Side by Side Comparison of: Nesco vs FoodSaver

This is my first food vacuum and after reading so many reviews on different products, I settled on the Nesco VS-02. Cooking for one or two people isn't easy and finding single portioned items is near impossible. Bought this to portion my food as it's usually just me I'm preparing meals for and tired of not having single serve portions. I've used it 3 days in a row sealing 2-3 bags at a time then allowing to cool before I seal any thing else. The machine has sealed every time and I'm so very pleased with it. Simple to use.A lot of the meat I pre cook into the dish I want. If the item has sauce or a gravy, I put it in single portion size containers, freeze, then vacuum once it's frozen solid. This works great and no worry about liquids being sucked up into the machine. Now, trying to figure what I want to take to work for lunch is a simple process of grabbing my veggies and meat out of the freezer and going. I even found a recipe for freezer friendly mashed potatoes! Large bags of items like fries, ravioli, veggies can be dumped in a sealing bag, sealed and then resealed as you remove your amount for cooking. These frozen items would usually ruin on me before I got around to using the whole bag, so this little machine will also help save money.I can't comment on longevitys I've just purchased, but right out of the box it's doing what it's intended to do..

I bought this here on Amazon. I paid about $70. I bought it for myself for Christmas and it is my new favorite toy! I vacuum seal everything now!I use it to reseal bags of chips. Also, on all types of food.Another thing I have used it for is vacuum sealing important documents - passports, birth certificates, wedding certificates, etc......just put it all in a bag and vacuum it. I'm certain it will make them last much longer.It has an area in the back where you can put a roll of vacuum bags. The item seems very well built. I look forward to using it.I bought it over the Food Saver brand because I felt like after reading the reviews and researching that it was more heavy-duty. So far I agree. Very nice quality.

I have only used it a few times on some pork loin and some chili. Follow the instructions! If you try to seal a bag with liquid in it the machine will suck it up and you will not get a seal. Also, the area of the bag to be sealed must be clean and dry. I set the bags of chili upright in a rack and placed them in the freezer until the liquid froze. Wiped the area inside the bag with a paper towel and then placed it in the machine. No problems!

I have been researching different vacuum sealers for awhile. Originally I was looking at foodsaver but when the price on this unit dropped to 44 dollars I figured I had nothing to lose by giving this a shot. After using it multiple times I must say I love this thing. It doesn't take up much counter space and its extremely easy to use. It sits at an angle, and with the vacuum chamber's suction protruding up, liquid is less likely to get sucked into the pump. So easy to clean and maintain. Sealing strip sits outside vacuum chamber and seals very well even though seal width is quite thin. Solidly built and I like that the cord can be wrapped underneath unit when not in use. It also comes with some nesco brand bags but I prefer lemontreefoods bags. This version doesn't have a roll holder or cutter but I don't use rolls so that wasn't a deal breaker for me. This unit is basic but that doesn't make it any less efficient. Watch for price drops on this fantastic little machine. Money well spent!

I've never owned a Food Vacuum sealer system before, so I did a bit of research before purchasing the Nesco. I also tried out the FoodSaver V2244.Comparing the two was pretty simple.Cost:The Nesco sells for about 15% less than the Foodsaver.Quality:The Foodsaver felt cheaply made. It was light, small, and didn't have one of the features I really liked about the Nesco, an extended sealing setting.The Nesco feels solid, as if you could use it continuously as a hobbyist whereas the Foodsaver felt like it was best for grocery day only, and for a small day at that.Weight:No comparison, the Nesco weighs considerably more and feels more solid.Accessories:The Foodsaver wins here. It comes with different size bags, a vacuum attachment for bottles, canisters, quick marinator, (all of which must be purchased separately) and other Foodsaver after market items.The Nesco comes with a few different bags.Size:The Foodsaver takes up a lot less space, so keeping it on the counter is less of a problem. As is finding space in a cupboard.The Nesco, due to its more solid build and higher quality, does take up a lot of counter space, but that's a trade off I'm willing to make, as I can box it up, and put it out in the garage on top of our freezer.I did have a few questions to ask and Nesco's customer service was very responsive. I've heard that Foodsaver is not very customer friendly and a question I asked them in early December still hasn't been responded to as of the date of this review, late January.For quality, expected life expectancy, and service, I've rated the Nesco two stars higher over the Foodsaver.I was so impressed with the Nesco, I purchased one of their Food Dehydrators as well. I've been using that a lot, making homemade jerky for my dogs, then vacuum sealing them with the VS-02. All in all, I'm pleased with Nesco.

I love this vacuum sealer. The cutter for the bags is wonderful. You just place the roll in the sealer and slide the cutter and have no problem getting a straight cut. I had ordered another one before and didn't like it as I had a hard time cutting bags straight across. The Nesco has a number of setting and works well. I would definitly give it a 5.

