Customer Reviews

Rival Vacuum Sealer

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

For years I have craved a FOODSAVER or SEAL-A-MEAL or other vacuum sealing products but I just couldn't swallow the expense of the large units available. I liked the variety of uses and containers available but I really just needed a unit to every once in a while seal gallon and quart size bags.

For years I used ZIPLOC's hand pump vacuum bags (Bags = difficult to find, expensive and the seals didn't last) and Reynold's hand held motorized vacuum system (Too much trial and error to get the pump positioned to start vacuuming...and the line was ultimately discontinued).

Recently purchased the Handheld FoodSaver model as a present for Xmas and contemplated getting one for myself when lo & behold......WOOT offered the RIVAL Vacuum Sealer for 1/2 the price.

I figured....what the hell?? If it sucks I can return it or I am out only a couple bucks.

Be advised....The Unit is not the smallest thing & does not have a long power cord and lays horizontally so don't expect to be far from an outlet or get a short extension cord. If you are using on a countertop in front of other appliance (i.e. coffee maker) expect to be a little cramped.

I started with the sample quart bags + Gourmet deli cold cuts bought = break up into 2 1-lb portions.
NOTE: This unit is NOT quiet. You push down....wait for Hands-Free light & Sealing light to go on....let go....wait for lights to turn off. Hit Open/Cancel button....VOILA! in ~10-15 sec Vacuum sealed food. So far....so impressed.

This unit is compatible with SEAL-A-MEAL & FOODSAVER bags and rolls...so ran off to the local warehouse club which have a package of rolls & bags for the lowest price.

NOTE: This unit does not offer a bag cutter like the more expensive units.....so a pair of scissors is necessary for trimming roll material.

Being at the warehouse club allowed me to pick up a variety of bulk purchase products to test the unit more thoroughly:
1) Large Cuts of meat.....Check
2) Pizza Rolls / Frozen Snacks....Check
3) Pork Chops....Check
4) Chicken....Check
5) Cheese...Check
6) Fruits & Veggies

After using the unit so far like 20+ times in 2 days.....I have to say I am impressed at this little unit. It is a very cost effective alternative to larger units. Even after purchasing the package of rolls & bags.....total cost was significantly less than the cost of the basic larger units.

While it doesn't have the versatility of other units with a Vacuum tube and other storage containers, or storage for rolls or a bag cutter, this unit is extremely effective if you are just looking to seal gallon & quart size bags....so I have to give it 4 stars.

I will update my review at a later date to review its reliability over a long period.

UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2011

Well...the unit is still working great after all this time and many rolls of Foodsaver bags.

I will note this....if you plan on sealing alot of stuff at once to create the bags ahead of time. This is because if you use the unit too many times in a row without a good period of time for the sealing coil to cool off.....it will prematurely seal the bag and all the air will not be completely removed from the bag. Also...I figure its good to not overwork the heating coil not as it is the #1 thing that breaks on Foodsavers/Vacuum Sealing units so theoretically this would be the thing to go bad 1st in this unit.

Anyhoo if I am sealing a large amount of stuff....I break the food up into the pre-made bags before and....seal a bag.....wait a couple minutes....go on to the next bag....etc.

This is a great no frills product. At 1/3 the cost of the "fancy brand name" sealer this unit does just what it is supposed to do..remove air and seal the bag. Sure there are units out there that have more bells and whistle but what do you expect for $50?? and on the gold box deal it's even better!!!

OK, so you can't manually stop the suction to seal soft foods and there is no hose to do canisters but again, for the price it does what it is supposed to. One thing it has and the fancy ones don't is the removable tray for liquids. After doing some chicken it's good to have the piece come out to get properly washed!

It makes noise yes.. it's a machine! I bet those complaining about how loud it is also complain about the sound of the ice from falling from the ice maker..

If you want a vacuum sealer and don't want to spend $100+ this one does the job perfectly (and uses the foodsaver bags too, just put the textured side up).

My wife and I decided to make an emergency 30 day food supply and I bought this to seal up foods mostly for that purpose. After a trip to the grocery store to buy our first round of stuff, I was lined up and ready to start sealing everything. When it works, it really does a great job. For dried beans, I poked a hole in the existing bag so the sealer could get the air out of the inner bag as well. The result was a package of dried beans hard as a a brick - good thing.

I did mention 'when it works'. After a couple of bags were done, I started having an issue in which the unit did not suck out the air and went on to seal the bag. I quickly aborted the process to save the bag and retried over and over with no success. After messing with the unit for a while, I finally realized that I had to reseat the gasket/seals (as others mentioned in these reviews). After doing so, it started working property again. That said, I am a bit disappointed as I have to mash down and massage the seals about every fourth or fifth usage.

Next, as someone else mentioned, you do have to press fairly hard on it to activate it. The unit has a 'hands free' indicator on it which simply means it has acquired enough suction that you no longer have to press down on the unit and it will continue on its own. This is fine for many items, but when I poured a box of dry rice into a bag and started to seal it, my arms started to get tired really quick as it seemed to take much longer until the 'hands free' kicked in. Makes sense that it would take longer given that it was loose rice in a bag. Still, when you're doing many items at once, your arms get a bit of a workout.

I bought the combo box of bags (4 - 11', 1 - 8", 30 quart bags), which seemed to be a good starting place.

