Review on 🔒 Weston 65-0501-W Pro Advantage Vacuum Sealer, 11-inch, Stainless Steel and Black by Samantha Sanchez

I purchased this sealer in November 2016 after a very positive review on the PBS Hit American Cooking Show. ;-) Her comment was that this is a very serious and very strong seal. In fact it is both. This seal is well made and very strong. When used correctly, it can actually be useful for sealing food for storage in the freezer, refrigerator or pantry. He seems to use Weston and FoodSaver packs equally well. After about 18-24 months of use, however, I noticed that it no longer pulls air out of the pouches very well. I see many other people had the same problem. The problem happened sporadically: in the beginning when this happened, when I first used the machine, it ran poorly and didn't "draw" at all; then after a few tries it got better. But in the end the car didn't pull very well even after 10-15 minutes of trying. At first I thought there were quality issues with Weston bags (e.g. leaky edges) but that wasn't the case. Conclusion: This is a very powerful machine and requires a very, very good seal around the vacuum chamber. The foam pads (top and bottom) that seal the vacuum chamber REALLY flatten out and lose effectiveness with time and use, requiring replacement. Weston sells a kit for it, and it's available elsewhere as well (just be careful and confirm if the kit you're buying has a seal set or two for the price). After becoming very frustrated with the poor performance of my Weston sealant I used this kit to replace the gaskets and heat tape and now my Weston sealant is working like new again. An indication that your machine needs new seals is that after the sealing process you will no longer hear the "PSSSSSSS” (or faint) sound of the pressure release before the loud beep. My car stopped making this noise but now it's doing it again. While I wish this regular maintenance wasn't necessary (combined with the expense, replacements take maybe 20-30 minutes and a steady hand), this machine is serious business and the seals probably work pretty hard. Here are some other things I found helpful about this machine: 1. Please read the manual carefully. it contains many important tips.2. Make sure the seam is clean and not uneven when sealing the bottom of the roll-up pouches (hold them up to the light to check). If you see ripples, make another print just above/below the first. Any ripples in the seam can eventually let air through (remember this machine creates a strong vacuum so the heat seal has to be perfect to hold it).3. Place the juicy meat on a plate and place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes before sealing. You don't want to freeze the meat, you want to freeze those juices harder so the sealing process works better (and is less likely to spoil). Be aware that some items (like food in open plastic trays) may have sharp edges that can eventually cut a hole in the bag and lose the vacuum when vacuum packed. Either be careful and use the pulse sealing method so the pouch doesn't stick too tightly to objects like sharp corners, or simply remove these products from the plastic sleeve. My Weston sealer still sounds good and performs reliably, so I'm hoping for many years of service, albeit with the occasional seal kit replacement.