I love my FoodSaver! I mostly use it for blocks of cheese - it keeps them fresh for months and saves money over buying shredded. I also use it for buying bulk chicken and steaks and freezing them. It works wonders on preventing freezer burn and making them last longer. I was initially worried that I wouldn't use it because of the extra time it takes over just sticking stuff in a bag, but it takes less than a minute to set it up and make the bag and use.Pros: Does a great job at keeping stuff fresh. Extends the life of bulk food, ultimately saving money. Not too large to keep out on the counter top.Cons: Special bags (Costco always has a large value pack of the rolls).

My in-laws raise meat on their hobby farm and are always giving us free meat (great in-laws huh?!). I found that the butcher paper that the meat was wrapped in after processing didn't hold up to freezer burn very well, so I got this vacuum sealer so we could package our meat and keep it safe from freezer burn. I have to say that I am extremely impressed by this sealer. We have been using this for over a year and have not had one single failure. All of the seals are nice and tight and when we pull the meat out, even after many months, it still tastes very fresh with no residual tastes. I would definitely recommend this sealer.

So happy we finally decided to add a vacuum sealer to the kitchen arsenal. I've used this for a variety of purposes from preparing food packets for sous vide cooking to freezing whole loaves of bread with excellent results. Very easy to use with both dry and liquid items. Both the bags and the rolls are simple to use, though the rolls give you the most flexibility and are what I prefer. Occasionally I've had a seal that doesn't quite stick so I've gotten in the habit of double sealing any seams, it takes only a few more seconds and gives a guaranteed seal. I am eager to try some of the accessories that can work with the FoodSaver like the bottle stoppers and quick marinator.

Takes a little getting used to, as this is my first sealer. I figured out that I need to hold the vacuum switch for as long as I felt was needed for the desired vacuum (soups/berries less, steaks more, etc), and then quickly hit the seal switch, which shuts itself off. After a few tries I got it.I found it easier to put a thick cutting board in front of the sealer so that the bag was level with the opening. Just having it on the counter prevented the ends to not line up when closing the lid.Submersion tests were successful. I've had meats in there for a few months now. I rebuilt my kitchen, so I haven't cooked, and everything I've opened so far is as fresh as the day I put it in.

I did a lot of research before deciding which FoodSaver would be best for me. I watched You-Tube videos and read the reviews here. The reason I chose this style vs. the most expensive was that it's NOT automatic. The more expensive models cut the roll for you and it wastes a lot of plastic. It takes no time at all to cut the size you need and the plastic isn't cheap! Being an "empty nest" now, I noticed food was ruining due to freezer burn before my husband and I could eat it. I got used to buying in bulk when we had a house full of kids and now I don't want to pay a higher price for a smaller amount of food.I saw many reviews complaining about their FoodSaver not working well. Most of these were the more expensive models. This one is perfect! Now I can continue to buy in bulk and our food wont freezer burn. If you're cooking your meat first (like meatballs), make sure you refrigerate them before packing so the juice won't be pulled out. I do dap off any excess liquid - like on chicken before I seal because it does pull a lot of juice and can keep it from completely sealing. I wiped off the edges and re-sealed just above the first seal and it worked perfectly. Great save! I've used it about 5 times - make sure you let it cool for 20 seconds in between each sealing process - and it will work fine. I've had no problems with it.You can cook your food in the bag, too! Low and slow is the way to go! Heat a pot of water to about 180 degrees, place the frozen food in the water and it will be ready in about 30 minutes. I cooked a 4 oz. piece of frozen salmon and it was delicious! Moist and flaky and I didn't have to use the oven! Let the food rest for about 5 minutes before opening the bag.

