What is Reddit's opinion of Seal-a-Meal Manual Vacuum Sealer System & Starter Bags - FSSMSL0160-000,White?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

your correct, but I think kungfujohn1 has a point in the way amazon likes to carry the history of how you got to the product in the URL makes it easy to mistake if you copy that entire URL. IE a non affiliation link without any ref string at all: https://smile.amazon.com/Manual-Vacuum-Sealer-System-Starter/dp/B008HMWC4A would have been more obvious, but in the end no different.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the one I got a few years ago and it has been fine. I haven't used it anywhere close to weekly or even monthly, so perhaps it's lasted so long because of sparing use.

This one is way cheaper than the costco one. Ive had mine for almost 2 years and it has been great. Certainly saved me money on cheeses and meats that I can buy in bulk.

The bags are safe for immersion cooking, according to the package.

I heard that all vacuum sealers eventually go, so buy a cheap one.

Seal-a-Meal FSSMSL0160-000 Vacuum Sealer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HMWC4A/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_FJSIwbD17PJER

Just sayin'

Not as cheap as ziplocs, but in the long run, it's worth it. Plus you get to vacuum seal stuff for your freezer.

The $30 Seal A Meal on amazon has served me well for 2+ years if you don't want to wait for a sale.

I bought this vacuum sealer a few years ago and have been extremely happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The price is up significantly from when I bought it (for $30). Not sure if that's a short term blip or not. The best part of this model is that it's so small. It fits into a corner of a shelf next to my brew gear and I can just grab it, plug it in and reseal a bag right after I get the hops I need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 this one is cheap and works great. You can use amazon brand bags that also work great and make it so much cheaper

There's supposed to be a 'useful stuff' link in the sidebar, but it looks like it's blank to me. /u/revolution486 is there still a wiki type thing for products?

OP, I bought a cheapo food sealer on amazon that's worked great for me. Ziplocks always leaked. This is the one I have, but I paid $17.59 on 10/31/18:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've used stock pots for the most part, but they're clunky and waste a lot of heat (which wears your SV device a lot) I'm looking at upgrading to the plastic bins now, but if you don't have a ton of funds right this second, it's a good component to hold off on to make sure you'll use enough to justify.

Searing in an oven is going to be possible but difficult. You need to keep applying heat while you're searing so you can't just take the pan out and toss the meat in, but you often want to baste or flip, so you also can't just drop the meat in and close the oven. The general advice I've heard is that enameled cast iron is "approved" for use on glass tops but (and I'm quoting someone else here):

>I wonder whether this whole issue is real at all. I've been using my heavy Le Creuset stuff for five years now with not a hint of a scratch anywhere (yes, I know it's coated but it's still darn heavy). So I just did a google search on the subject and found dozens of similar threads on all sorts of other chat sites, and you know what they all had in common? Despite the manufacturers' recommendations against using cast iron on glass cooktops, I was unable to find a single report of anyone ever actually getting any scratches! On the contrary, there were LOTS of postings from people saying they'd been using cast iron on glass for years and years with no problems at all. > > I'm starting to think that warning is just the manufacturers' lawyers playing CYA.

You can also buy a butane burner for ~$20 if you have the urge.

Another common tool is a straight up blow torch. If you have trouble with evenness, a searzall attachment helps spread the heat.

OI bought a cheapo food sealer on amazon that's worked great for me. This is the one I have, but I paid $17.59 on 10/31/18:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are my bags:

https://smile.amazon.com/Seal-Meal-Vacuum-FoodSaver-Sealers/dp/B0000CFG1Y/ref=pd_bxgy_2/133-8707378-7799501?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0000CFG1Y&pd_rd_r=22803a65-af36-4e16-ae8c-4e8353281106&pd_rd_w=NoSjY&pd_rd_wg=mW1mB&pf_rd_p=096...

I don't have any experience with either, but I have had a "Seal A Meal" since August of 2016 that I've had good luck with (and it's cheaper than both of the listed units). ;)

Oh, and here are the bags I use with it....

Here's the one I use. I'm not sure it's available in the UK.

No, but I bought a Seal-a-Meal in 2016 and have been using it since with good results!

I mean this is $30 on Amazon and it's worked flawlessly for about a year so far for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A

I have this one, and it works perfectly. I've sealed maybe 7 lbs of hops in 1-2 oz increments without a hitch.

> Which ever model you buy, make sure it has a separate vacuum and seal button.

This is a good point. I just got my first vacuum sealer, a Crenova VS-1, I paid $40 on Amazon (it's $70 now, but will hopefully drop again at some point).

It has a button that will just seal, and a button that will vacuum to a certain level, then seal automatically. It has Dry and Moist modes, the Moist mode pulls less vacuum before sealing, to try and avoid sucking liquid into the seal area.

If the bag seems like it's going to crease, I click one end of the sealer bar down, then pull on the other end of the bag, and click that side down. That helps pull out any possible creases.

There is an inexpensive one on Amazon with good reviews, Seal-A-Meal, $36: https://www.amazon.com/Seal-Meal-hands-free-indicator-FSSMSL0160-000/dp/B008HMWC4A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

But it seems to only have a single button, which starts/runs the entire process. It sounds to just seal a bag, you slide the bag only onto the seal area, but not the vacucum area. It probably vacuums nothing, then seals the bag. But I'm not sure if you have many other options.

I can start vacuuming a bag that has some liquid. But before the liquid gets pulled to the seal area, I can hit Cancel on mine to stop the vacuum pump, then immediately press the Seal button to seal the bag. I'm not sure if you'd be able to do that with this Seal-A-Meal. I don't know if its Cancel button will cause it to actually seal the bag, or just stop the process entirely. If Cancel makes it seal, that would be OK.

This Nesco has nice features, at least, for $50: https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-VS-02-Vacuum-Sealing-Starter/dp/B00IUAK39A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484093198&sr=8-1

A Seal button, a Vacuum/Seal button, and a button for vacuuming external things like jars (using an attachment). It also lets you specify a short or long seal time.

Mine is not fancy, but it seems OK to me so far. It has a 3-year warranty, which doesn't hurt. Some people suggest just buying an inexpensive one (in the ~$50 range), and replacing it when it eventually fails, since it sounds like even the $200 ones aren't going to last forever.

I use this one - Amazon Link. I haven't put it through heavy use yet, but it works great so far.

Make and model? How long have you had it/actively used it? The vacuum pumps do eventually seem to go out.

This is the first vac sealer I had gotten. Lasted 2 and a 1/2 years with very moderate use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A

Last year I bought this FoodSaver vac sealer which I've been more happy with. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S

Part of my problem was that I was attempting to vac seal brines on my first one. Now I would probably just settle for having a little bit of air in there so that I could guarantee a good seal

I bought this one for $30.99 a year ago (it's a little more now) and it's been great so far. It's very low profile. http://www.amazon.com/Seal-a-Meal-FSSMSL0160-000-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B008HMWC4A

Seal a meal works well for me. Ive used it for other things as well but mostly hops. No complaints so far.