# Any Experience with Weston Vacuum Sealers?



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm afraid my MagicVac sealer is on its last leg. It hasn't been able to achieve a really tight vacuum in the last several uses. Now, with a dozen jars of mixed beans to seal, it only _*sounds*_ like it's working after the first two! The little motor keeps humming along - no vacuum.

The Weston sealer looks very interesting, even seals 15" bags which would be great for whole chickens, BUT I find no mention of a jar attachment.

The perfect new sealer would be able to handle 15' bags, as well as seal dry food in canning jars.


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

May have found my own answer. Pleasant Hill Grain offers the Ary Vacmaster Pro170. It has a 15" sealing bar AND the hose for accessories (canning jars). Their price seems fair, I'm going back to see if I can find any reviews on the item.


----------



## xix (Dec 22, 2006)

Please report back. I've been eyeing the Weston sealer for some time now but it looks like they now have a cheaper model as well - much easier price to swallow than the model I had been considering. But still on the fence.


----------



## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

The WESTON-PRO - 2300 is the love of my life......next to my AA canners!


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

Oh no. The Weston Pro really caught my eye, but I swear, I probably vac seal as many jars as I do bags. I called the company and they said it was possible to use it for vacuum sealing jars, but not recommended since the motor wasn't designed for it. I ended up more confused after the conversation than I was before it!


----------



## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

I love my Weston 2300! I got mine for a steal on eBay for $160 which included shipping about 8 months ago. I use the foodsaver jar sealers/hose on mine and it does great. I've really put it to work too with several 50lb bags of rice/flour/oats/etc.... as well as all my meats & frozen fruits/veg.


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

Wow Pam, that was a steal! I've been finding them from $399 to $419...and you use yours to vac seal jars? I assume it has a port, you didn't have to fashion one yourself did you? The customer service person I spoke with sort of talked around the issue, but ended up saying that it wasn't recommended. Just didn't make sense.


----------



## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

There's a port under the door front & center. Here's a video I did on dehydrating onions & I used the Weston/Jar sealer combo. 

I have the vid set to start at the Weston demonstration part...'cause I'm nice like that. lol

[ame]http://youtu.be/WuQpZau1Ixc?t=9m42s[/ame]


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm on dial-up, will try to get to a hotspot tomorrow. Thx


----------



## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Well I thought I had the vid started at the right spot, but apparently not. If you don't want to know about dehydrating onions, just skip to the 9:42 mark in the vid.


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

*xix: *after literally hours of research, I settled on the ARY Vacmaster Pro 170. At a savings of over $100, it provided:

15" sealing strip, like the Weston
26" HG rating (Weston had 28"), dh described this as the "oomph" in the pump
dual piston pump like the Weston
accessory use (for sealing jars) recommended, unlike the Weston per their customer service
19 lb wt vs 25 lbs for the Weston - a little easier to haul to the counter

At $299, I hope I don't have to do this again for a LONG time. It shipped yesterday shortly after ordering, so I should be able to let you know what I think of it before too long. Thank you everyone for your input. The Weston sounded amazing, I just couldn't get past the conversation with their customer service person that was anti jar use.

Oh yes! I found both vac sealers available at Pleasant Hill Grain. A person named Lori helped me - extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. It was nice to be able to compare both machines - and bags on the same site.


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Thanks for sharing results of your research. I've been looking at different models as my Professional II foodsaver is approaching 13 years old. I use it daily to seal jars.

I'll be watching to see how the ARY works for you.


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

Wow! I ordered this on the 28th, didn't even think about noting the time, just for grins and giggles.

Received a "thank you for your order" email from Pleasant Hill Grain at 4:48 pm, 3/28

Received a "picked up" email with tracking info from FedX at 7:19 pm, 3/28

Actually received the goods midday yesterday, 3/30!

I sure do like Pleasant Hill Grain. Great service.


----------



## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

I finally had the opportunity to check out the Vacmaster yesterday and am very pleased. Instead of the little buttons that I clicked to close the MagicVac, the Vacmaster asked that you apply pressure to the lid until vacuum starts. Simple. I sealed up a little leftover ham for the freezer in bags and was pleasantly surprised to see two seal strips on the bag - a backup!

I also sealed 25 or 30 lbs of Northern beans in half-gallon jars. It was a joy to have the job completed so much more quickly - and I didn't have to weight any lids with a second one either.

The only drawback - if you could call it that - is that the larger motor, etc. increased the weight of the unit to 19 lbs so I won't be hanging it on the wall like I did the last one. DH is graciously talking about building a shelf under the stairs for me. We'll put it near an outlet so that I can just zip in there and seal the odd 1 or 2 pkgs from time to time. The type of scenario that often led me to using a ziplock and then being disappointed when frost settled inside.


----------

