Hamilton Beach NutriFresh Vacuum Sealer Machine with Bag Cutter, BPA Free Food Sealing Starter Kit, Silver (78220)

Nice machine but I didn't even use it. The lock on it was horrible to set and didn't even fully latch. The directions said hold lid down while using or latch but that would create uneven pressure which intail would end with uneven sealing. Returned item same day. Going back to FS original and not compact since the lock is firm material and the design of the lock hooks and closes as it latched so no pressure or force is needed for even sealing.

I don’t like the fact that you have to freeze anything that might have a little juice in it before it will work.

Instructions seemed vague at first reading. However, when following step by step, the unit functioned well. Have not used a similar product previously. But, perhaps suction could be somewhat stronger.

I was ready to return it as not working. Then I re-read a few of the reviews and went back and tried again, exerting a lot of down pressure on the front of the machine while it was working .... and lo and behold, it worked. No, it isn't the strongest suction you are likely to fine, but it works and that is the main thing. Just remember, PUSH down, don't the the locks, just PUSH, PUSH, PUSH until it beeps.....

This unit does exactly what it's supposed to do. It doesn't take up too much counter space. Simple to operate. You can use rolls cut to your own size, or pre-cut bags in a variety of sizes. It says to put each piece of meat in a separate bag but I put in enough for a family meal and they seal very well. Very handy when meat is on sale. I plan to use it for prepping meals too.

Sealer is great for dry items. Extra care must be taken to fold over the edge of the bag before sealing. I ruined numerous bags trying to vacuum seal ground beef due to fat getting on the edge of the bag. Once I figured out the cause and was careful to fold over the edge and not to let the meat to touch the edge when inserting, it vacuumed and sealed perfectly.

For the money it does well. I’ve never owned a vacuum sealer before so I have nothing to compare it to. My biggest grip is that I wish that the tray was removable. It’s fairly easy to clean but when meat drips into I just hope that I got it all up. Other wise it’s pretty simple to use. As long as the bags edge is dry and clean it seals easily. I m glad that I bought it. I feel that my food will last longer when sealed and frozen.

I vacuum pack many foods I order online, especially deli products from all over the world. I don’t remember how I got locked into FoodSaver, but that’s all I used for a long time. The last one, fourth generation for me, was awful. Supposedly it was automatic. I never figured out how to make it work well. It was slow and never completely extracted all the air. Struggled with it for a year, asked for technical support and all I got is some generic recommendations that were irrelevant to the model I was using. To me, service is more important than how much a product costs. This Hamilton Beach 78220 Vacuum Sealer Machine, here, works like it’s supposed to. The vacuum chamber (where the open end of the bag goes) is wide and accommodating – I no longer have to fiddle with the bag to make it fit exactly in the middle, exactly straight, and exactly “just so,” including having to hold my mouth in a certain way to make it work. With the Hamilton Beach 78229, I roll the size of the bag I want, seal it, vacuum it, all in seconds, a little, or a lot, no muss, no fuss and I am done. Cleaning is a cinch. Like it a lot.

Purchased this as a replacement for an 18 year old vacuum sealer that stopped working. After a lot of on line research, decided this was worth a try because it had decent reviews, the price was lower than comparable food sealers and it was a known brand. One of my needs was that it would seal vacuum bags from other brands such as Food Saver (which it does). Tried it today on a 1.8 kg roast, using a Food Saver bag, and it performed perfectly. I would recommend this product.

Big enough to be seen from far away.

This machine is poor quality and a bad design. When it works properly, which was just long enough to prevent a return, you still have to use you hands to push on the lid so that the heating elements will actually seal well enough to use a sous-vide.It is supposed to pull a vacuum and when the vacuum is adequate the sealer turns on while the vacuum is still running. It does not. It just runs the vacuum all day long. I have to manually push "seal". Doing this shuts the vacuum off and air goes back in the bag. Terrible, useless. buy a 30 dollar manual one.

Problem with the vacuum sealer sometimes works other times don't. The sealer rubber keeps popping out. I have five of HB products for years and no problems. Sent e-mail to date no response.

I really love using it, it is easy, and fast,