second is the 3400 series it is better , the old one worked for several years doing a few deer a year

the new one has an overheat safety so I can only get about 10 bags made or sealed before I have to give it a chance to cool down the sealer strip is generally the weak link in all of them

no doubt vacuum sealing meat keeps it 2 years very well I just opened some 2016 meat I found at the bottom of the freezer and it was good.

the only question is cost VS life on the units do you use a 75-150 dollar machine and replace it when it breaks in 5 years or do you spend 400-500 and get many more years but how many years before you can't get parts , I don't have the answer to that question yet.

I got the second one from my dad who already had this one and won an identical one in a fishing club raffle so he gave me this one when mine broke since I packing his deer any way.

As USAF mentioned above, make sure you don't have any liquid traveling up the bag when it seals or the seal will fail. I will normally set my fish fillets or steaks on paper towel, if wet, before sealing and will often double seal that end if I think there's a possible problem. I remove the meat from the paper towels before sealing. Mine will easily last for 2 years. I also buy the bulk rolls since it saves me money over the pre-made bags.

Zag,
I have no knowledge of this particular brand, but saw it on Outdoor Hub and remembered your thread. Seems like a good deal, and it got good reviews. For $60, might be worth a shot???

https://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Sealer-Sealing-System-FDA-Certified/dp/B07FM3J6JF/ref=sr_1_37?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1543243544&sr=1-37&refinements=p_8%3A40-&_encoding=UTF8&tag=vs-outdoorhub-deals-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=8c5a6652dbbb226271d7a401e273618f&camp=1789&creative=9325



If that link doesn't work, check out the original link on the Outdoor Hub.

https://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2018/11/26/cyber-monday-deals-for-outdoorsmen/


Good luck with your search.

Mark, I'd recommend taking a hard look at a chamber machine. They aren't cheap but they are the best IMHO plus the bags are cheaper and they'll do liquid.



https://www.webstaurantstore.com/va...f7PdjlI6M-g62PnSlyMctzmxuFRoCSdAQAvD_BwE


Something along this line will be my next one.

I have a food saver sealer. It works well for what I need. Like said before, don’t try to seal bloody meat. The best thing to do is put the meat in the freezer for an hour or two before you seal it. That will freeze the liquid in the meat enough for you to get a good seal on your bags.

Put a piece of paper towel along the sealing edge to absorb the liquid.

Forget foodsaver, they are throw away toys. If anything breaks on them there is no way to fix them. I used to use them but would wear out at least one a year. (Packaging about 3 beef, 20 hogs and a half dozen deer)

I recommend Weston brand, I have been using the same one now for 7 years and the wear parts are replaceable. Buy your bags online they are much cheaper and you can get better quality. Look for thicker plastic and textured on both sides if possible.

If you are going to be doing large volumes it might be worth looking at chambered machines. The machine itself is more expensive but the bag material is a fraction of the cost.

Caution: Many high end models are 240-3 phase.

I have had Foodsaver and Rival units and have gotten by with them. But I will seriously look at a commercial chambered unit when I need a replacement. The bags are much less expensive and the chambered unit is not moisture sensitive. You can actually seal liquid in a chambered unit.

My best friend and I each have the VP215 and love them. We got ours as a wedding gift from my folks and I gotta say it was the best gift we got! Yes, very expensive (and I see it's went up another $100 in the last two years) but being able to do liquids and doing it so much easier I have few complaints. The only one being, it is HEAVY, not something you take in and out of the cupboard. It needs a "place".

That said, I've used multiple rummage sale cheapo vac sealers in the past with good luck also.

Happy trapping! ScottW

I went with a Weston vacuum chamber machine this year as I do a lot of wild game and was going through a food saver ever year. You can repair the Weston but like someone already said, the food savers are trash when something goes wrong. I have processed 3 deer, 1 bear and anything else I bought bulk for the year with no complaints and the bags are cheaper. The machine is pricey

Those chamber units look really nice. I only do 1 or 2 deer a year, but for somebody that uses one a lot that looks like the way to go. Zagger can afford it with all those high dollar New York coyotes he has.