I'll admit I was skeptical at first - I wasn't convinced that vacuum-sealing would make any impact in reducing the outrageous quantity of food my family wastes in the deep, dark, forgotten recesses of the freezer. But in just two months of use, it actually has. Granted, much of the savings are attributable to more enthusiastic management of the freezer, but it's working. We are now also purchasing meats, cheeses, poultry, etc. in quantity when they're on sale and also cooking sauces in quantity and sealing in multiple bags. The unit has officially paid for itself in our two months of use. The ability to freeze "pre-leftovers" is convenient and saves money. And the quality of the vacuum sealed foods is practically the same as fresh-prepared.Based on reviews (though mostly of other models), I was concerned about the quality and durability of the sealer, but this unit is well built and performs very consistently. No doubt in my mind that it wouldn't hold up to commercial use, but for family use - weekly and occasionally in-between - I'm confident it will last at least one or two years without problems. Certainly, vacuum pumps are never long-lived and will probably be the demise of the unit, but a unit with a serviceable, commercial grade vacuum pump would cost much, much more and would also require periodic maintenance. This unit is inexpensive enough to justify replacement should it fail.When ordering we also purchased an assortment of rolls along with the two standard sized bags. I wish we had passed on the rolls - we haven't sealed anything yet that didn't easily fit into either the quart or gallon bags, but I suppose if you are sealing excessively long (and narrow) items like full racks of ribs the rolls would be helpful. The bags are far more convenient and not that much more expensive. Here's another trick - when you need an ice pack immediately or for food transport, just seal some cubes in a bag. For some reason, the ice seems to melt much more slowly in a vacuum bag, and you can even reuse it.So, my advice is go ahead and try it. If you're not running a home meat packing business I'll bet it will be a good fit for any average family. Read the instructions - an hour of pre-freezing before sealing prevents the vacuum from sucking out juices and is essential when packing sauces and liquids. Doing this I have not even had to clean the sump tray even once. And besides quantity of use, I'm certain aspiration of contents into the vacuum pump is the primary reason the units fail.

I've been a faithful FoodSaver owner in the past but they have become too costly. Quality good but too costly. This unit is more price wise and has similar features I was looking for.. storage of rolls, cutter on unit and ease of use. Locking down lid was problem at first but DO READ DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE FIRST USE.

I have no experience with other vacuum food saver devices. This unit seems to do the job well when it can properly suck down the bag; the problem is that it seems to be rather finicky about getting a good vacuum seal. I often have had to re-arrange the bag after the unit has failed to pull a proper vacuum. To its' credit, it does recognize that it didn;t get a good seal, and it does NOT seal the bag then when the cycle is finished. So, it seems "smart" about it. And, as I said, I have no experience with others, so perhaps this is somewhat normal.The roll storage/cutting feature is sort of dumb. It doesn't help you create a bag, it just cuts it. I should have opted for a smaller unit and a pair of scissors...it would have been quicker!Lastly, as others have noted, it does have slopes that make it tough to put something on top of it; I have opted to keep it in the box.

We bought this machine because we've started preparing all of our lunches and dinners on Sunday afternoon. The first week we had so much food in the fridge it was crazy. We ate through all of this, but when we got to say 5 we started getting kind of leery about eating the older pieces of chicken.Week two we prepared just like before, but froze some of the meals. This worked, but it made for slightly freezer burnt meals. They still tasted OK, but we wanted something just a bit better.I've always wanted a food vacuum / sealer because I like buying in bulk and freezing what I can. Cheese is a huge thing that is usually frozen in our house. This said, these items would often be freezer burned. We'd still use it, but it'd be awe fully dried out and sometimes have the flavor of the other things in the freezer.This was our first week using the vacuum and it was kind of an awesome process! We vacuumed half of the weeks meals and are taking them out one to two days at a time. This is a much better system and now we know we're getting fresh food instead of something questionable in terms of spoiling.I took one star off because while this machine performed adequately, we still had some freezer burn on a few items, even though we used the maximum vacuum setting. Also - this machine is HUGE. It's very deeps and ~18" wide, so it definitely isn't going to be sitting on most ppls counters.Finally something that I didn't really thing about until I used it on food that was semi-liquidy is that this machine (and I'm sure all vacuum sealers do the same thing) pulls liquid into the part that pulls the air out. There were a few dishes that we had to soak juice up with a paper towel because it got kind of messy.

Works great. Only Basic instructions provided but easy to figure out. Pretty Loud during vacuuming but works great. Also works well with "Food Vac Bags" brand bags.

This is my first vacuum sealer, so I can't really compare it to any others from a usability perspective, but overall I'm very happy with this sealer. I have found that it does a good job pulling air of the bags, seals well, and is easy to operate. I've done long jobs where I had to seal many bags in succession and it did a good job, even with wet materials. I've not used it with the canister attachment yet, but look forward to it and am glad that it has that feature -- at which time I'll probably start using it much more frequently with canisters.Pros:Seal-only button allows you to seal pre-cut bags, or double seal bags.Extended seal setting gives more confidence in the sealWorks with all bags I've tried (though some bags are better than others)Canister only button to quickly select between bags/canistersBag roll holder (though a little small) is convenient, especially with the built-in cutter.Cons:The only drawback I've noticed, causing me to give it 4 stars instead of 5, is that the sealing bar is outside of the vacuum chamber, meaning that you have to leave a rather long piece of bag material free. I've noticed that some of the FoodSaver models put the heated sealing bar inside of the vacuum chamber, so there'd be less wasted bag material. It's also a little larger than some other models, but not so much that I'd consider it a drawback.EDIT: I recently bought the FoodSaver accessory hose and jar sealing attachment and the work perfectly with this machine making it all the more useful -- I only regret that I didn't buy those earlier!

