plllog, that would be great as I can't afford to try multiple tools

Here is a whole long thread in which I was deciding that I needed a new one. There's a lot of good discussion of how and why. I ended up buying the one that Barryv recommended about 2/3 the way down the thread.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5577661/chamber-vacuum-anyone-bought-or-considered#n=39

This is the link in Barry's post and it's a different page than I was looking at when I bought (maybe a different site? I don't remember "doug"), it looks like the same model. The one with the canister for liquids.

https://www.dougcare.com/foodstorage/sinbo_dz-280.htm

I'm planning to make dinner out of chicken breasts this weekend. I'd usually just steam poach them, but I could sous vide them while paying attention and give you a review if that would be helpful.

I have the very basic of FoodSaver sealers. Two of them ...one from a yard sale. For years now. I did have a glitch at one point but solved it with trouble shooting and ordered a couple new gaskets cheap.

I don't care for junk purchases and have upgraded many commercial quality appliances that I use every day like my blender and coffee grinder.

SousVide and prepping bulk meats/proteins for the freezer is most important for freezer storage getting the air/oxygen out of the packaging. SousVide is low heat so the food saver does not trouble me...good seal and no freezer burn. Double seal!

Keep thinking a better sealer might be nice if mine fail ...look to the future and up-grade...no need yet so I'm all ears for something better.

That said, I don't know. We have issues un-known with saver bags, silicones, and so called 'sousvide' bags, plastics. Silicones are made cheap now, knock-offs. (so annoying to research and get 'fake' silicone products.)

Conclusion...I use the basic FoodSaver. No fancy stuff. Double seal. Expensive meats need good storage, no oxygen, a good seal, works great for my Inova... or other more traditional preparations.

I SousVide once a month. Or every other. Not that much. Anova has not addressed the concern for good bags. Troubling with many concerns.

I thought Anova just came out with their own sealer and bags?

I use my foodsavers.

I have a FoodSaver that seems to work well. I found it on sale about 5 years ago for less than $100. I use these bags with it. For foods that I’m cooking with a marinade, I use a Zip-Lock Freezer bag and water displacement method to expel the air. Kenji says using that method will give “nearly air-free” results.

"---I've tried the freezer storage bags, silicone bags but really want to get a vacuum sealer for using with my Anova Stick . ----"

I am sure you know about this, but just in case, it is not a requirement to vacuum seal for sous vide cooking.

dcarch

yes, but the sealed bags are great for storage and since the recipes I've tried all say to remove air . . well it seems to be a good solution to both steps.

I use the immersion technique. Place food in ziplock freezer bag, place open bag in water and submerge without putting the opening underwater, water pressure will naturally push air out of the bag, zipseal and proceed with the SV. It is not necessary to remove "all" air to SV. You can reuse the ziplock bag.

Is the purpose of removing the air to keep the bag and the food submerged or is it to eliminate a layer of air around the food thereby allowing the hot water to get closer to the food?

Air displacement is to keep the food submerged.

The reason many of use foodSaver sealing methods straight from the butcher or farm is to SV multiple packages for that nights meal but to freeze the others for later meals. Or to FoodSaver raw butchered or hunted/fished for later frozen meals that can be SV'd later. A sealed, air/oxygen removed package, will have a much longer freezer life.

I don't bother with FoodSaver for a one-off preparation. Water displacement/ immersion is fine.

September/October month we often have 30 lbs of moose from a neighbors hunt and our cod fishing, 50-80 lbs...that needs good sealing for best freezer storage.

In packages for a 2-4 person meal. Labeling is key. Take two 4 person out for 8.

Take a 4 person out for a second day taco night.

I just took out a SV cooked short rib for tacos for tomorrow night. It will thaw and I'll toss it in the oven for a quick roasting. 20 minutes with a miso/kimchi glaze....while prepping the avocado/ salads/fresh whatever I find in the crisper drawer...

I most often use sous vide for larger items and multiples. Vacuum sealing--with a good seal that won't come undone--also helps keep the seal tight. If you have a clip system, or similar, keeping the bag seals up, it's not an issue.

Modern sous vide first got popular with caterers. Food could be prepped, seasoned, marinated, and sealed in individual portions on Wednesday to be taken to the service location and heated on Saturday. Getting a hundred plates of three entrees cooked perfectly and plated/served simultaneously becomes standard rather than aspirational with the vacuum sealer and sous vide. I apply this notion in my entertaining.

I use à cheap 25$ Équivalent from Amazon. If it sucks the air out and makes a seal, it's fine. You don't need to buy an expensive model. My cheapo does wet, dry, and the job is done just fine.

Well I ordered a vac seal machine and roll of bagging film. Hubby was very pleased with the lamb chops I fixed for our 4th anniversary dinner. I cooked them in the sous vide a day ahead as we had things to do, then just pan browned them. But, I didn't have the vac seal yet so they were in the silicon bags I had gotten a year ago . . and they were sort of cramped together so not as pretty as if laid out flat -- which made my decision for me to get the vac seal machine and stop debating about it.

For the night prior I did a mushroom and leek soup -- it was fantastic! I just wish I had used less leek in it as I really wanted the mushroom flavor to stand out. I used my immersion blender to cream it all smooth and added just a bit of salt and pepper with half and half,

Thank you all for the input and encouragement to do a bit more.