I've got the $400ish one that can take the bags up to 11" wide. Loving it and have put a lot of mileage on it. No complaints from me at all.

 

Thank you, that's the one I'm looking at. Appreciate the reply.

 

Had mine going on a year—zero issues and holding up fine. Check out ebay and vevor.com, can usually get it cheaper than on Amazon.

I get my bags off amazon, whatever is cheapest and haven't had any issues.

 

Excellent. Thank you. Yes, plan to buy from Vevor direct, just was using amazon to compare reviews. Appreciate the reply.

 

I like getting bags on webstaurant store dot com. Stick to the 4mil thick bags.

 

That's what I was thinking. Most of the ones that came up on Amazon were 3 mil. Appreciate it!

 

Web restaurant store is the place I buy them as they're the cheapest I've found.
Buy either the 4 or 5 mil bags.
The only "downside" is they come in packages of 1k. I utilize three sizes 10x13 (perfect for general use), 6x11 (perfect for fillets from trout, walleye, kokanee, etc.), and 8x10 (perfect for a pound of beef or walleye fillets, or individual pieces of smoked salmon).
I use my chamber vacuum (VP215) way more than any of my previous suction machines as it's cheaper, easier, and the seals are more reliable. I go through about 1k bags per year and sometimes more.
The bags are so much cheaper at this volume even a VP215 will save you money in a few years.

 

Excellent! Thank you for the tips!

 

Counterpoint: I like to do my fish fillets in smaller bags. Usually 8 x 10 or 6 x 8. I have some 10 x 13 I use for larger chinook fillets since they're often too wide for an 8" wide bag, but I otherwise like more serving-size bags.

So really, to get started, you'll need 3-4 different sizes to see what you like

 

Haha, yeah, I just ordered 200 4 mil that are 8x12 off of Amazon for that very reason! Figured start with those to see how I feel about the size before ordering 1000. Thanks again

 

I got the smaller one, DZ-260 for 250 a year and a half ago. When I got it, there weren't many reliable reviews so it was a bit of a gamble but for 250 I figured what the heck. It's been great and I'm working through my 3rd stack of 4mil bags, so 600 or so used? My seal bar has one little spot that isn't perfect but the bags still hold fine. I get by with the 8x10's but like BDJ noted, a big chinook has to get broken down further to fit, but that's the exception, not the rule these days. Webresturaunt store for the 1k box of bags is the best deal. I don't miss the rolls from costco and broken bags at all.

 

Excellent. Thank you for the reply

 

I have the vevor smaller one and have had it for almost 4 years now and I absolutely love it. I started using it with the 8x10 3mil bags and it worked just fine. Had to order bags earlier this year and got the 8x12 4mil bags and they are definitely heavy duty and little more room. I also ordered 2 more of the vevor smaller sealers, one for my stepson and one for my daughter and they use their's on a daily basis. If I ever have to buy a new one it will definitely be the bigger one. Looks like you made the choice of the bigger one and the 8x12 4mil bags, you should be definitely happy with your choice.

 

I did go with the larger one. Thank you for the reply! Definitely makes me feel better about the choice!

 

One thing I love about Costco. Any problems return it. $500 and going on year 3. Same chamber vac on Amazon was $1000 when I bought mine.

 

Agreed! I did think of that for sure. When I searched on Costcos site it didn't come up though.

 

Why is a chamber sealer better than a vacuum sealer? I know you could do a bag of soup if you wanted, but I don't think too many folks are vacuum packing soup.

 

Well. I do vacuum pack soup and broth with mine....

The main reason they're better is the same feature that allows you to package soup. By removing the air from the chamber liquid from wet items (fish, meat, veggie, hell even soup or vodka for concerts) stays in the bag allowing for more reliable seals and an increased vacuum pressure.

Secondary features include:
Cheaper bags: Chamber vac bags are single ply making them vastly cheaper (suction bags are double ply with the textured inside ply allows air (and water) to move through the bag under vacuum). I use mine enough that over the last three years that I've saved the initial purchase price of my VP215 (~1k).

More durable bags: You can buy 3-5 mil bags vs 3 mil (2 ply) for the suction bags. Pick one up and the difference is immediate.

Easier: I put the bag in and walk away. I don't have to watch as the water creeps up towards the seal.

Seals are usually double and more durable leading to lower food loss

Disadvantages:
Heavier than all get out
Bulky
Expensive

 

I somehow disagree I find myself with the lem vacmaster sealing lots leftover including soup 2 nuts . Hell dig a bag of water just cause..my 2 cents the chamber sealer way go with unlimited options have heard the lem struggled on retort bags haven’t tried it .just did some long leader window/ yellowtail last count on meter 1689 seals since new 3 years ago no issues .good luck which ever machine u decide.ordered mine Costco.com 550.00 shipped door

 

They just plain work better. After using one a few times and getting your settings right, you'll start to understand. Just the physics of removing all the air from the chamber, sealing the bag, then releasing the chamber gets way more air pockets out of the bag than just sucking from the end.