Nice food saver. Only drawback is it has to take breaks after every third or fourth seal. It needs time to heat up again to vacuum seal the bag.

This is a handy device that can be used with a sous vide or to store fresh/frozen foods.It works well. It's compact and the cord hides in the bottom of the unit.With the roll film, you have to make your own bags by cutting off the size you want and sealing one end first. Then you vac and seal the other end once filled with your food. That's okay with me because ready made bags seem expensive.

My wife is on her third iteration of this product. The FoodSaver is an item that works as advertised and allows one to freeze things for an extended periods of time without freezer burn. My only reservation is that they seem to be very fragile and only work for a year or so before they go on the fritz. Of course, we use ours numerous times at least once a week, so maybe the expectation is that one will not use it this often? Nice product but they seem to be manufactured with planned obsolescence in mind.

Much better than my old one. Very easy to use. Takes universal bags with no problem. I an very satisfied with this model. I have big gardens and I freeze lots of fruits, berries & veggies. So far, this has been an awesome machine for everything including bread & meats.

Works great so far, only wish I would have spent more money and bought a sealing system that you could stop it when you wanted to.

This is a smaller version of another FoodSaver I have. My other unit has a bag cutter that is very nice. Have to cut rolls with scissors if you buy this smaller unit. If space is not a big issue, buy the bigger one. Can't comment on all the attachments as I never use them. Just the wife and I at home now. We work long hours which leaves little time for lunch preparation. Another problem, shopping at Costco with just 2 people often turns into an exercise in futility when it comes to food. Takes a little discipline, but I think this sealer saves time and definitely money in the long run. Especially if you buy the generic brand bags that work just fine. We buy the family packs of meat etc and make them up all at one time. Package them in serving size bags and freeze. 2 weeks worth of lunches for about an hours worth of work. Also use this to freeze portion size fruit mixes for smoothies. Same song. buy it bulk and package it up. ready when you are. We waste very little food anymore. No more freezer burn. I could go on and on. A little obsessed i suppose. I only have one complaint with this unit which doesnt seem to be an issue with the bigger unit; after sealing about 6 bags in a row, you have to let it cool down for a couple of minutes. Seems to lose some of the suction. Cools down and its fine.

I recently got a sous vide cooker (the Anova Precision) and started by submerging ziplocs in water to seal. While that works, it's a little tricky sometimes and well, it's hard to do in preheated water. Also, if you want to prepare your sous vide bags in advance and freeze them, you really want more of the air out of the bag. So I decided to get this sealer on a friend's recommendation.First of all, it does vacuum and seal quite well. I have used it to seal pork chops, hanger steaks, rib eyes, filet mignon and even salmon. It comes with quart and gallon bags to try, as well as a small roll of "make your own" bags. I find the bags are a little quicker, but the roll works well too. It's good to have the two sizes -- hanger steaks want a gallon, a salmon steak wants a quart.For salmon, you don't want to let it suck until it's done -- there's no "gentle" mode on this model. This is especially true if you add olive oil into the bag. You don't want it getting sucked into the machine. However, the trick is that you can cancel the vacuum early by tapping the button again to turn it off, then hit seal manually to finish it. With this manual approach, I found that this can also be effective in not squishing salmon, one of the things you always hear as a drawback to these machines. With attention, you can get great results.Why 4 and not 5? It's a little fiddly to store. There's a loose piece that goes in the vacuum slot, but you can't store it clamped shut (per manual to avoid ruining the gasket). That means when you try to store it in a shelf or drawer somewhere the top flips open and the insert falls out on the floor and it's just a hassle. With a little better design of how to keep the pieces neatly together without destroying it, I would give them 5 stars. Regardless of this small hassle, I recommend this item. Even if you don't sous vide, you can make your bulk meats from Costco last in the freeze much longer by vacuum sealing before you freeze!

1. I bought the white one because it was cheaper without realizing it is a different model than the black one, doesn't have the cutter or storage compartment.2. Definitely need patience to use this for several items since you should wait 2 minutes between items. If you don't wait, you will have the problems I did, maybe, where one time sealing doesn't always seal completely. I was having problems with bags not vacuuming. I thought my equipment broke already, but turned out that it can't vacuum if the first seal doesn't seal the entire side. So I had to double seal all sides to make sure my product was safe.Luckily for me I will not use this too often since I live alone.

