There are multiple reasons why a chamber vacuum sealer is a great purchase for most households. Not only does it help you minimize food waste and reduce living costs, but it also extends your food’s shelf life for weeks, months, or even years. Furthermore it enables you to cook your meats sous vide for a perfect doneness every time.
A chamber vacuum sealer is also the best solution for those wanting to purchase food in bulk and freeze it in portion sizes, because properly vacuum-sealed foods are less prone to freezer burn and stay good for longer when kept at 0° F.
For long term food storage, dehydrated foods can potentially stay fresh for decades when stored in vacuum-sealed mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.
Below is a list of our current top picks.
- Best overall:
VacMaster VP210
“VacMaster VP210 is big, powerful, and extremely durable.“ - Best value:
Avid Armor Ultra Series USV32
“It features a high-capacity vacuum chamber that’ll help you package practically anything” - Best for sous vide cooking:
VAC-VIDA VS301
“Designed by SO-VIDA, a company originally founded to design and develop sous vide accessories”
Identifying the best chamber vacuum sealers
Our team researched and reviewed numerous vacuum sealers in order to identify the best models on offer right now.
Based on our personal experience and from what we’ve found recommended by users as well as professionals, these are the most important factors to consider when shopping for a new chamber vacuum sealer:
- Suction power
The suction power determines how efficient the chamber vacuum is at sucking the air out of the bag. The more suction power it has, the better and faster it is. - Sealing size
The sealing size determines the portion size you can vacuum seal at a time. The bigger the sealing size, the bigger options you can vacuum seal at once. - Ease of use
Although there’s a learning curve involved when vacuum sealing foods, the chamber vacuum doesn’t have to be excessively complicated to use and keep clean. - Build quality
We want our chamber vacuum and other kitchen appliances to serve us well for years on end, and therefore we focus on build quality because on the long run a properly built machine will save us money.
Best overall chamber vacuum sealer: VacMaster VP210
VacMaster VP210
- Proper, secure double sealing
- Easily package every food item
- Durable design
- Motor doesn’t require maintenance
What we like: VacMaster VP210 is big, powerful, and extremely durable. If you’ve been used to buying foods in bulk, cutting them up and prepackaging them, you’ll appreciate the efficiency of this chamber vacuum.
From what we’ve seen, the VacMaster VP210 is the best chamber vacuum for home use. It doesn’t have any fancy bells nor whistles, but those won’t get you such a strong, tight seal anyway. And that’s all we want from our chamber vacuum. That, and a reasonable price too.
It works for practically any food item such as meats, soups, marinades, but also powders. How about mixing the ingredients for a cake or a batch of bread rolls before prepackaging them? In an emergency situation or after a busy day this will truly be appreciated by yourself, your family, and friends.
It offers high capacity and seals any pouch up to 10 x 13 inches, and because the motor is maintenance-free there’s no need for oil changes unlike other chamber vacuums.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: We really couldn’t find any serious flaws on this vacuum, other than it’s incredibly heavy (83 pounds) and definitely not a beauty to look at. It does get the job done, but we’d probably prefer to stow it away in a cabinet or make room for it in a basement or garage.
Best value: Avid Armor Ultra Series USV32
Avid Armor Ultra Series USV32
- Lightweight – 26.4 pounds
- High capacity – seals any pouch up to 11″ x 13″
- Hygienic touch-sensitive control panel
What we like: Being one of the most popular chamber vacuums across multiple online stores, the Avid Armor Ultra Series USV32 was an obvious choice for us. It costs significantly less than other chamber vacuums for home use, and for that reason we believe it’s the best choice for anyone on a budget.
It features a high-capacity vacuum chamber that’ll help you package practically anything in a proper manner, and you can prepackage large batches of foods with no pause needed in between.
Despite it’s low price, the suction is powerful and the seal is both tight and secure. There haven’t been any notable complaints about this chamber vacuum, and we found no issues either.
One thing that we (and other buyers) appreciate, is the fact that Avid Armor as a company takes their time to reply their customers and assist them with any needs over e-mail and phone.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: One tiny concern is that with all the shiny and glossy surfaces, you’re going to deal with a lot of finger prints, grease marks, and scratches. A chamber vacuum is a durable appliance that’s made to be used A LOT, but with such a glossy exterior you’ll either have the choice to polish it after each use or simply get used to the fact that glossy surfaces easily stand out as “dirty” even when they’re not.
Best for sous vide cooking: VAC-VIDA VS301
VAC-VIDA VS301 w/100 Bags Included
- Stylish black exterior
- Works well with all types of vacuum pouches
- The best choice for sous vide cooking
What we like: The VAC-VIDA VS301 was designed by SO-VIDA, a company originally founded to design and develop sous vide accessories. With this in mind we know for sure that it’s the perfect fit for any at-home sous vide chefs, including ourselves.
In contrary to other chamber vacuums, the VAC-VIDA VS301 has a stylish black exterior with a big pressure gauge, a digital display and buttons that are easy to figure out and use properly.
