VacMaster VP210 Maintenance-Free Chamber Vacuum Sealer with 10.25” seal bar

Okay I'll admit it. This was an anxiety driven purchase (Thank you Coronavirus).Having said that - I should have bitten the bullet a long time ago on this. I fell into the food saver trap years ago after several hurricane experiences. I'm sorry, but food-saver really does get you, just not in their device. They get you on the bags. By usage, those things are so expensive that you are almost better off buying tupperware and throwing it away. And to make it worse, you have to spend some real time "working" the food saver device to make sure you get a good seal (twice). You pay a lot for them. You always run out before you expect to. And seriously - you need hearing protection to use them.Pros:- Noise: I won't say this thing is "quiet" but you don't need hearing protection. You can still use your normal voice levels.- Easy of use: Seriously, you plug it in, and start bagging. It's almost too simple. It's strangely a bit fun and therapeutic.- Effective and Efficient: the food saver format has a lot of "prep". I'm sorry, but it's crazy busy here. I don't have the time to come home from a big grocery store trip to carefully "pre-freeze" everything and set a timer and remember to go pull all of it back out later to seal up.- The bags are generous and you don't have to spend double the time sealing one side. You just fill and go- Food saver has problems with powders. This doesn't. At All. So if you bought a lot of flour or sugar, you can fill up a bag, lay it flat (there's a slight incline), and seal this up. I seal up my flour in batches pre-measured out for bread making. I need exactly 890g of flour, and that's exactly what is in each bag. I even pre-measured my dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt) for making pies so that I can whip out a pie crust right away. See some possibilities here?- All of my meats are now perfectly sealed up. They "look" fresher in the freezer.- Has anyone ever purchased cornmeal or oatmeal or some types of flour and found out later that it was infested with little bugs? Those little teeny tiny bugs traveled to the rest of the pantry. I don't trust these ingredients now so I've been putting them in ziplock bags. Now I've gone through the pantry and sealed them up. Shelf life goes from 6 months to 2+ years and now I don't have an attack of wee little beasties at the most inopportune time (Thanksgiving 2018...). There's a real comfort in that.- Industrial Strength: You are going to know this is built more like a tank rather than a plastic throw away kitchen appliance. You are going to have it a very long time.- Packaged really REALLY well. I was worried when I saw a puncture in the box. This device is encased in shrink-wrapped foam that's nearly a couple of inches thick.Cons: (But of course there are...right?)- Cost. Okay yes, it's a big capital outlay all at one time. On the upside, the bags are not that expensive. However, how many times have you throw away freezer burned steaks, hamburger meat, chicken, seafood.... Let's say the average cost of all meat is $5/lb (yes, some is less some is more, but let's just average it). Have you thrown away 200lbs of meat over the last 5 years due to freezer burn? Have you thrown away food in general (soups, stews) that you didn't eat in time? Have you thrown out fruits and vegetables before you had a chance to use them? Have you had the unfortunate mite infestation in a box of oatmeal that forced you to throw out half of the pantry? The point is this: the cost is up front, but the savings will pay it back because this is true food storage system. If you seal up rice, it has an indefinite shelf life. That's just one. All the rest go from months to multiple years of shelf stability.- Weight: Please understand that being a commercial device, it's a bit heavy. Okay, it's stupid heavy. This is not going to "store away" anywhere. It's heavier than a microwave. It's going to need a corner on the cabinet so just be ready for that. If you are like me, you won't mind losing the real estate to the advantages this thing gives. Having it accessible means it gets used a lot.This is an investment and I won't pretend it's not. In times like this though, you really are reminded of what food storage might need to be just so you are better prepared for any eventuality. Hurricanes taught us a lot. This coronavirus is a whole new ballgame. I hope this worldwide reaction is not something we will see every 5 years (about the time it takes for the next "type" of coronavirus to emerge), but if it is, I feel like this gives a real shot at allowing us to be better prepared.

