> I just got a Food Saver V2490 from Costco a few weeks ago. For the most part
> it works fine, but after I've barbecued a few large cuts of meat and I'm
> sealing up small packages to freeze, there comes a time when it'll just quit
> vacuuming. It makes all the right noises, but no air gets sucked out of the
> bag, then the bag seals, and I'm sitting there with a bag full of sealed-in
> air and meat. At that point I can cut the bag open, try to reseal it, and
> get the same result. I can even make a new bag, and sometimes it will suck
> the air out and seal it just fine, sometimes not. I use the "vacuum and
> seal" button.
>
> If I just pull it out to seal one or two things, it works fine. And, it
> seems to malfunction most with the wider, 11" roll. The 8" roll seems to
> work a bit better.
>
> For example, yesterday I had sealed about a dozen bags of brisket, and the
> last 4 didn't vacuum. So, after I ate dinner, I went to open and re-seal
> those four bags of now-frozen brisket. Three of them vacuumed and sealed
> just fine, the fourth didn't vacuum, so I let the machine rest for a while,
> and voila, the fourth one vacuumed and sealed up, too. ...

>I just got a Food Saver V2490 from Costco a few weeks ago. For the most
>part
> it works fine, but after I've barbecued a few large cuts of meat and I'm
> sealing up small packages to freeze, there comes a time when it'll just
> quit
> vacuuming. It makes all the right noises, but no air gets sucked out of
> the
> bag, then the bag seals, and I'm sitting there with a bag full of
> sealed-in
> air and meat. At that point I can cut the bag open, try to reseal it, and
> get the same result. I can even make a new bag, and sometimes it will suck
> the air out and seal it just fine, sometimes not. I use the "vacuum and
> seal" button.

> I just got a Food Saver V2490 from Costco a few weeks ago. For the most part
> it works fine, but after I've barbecued a few large cuts of meat and I'm
> sealing up small packages to freeze, there comes a time when it'll just quit
> vacuuming. It makes all the right noises, but no air gets sucked out of the
> bag, then the bag seals, and I'm sitting there with a bag full of sealed-in
> air and meat. At that point I can cut the bag open, try to reseal it, and
> get the same result. I can even make a new bag, and sometimes it will suck
> the air out and seal it just fine, sometimes not. I use the "vacuum and
> seal" button.
>
> If I just pull it out to seal one or two things, it works fine. And, it
> seems to malfunction most with the wider, 11" roll. The 8" roll seems to
> work a bit better.
>
> For example, yesterday I had sealed about a dozen bags of brisket, and the
> last 4 didn't vacuum. So, after I ate dinner, I went to open and re-seal
> those four bags of now-frozen brisket. Three of them vacuumed and sealed
> just fine, the fourth didn't vacuum, so I let the machine rest for a while, ...

> So, it seems I can only do about three bags, then the machine has to rest.
> Seems odd, though. It is especially odd because I read in the directions
> that when the unit overheats, it will shut down. That would indicate to me
> that if it had overheated it shouldn't even start up - I shouldn't even
> hear
> the vacuuming sounds.

> But, as it stands, I do hear the vacuuming sounds,
> it's just not vacuuming at all after about the third or fourth bag. And, I
> am letting the machine rest for at least 20 seconds in between bags, as
> the
> directions indicate.
>
> Is this unit defective? Should I exchange it for a new unit at Costco? Or,
> is this just the way it is and I have to live with it?

>
> "EZ" NOSPAM.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message

>> So, it seems I can only do about three bags, then the machine has to
>> rest.
>> Seems odd, though. It is especially odd because I read in the directions
>> that when the unit overheats, it will shut down. That would indicate to
>> me
>> that if it had overheated it shouldn't even start up - I shouldn't even
>> hear
>> the vacuuming sounds.

>
> Exactly. When I do a bunch of seals in rapid succession, it will try to
> start but won't. Then after a few minutes it is off and running.
>

>> But, as it stands, I do hear the vacuuming sounds,
>> it's just not vacuuming at all after about the third or fourth bag. And,
>> I
>> am letting the machine rest for at least 20 seconds in between bags, as ...

> I just got a Food Saver V2490 from Costco a few weeks ago. For the
> most part it works fine, but after I've barbecued a few large cuts of
> meat and I'm sealing up small packages to freeze, there comes a time
> when it'll just quit vacuuming. >

> I've had this happen to me and it is because of my material not down in
> the trough. It will vacuum, but not completely, then seal, but not
> completely if the material is not down in the trough. It is very easy to
> pull out if you have heavy meat items.
> Dee Dee

> Thanks for all your suggestions, folks. Among all those suggestions, plus a
> few from the company, it seems the Food Saver is a bit more picky than I
> thought. Getting both sides of the bag in the trough, and getting the three
> or so inches of bag lying flat all the way to the sealer, and making sure
> that when you close and lock the lid it's all still in place, is apparently
> more difficult than it seems. Once all the stars are aligned correctly and I
> hold my mouth just right, I can manage to get the bag vacuumed and sealed.
> Using the manual vacuum button first to see if it's actually going to suck
> air or not, is a good idea, too.
>
> Today I made three bags out of 8" roll and sealed three pieces of cheese.
> The first two worked fine without a hitch. The third one failed to vacuum,
> but after I turned it over, and messed around with it for a while, it
> succumbed, too, and I got a decently-vacuum-sealed third bag of cheese. Yay.
>
> Thanks again. It seems I'll keep this unit, since it doesn't appear to be
> defective.
> ...