We believe it’s reasonably priced for what it is, and as many reviewers put it, it “works like a charm and drives like a tank”, referring to the outstanding performance and durability.
Another positive aspect is that you can actually get spare parts for this chamber vacuum if needed and it comes with 100 bags included to get you started with your first large batch of well preserved foods.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: Like other chamber vacuums at this level it’s both heavy and bulky. You need plenty of space to have this machine sitting around your kitchen, and although we think it looks better than most competitors it’s still not “pretty” in the sense that we like to look at it on a daily basis. This really isn’t a minor issue and probably a matter of personal taste too, and it’s definitely not a dealbreaker at all.
The many benefits of owning a chamber vacuum
Preserves your food
The principal role of all chamber vacuum sealers is to preserve your food, especially the highly perishable ones that also cost a lot of money to buy.
A chamber vacuum sealer pulls out oxygen and creates an airtight seal on the bag, preventing the food items from growing mold and turn bad. It also means that you can buy food in bulk in order to save money, split it into smaller pieces and vacuum seal them. That way you’ll build up a sizable storage of food in a high quality, while at the same time reducing your living costs.
If the food supply becomes limited for a period of time, your food storage acts as a backup supply for emergency use.
Protects your food
According to CNET, food is prone to dehydration and freezer burn if it comes in contact with the air surrounding it.
When the food is tightly sealed inside a vacuum bag, oxygen has no chance of getting in or out. For this reason, your foods last longer without oxidizing.
It is also protected against odors, and because of the oxygen-free environment your foods last much longer when properly sealed inside a bag.
Ultimate time saver
When you’re buying different foods in bulk, cutting them into portion sizes and vacuum sealing them for long-term storage, you’ll always have food available for a quick meal.
Instead of having to cut up and prepare your ingredient daily, you can do so once a week, once a month, or whatever suits your daily routine.
By preparing foods in bulk you’ll save a ton of time, and as an added bonus you get to reduce the use of cleaning agents, water, and waste.
Other benefits include:
- Renews the shelf life for foods that would have otherwise gone bad after an initial opening.
- They provide significant savings for budget-conscious homeowners. Buy in bulk at discounted prices. Then, keep the food fresh in small portions for months to come.
- These chamber vacuum sealers help you stay organized in the kitchen. Use distinct labels on each bag for easy packing and planning.
Chamber vacuum sealers vs. other vacuum sealers
A chamber vacuum has a powerful suction that pumps out all air from the chamber quickly. The result is a perfectly airtight seal with no excess oxygen inside the bag, allowing for long-term storage with very little chance of spoiling the foods.
Other more simple vacuum sealers have no chamber, and instead rely on sucking out air with a regular suction pump. This type of machine may not always work well for any liquids such as marinades, soups, stews, but meats could also cause some trouble from time to time if any liquids leak out.
Extreme suction power
The suction power is what gives you that perfectly tight seal on practically any food you can imagine. The method executed by chamber vacuum sealers gives you a tighter seal, just like you know it from store-bought foods.
High-tech specifications
Some chamber vacuum sealers have provision for high-tech automation that includes:
- Vacuuming for sauces and liquids
- A marinade function
- Optional extra sealing
- Easy to follow LED display
- High evacuation speeds
- A memory function
- Flexible sealing time
- Flexible bag widths of up to 25 cm
- Stop buttons
- Wall mounting capabilities.
- Custom-made for sous-vide chefs
- Automated evacuation and sealing
Besides some chamber vacuum sealers retail with great accessories including:
- Film rolls
- Film bags
- Marinating canisters cutting on the marinating time
- Stainless steel prep plates for a professional outcome
- A multi-ring bag stand for clean sealing
- Bone guards that cut on puncturing, tears, and snags
Convenient size and weight
The best chamber vacuum sealer takes up minimal space in your kitchen. You can get small, convenient counter-top sizes for a busy kitchen. Still, other standalone units suit a restaurant setting or a catering function.
Safe for home use
Chamber vacuum sealers have safety traits for a safe home operation as follows:
- Hands-free operation
- Adequate chamber space for regular packing
- Automated controls for starting and ending the vacuuming process
- Cancel functions to interrupt the process midway
- Transparent glass lids allowing users to follow the whole process
- They can apply in packing non-foodstuff items like medicine, cosmetics, and clothes.
- Low power consumption
- Uses stainless steel material that is easy to clean and maintain
- Compatible with most sizes and shapes of storage containers
It is a long term investment
Finally, note that getting the best chamber vacuum sealer for your home is a long term investment. Indeed, one of the biggest concerns with new buyers is the price tag to such gadgets. But, when you do the calculations, a chamber vacuum sealer is, in fact, a money-saver.
Picture this. If you are a hunter or a serious cook, you know the cost of sealing bags can weigh you down. But, with a chamber vacuum sealer, you can buy more bags at a discount. Next, obtaining and storing food in bulk gives you access to a bargain price. Also, their high efficiency means that you can seal more bags in a shorter time.