6 Reasons the JVR Vac100 is our Preferred Chamber Vacuum Sealer

It might sound a little dramatic, but the JVR Vac100 has kind of been the unsung hero of practically everything we do around here at the Barbecue Lab.

We've been testing various brands and styles of vacuum sealers for over a year now, but the Vac100 from JVR Industries has been the one unit I've chosen to use for the last 4 months over all the others for 6 reasons.

#1 Seals liquids like a champ

The first reason why I've chosen the Vac100 as my go-to vacuum sealer could be said of most chamber sealers in that it handles liquids like a champ.

While most external vacuum sealers simply suck as much of the air as possible out of the open end of the bag, a chamber vacuum sealer evacuates all of the air in the entire chamber.

There's no draw on liquids pulling them towards the seal in a chamber vacuum sealer, and we regularly vacuum seal our leftover barbecued meats with the drippings and even soups and chili. When we reheat them later in the sous vide months later out of the freezer, it's as fresh as the day it came off the smoker.

Even wine bottles!

Now there's one specific liquid that I was particularly surprised this chamber vacuum sealer could seal. The Vac100 comes with an accessory hose and a wine stopper so you can better preserve your open bottle of wine. Who knew?!

You can program a preset on the Vac100 by hitting settings, then select, then Vac 50 seconds, sealing 0.0 seconds and cooling 0.0 seconds. Once you see the liquid start to rapid boil, just hit the skip function and you've sealed your wine.

#2 Size and Capacity

Alright, the second reason we've chosen the JVR Vac 100 as our go-to vacuum sealer is the size. While it has a decently small footprint and a low profile, it has a very spacious chamber.

The unit itself measures 16.2″ x 19.3″ x 8.3″ and weighs 52 pounds. That's not exactly light, but it's 13 pounds less than the Meat Your Maker chamber sealer and 32 pounds less than the VacMaster 230, so I do consider that an advantage.

The inside of the chamber measures 13.8″ x 12″ x 4.3″ so you can vacuum seal some pretty large bags in here. I also like that it has 2 bag clips so you can actually seal 2 small bags at the same time.

#3 Visibility

Coming in at number 3, visibility is a real win for this chamber vacuum sealer. The Vac100 from JVR Industries has a perfectly clear shatterproof glass lid.

I don't know if you're aware of this, but chamber sealers provide both function AND entertainment. I don't understand why so many other brands darken and bevel the glass to make it so you can't see what's going on inside. It's fun to watch the vacuum process. But the entertainment value isn't actually the only reason why visibility is important.

When you vacuum seal anything with liquid, the boiling point drops when liquids are in a vacuum. Oftentimes, liquids like to boil right out of the bag, and the Vac100 has a "skip" button that you can use to move on to the sealing function since there's no more air that's going to come out of the chamber once it hits a full vacuum. With the see-through lid, it's easy to keep an eye on things and adjust each session.

#4 Cleaning Cycle

Number 4 is the built-in cleaning cycle for the motor and the vacuum oil. If you press the settings button and then hit the down button, you'll see a cleaning preset that's as easy to run as simply closing the lid.

It runs the vacuum pump for 300 seconds, heating up the oil to over 212° Fahrenheit and boiling off any of the water that's accumulated during regular operation.

It's suggested to run this cycle once a week, and it's really easy to keep your vacuum oil in good shape unlike many competitors out there.

#5 Quiet

I love that this is a quiet chamber vacuum sealer. The decibel reading that I got on my app came in between 62 - 65 decibels, and that's lower than most competitors that run 5-10 decibels louder.

I know that Melissa prefers the quieter opperation since we have the Vac100 plugged in sitting next to a competitor here at the Lab, and I've never seen Melissa choose the other sealer unless she has 10 bags to seal, and then she'll use both.

Quieter operation is a win for us, and it's a big reason we're choosing to use the Vac100 over the others we have here at The Lab.

#6 Clamshell design for maintenance

Coming in at number 6 is the clamshell design for maintenance. There are a bunch of vacuum sealers on the market that are hard to open when you need to clean and work on the inside.

The Vac100 has 3 screws that when removed, allow the unit to open up like PacMan to make it easy to work on the inside. Since changing the oil is something that needs to be done every 6 months, having access to the pump and drain makes things simple. There's no fighting with the case, just remove the 3 screws and you're in.

Bonus Features Worth Mentioning:

Can Seal Mylar Bags

I get asked quite frequently if certain chamber vacs can seal mylar bags, and the Vac100 can seal mylar pouches with the optional retort seal bar. It's able to seal up to 7mil mylar, so if sealing in mylar pouches is for you, the Vac100 has you covered. 

Chamber Pouches are more cost-effective

As an added side-note, while chamber vacuum sealers are generally more expensive up front, the pouches they use are considerably less expensive than those used in external sealers.

I know we use 3 mil 8x12 pouches all the time, and the standard Food Saver style external bag is 4mil and sold in a roll.

The price of an external bag once you cut it and seal it off is usually around the 40 - 50 cents range per bag, and with a chamber vacuum sealer, you can get premade 8x12 vac pouches for 10 - 15 cents per bag, which is a huge savings in the long run with a chamber vacuum sealer.

Cool Accessories Available

Remember that accessory hose that comes with the JVR Industries Vac100? It can be used to seal more than just wine bottles.

JVR Industries sells stainless steel canisters that you can use to seal things like coffee, rice, or even more fragile items that you don't want crushed by sealing them in a bag. 

Likewise, if you like to use canning jars to store your food, there's a chamber accessory that can vacuum seal multiple canning jars of all sizes at the same time.

Now, to be clear, this isn't "canning" foods to make them shelf-stable, this is simply removing all the air from the jar and sealing the lid. Anyway, those are a couple of the ways that the accessory hose might be used, aside from resealing wine bottles.

How to save money on the purchase of your chamber vacuum sealer from JVR Industries:

If you're thinking about picking up a Vac100, you can save a whopping $100 off your purchase by using the code "BBQLAB100" at checkout. That's $100 you can put into vacuum seal pouches, extra oil and some of the canning accessories if you want.

Watch Our JVR Vac100 Video Review