VacMaster VP112S Chamber Vacuum Sealer

Did an extensive amount of research because I wanted a very good vacuum packer. This VP112S is amazing and the quality is what I would call "severe"!! It exceeded my expectations by far. Very solid and durable. I would not consider it exactly portable and perhaps a bit large to leave on your kitchen counters. I placed mine in the laundry room near and extra deep freezer that I have and it works out great. When I come in from fishing, hunting etc, I have everything I need all in one room and I don't need to mess up my wife's kitchen. I bought 1000 8x10 and 12x10, 4 mil bags. You can actually cut the seal off on longer bags, and reseal. I have already boiled them and microwaved the heck out of them. I have processed about 24 large red snapper in the last week and all I can say is am extremely happy with this product.I chose a chamber model because I did not like messing with making bags etc. These bags are so cheap it is just not work the hassle. You pop it in, push the button and go about your business getting another bag ready. I have vacuum set on max and seal time on 4 seconds.I even used the marinate mode on a pork roast. That is amazing. It sucks down and holds for 8 minutes then relaxes for 1 min for a 9 min cycle and squeezes marinade into your item. Works great.

Awesome machine. Being able to package liquids like soup, chili and things like that cuts down the waste for me living alone. I can fix real food then portion it out and package and freeze it. A word of caution, this needs to be headed. Make sure the liquid/fluid contents are no more than luke warm, any warmer and you will have package contents boiling in the bag and that does not work well. The reason things boil at lower atmospheric pressure.

I've had this machine for 3 years now. It has been a disappointment for me. As others have mentioned once you seal 6-8 bags it stops working and then you have to let it sit and cool down. Even when it's working it's pretty quirky and doesn't always seal.When I first got the machine I called the company about the issue and the representative told me that was normal for this machine to get hot and need to cool down. I called in the second time and spoke with a different representative that assured me that was not the case, and told me to tap on the cover with my hand while it's sealing, which seems to help a little bit.I would expect these problems with a $50 machine but not a $600 machine. For the money I would not recommend this machine. I spent a good bit of money expecting to have something of value that would last me for a lifetime, instead I'm frustrated every time I try to use it.

We used a VP112 for about nine years with some problems that on balance were with the benefit of cooking large amounts of food to vacuum pack for future use. Sending the machine back for repairs is difficult because of the weight of the machine and having to pack it carefully.We replaced the cover of the chamber easily and also replaced one of the pistons used to seal the bags. I am not particularly handy, but was talked through that process by a service advisor on the phone.When the vp112 stopped vacuuming we tried replacing the gaskets which did not work, nor did shimming them as advised by Vacmaster.We relented and purchased the successor product. The new version is lacking a pressure gauge which I find almost fatal. You cannot tell that the machine is not vacuuming or needs to be pressed down upon to engage the vacuuming process.If this machine gives us the service that its predecessor did, we will be happy to put up with its faults.

My main use for this 112s is not everyday use, but more high volume, less frequent use. I am an avid deer hunter and fisherman and was sick of burning through your traditional vacuum sealers. So I upgraded to this chamber one. Recently I processed two elk and needed this to do about 100 bags. Not entirely at once, but over the course of a couple hours. I could only do about 20 bags or so before it would overheat and shutoff. The unit was too hot to touch. I'd let it sit overnight and it would work for about another 20-30 bags and same thing. If you dont plan on doing a ton of sealing at once this machine is very nice. Great suction and seal. But if you need to do large volume at once, then get one of the chamber vacuums with the oil pump, they can handle larger quantities without overheating.

This is my first chamber vacuum sealer, I wish I hadn't waited so long . We quit using out standard sealer because you had to first freeze any item that had moisture in it and then attempt to vacuum seal. We started using zip lock freezer bags instead and finally decided they were getting expensive and most items ended up freezer burned before we would use them. I researched this item on multiple sites and read a lot of reviews & decided the price and size would fit our needs. The first item I sealed of course was a quart of water and I can say I was impressed. In the time I have had this sealer I have used it about 20 times and most of the items have been broth, soup and other items with moisture in them. It is a heavy machine so I put it on a kitchen cart that I can push out of the way when not in use.

I bought this after going through a FoodSaver vac sealer every two years. Essentially, you throw the FS away when they die. I was hoping this would last longer. Its a great chamber sealer and a major plus that you can vac seal liquid, such as soup stock etc. which one cannot do with the FS. Unfortunately, with only two years on it it simply died -- no power. And the gaskets are loose and have come off. I only use on weekends in my beach home so pretty light use. Its only a one year warranty, so now I am sending back to ARY for expensive repair. So, in the end, frankly not that much better than FoodSaver, but I cant just throw this one away as it cost a lot more. (Repair is going to cost $100 with shipping also very expensive)

*update* The reply from vacmaster customer support was a cut and paste "call tech support". I called to sit on hold and eventually hang up. I thought I had a rather basic question. I've sent a reply email, complete with a playful joke about "sucking". lets see if I can get a moments effort out of them this time.This review may change... I spent months trying to justify this purchase. I cant for the life of me figure out how to seal only without first pulling a vacuum in the chamber. I'm waiting for response from the manufacturer but if it cant do it, I would say keep shopping. Its a lot of money to spend on a machine missing a basic feature. I hope its user error!I have had this sealer for just over a week now and I'm very impressed. All the sample bags have been used with 100% perfect vacuum and seal every time. I've used a couple extremely expensive commercial / industrial sealers and would put this machines product up against any of them. Mind you I have only used 3 mil bags with it so far. I cant say enough about the marinade feature its fantastic! Some of the best food I've had! For fun I packed up some paper towel, its been thru the dishwasher and 5 or 6 loads of laundry so far without failure. Now that I have wrapped my head around spending almost 1k on a vacuum sealer, if it lasts at least 5 years, its worth every penny for the time and money it will save me.

This is my second VP112. The first one would still be going if I had not tried to take out the side vacuum tap.I have dealt with Cedar Lane numerous times, by phone and by e-mail, for spare parts etc. and have had great service with no trouble every time.I love this machine, great for soups and snacks.I'm a single guy and I like to portion out most everything I eat. With this machine I can buy my meat at Costco and divide it up to freeze.I buy my nuts in bulk from the Barn to portion out and I don't have to worry so much about over eating. It's easier to control my urges if the pack is 100 grams at a time.I like to make my own soups and I can either bag and freeze of use the 2 cup mason jars and seal them in the vacuum chamber.Just be advised THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROPER CANNING.Heat treat your provisions and when they are cool, vacuum seal them.

After about 25 attempts at getting my machine to work I finally figured it out. The black seal had fallen out during shipping and I put it in wrong. I tried putting it up one way, then down. I finally realized 2 sides were thinner than the other 2 sides of the rubber seal.I think it would be good to add this to your Q & A section. Which way is up on the seal and that the 2 thinner sides (of the 4 sides) go on the sides of the machine and not on the ends.By the way, once I got it working, I love the machine. Easy to use.If not for the above issue, I would have given it 5 stars

This was best investment ever, if you are processing meat for your household in volumes dont waste you money on cheep vacuum sealers. It took us about 3 years to break a bank for it but in mean time I also killed 6 food-saver vacuum sealers. Best part about it, no more expensive bags, it takes smooth bags that are pennies a piece and it so easy to use you wont believe it.Like I said, BEST INVESTMENT OF MY LIFE, sorry 2nd best there was one better before :)

works well. you have to watch how well the lid is seated on the seal or you might get less vacuum than anticipated because it doesn't make a tight seal right away. Works fine if you apply a bit of pressure to the lid everytime you run a cycle.