I have owned another brand by foodsaver. It was loud. It took about a minute to seal. You need to line up the suction just right to remove the air. Unless you were blind you could tell when it was done. Rival's product does what it is supposed to do. Concerning the sound it is like complaining about a vacuum or air compressor for being loud. You don't like the noise don't use it. It works.

I bought this from woot and it didn't take long at all to get here. Sure it is loud making the noise of the suction pump running but I expected that. The lid is hard to push down but it works good. It sucks the air out and seals the bag and then shuts off. Good product for the money. I plan on getting lots of use out of this once I get more bags as 4 just isn't enough.

I received my Rival Vacuum Sealer from Amazon on 9/28/11. On 9/29/11 I stocked up on a few hundred dollars worth of beef at reasonable price, since I had been warned by an agricultural business news adviser (Orien Samuelson) about the price of beef skyrocketing this year into next year. That has already happened at most retail stores. I used my new Rival Vacuum Sealer to seal every single piece of meat I bought and it worked quite well. No problem whatsoever.

Actually, I was amazed that the little Rival worked so well on such a large quantity of meat. I guess everyone has their own opinion or story to tell, but I have been quite pleased, indeed. I think people should consider these reviews as a general indicator, but do their own research. I have found many products rated less than satisfactory here only because people did not use them correctly. You MUST read instructions if you would like to achieve satisfactory results.

Just my two cents.

We've been buying bulk meat from Sams Club for years and had been breaking everything down for storage using Ziplock freezer bags. Over time, though, it became obvious that Ziplock bags aren't necessarily the ideal thing to use for long term storage. We often find air in some of the bags (and freezer burn) where the zip seal has been compromised or was never completely shut in the first place.

I bought this unit when it was the Gold Box Deal of the day. It was $24.99 with free shipping. I only tell you what I paid for the unit so that you will understand me when I say that the biggest expense with a system like this will be the future cost of bags. I also bought a box of Rival FSSMBF0626 Seal-a-Meal Rolls, 11" x 9' (2-Pack) to use with it. It's easy to get this unit up and running. I've found that you can't be cheap with the amount of bag that you use because the juices in the meat tries to seep out during the vacuum stage and it can compromise the integrity of the seal. I like that you can write on the bags and that the item inside is very easy to see and identify. This sealer should work with any brand of bags. I've heard you can re-use bags but I'm a bit skeptical. That would all depend on how easy it proves to be to clean them and dry them between uses.

The real challenge with this system is to not let it break the bank. The bags are expensive, so shopping around both online and off would be a good idea. For us, these replace the need to buy the more expensive freezer bags as we can now get away with only having the cheap ones on hand for everyday uses and needs. The only thing I've used the unit for is to store food, though I would imagine that there are a lot of other possible applications.

Added March 9, 2011:
After a month of use, we've noticed that one of the bags has lost it vacuum while in the freezer, creating a bit of frost on the meat. We've sealed about 25 bags so far, so 1 out of 25 isn't too bad considering it was likely a result of human error when we first sealed it.

I love this sealer. I have never owned one before, but this does exactly what it is supposed to; nothing more, nothing less. I can't speak to the noise level compared to others, but it is not obnoxiously loud and after all it is a vacuum pump and they tend to make noise. Until I have more experience with other models I can't see what they could do that this one doesn't. Excellent value.

This is an update on my previous review (below), as I found - after a month or so of usage - that the vacuum gaskets needed re-seated periodically, as others have noted in reviews. My advice to remedy this is to SLOW DOWN when using the unit: HEAT from the sealer is what causes the adhesive on the gaskets to loosen. If you wait a few minutes to press the "cancel/release" button, the vacuum gaskets will STAY COMPRESSED, cool & the adhesive won't let go. It's best, regardless, to press on the gaskets periodically, just to make sure that they stay seated...rather than risk wasting bag material. Yes, Rival COULD use a heat-resistant glue to install the vacuum gaskets, but then they wouldn't be easily replaceable - it's a trade-off that I can live with. I'd still give it 5 stars; since realizing that heat was the source of the problem, I'll slow down & also get a longer life from the sealer, too. Rival NEEDS to edit their manual to caution about over-heating the gasket adhesive! Write your congressman!!<g>

I tried (2) defective Foodsaver V2244 units before buying this Rival unit & wish I hadn't wasted my time with the "big name" machine. On both Foodsavers I tried, it seemed that the sealing latch was the downfall; I only got one bag to actually vac'n'seal - by holding down the left side of the lid (opposite of the latch). Yes, with the Rival you have to press down on both sides for a few seconds, but that eliminates the things that can obviously go bad with the Foodsaver latch. For almost $20 less, I have a sealer that works great, & that I'm confident will last for years. I still have some weakness in my right hand after disc surgery for a pinched nerve a few months ago, & I have no problem at all operating the Rival. Also, having seen both the Rival & Foodsaver within the same week, I can attest that the build-quality of the Rival is FAR better than the Foodsaver. If you're looking for a great, basic, compact sealer, look no further. Rival may not have the dozens of models to choose from that Foodsaver does...maybe that's why their units actually WORK!

This is my first vacuum sealer. I made my decision to purchase this one due to the great reviews and the price. And what a deal it is. The unit is very easy to use. It has a drip catcher so that when you are sealing fish - it catches the juices, and it is a quick clean up.