After killing 4 Food Savers in 3 years(vacuum pump died on all of them) I decided it was time or a serious vacuum sealer machine. I went to an Avid Armor USV32 chamber vacuum sealer
https://avidarmor.com/avid-armor-ult...sealer-system/ got it in 2 days ago and have been playing with it. I will give it a heavy duty test in the next few days after I make a batch of fresh sausage. So far I am liking it!
It draws 29 inches of vacuum versus 17 at best for the Food Saver so it removes a LOT more of the air from the bag and that extends food life. Food Saver seal bars over heat after 4-5 bags then it is a fight to seal the rest when I do a bulk meat buy or am sealing up garden produce. This is supposed to not over heat, that test will be done in the next few days after making 20 pounds of fresh sausage!
Cons are time, it is slower than the food saver, 1 minute per cycle but if I am fighting the seal bar over heating the Food Saver can start to take 2-3 minutes per bag... weight is a con, if you don't have counter space for something the size of a small microwave you will be lifting 31 pounds in and out of a cabinet. Size is a con, it is big! Price is also big at $600 but if it lasts 4+ years it will be equal to what I have been paying for Food Savers. Parts are readily available for it too
Pros are much better vacuum, bags are 3 cents each versus 20+ cents for the Food Saver, better built(it weighs 31 pounds!), and longevity. Parts are readily available for it too unlike the Food Saver who has ZERO customer service at this point. They refused to sell me a replacement vacuum pump, not user replaceable was the excuse...
I will update this after doing the bulk sausage run, I will be sealing around 20 bags so it will be a workout!