 

I'll address sealing soup,
If you're making soup, chowder, chili, you've got to make at least a gallon, preferably more for it to be worth eating. Two people are going to eat at most a quart at one sitting. Now you have three quarts taking up space in the refrigerator until they go science. Vac pack them, freeze them, and the day will come when you'll be rooting around in the back of the freezer and you'll come across a bag of chowder. Hot Damn! I don't have to cook tonight! toss the bag in a pan of boiling water or give it some radar love, and you don't have a pan to wash either. When it's up to temp, just cut a corner off the bag pour the contents into bowls and dinner is served,

 

ok, so I misspoke about sealing soup, it's just something that I probably wouldn't do, I guess I'm not the same as others.

The question wasn't really about your soup or vodka, but rather why a chamber versus sucking one end out. I know with my vacmaster (or whatever the name is), if I try to cycle it too fast, the pump heats up and goes through the little lightbar dance, but doesn't vacuum out all the air as well, and yes you need to pay attention to liquid coming out the end being sealed. In the past I've helped mitigate that with a strip of paper towel across the inside of the bag, which traps liquid as it moves up towards the seal. Then again, I had a bunch of fish from an Alaska lodge trip, and probably 7 out of 10 bags lost their seals, and they were using a chamber vac. That made me wonder if they were really any better.

 

sounds like the chamber vac you used needed the seal bar replaced. That's not a chamber vac issue, that's an all sealers issue. Need to keep up on those.

 

I got the Vevor DZ-260-DZ last winter(2/24). The only issue so far is the rod that holds the bag in place has to be manually lowered. If it is left up during operation it presses down on the seal bar mechanism flattening a vinyl pad that it sits on and preventing a proper seal. The pad regains its original shape after a couple minutes (so far) and then it seals properly. My crew and I seem to need occasional training on this procedure.

 

 

Ive had my VacMaster 215 for over 10 years. Ive bagged a lot of deer and elk and fish. Ive done a lot of fish and game, plus repackaging bulk staples from the store.
Just make sure you change the oil in the pump after every 1k bags. Ive never had my sealer overheat even when doing a whole deer or elk.
Also the Vac Master has enough suction that it will make water boil at room temp. Thats about 20" of vacuum.

 

Love confusing the kids with cold boiling water in my Vacmaster.

 

Just got the DZ-260C. What sealing time are you guys using on a 4 mil bag?

 

2.8 seconds is what I’ve been using to seal. I do like the wide seal it produces better the 2 narrow seals used on the vac master that I’m familiar with.

 

Not saying this model is any better (after all they are all Chinese) but decided to opt for 'zk320 800W bagger' off eBay at $340 (to the door was $380). Seems to have bigger pump and the 8mm wire definitely hot enough for retorts. Just did a 38 bag run and no failures. Did a short video and uploaded to You-Tube.
EDIT: these funnels from Amazon are absolutely perfect for retort bags (Amazon.com: Bag Fill Funnel, 2 Pack (White) : Home & Kitchen ).
EDIT: Copy/pasted below my post about bagger run from another thread on iFish. Sorry if it seems I'm hijacking someone else's thread. I'll delete if it offends anyone.

 

Made another run and tried for 40 bags. As opposed to run with Tim which was 7mil retort bags I used the 4.6mil bags from Pleasant Grove Farms (free shipping/no tax). Stuffed Presto 21qt canner with 38 bags and top plate had #5 dumb-bell wt on top and managed to close lid. Used #10wt/110min. Run was opened after long cooldown and zero failures! Used the bagger I bought off eBay (zk320) that was advertised as 800watt. Had to add oil when it showed up (gone to low misting synthetic vacuum pump oil due to oil mist from neighbor's LEM bagger). Started with 20sec vac/4.4sec heat/5sec cool down setting. Half way thru the bags shortened seal time to 20/4.2/4.0 as heat bar heated up and eventually to 20/3.8/3.8. Used thermal sealer (FKR-200 sealer 8" with #4 setting and 3 sec) for second seal (never had a failure back in 2012 for 2 runs and with neighbor). None of the bagger seals failed. Overall pleased with results. I'm upgrading my other Presto and other canner to rocking weight as it maintains a steady pressure. Looking forward to next season and some bigger runs.

 

Thanks luk Diver for both the review of the vaccuum sealer and the plug for my tuna canning video
Tight lines

Steve
FV Tools of Ignorance