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The best chamber sealer at both Serious Eats and Food & Wine: it seals liquids and odd shapes tightly and fits canning jars. It is a 20-lb, roughly $550 machine with settings that can overwhelm beginners, and it needs chamber-specific bags.
Top complaints
- Big, heavy and expensive
Serious Eats calls chamber sealers bulky, heavy (this one is 20 lb) and expensive, and overengineered for most home cooks. Food & Wine says it's not cheap and may not be worth it for casual users.
Source: Serious Eats, Food & Wine - Confusing for beginners
Food & Wine says its numerous settings might confuse beginners.
Source: Food & Wine - Needs chamber bags; spotty availability
Serious Eats notes that you must buy chamber-specific bags, that a few air pockets remained in its marinated-steak bag, and that online availability can be limited.
Source: Serious Eats
What owners love
- Handles liquids and odd shapes
Food & Wine says everything it sealed was tightly suctioned, with no air pockets in liquid bags and no bags floating in sous vide. Serious Eats' bags didn't leak during sous vide.
Source: Food & Wine, Serious Eats - Fits jars, highly adjustable
The large chamber fits canning jars, and the dishwasher-safe riser helps with small items. Custom vacuum and seal times give fine control.
Source: Food & Wine, Costco product page - Comes well equipped
Serious Eats says it includes a hose, a jar attachment, a spare gasket and seal, and a 2-year warranty plus lifetime support. Food & Wine lists 80 included bags.
Source: Serious Eats, Food & Wine
- You only seal a few bags a month
- You have little counter space
- You want something simple for beginners
- Sealing soups, marinades and other liquids
- Infusions, pickling and compression
- Hunters and bulk processors
Scores (tap for why)
What experts say
- Serious Eats: Best chamber sealer: well-sealed bags with an in-depth manual, but bulky, heavy, expensive and overkill for most home cooks.
- Food & Wine: Best chamber sealer: endlessly customizable and edged out the Anova chamber, but expensive and not geared to beginners.