We bought a Pro 2300 from here: http://www.vacsealers.com/ has worked great for the last 4 years, only time will tell.
I've had the opposite experience with FoodSaver.
What sux is the mill thickness of their bags. I own a Food Saver Professional II ---maybe 5 years old (?) The one I had before that lasted for twenty years and pulled vacuums on thousands of pounds of fish fillets
The trick to dealing with their crappy vacuum sealer bags---
1)) always trim pin-bones with scissors
2)) always trim end pieces of skin that may have curled after smoking (and developed sharp points)
3)) leave at least 3 - 4 inches of bag that can go into the vacuum chamber
4)) build a small platform that raises the fillet (or meat product) up to the same level as the vacuum chamber prior to pulling a vacuum
5)) be somewhat gentle when stacking the finished packs in your freezer so there's minimal jostling and movement
I have large chunks of spring in my freezer from last June that have held their seals and will taste just fine when I bust them open for the BBQ
Ever since I started trimming my fish prior to pulling a vacuum, "leakers" have become a thing of the past for me
Thanks for the input guys. Sculpin, did you end up buying a chamber sealer? I'd love to get one of those chamber units but not sure if the wife would go for it.
Good to hear some first hand experience Sculpin. One of the biggest frustrations with my foodsaver is that the vacuum fails on many pieces after being moved around the freezer a bit. Drives me nuts. I can only assume that this won't happen with a $1,000 chamber style machine. Also, I think the bags are thicker, correct? Where do you get the so called cheap bags?
Really love mine.... What happened...
High Five
If you buy one from these guys and you join or already are a member of the black and red site you get a coupon for further discount. I am kicking myself for not reading about it etc.
http://www.qualitymatters.com/
I'll probably buy some bags off of them unless I can find a good source on the mainland or Victoria. These machines are so common commercially that's why the bags are cheaper. I still think one has to take some precautions with pin bones etc. but a 4 or 5 mil bag would be pretty tough. The big one for me was the sealing with zero moisture getting in there and it's a double seal bar so two lines instead of one.
Anyways I know it's alot of money but I'm hoping to not ever have to replace it in my lifetime. I have buddies that have a walk in cooler and alot of butchering equipment that we process our game meat with so this is sort of my contribution to the cause lol.