The Gun Counter

We've spoken before about vacuum sealing food and supplies, and if I remember correctly I even asked for advice about which one to buy. I noticed that the dominant manufacturer in the stores I visit (Target, WalMart, Sam's Club) is the FoodSaver brand. Based on that alone, I decided on a FoodSaver. From there, I eliminated their handheld model in favor of their standard line of sealers. I didn't see any appreciable difference to me (though there may be for others with different needs or wants). At that point, I decided to wait for a good deal.

While wandering around Kohl's with Domestic 6 and "Juvenile (comma) Female (Comma) Two Each," I saw a FoodSaver model V2460, which Kohl's sells for $189 (and sells for $150 at Amazon). The sale was $99, and it came with more than enough plastic to practice the process and do some productive work. I also decided to buy a $40 set of rolls and pre-sized bags from Sam's Club while I was there today. That ought to keep my rolling for a while!

One benefit to this unit is counter appeal (clean and trim, with a glossy easy-clean finish). Females will appreciate the attention to finish, so it won't be relegated to the garage by demand (though it could be by choice). Another benefit is the effectiveness of the vacuum and seal. The one-button approach allows one to insert a bag and let the machine do the rest. A "seal only" button makes it possible to craft your own bags from their plastic. I found that I can very easily make two seal lines about 1/4" apart just because I like redundancy.

There are three negatives to this make/model, though none critical to me. First, the vacuum pump makes some noise; that may be unacceptable to some. How much noise? The volume is on par with a typical kitchen blender, but the sound is akin to my 1.5GAL hobby air compressor. It's not the TAPTAPTAP of a shop compressor, but more like a throaty growl. Second, contrary to manufacturer's claims, it does not perform adequately with damp materials. The manufacturer advertises acceptable performance with raw meats, for example, but tests with three types of fresh, cold, fairly dry meats today (pork ribs, bacon, and ground beef) all showed otherwise. This is not to say the machine won't vacuum seal meat; far from it. Rather, the machine performs best with frozen meat or bone-dry cuts. If the meat is damp at all, the vacuum pump simply leaves a little too much air in the bag for my taste. The third and final negative is the cord; it's far too short, and definitely suited to a kitchen counter top where an electrical outlet is within six inches or so. I wanted to use it at my kitchen table and had to find a small kitchen extension cord.

I had remarkable, television-quality results with two products. First, for practice, I sealed eight boxes of strike-on-box matches (32 count/ea); I even tossed a desiccant mini-bag on top of the boxes, beneath the plastic, before vacuum sealing. The result was astounding: the package looked bomb-proof! The second practice round was with a national-brand beef jerky in a one-pound bag. I opened the bag and separated the contents into three roughly equal portions. (This fits my 72-hour plan.) The vacuum-sealed jerky is sealed so tightly that the plastic looks 'glued' to it, and I couldn't bend the package without breaking the plastic!

Overall, I'm quite impressed. I can't believe I waited this long for something I'd say is a necessity for our mutual interests. As a side-note, the box claims a five-fold increase in expiration dates. I'm not certain that's completely accurate, but freezing bacon for five years sounds like an awfully good reason to own one of these.

I bought one to use up a credit I had with an online merchant, but I haven't really had occasion to use it yet. It is some other brand that uses plain mylar bags, instead of the special foodsaver type bags.

I have one, Foodsaver brand.

It's best to pre-freeze meats, soups, and stews before packing them. As you mentioned, moisture can make a mess, and interferes with the sealing process.
Keep the mouth of the bag clean and dry when packing; this assists with the heat seal at the end of the cycle.
DON'T use the Walmart "great value" brand bags or rolls. They are CRAP.

Thanks for the review. Been wishing we had one to send goodie bags to friends in the Sandbox but I flinched at the cost and options when I started shopping. This helps a bit with confidence in choices to make.

I've had mine for a few years now, and have loved it! We buy bacon 10-lbs at a time when it goes on sale and separate and freeze it. The thing will pay for itself pretty quickly if you put it to work.

UPDATE: The manual explicitly says do NOT cut the bags apart because the outer seams are especially tough and their simple seal isn't adequate to hold three or four corners. Of course, now I have to try it.


I cut a bag in two to see how it would work. I used the SEAL function twice on each side, so that there would be two SEAL lines about 1/8-inch apart. I did all three sides with that method, and then used the "vacuum-and-seal" for the fourth side, and sealed in one cup of peanuts. I'll let you know if the seal of my makeshift bags fail faster than the 'regular' bags.

I stumbled onto a great deal. A surplus/closeout store had a stack of larger home use machines, foodsaver brand for $30.00 each. They were store closeouts. They had a 15 day exchange, but no warranty. Got one that had the marinator container included. Don't get to that part of town very often, don't know if they have any left.

Have had a smaller 8" version for some time. Now have the 11" to go with it.

If you only get one, get the larger one.

Freeze meats and liquids before sealing.

UPDATE: The manual explicitly says do NOT cut the bags apart because the outer seams are especially tough and their simple seal isn't adequate to hold three or four corners. Of course, now I have to try it.

They just tell you that so you'll wind up buying more bags. I do it all the time.

Freeze meats and liquids before sealing.

I haven't found this to be necessary. With juicier stuff, there is a little runoff into the drip collector, but that lifts out and cleans easily enough.

I think I need to replace the heat strip on my sealer. After several years of good service, it seems to have a hot spot that leaks in the bag.

I bought a Foodsaver, and still haven't used it to vacuum seal a bag. I do use it with the regular canning lid attachment to vacuum seal jars of dehydrated fruits/veggies.

Evyl Robot wrote:

Freeze meats and liquids before sealing.

I haven't found this to be necessary. With juicier stuff, there is a little runoff into the drip collector, but that lifts out and cleans easily enough.

+1. I pat meats with a paper towel before I seal them, but I've also used my Foodsaver with liquid marinades with no problem, just allow a bit of extra space in the bag.