As a bag sealer this unit is great for the price!You can preemptively press the "Seal Only" button to cut short the crushing vacuum cycle to preserve delicate items, but it takes some fineness and practice.The bags must be perfectly lined up at the lip of the sealer or there will be tiny holes in the seam, my prior vac sealers seemed to deal with this much better but this unit is not able to press a crease if one exists. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a hose accessory anywhere in the world for this unit and I really wanted to use the function to seal mason jars! I've ordered a FoodSaver wide-mouth jar attachment and found that did not include a hose attachment either! So now I am buying the FoodSaver brand hose attachment and hoping it fits and works with this Nesco unit. If not, I am out ~$20. Wish me luck! I'll update when I know.

I Gave 3 stars b/c 1st of all I got a defective item. The product seals the bag but does not vacuum out air. If this actually worked it would be a great item. It has a space to hold a roll & cut off even bags. They sent 2 rolls and some pre cut bags. I opted to make my own size bag, which worked fine. The sealer worked fine as well. It just would not vacuum out air. Thanks to Amazon return policy I don't ever worry about buying items b/c if something like this happens I can return it. Although I am sad I was VERY excited to get my new food vacuum & it was defective, but had it worked it would be a great product!!!! Since I read a lot of the reviews this doesn't seem to be an issue, I just have some bad luck but yes I would recommend this product.

Had to wait a short bit to get an Amazon warehouse deal that was suppose to be in stock but apparently wasn't. Once the item came back into stock shipping was fast. The product was accurately described and depicted.Product received was defect free. The amazon warehouse deal was very good and I was happy with the product I got as well as the price. I was eager to use it and used within the first few days of receiving it. Two rolls and a some pre-sized bags were provided.Impression from my first use was very good and I probably did close to 10 packages of portioned raw products like fish and chicken and stuck them in the freezer. Everything went very well and I was extremely happy and the items sealed and frozen came out good and was able to easily thaw in the same bag I sealed it in.My second use wasn't as good, the lower foam that seals the too and bottom to allow a vacuum sealed to occur stuck to the upper foam when I pulled it down and opened it up. I thought the lower foam went right back into its channel properly and had a few issues getting a seal to happen. At this point I was pretty disappointed. It looks like the foam seal smashed a little in one spots and because it is slightly compressed in one spot it allows air in/out and a vacuum sealed doesn't happen well. Luckily I found I can apply some pressure on the top near where the lower foam defect spot is and it'll seal right up without issue.I'm sure the lower foam is available somewhere and I know it can be replaced easily. I just wouldn't have expected it to stick, I cleaned the machine and seal after use and I guess since I latched the top to the bottom for storage allowed the upper and lower foam stick to eachother slightlyou.Now I store the machine with the top not latched and have not had an issue with the upper and lower foam sticking to cause product/usability issue.All in all, I am happy with the machine and it's performance prior to the foam seal issue. Luckily it is still usable with some assisted pressure, but I am not happy I have to do that on such a new of a machine. The only option I had for a complaint was to send it back for a credit. If I had the option to swap it out I would've exercised that option.

I felt misled seeing two color options for the same listing--white or black/silver. Maybe it was naive of me, but I assumed the reviews would pertain to both colors.I looked at a number of reviews before buying. The reviews convinced me to get a Nesco over a Foodsaver. The small print at the top of each review I read specified "Color: Black/Silver." This makes it sound like color is the only difference. These reviews also mentioned features like a cutter, a bag storage area, and a port to attach a hose for vacuum sealing universal jars.Since both color options were offered under the same listing of Nesco Food Vacuum Sealer, it didn't cross my mind that the white one might have fewer features. I just thought it was cheaper because white isn't trendy like black and silver. The Nesco got so many 5-star reviews! I'd bet that if the white and black/silver were listed separately on Amazon, the white would in no way get same the high ratings of the black/silver; it's not the same unit at all.It also never occurred to me that clicking "white" would yield a different product description (I learned that after the fact). In my opinion, these should be listed as two completely different products on Amazon, much as a different model of camera or food processor or other appliance would have its own listing. Bottom line: I need to be more vigilant before buying products that offer different options!My experience using the white sealer: I discovered that the white unit does indeed lack many of the features of the black/silver unit. To operate, it requires a good deal of pressure to snap each corner shut before sealing. The first time I tried it, I was afraid I'd break it by pressing down that hard, but it seemed to accept the pressure just fine. I was pleased with the integrity of the heat-sealed bags, but in general, the unit just seemed a little awkward to use.I ended up returning the white one and ordering the black/silver one instead. The jury is still out, as the new one hasn't arrived yet.UPDATE: I love the black and silver one. I use it all the time and have not had any problems. Have owned it more than a year. I love that frozen foods last well beyond normal expiration, thanks to total lack of air in the bags.

