Vacuum sealer chamber or suction type?
 

I'm in the market for one and trying to weigh the pros and cons between each style. I would like to hear from people who have owned both and which you prefer and why. TIA

I have had a few suction types. First one the wife hated so it disappeared somehow, 2nd and 3rd were from Princess Auto. They are really hit and miss. 2nd one would suck down fine but not seal great. 3rd is a winner. You have to buy the stupid expensive rolls though.

I haven't owned both, so don't really have anything to offer about the chamber type, but I can say the suction type I've used for years is great. Ziploc/Saran will simply not keep your food fresh for as long as the vacuum sealer will. Some might say the bags cost more, but I say it makes up for it in the lack of food that needs to be tossed for having gone bad.

The chamber type will probably take up more room, whereas the suction type is small, and always at hand on the kitchen counter. It holds its own roll of bags, and the boxes of refills from Costco come with a wide roll, narrower roll (for when using a wide one would be a waste), and some individually pre-cut bags as well which are always handy.

The suction type can also re-seal some commercial bags as well, like chip bags and the like.

I've used mine to seal (essentially laminating) documents like my ATT and registration slips, and to nicely pack up bulk items as well (being careful not to suck too much air out of the bag resulting in a puncture for certain items like bullets ;) ). I wouldn't be without one for day-to-day use.

I suspect the chamber type would be better for speed/volume, as that's what the local deli's use. The bags also look more professional, as the consumer version (suction) has zig-zag air lines/pathways, rather than being absolutely transparent like the commercial variety. Which brings me to another point - those commercial clear bags seal right up to the item that's sealed, and to get at them, you have to cut right up to the item. With the consumer-grade bags, you just need to cut into the bag anywhere, and it will let air back into the bag (allowing you to re-use the bag by re-vacuuming and re-sealing it). This is nice for an item like a large block of cheese that you're likely to access multiple times and re-seal after.

Bought this model two years ago and very happy with it. We did a cow elk and two mule deer in one day and it didn't overheat constantly and worked very well.

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/72240...-vacuum-sealer

Biggest challenge I had was keeping moisture from getting to the heat sealer strips. Had to redo a few seals.

Do your self a huge favour, get a chamber vac, I have this one, regular bags no ribbed bags needed, and it has a wet compressor been going for 5 plus years now, takes any food item that fits in the bag to vacuum

https://www.vacmasterfresh.com/vacma...vacuum-sealer/

Pretty big price differences between the two.

If you plan on using it a lot, the chamber bags are considerably cheaper. Offsets the cost of the chamber model.

It all depends on your needs.

I found that after buying a chamber sealer I started to use it a LOT more.

Comparisons that I can think of off the top of my head:
Suction type:
Pros:
Cheap base models
Bags can come in roll form so you can "technically" seal something 20' long if you wanted to.
Very light and easy to move around and store
Easier to seal soft foods as you can watch it vacuum down and stop it in the right spot
You can find the bags pretty much everywhere

Cons:
Bags can be quite expensive ($0.50 each or so)
The cheaper models can burn out quickly
They require cool down periods after a few bags.
Wet foods and liquids are a pain to seal and often the vacuum isn't very good.
If you have a lot of sealing then making a ton of bags from rolls is time consuming and very tedious.
LOUD

So, there are your food savers and seal a meals that are the base units. They run from $50-$200. They do break and you cannot fix them. They are built cheaply and perform as so. They use a dry piston pump which is maintenance free but also can burn out if you don't let it cool down every 4-5 bags, same with the seal bar.

A slight upgrade would be something like a Weston Pro commercial unit. https://www.amazon.ca/Weston-Pro-230.../dp/B001GP81R2 These are stupidly expensive in Canada. They are only about $400 US so ordering from down there would save you a bunch of money.


Chamber sealers: (Based off Vacmaster VP215)
Pros:
Better vacuum
Very quiet
Parts are replaceable, you can order pretty much every piece of this unit
Oil pump which allows constant use (sealed ~140 lbs of elk in about an hour, the sealer running constantly, no problem at all)
Bags are cheap ($0.06 for 6x10", $0.15 for 10x15" shipped prices)
You can use leftover suction sealer bags if you have them
You can use normal, foil, mylar etc bags without modifications or screwing around with straws etc
Wet foods and liquids are no problem. You can seal a bag of water to full vacuum with no issues.

