Vacuum Sealers.

[rocstar]

I have been looking at vacuum sealers for several months now. As much as I would like to have a Weston, I am thinking the cheaper Food Savers would work just fine in reading many of the comments on the forum. The question I have is with all the different models in the $150 range. There is the Food Saver 3840, the 3880, the Deluxe Plus Game Saver, the Game Saver Silver, etc. Is there any big difference between the models from a operational reliability standpoint? I would use is primarily for fish, vegetables, sausage, and the like. I know the 3800 series are more upright with a roll holder. The Game Savers look to be more basic. I am not looking for all kinds of Bells but something that is functional and works well. Can a person get replacement parts for any of these such as the heating/sealing element and gaskets?

[reinhard1]

i have an old food saver plus one from my motherinlaw that's older yet. they all work fine for me and have had no problems. i'm sure your basic food saver like the game saver is upgraded and better than the old one's which work fine. i haven''t seen the ones with roll holders but i never seem to need one anyway. good luck.

[Tom Linderholm]

I've used the 3860 for several years, purchased at Sams Club with the 3 year warranty. I can usually get about 8-12 months out of them before something fails on it (daily use). With the warranty I just throw it in the box and bring it back to Sams and they give me a new one.

Personally, I typically don't buy service contracts but with how fast you can burn one of these machines up it makes sense in this case.

Also for a cheap source for precut bags and rolls in bulk hit up Goodmans dot com.

[Jim Almquist]

Also for a cheap source for precut bags and rolls in bulk hit up Goodmans dot com.

Tom meant Goodmans dot net

I checked out there prices and they are very decent.

[Tom Linderholm]

Tom meant Goodmans dot net

Good Catch

[lakeshoremunster]

I would get a model that has a dry and wet setting, it might make your enjoyment of the machine better. A good source for good cheap bags can be found at the hardware store, I no longer buy the name brand bags for twice the price.

On a side note has anyone ever try the bulk roll of vac bags from cabelas, how well do they work with the food saver?