The heating element was so hot that it melted through the bags, and the bags I use are thicker than what came with the machine (didn't try with the nesco bags.) It also needs too much headspace on bags compared to other vacuum sealers I've used.

I really loved this model. However, it only lasted 2 years. It pulls the air out but will not seal automatically. I have friends who purchased the same model and only lasted 1 year. As this is one of the less expensive ones, if you don't mind buying a new one every 1-2 years, this is the model for you. As I use it quite frequently, I'm looking at a more reliable model.

The sealant ring on my unit broke pretty fast, and the replacement rings you can buy didn't really create as good a vacuum seal, so I end up using this unit with my hand pressing down on the lid just to get a good seal. That's not an enjoyable way to to this device. It's still unquestionably great because a vacuum packer is a fantastic thing to have in the kitchen, but at least for me this thing is "okay, might recommend, might recommend getting a different, better one depending on price"

The accessory vacuum tube fitting splits and leaks with only occasional and gentle use. Very small plastic component, would be inexpensive and easy to replace if it were available. As it was, I had to return my unit for replacement; the fitting on the second unit soon cracked as well. I gave up trying to use the accessories (which were an important feature for me on selecting this unit).Otherwise the unit works fine.

If you plan to use this for sous vide - DON'T. While it is great for day to day use, I have found I have double seal anything I need to really be fully airtight.It is also often difficult to get it to properly vacuum and can be very temperamental about the bag, etc. You may want to consider something slightly better quality if these are concerns.

Very frustrated. The unit worked great to vacuum seal 25 pounds of blueberries in quart bags. Two weeks later I go to use it to vacuum seal fresh fish I caught on a fishing trip to the bay and found the vacuum no longer functioning. Ended up just sealing the bag prior to freezing the fish.The unit is now being returned to Amazon and they will ship the same model for replacement. Amazon return process is so far smooth and easy.Prior to deciding to purchase this model I reviewed the various reviews on Amazon and decided the pros out weigh the cons. When the unit does work it performs an outstanding job, now lets see if the replacement V2244 works longer than 1 month!

I've been using a food saver for years and it's been very reliable. I was replacing it with this unit because it was having trouble completing the cycle, and the gaskets were very expensive to replace so I decided it was time to get a new one. I ordered this one because it was the cheapest and did not realize that it did not have a built in bag cutter. I like to use the rolls because I find they are more economical since I can cut the bags to fit. Not having a cutter was a deal breaker for me, so I returned this one and upgraded to a more feature rich model.

I started to give it a 3 but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I get so irritated with this machine. It works sometimes and then it doesn't work sometimes. When using just the "Seal Only" button it is very hit and miss. Sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn't. Most of the time I have to hit the button 4 or 5 times to get it to activate. It might be that it has a heat lockout mechanism but it shouldn't be engaging after only 1 or 2 seals. If it overheats at that rate, the design is bad.And when vacuum sealing something it is very hit and miss. I can do, say, 4 different packages of ground beef... it will do the first 3 fine and then the 4th one, it won't vacuum the air out. I have to cut off part of the bags top (about an inch) and then retry it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I know this is an inexpensive machine but either stop selling it or make it better and charge a little more for it. I owned a FoodSaver before and will definitely be going back to them once this one is finished.

I hate writing less than stellar reviews. This is my second food vacuum, and it is temperamental. The vacuum causes the juice from ANY food to leak on machine. The seal is minimal and doesn't last.

I purchased my unit a little over a year ago and it has stopped working reliably. This is disappointing as i dont use the unit that often. Before the unit broke I was happy with it as it worked very well. Unfortunately the warranty is only a year so I will now have to buy another unit. The primary issue I am having is the vacuum no longer works well.

When this machine works properly, it is wonderful. Unfortunately, it only works properly maybe 50% of the time. The machine vacuums just fine, but if there is even a lick of moisture it will not seal properly. I've had times that I've had to cut and re-seal 4-5 times before the seal takes, and I've found 2 packages in my freezer that I thought were sealed, that aren't anymore. I've seen posts that suggest freezing the food first and then sealing, but, that doesn't really work for things like lettuce. I've probably used more bag material cutting and resealing than I have preserving food.

I have had this item for 6 weeks and it was working just fine until today. It will seal and it will vacuum, but it will not vacuum seal. It cannot be returned and I am sending it back to Nesco for repair or replacement. I will update this review when it comes back.

It doesn't vacuum the air out as well as I would have expected. My packages still had some air in it when it stopped suctioning I didn't think the vacuum stayed on long enough before it sealed. Just not real pleased with it. Didn't make it a year wouldn't recommend it.