Cons:
Heavy! The VP215 weighs in at 84 lbs.
Big. With the lid open it is 24" tall
Expensive. Normally $1,350 in Canada
Bags can be hard to find. Best place I found was Halfords.
Bag size is limited to chamber size
Oil pump needs to be maintained. Drain and replace oil every ~60 hours of use or around 750 bags IIRC. Takes 3 oz of oil.


So I am using the VP215 as an example because it is what I have. Currently on sale for $1,160 delivered from Costco. https://www.costco.ca/VacMaster-VP21...100286983.html

It is a big, heavy unit. I bought a cheap rolling cart off of Amazon so that I could easily move it around. The chamber size is 10x13 but you can use 10x15 bags and let the last inch or so hang over the seal bar.

It includes the wire and heat tape to fully repair the seal bar which is really nice. The seal bar is 10" wide and double seals the bags.

You can adjust the vacuum time and seal time for the perfect seal. A 40 second vacuum and a 1.2 second seal is about perfect for most stuff. Thicker bags might need more seal time.

I would compare the noise to about a fridge, maybe a tad louder.

Halfords carries a ton of bags which is nice for us in Alberta. Their selection is limited to 3 mil bags though. https://www.halfordsmailorder.com/ch...d-7bf9d99d1d1a

Slightly more expensive (but cheaper shipping) with a greater selection with some 4-5 mil bags is this place. https://cedarlaneculinary.ca/Product...ng/ChamberBags

The ability to just put in a bag of soup/stock etc and let it go is huge. It makes storing/freezing leftovers or pre made stock very easy. No need to tie up various containers for months on end.

This also allows you to quickly marinade food. Put it in a bag and start the vacuum. Just before it seals turn the power off. It will hold the vacuum. Come back in 10-15 minutes and turn the switch back on and it will let the air back in which will suck the marinade into the food. Maybe repeat for really thick pieces. No need to soak things for 24-48 hours any more.

Chamber vacuum if you're in it for the long run, bags can be bought at retail level or go straight to manufacturer.

For those that use chamber vacuum sealers, make sure you change oil in them at least once a year. Those pumps can cost arm an a leg to replace, contaminated oil ruins seals.

This seems to be the best of both worlds.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00WAJJDB6/...a82da60ba329_S Anybody have one?

I bought the Italian made suction model from Butchers and Packers. I have used it to seal hundreds of bags of sausage. I get the bags from Cabellas when they are on sale for .25 each. $25/ 100. The unit never has given any problems. Just finished sealing 30 packs of smokies. Pm me for more info.

You are really limiting yourself with the smaller chamber size on that unit. You can do the same thing with a regular chamber sealer, you just need the special bags. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe51RNVr79c

Some chamber models use a adapter to allow suction seal of bags to any length.

If chamber gold standard is a Busch Pump in the best models

Very interesting, thank you.

We bought the Food Saver from Costco. haven't done a whole animal or used it for long stretches at a time so I cant comment on the overheating issues. But it has done everything asked of it.
One tip I found while researching these things, was for wet items ie: raw meats, freeze the surface only prior to sealing.

Vacuum sealer
 

I have had two food savers and have worked great for what I do. If you are in a hurry they will overheat and then not seal until cooled down. I learned the proper speed to work it and it’s okay. I never do a lot at any one time. I buy meat in bulk at Costco about twenty lbs. at a time.

for an occasional user without a doubt go with a standard foodsaver machine. If you do your own sausage on a few deer and the occasional elk or moose, it is worth it to spend up to one of their higher end models. Their expensive ones are a fraction of what a chamber style is. As for bag prices. We buy them pre made from Halfords. A 10/14 is around $0.30/bag. depending on how big the case you buy, or how many. I find the bag quality on the chamber machines to be lesser than the foodsaver style. A friend has a big chamber machine and I usually have roughly 30% loose their seal within a year, it usually is not the seal but punctures from moving the frozen meat around in the freezer. Our foodsaver bags hold a good vacuum far better IMO. I have kept meat for over 2 years with them and it is still great.

The reason that the food saver bags seem higher quality is because they are thicker so that the ridges don't collapse when you are sucking the air out which is why they are also so expensive.

Smooth side: 3mils thick.
Textured side: 11.5mils thick.

You can get chamber bags 5 mils thick, 10x13/14 for around $0.20-$0.21 a piece or so.

I see Basspro has a sale on sealers this week, might drop by.

yup, exactly.