I bought the VP210 for Sous Vide cooking after getting fed up with bad seals from my suction style machine ruining my food. I have used about 200 bags with the VP210 so far and have not had a single failed seal. When used properly, the double seal bar works perfectly every time. No more moisture getting sucked in and ruining the seal.A good tip for filling bags with wet foods (such as a large wet piece of meat) is to get some small (you can cut up larger ones) flexible cutting boards. Roll the cutting board into a tube and place it in the opening of the vacuum bag. Now the sealing area of the bag is protected and you can easily place wet items in the bag and still ensure a good seal. If you are pouring liquids into the bag (such as a marinade) there are handy ring stands you can get to hold the bag upright that work really well. I use my wine decanter drying stand for this. The inside is slightly sloped to keep liquid away from the seal bar but I find that it’s sometimes not enough. Even cold liquid can boil slightly liquid (do not attempt to seal warm or even room temperature liquid) under vacuum and increase in volume causing it to migrate towards the seal bar. I have a 10 inch rectangular wooden bar that I place in the chamber, under the bag, in front of the seal bar, creating a hump that stops the liquid from going into the seal area.But wait there’s lots more!There is a video online (search for: “Vacuum Sealing a Canning Jar with a Commercial Chamber Unit”) where a guy demonstrates using canning Jars as Vacuum containers in a similar machine. It took me a minute to wrap my mind around how this works but in practice it works every time if done correctly. These jars make very inexpensive little vacuum containers that pay for themselves and reduce waste because of the bags you’ll save. I have found it works better to actually screw the ring of the jar down a little further than the video, just until you meet the slightest resistance. Don’t tighten it past that point though or bad things could happen. You may wonder how the air will get out, but trust me, it does every time. When the vacuum is lifted, the lid is super tight on the jar and you can now tighten the ring all the way down. I found prying the lid off to be difficult and can damage the seal on the lid causing it to fail on subsequent uses. Instead, I use a thumbtack to poke a tiny hole in the center of the lid to release the vacuum. The lid pops right off. Then, I take a small piece of electrical tape (I know, not very sexy but it works incredibly well) fold about a quarter inch of it over on itself to create a ‘pull tab’, then cover the hole with the tape. Now the lid can be used again and again. Just pull back the tape, let the vacuum out, and press the tape back down. I have used the same piece of tape dozens and dozens of times and it re-sticks perfectly every time. It even survives hand-washing of the lids as necessary. The guy in the video says you can use any jar as long as it stands up in the machine (up to a pint jar will stand up in the VP210) but I have discovered that any size jar will work (with dry contents) because, If you screw the ring until it barely resists, you can lay it on its side. You can even seal the giant half gallon canning jars with the VP210! This trick is incredibly useful. My entire pantry is full of vacuum packed, canning jars of various sizes from tiny ones for spices, to giant ones for things like flour and rice. My fridge is full of jars too. A jar of vacuum sealed garlic cloves lasts for months. Cheese stays fresh for weeks and weeks and weeks and does not dry out. Everything stays fresh, clean and neatly organized (wide mouth pint and quart jars can be stacked). Wash-off labels and wide mouth funnels can be found and are useful for this purpose. I live by myself and used to waste A LOT of food because I couldn’t use it all before going bad, no more.In addition, any vacuum style container with a one-way valve (including ones designed for use with suction machines) can be used in the chamber. These are much more expensive than canning jars but it’s nice to have a couple for big items like leftovers or lunch. Even a wine bottle with those special vacuum corks can be placed right in the VP210.I wanted to post this review because I have found tremendous value in this machine that I was not even aware of when I purchased it. I use it several times every day and still get a real kick out of it. It’s actually fun and satisfying to keep my pantry and fridge neat, organized, and stocked with vacuum packed food.I know the cost is high (though not compared to similar units), it’s big, and not the prettiest thing in the world, but if you are even considering this unit I would strongly recommend you go for it. If mine ever dies I will immediately buy another.

The best tool I have purchased to do my own deer processing. Definitely a time saver. Great product.