# Please recommend a food vacuum sealer machine that doesn't suck / is not a total waste of money. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004 "2019-11-04T23:33:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004/21 "2019-11-05T22:02:52Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I have a [VacMaster like this one](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-vp210-chamber-tabletop-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-10-1-4-seal-bar/120VMASVP210.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImLf9od3T5QIVmB-tBh176AuxEAYYASABEgJKvvD_BwE), the main issue was the price but living in Alaska 80% of my protein was subsistence hunting/fishing. I had a friend there who packed his freezer with salmon and halibut every year. I helped him with the halibut one time. This was when Costco (I think) had their no questions asked item return. He would use his sealer until it burned out, then take it back and get a new one. Rinse and repeat for years. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004/22 "2019-11-06T01:09:17Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Still there for me, and I see it for both my personal account in Firefox and work’s business account in Chrome. It’s an orange “flag” right below the price and above the color options. > > Are you on the (more expensive base price) stainless model? The coupon doesn’t work for the white one. It looks like the base price went down further so it’s $360.91 plus tax for white or $309.21 for stainless. Got it. $280 had me confused and I wasn’t sure if Amazon was doing price testing or something. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004/23 "2019-11-06T04:19:36Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Got it. $280 had me confused and I wasn’t sure if Amazon was doing price testing or something. Thank you. So you were looking at the white one, and did you get it? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004/24 "2019-11-06T04:44:37Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > So you were looking at the white one, and did you get it? I’m strongly considering it, but haven’t committed yet. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004/25 "2019-11-07T18:53:52Z")
I’ve never had a food sealer, but I have a meat farmshare which comes frozen and vacuum sealed by the butcher. I run into this same problem occasionally with the meat share packages. The problem, I believe, is when the packages rub against each other while in the freezer (which occurs when I am moving things around looking for something) the plastic can develop small pinprick holes. The meat, after all, is frozen solid - it’s like rubbing two rocks together with a thin sheet of plastic between them. The plastic is going to get damaged. I’ve thought of wrapping the packages in freezer paper, but that seems really wasteful and the problem doesn’t happen often enough. I find that the longer a package is in the freezer the more likely it is for it to become “a loose bag around” the frozen meat, and moisture to get in and cause frost and freezer burn. That’s my working hypothesis, at least. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-food-vacuum-sealer-machine-that-doesnt-suck-is-not-a-total-waste-of-money/843004.md?page=1)