Appliance Reviews

If you want to store larger things and you have the foodsaver vacsaver this is the way to go. Cost wise its pretty much the same as the roll but you don't have to mess with cutting and sealing. Cutting it straight can be a real pain at times. Unless your doing something really custom these should be big enough. I got the rolls and the gallon bags and discovered most of the time I ended up cutting the rolls to the size of the bags.

I just bought the FoodSaver 800 recently, and along with it a set of these canisters. One of the main reasons I purchased this system was for vacuum packing my dried goods in my pantry to keep out bugs. These canisters waste a lot of space in my cabinets; it would be nice if someone could design a set that was more space conscious.

As far as a seal goes, I did the marshmallow test that they show in the infomercial and sure enough the marshmallows expanded to fill the space as the air was evacuated. Obviously I can't attest to how the seal holds up in the long term, since I've only had it a few days.

I have owned my foodsaver for 3 years now and it works great. I bought mine at costco which came with 2 canisters that worked so well i bought these to. I have brown sugar in mine for almost a year with no troubles, it doesn't get hard like when left in the bag. Mine even went on a move form ny to Fl and did not loose their seal. You need to make sure the tops of the canisters are clean and the lids before sealing cause if food is there they will drop the seal. I bought 5 3-1/4 canisters at wal-mart to hold large boxes of cereal, instant potatoes and fresh bagles & french bread just remember to put them in the fridge for bread.

I received my FS Vac 820 for Xmas. I have used it quite a few things in the bags and I am so pleased with the results. I am looking forward to seeing the long term out come of this product.

I just had a birthday yesterday, and received all kinds of new goodies for it!! I can't wait to vac pack my kitchen...

Although I like the food saver, the price is so good on this because you are not actually buying the Foodsaver 550, instead you will get the Foodsaver 500. They say it is similar, false advertising is what it truly is.
It works well on pre-frozen foods, but if you wanted to just cook something and save it you can't because you the moisture will make the seal impossible. You have to pre-freeze everything. I wouldn't get this unless you have a real need for storing bulk foods.

I bought this unit primarily because I was tired of 'freezer burn' when using regular plastic bags. I live alone and was looking for a way to buy larger quantities and save money. It has definitely been worth the money. I usually use the rolls of bags as opposed to the individual one's; you just have to be careful to cut them straight. I will usually seal up a week's worth of meals at a time, it works very well with meats. (Freeze slightly first so it won't suck up the juices when you seal). The bags are washable and reuseable. You can also use them as 'boil in bags', great for vegatables. Another accessory I really like are the canisters; I use them for coffee, etc. Well worth getting, even if only for freezing meats!

I love this product. I bought it a year ago from an infomercial when it was known as Compact II. First off, I know I have already saved money using it. It is easy to use and convenient. I had another product like this years ago, but it was big and heavy and took up too much room on my counter. Not so with this item, it is small enough so you can leave it right out on your counter, which I recommend - when appliances have to be stored, you tend to use them less. And you will want to leave it out, because once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it! I leave it on the counter between my stove and refrigerator and it gets used constantly, whether it be leftover meat, sauces, vegetables, or whatever. I just bag the leftovers and freeze them. You can also write on the bags what you are storing and the date. It keeps food so fresh, when you take that piece of frozen chicken out of your freezer 3 - 4 months later, you'll swear you just bought it! It's great for any type of food. I do recommend however, like they say in the brochure, that you do freeze your liquids first in a container, pop them out and them vacuum save them in a bag, it's less messy that way. The bags are economical also, I reuse them if I have just frozen something in them, of course you can't if you have cooked in them! But you can cook in them, just pop them in boiling water! I really recommend this product to anyone, especially if you buy your meat in bulk or you have a large vegetable garden. You can freeze any size quantity you want. I could go on and on, but really, if you have considered this item in the past, buy it! The money you save in the first year of using this will more than pay for the price of this product! It also makes a great gift!

The FoodSaver Pro II does a wonderful, amazingly easy job of vacuum sealing appropriate items. I have nothing but praise for its design & operation, and I am usually hyper-critical of home appliances. People who criticize the need to freeze some foods or wrap others are expecting the impossible: bread is filled with air holes-that is what causes it to rise. If you vacuum-pack unfrozen bread, you'll end up with a cracker - but that's not the fault of the machine! Most of the pre-freezing requirements are either to prevent crushing or to prevent liquids being sucked into the machine, & all of them can be avoided by using vacuum containers instead of bags. Ditto for flour-y or sharp items, although I've packed all kinds of grains directly in the bags with no punctures. Although the containers are initially expensive, you can re-use them indefinately. The supplies (bags & containers) are overpriced, & it's hard to find them discounted. Costco currently has a good deal on rolls of bags, & Gourmet Depot has the best prices I've found on the containers. ... Overall, a superb product for those with real-word expectations.

I've had my FoodSaver Professional II about a month and am very impressed.. It's much easier to use than I expected. Yes the canisters and bags are [pricey], but I...have done most of my storing in mason jars, especially wide-mouth half-gallon jars. I've even frozen items in the quart jars after sealing. The meats I've bagged were not prefrozen but by following the easy-to-follow instruction book I had no trouble. I'm finding more and more ways to use it every day and am very pleased with quality of this product.

