Chamber vacuum sealers

[Seasport]

I’m looking to purchase a chamber vacuum sealer and have read various members have them. I was wondering what experience people have had with the Vac Master VP215 and the JVR Vac 110, the VP 215 is currently a bit lower priced.

Any feedback is appreciated,

Regards

[Cheesehead_Griller]

I have the JVR Vac100 and love it. Use it ALL the time. I would highly recommend it. 

[Seasport]

Thanks, haven’t been able to find a lot of reviews on the JVR Vac, quite a few on the VP 215, some good and some not so much

[Bunji]

I also use the vac100. I haven’t used it a ton yet, but it’s been fantastic every time I have.

[Seasport]

I posted a shipping charge question to JVR, had reply within 2 hours.

Sent a message to VP a few days ago, still haven’t heard a reply.

Thinking more on the JVR Vac 100

[Syzygies]

I've owned a VacMaster VP115 and VP120. When the VP115 failed after seven years, I replaced it with a JVR Vac 100 based on advice here. I've since gifted that machine to a friend, now that I've given up that apartment. I'm waiting for the VP120 to break so I can replace it with another JVR.

The JVR is wide enough to seal two 6" wide bags side by side. I have workflows where that's huge.

The JVR is designed to open easily, like the trunk of a car. The VacMaster is in every way an earlier generation.

I hesitated to get an oil pump machine first time around. Oil pump machines are easy to maintain, don't get destroyed by water vapor, and develop a better vacuum. Anyone contemplating an air pump machine "to keep it simple" just isn't ready yet. Wait, then buy an oil pump.

[Jadeite]

I've had the JVR Vac100 for a couple of years now and love it. I even upgraded mine with a new circuit board when they added new features (specifically stopping/sealing in the middle of a cycle and a pre-set clean pump cycle) and it was super easy both dealing with the company and doing the switch. The fact you can literally replace every part on it is a huge bonus. 

[Cheesehead_Griller]

I was a bit intimidated by an oil pump vac sealer. I just didn't want more shit to maintain. However, the performance metrics were so much better I took the plunge. So happy I did. The only drawback is the chamber size. I can't fit a full rack of ribs in mine. I borrowed my neighbors food saver to seal a rack of ribs this past weekend. That thing was junk. Another perk of the JVR Vac100 is the serviceability like others said. So easy to change the oil and access any part of the machine. 

[jeffshoaf]

13 minutes ago, Cheesehead_Griller said:

. I borrowed my neighbors food saver to seal a rack of ribs this past weekend.. 

You can't use the food saver bags and hold them outside the chamber with the open end of the bag inside the chamber under the seal bar and vacuum and seal it that way? I've done it with my Avid Armor chamber - it's awkward but it works.

[Seasport]

I’m definitely getting ready to order the JVR 100, just have to get shipping sorted for Canada.

I still have a Foodsaver(Titlia brand) that works that I could press into service if needed for long items.

Again thanks for the responses.

[Cheesehead_Griller]

17 hours ago, jeffshoaf said:

You can't use the food saver bags and hold them outside the chamber with the open end of the bag inside the chamber under the seal bar and vacuum and seal it that way? I've done it with my Avid Armor chamber - it's awkward but it works.

No, my chamber vac requires the bag and contents be inside the chamber. I can't use it like you described. 

 

16 hours ago, Seasport said:

I’m definitely getting ready to order the JVR 100, just have to get shipping sorted for Canada.

I still have a Foodsaver(Titlia brand) that works that I could press into service if needed for long items.

Again thanks for the responses.

My recommendation is to buy some extra oil, filter, and bags. Don't waste your money on the small steel container set. If you can swing it buy the 3 gallon seal container. You can seal mason jars, marinate large chunks of meat, etc.  I will be buying the 3 gallon container very soon. 

[Syzygies]

 

20 hours ago, jeffshoaf said:

You can't use the food saver bags and hold them outside the chamber with the open end of the bag inside the chamber under the seal bar and vacuum and seal it that way? I've done it with my Avid Armor chamber - it's awkward but it works.