I bought the low end model of food saver because my intention was to use it about once a week to use with an Anova sous vide cooker in place of zip lock bags, not for long term freezer storage. This model barely suffices for that purpose. About half of the times I have food in pouches ready to seal and the unit pops open for no apparent reason, and will only stay locked if I hold the lock in position. The seal on the bags fails about 1 in 5 times. When it does seal, there is usually at least some air left in the finished bag. I have had the unit less than a year, and already the labels on the buttons have worn off.

Requires too long a time between uses, after you vacuum seal one or two bags it requires a rest or it won't work. Takes an awful long time to do two weeks worth of groceries, a lot of waiting.

What a disappointment! Over priced - under performing product. Yes it seals - however, sometimes I have to do it twice because it misses a spot or two and makes the seal useless. Does it remove all of the air out ? Yes- BUT- not for long!. A few minutes later the bag has air in it again rendering it useless, since any air in it will allow freezer burn. Since we waited to use it until last week and our date to return it was 4/19/16, we are stuck with a door stop, instead of a sealing system. We are giving it 2 stars instead of 1 star since it does seal the bag - BUT - it does not remove the air as it should. AGAIN - DISAPPOINTMENT. GO ELSEWHERE FOR A SEALING SYSTEM.Note: nobody gave me a product in return for my unbiased review.......if they had it would still be a disappointment .

Last month, I would have given this a glowing review. However, my experience since then has led me to drop a couple of stars off.When I first bought this, I knew exactly what I was getting and was not disappointed in the least. So far, I've used it to vacuum seal and freeze fish about every two weeks. It's been wonderful to buy up numerous fish fillets, freeze them then whenever I want, I'll put a bag in the refrigerator to thaw, drop it in boiling water for a few minutes and voila! Season and serve in less that ten minutes. Way faster that baking and it leaves the fish flaky, moist and... dang. Getting hungry now.Anyway, the last time I used it, I noticed that there was water getting into the bag while cooking but I really didn't give it much thought. You know, like, no big... just a failed seal. Except that it happened to each bag from that batch.Today, it wouldn't even vacuum unless I pressed down on the lid. Even then, it didn't evacuate all the air although the seal at least appears to have formed properly.I've owned this for less than six months, I've checked and cleaned the gaskets and in fact I kept the cardboard insert that it came packed with in order to keep the gaskets from touching. There are no broken parts, the latches on both sides are engaged and I hold the bag so there is no weight pulling on the unit during operation.Quality control can be good, bad or anywhere in between. Mechanical and electrical things can and do fail... no denying that, which is what leaves me on the fence. I need to decide wether or not to replace it with the same model or kick it up a notch to the next level or even to give Seal-a-Meal a shot. They're both made by Sunbeam and the Seal-a-Meal entry level machine is half the price of this one. I suppose at the forty dollar price point, the Seal-a-Meal FSSMSL0160-000 Vacuum Sealer wouldn't hurt the wallet as much if it were to be a disappointment as well.

I bought this thinking it would be a decent tool for sous vide cooking and it was the top rated item at the time in vacuum sealers. It's honestly not that great for the price I paid for it which was $80. I suppose it's fine for a starter sealer but over half the time I've used it it fails to seal or vacuum correctly. Air would still get trapped inside and the sealing would sometimes be off causing little leaks. I've had some successes with it but am overall pretty disappointed. They're also trying to sell off their accessory packs and bags off at $10+ and I just don't think I can recommend this and that at those prices. Once this thing breaks or becomes unusable and I'm guessing it might be pretty soon in a few months or so according to the other reviews on here, I'll be looking to replace it with another one that's definitely not this. I might look into the other FoodSaver ones they have but hopefully I can find a better one for around the same price range because this did not impress all that well. Pros: Single button solution for vacuum/seal and regular seal, includes a roll of bags for you to use, and works if you're lucky.

Had several different models over the past ten years. I've noticed the quality has declined ever since. My first trusty Foodsaver lasted about six years through heavy usage. I have a large garden and I buy quite a bit in bulk as I have a large freezer. This one lasted about 3 weeks out of the gate. The vacuuming is weak and the seal non existent.As of late it used to take almost two years before the thing up and died, regardless of changing out gaskets.I hear they have a "heavy duty" one for about twice the price when you call the company. I have to ask, why bother offering the lesser quality one then?

After the first unit failed to deliver vacuum, I thought that I'd try it again - maybe I received a bad one, but no, 2 failures in a row. After just 1 or 2 uses sealing and vacuuming bags, the vacuum gave out. I even gave it an extra few minutes for cool down. The instructions say wait 2 minutes before sealing the next bag - ummm, yea, that's a mighty fine vacuum sealer. My last vacuum sealer was a cheap $30 unit that lasted years. You could just vac and seal like a maniac - no 2 minute cool-downs.