I have the FoodSaver 1200 model and use it literally every day-- Living alone, it affords me the opportunity to take advantage of bulk buys and sales without spoilage and waste--Great sale on steaks?--I can buy a dozen and seal them (after wrapping and pre-freezing for a few hours) and they'll be just as red and fresh when I'm ready to cook the last one, even months later, as they were when I brought them home from the market-- My cupboards and fridge are filled with nice, tidy Mason jars in various sizes which are easy to store, easy to seal, and see-through for convenience--Now, brown sugar will stay moist virtually indefinitely, jams and jellies don't break-down and get sugary when refrigerated, and berries, yogurt and sour cream keep at least twice as long--I bought an armload of fresh sweet corn at the end of the summer last year, cleaned and blanched it and then froze it sealed in FoodSaver bags and had lovely fresh corn all winter long-- I also bought a silver soup ladle which doesn't fit in my silver chest, but sealed in a custom made bag, it stays clean and tarnish-free-- Small tip: I hate trying to cut bags straight, so I got an inexpensive paper cutter at an office supply which works great!--I keep my roll of bag material threaded in it and secured with a rubber band--That way it's always ready to go, takes virtually no extra cupboard space and I get a nice, straight edge every time-- I don't tend to gush over many kitchen appliances, but I don't mind saying that I'll never be without a FoodSaver on my kitchen counter again!--C

This product is great for using on wild game and fish. I don't pre-freeze the fish, I just roll a paper towel up and put it between the fish and the seal bar. It works great. Also works quite well for marinating steaks.

I have had the unit now for about 9 months and it has started to malfunction. It starts to seal and gets about 3/4 the way done and doesn't finish the cycle. I have to manually seal and I don't know if all of the air is getting out. Also, the gasket in the jar sealer keeps popping loose and I have a terrible time sealing the jars and the canisters I purchased. I doubt my next vacuum sealer will be a Foodsaver. I suppose I'll have to send it in for repairs. This is quite a hassle considering it is less that 1 year old.

This is one of those pleasant times that you find that the hype meets expectation! Here in Oregon, fishing and hunting are dominant activities and making the most of one's bounty is critical. I shopped on-line with all of the major stores for this midrange model and Amazon provided the best price and free shipping! The shopping experience was excellent! This device extends the freshness of your catch, whether you wish to eat fresh, smoke your game, or freeze it. I use it hand-in-hand with canning, smoking, or otherwise preserving meat and it performs its duties flawlessly. It is much like this was designed especially for the fisherman! This particular model had the features that I was looking for such as a Vac Channel for moisture dispersal, an adjustable time switch on the sealer, and a Manual Seal button. The mason jar sealer works extremely well and is an efficient method of keeping foods fresher longer. I would recommend this particular model to anyone interested in long term, efficient, food storage, (without having to pay up to twice as much for the Professional Model).

I have been using this Tilia for over a year. It is wonderful. I use it for everything. I even found two quart mason jars to seal bulk items. I seal cheese everytime. It stays fresh for months that way. If I use a parial can of something I use pint mason jars to reseal. Nothing goes bad. Fresh fish will actually stay in the fridg. up to four or five days instead of one or two sealed.

Using the bags for freezing items is unbelievable. No freezer burn.

I hope this company never goes out of business. I love the product.

BOUGHT THIS IN FEB 2002.WAS VERY PLEASED UNTIL THIS MONTH SEPT
2003.VACUUM NOT WORKING AND MELTING SEALER BAGS.
I WILL PROBABLY BUY AN UPGRADE MODEL NEXT TIME.

I have had my Vac 300 for about 1-1/2 years and never had a problem with it until just this past month. Now the left side of the sealing strip will not seal and I did not realize that until days later when I went back into the freezer. My brother swears by this product but has purchased a more expensive unit. I plan to also "upgrade" to a better level because when it works, you can't beat it, and once you get used to it, you can't be without it!

I actually use the Vac 500, but the solution to many of the problems I read about here is to replace the lower seal and/or the upper seal unit. Both of these are easy to replace and a simple call to Tilia with the problem will result in FREE REPLACEMENTS.

I just did this for my 500 and I am back in sealing business.

I purchsed this thinking I too would receive all the items the non-reconditioned unit had....it does not. I do love the unit though...use it all the time, especially for marinating beef and chicken and preserving salads. I had to buy all the containers though!

I bought the foodsaver thinking i was getting a foodsaver kit with the canisters and the suction lids and the bottle savers.
What does come with this kit is the foodsaver 1050,large roll of bags,a video tape on how to use it and a tube to fill the accesories that you dont get with this kit. The 179.99 price I saw for full retail included a couple of canisters and a bottle saver and the lid savers that you dont get with this kit so i was a bit dissapointed with this kit for the price. However I think they have a terrific product and the video tape is very informative.

I am very happy with my Foodsaver 1050 Factory-Reconditioned unit. I was concerned buying a reconditioned unit, but after receiving the Foodsaver I am very satisfied. It looks and works just like a brand new unit and even comes with a 1 year warranty.