How long did your FoodSaver last?

mine's been going strong for five years.
gets used after every cookout!!

it's important to make sure the latch isn't drawn tight when storing the FS since that will permanently deform the foam seal

I use the hand held version and love mine. Was thinking about upgrading. It's perfect for my family of 4 and the portions that we like to freeze.

Ours lasted about a year. When I seal something, it heats too much and seems to burn though the seal point. Air seeps in and the vacuum is lost. Like you, I am pissed...... I have tried different things to get the seal to work, but to no avail.

Cooks Illustrated tested vacuum sealing machines. The major fault they found was that the bags of the less expensive machines were too thin and after awhile, ice crystals poked very minute holes in the sides of the bags.

I purchased Cabelas Pro Series Vacuum sealer ($299) on sale for $279. It uses heavier (thicker) bags. I have been very pleased with the performance of this unit. The instructions are minimal and you have to intuit some steps. Nevertheless, it has been a great vacuum sealer for me.

I'm into six years with mine but when it goes I'll go to one that will use other bags. The machines cost more in the beginning but I think I'll save with bag costs and better bags.

I have an older basic Foodsaver, bought at Costco about 12 years ago, still running strong. I've had to repair it a few times, the accessory that seals the top and extracts the air from the canisters developed a hairline crack and was leaking air, some epoxy fixed that about 5-6 years ago. I've had the unit apart a couple of times when it quit working, but each time, I found it was just clogged/dirty from meat juices etc, and that was stopping the thing from drawing a good vacuum. Cleaned it up and it worked just fine. Really simple inside, just some tubing, a motor/pump and some micro switches. What I've found is most of the time when it stops working, it's an air leak somewhere and is relatively easy to fix. I can probably keep it going until the motor/pump finally wears out, and even then I might be able to find a replacement for that. When buying bags on the FS site yesterday with the 50% off coupon someone posted,(thanks for that by the way) I saw a link to buy replacement parts but they only list gaskets and such...

I can recommend the Cabela's CG-15... it's pricey but you can find it on sale for $75-100 off. Fantastic machine. Great reviews. Have had mine for over a year with no problems at all.

N

I've had mine for about 3 years and no problems so far. I do agree with making sure the handle isn't locked when you store it so nothing gets warped. Good unit and gets a good workout doing bbq leftovers and freeze and heat meals!

Good news

5 phone calls to FS
Phone survey completed after one of my calls.
Bought a new seal which did not work.
Bla bla bla

They called ME and asked why my survey was so negative.

End result
I have to mail them my FoodSaver and they will replace it for free with a FoodSaver gamesaver silver.. For FREE.. They no longer make my model.

El

Way to negotiate!

The squeaky wheel gets the grease...

Well, that depends on which one you are referring to.

Original Seal-A-Meal lasted about 2 months. A friend bought me a FoodSaver as a gift about 2 years ago. I used it pretty often for 6 months and then slacked off until several months ago when I tried to use it to seal and freeze a bunch of pork chops and it wouldn't seal to save my soul. Still got hot, it just had no sealing effect on the bags. I think the bags degrade and change over time.

Not too interested in "renting" these things anymore.