This thing is JUNK. When I first used it, it was not sealing as expected. Then I realized it was cockpit error on my part. Once I determined the proper placement of the bag to be sealed it worked well. For a while that is. Then it began only vacuuming and sealing after several attempts each time I used it. Now it wont vacuum at all, but it does seal the bag most of the time. Of course without pulling the air from the bag it's pretty much useless. Might as well use a ziplock baggie and save the money. No I would not recommend this to a friend.

Talk about anticlimactic! This product did absolutely nothing. I've tried several times with different foods and the results are the same every time: Nothing. All it does is make a bunch of noise and light up. At first, I thought maybe it was operator error so I went back and actually read the instructions. There was no operator error ... it simply doesn't work. I'm assuming mine is simply a faulty unit because I can't imagine these people still being in business and there product doesn't work across the board. Maybe you'll have better luck but I'm returning my piece of crap and looking into other brands. Colossal waste of my time and money.

Do NOT buy this vacuum sealer... I just did and today went to try it, to seal hamburger meat... had gotten the two size bags... put them in the sealer and press the vacuum seal and all it does is make a loud noise... no seal at all.... Called the 800 number and the lady said it sounded as if something is not right.... so now I have to send this and the bags all back.... I am getting so tired of getting products that do not work and then have to send them back.... Pass on this and buy something else.... Does NOT work... does NOT seal....

Very disappointed with this product due to inability to handle even minimal moisture. The website says, "Features switch to extend sealing time for wet items," but the manual says, "wet bags may be difficult to seal tightly... freeze moist and juicy foods first before sealing bags. Leaks along the seam can be caused by...liquids."I tried vacuum sealing unblanched corn kernels on the extended cycle setting, but even the small amount of moisture sucked out in the vacuum phase prevented the unit from achieving a seal. I have vacuum sealed dozens of bags of corn kernels this way in the past with the FoodSaver V3240 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System with Starter Kit. Unfortunately, that unit stopped sealing altogether this year. Since that problem seemed to show up frequently in reviews (sealing issues after the first year or so of use), I was hesitant to buy another unit, and decided to try this Nesco product instead. It's going back for a refund.I sure wish some company could build a vac sealer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, can handle some moisture and will hold up over time.

Simply doesn't work. Out of 10 times only once it did work. All other times it's making a lot of noise, but no air is being sucked out of the bag.

UPDATE: Well, I used it one time and now have taken it out to use again and it won't work. When I press the vacuum and seal button, it vacums and won't ever stop. Just keeps running and running. Have tried it now with 3 bags from different boxes (and yes the bags are their brand). So disappointing.The directions aren't super clear but after a bit it can be figured out. I like the way it seals most things, but some items it just doesn't do a good job with. Anything that can be squished (like bread type things or muffins, etc.) won't work well and if the meat doesn't lay flat it doesn't seem to get all of the air out. That being said, I'm still glad I purchased it because it does work nicely with most things, and once you know how to use it properly it's pretty quick and easy!

I only used this a few times. Have not used for a while. Tried to vacuum a container and it will not work. Waste of my money. I have had one for several years. Was wanting to replace it. Now this one will not make it even a year and is not working now. I guess I have had it to long to get a refund, because I do not see any way to return it through Amazon!!!

I have had mine now for approximately 3 years..and am now looking for a different brand. My complaint with this one is the same complaint I had with the last one. It vacuums when it feels like it and that's only occasionally. I do all of the steps, wash, clean, switch the foam strips around and then it might work. I want something that works everytime I need it! I want something easier to use and figure out. I'm done with this brand, there has to be something better out there. I agree when it works its awesome, the food keeps, no freezer burn at all, and it extends the life of my frozen food. But, its to difficult to get it to that point!

really poor quality and only creates a vacuum about 1 out of every 4 tries. It turns out if there is any moisture present at the end of the bag, it will not create a vacuum. It's almost impossible to get a piece of raw meat or fish in the bag without some moisture present. Doesn't seem to help if you dry the ends of the bag (inside and out) . Works ok for dried foods.

I would have given this 5 stars if my review was only based on my first two uses of the product. The first two times I used the product it worked perfectly and kept my food sealed great! Unfortunately, my third try the product did not work at all. I plugged it in and pressed the button as I had before when it worked and nothing happened. I would like to have my product replaced as I think it is ridiculous that it stopped working after only using it 3 times. Unfortunately by the third time I used it, it was past the time I could return it, but how was I to know it would work fine the first two times and then stop working for no reason. really disappointed, wasted a lot of money.

I gave the FoodSaver as a gift. We pugged it in to use it and it didn't work! I can;t return it because I bought it over 30 days agao. I'm feeling ripped off by Amazon and FoodSaver!DO NOT BUY!