Huh. My JVC is now with a friend, who's camping in Canada, so we can't run the experiment.

This certainly wouldn't work with a chamber vacuum sealer bag. A bag designed for external clamp machines (there are many sources other than FoodSaver) is textured on the inside, with grooves that allow the air to escape. That's what you use.

I'd bet that this works: The JVC becomes an awkwardly sized external clamp machine. Someone who can source the correct textured bags should try this.

The JVC has another neat feature: A vacuum port to which one can attach a hose. This can create vacuums in external containers, e.g. to marinate meats.

PSA along these lines: There are a multitude of off-label ways to use a chamber vacuum machine. Marinating meats, and making quick pickles, are two well-known ways. Two long cycles with pasta dough in a cereal bowl hydrated the dough better than waiting, and the monster movie expansion and contraction is fun to watch.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Syzygies

[jeffshoaf]

6 hours ago, Syzygies said:

This certainly wouldn't work with a chamber vacuum sealer bag. A bag designed for external clamp machines (there are many sources other than FoodSaver) is textured on the inside, with grooves that allow the air to escape. That's what you use.

Yeah, the manual for my Avid Armor chamber machine has instructions to do this and specifically says you need to use the textured bags. 

The kit with hose and adapter to seal jars, etc. for my machine came out after I got mine and I ordered it as soon as it was available butII haven't had occasion to use it. A food saver clamp machine I bought years ago had a hose port and came with the hose and a set of canisters; I have rarely used the canisters but did use the hose to pull as much air as I could for bags of odd shaped food and things that I couldn't manipulate into the food saver rolls I had on hand.

While we're on the subject, does anyone have a process to vacuum pack bread without smooshing it? I had some cancellations for my July 4th cookout and I ended up with a bunch of leftover hamburger and hotdog rolls. I tried freezing them for a few days before vacuum packing but they still smooshed.

I vacuum packed two hot dog rolls two years ago and they smooshed badly. I have left them sitting on my knife block since then and other than being smooshed, they still look good and feel soft!

[C6Bill]

I've tried and failed at vac sealing bread before but just putting it in a plastic bag and freezing it has come out fine after a few weeks

[jeffshoaf]

3 hours ago, C6Bill said:

I've tried and failed at vac sealing bread before but just putting it in a plastic bag and freezing it has come out fine after a few weeks

I've frozen bread and was happy with it when I tried it after a few weeks in the freezer but much longer than that it gets hard bits. SinceII don't be finishing the buns within a few weeks I was hoping that vacuum packing it would prevent that. 

I asked the same question on Avid Armor 's Facebook page before posting here; they responded last week; they apologized for the late reply and explained that Facebook has stopped sending them notifications. Their recommendation was to freeze it for a day or two before vacuum packing and to use just the seal function; since the machine uses vacuum to close the seal bar, it pulls a minimal vacuum when just sealing. I tried the without the pre-freeze and still smooshed the bread but I don't remember if I tried it after freezing for a day. Its a little late note since it's been over a month but I'll try it the next time I'm facing the same situation.

[Seasport]

Received my JVR100 vac sealer a few days ago. Have used for berries, meat and produce, very impressive machine. Fit and finish is very good and under the hood it looks to assembled with quality components and very neatly done.

So far very happy with the product.

[MacKenzie]

On 8/2/2023 at 1:42 PM, Syzygies said:

Two long cycles with pasta dough in a cereal bowl hydrated the dough better than waiting, and the monster movie expansion and contraction is fun to watch.

I've been waiting to try vacuuming sealing my pasta dough and finally did it the day before yesterday for some Lasagna, I loved it. I did let it rest in the fridge for a few hours to suit my schedule. Yesterday I did it again for some spaghetti but it was in the fridge for an hour or so before I rolled it out and cut it into spaghetti. I will doing this every time I make pasta from now on, the dough was so smooth and easy to work with. It was also smooth in the final product. THANKS, Syzygies. 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by MacKenzie