Misc Avid Armor chamber vac packer.

[Millwright]

I've been thinking about getting a chamber machine for awhile.

My Food saver just pissed me off every time I used it.

The Dishwasher was getting weary of me cussing from the time I opened the cabinet 'til I put the POS up.

I finally had several bourbons along with the major case of redass and ordered the USV-32.

I'd been doing my homework for awhile and it won out on several angles.

It's the bomb.

Should have bought one years ago.

I'll add to this thread if anybody is interested.

 

[Raggedyman]

I have a VacMaster VP 112 that I bought 16 YEARS ago. IIRC the cost was in the $850 range . . . still going strong . . . unfortunately they are no longer available. if you're serious about buying in bulk and repackaging to freeze a chamber sealer is a MUST. I would have worn out a dozen seal a meal units over this length of time. we use it for everything from packing down meats and fish to vegetables from the garden to vacuum sealing canning jars for shel stable products like nuts and dried beans

 

[Millwright]

Vacmasters are about $1-large now.

The avid armour is about half that.

If I thought it was worth double the price, I would have gone with vacmaster.

 

[Walrus]

Chamber machines are definitely top-of-the-line. A person can drop more than a few thou on the big commercial machines that have the larger chambers. But they're sure more versatile as long as the chamber is big enough and they do great seals. But the cost!

That's the reason I bought the VacUpack vacuum sealer 8 years or so ago. First, it was <$400 so definitely more expensive than the Foodsaver lightweights. Now, they're up around $1000!. The other reason that I bought this was that it was the only non-chamber machine which would make consistently good seals on 5-mil Mylar bags. I'd never gotten a good seal on Mylar from a Foodsaver. The machine is still giving great service and I haven't had to replace anything like sealing gaskets or vacuum pump pistons, etc.

I'd post a pic but their website - which was at one time a really informative one - is kind of hinky now. I'm wondering if the original owner has retired or something. Thom sure knew his machines, though. He sold and serviced several brands.

VacUpack Brand - VacuPack

 

[Walrus]

Those Avid Armor machines look real good, Millwright. Maybe kinda small chamber machines but that all depends what you're vacuum packing. Their prices really look reasonable, too!

The A100 model is the one which most resembles my VacUpack and it's only $239. All their machines look like a good value.

The only issue I can find off the bat is that all the models appear to be using plastic pouches, even though some are heavier and obviously for sous vide cooking. I didn't see any reference to mylar bags but maybe you can enlighten me on what you've learned.

Regardless, a very pertinent subject and important information you've put in this thread, thank you.

 

[Millwright]

The seal time is adjustable, you turn it up for mylar.

I read something about doing freeze dried stuff in it, the vacuum time is also adjustable.

You can reduce the vacuum time so it doesn't crush fragile product.

 

[Walrus]

The seal time is adjustable, you turn it up for mylar.

I read something about doing freeze dried stuff in it, the vacuum time is also adjustable.

You can reduce the vacuum time so it doesn't crush fragile product.

Ha. According to my youngest son, who's in "the" business, cannabis retailers don't like to pack at such a high vacuum that the product is crushed. Back in the day, I was always a "roll yer own" kind of guy, so I don't see this as a huge disadvantage. With the present customer base, though, it does appear to be a disadvantage nowadays.

Being able to adjust the amount of vacuum is a good feature. The VacUpack sort of has that because it has an automatic vacuum/seal cycle, but there are manual cycles for both vacuum and seal time which work the same. Regardless, being able to seal mylar is a deal-breaker for me if a machine cannot consistently do that one.

I think you discovered a really good product.

 

[Millwright]

There are chicom units that are knock-offs of the vacmaster, some got good reviews, but I've had problems with getting parts on different vevor and other no name equipment. They are cheeper, but I'm a little gunshy on that stuff.

Avid armor is a US company with a real physical presence and phone number and all that.

Different reviews said they are good with tech support and parts.

Yes, they are made it china with better specs and QC.

 

[Walrus]

There are chicom units that are knock-offs of the vacmaster, some got good reviews, but I've had problems with getting parts on different vevor and other no name equipment. They are cheeper, but I'm a little gunshy on that stuff.

Avid armor is a US company with a real physical presence and phone number and all that.

Different reviews said they are good with tech support and parts.

Yes, they are made it china with better specs and QC.

All "our" stuff is built in China nowadays j- just the way things are and no amount of political bluster is going to change that fact. Having actual company staff on the ground for serious QC work is really the key in China, so it's good that Avid Armor adheres to that reality.

As it's said in China itself, "Even the eggs are counterfeit".

Even with the US federal, state and local regulatory burdens being fast-tracked (perhaps), any serious company is going to take years to do their due diligence, such as marketing research, acquiring land and designing facilities and a source for machinery, siting with a ready-made labor market as well as enhanced logistics, issuing contracts and - maybe last but definitely not the least - having knowledgeable legal staff to keep a lookout for the various ambushes which always pop up.

Of course the newsies and other cheerleaders will lead the populace to believe that it's all going to magically pop up overnight, like an inflatable factory or some other fantasy. All the political bloviating with delivery dates being posted so far down in articles definitely reminds me of O'bummer's "shovel-ready projects". What a scam that was.

 

[Millwright]

Being able to pack liquids is the major difference, compared to end-seal machines.

I've got a few leftovers like spaghetti sauce vac packed, in theory they are now boil-in-bag meals.

You can also use it for sous vide dishes.

Sous vide is all the rage now, but it seems like another mousetrap to me...not a better mousetrap.

I may get a sous vide cooker to play with, but I'm not sure what will be the best application.

 

[Walrus]

Being able to pack liquids the major difference, compared to end-seal machines.

I've got a few leftovers like spaghetti sauce vac packed, in theory they are now boil-in-bag meals.

You can also use it for sous vide dishes.

Sous vide is all the rage now, but it seems like another mousetrap to me...not a better mousetrap.

I may get a sous vide cooker to play with, but I'm not sure what will be the best application.

Having looked at sous vide in some detail, it appears to me that it's more useful to busy restaurant kitchens than a homeowner's unless having a bunch of pre-cooked meals handy to drop into boiling water (the sous vide machine) fits your bill.

Everyone has a different take depending on their circumstances at the time. I didn't see much usefulness in our situation.

 

[mecoastie]

Buddy has one and loves it. One is on my list before next deer season.

 

[Walrus]

Buddy has one and loves it. One is on my list before next deer season.

I told a friend about Millwright's find. He ordered himself one within the hour.

 

[Millwright]

I stress tested this unit over the weekend.

We made 75lbs of freezer cleanout sausage, both links and pan sausage.

Saturday, I ran it hard, almost back to back packages for about an hour.

I noticed after awhile, the packages of links were not pulling down 100% like they had been.

Bumped the vac time up from 50 to 60 seconds.

That did what we needed.

Finished up yesterday, set the time back to 50 seconds and it did OK.

I'm thinkin' I just got the pump warm and it was mad, but not hurt.

We weighed and bagged about 8, 1lb packages and packed them, then let it cool a few minutes while prepping another batch.


By no means am I unhappy with the machine, I learned it's limits.

If I wanted a commercial machine that is ok with constant use, I could have spent another $500+.