Mueller Vacuum Sealer Review

We purchased the Mueller Vacuum Sealer so our reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

Storing and freezing food can be a tricky endeavor. There are plenty of storage containers on the market that make it easy to preserve leftovers, produce, frozen meats, bulk buys of food, and more. However, containers take up space, and some of them aren't made to keep in your freezer. That's where vacuum sealers come in handy. They suck out all of the oxygen around the food in the bag and then are sealed to prevent air from returning inside. Not only does this help keep your food from spoiling for an extended time, but it also allows you to utilize more storage space in your fridge or freezer.

I've worn out several vacuum sealers over the years, so I was happy to give the Mueller Vacuum Sealer a thorough test. I readied foods to be frozen and pulled out the sous vide setup so I could test the seals in water. After sealing everything I could find, I knew what this compact machine is capable of. Read on for my honest thoughts.

Design: Sleek and stylish

Sleek and slim, with a splash of silver color on the mostly black appliance, this will look good in just about every kitchen. But looks may end up not mattering much because it’s compact enough to fit neatly into a cabinet, in the pantry, or even in a drawer.

There are four lights and five buttons that indicate the settings and process. Above that is a bar with lights that move to show that vacuuming is in progress. Overall, the look is clean, uncluttered, and modern.

Part of the slim design means this doesn’t have onboard storage for bag rolls, and there’s no integrated bag cutter for cutting bags to the desired length. This could be a pro or a con. The vacuum sealer is easier to store because of its size, so the lack of onboard roll storage is a plus. However, when making bags, it means retrieving the roll from its storage and using scissors to cut the bags to size. Of course, some users might prefer the convenience of pre-made bags so that they wouldn't need rolls at all.

Accessories: Standard

This came with five 7.8 by 11.8-inch bags, as well as a 7.8 by 79-inch roll of bag material to make bags of any length.

An accessory hose is also included. With the sealer in the open position, it connects to the vacuum port. The other end then can connect to an adapter that can be used for vacuum-sealing canisters or other accessories. However, it does not include an adapter.

Fortunately, I had an adapter as well as canisters, so I sealed lettuce in one canister and other salad toppings in another. It was simple to do, and the button for activating it is conveniently near the vacuum port.

Setup Process: Simple

Getting the machine ready for sealing food in a bag is simple. Just open the lid, place the open end of the bag over the vacuum trough, close the lid and snap it down, then choose the proper buttons. Snapping the lid down requires a bit of pressure, but it’s not difficult. The snap is audible, which makes it very obvious it’s ready to get to work.

When making a bag, it’s just as simple. The open end of the roll is placed over the heat strip, the lid is lowered and snapped into place, and then the seal button is pressed.

Performance: Good seals

For the most part, this sealer worked well. There were a few times when the vacuuming process seemed to be going on too long, so I removed the bag and did some troubleshooting. In one case, the bag wasn’t positioned properly, and I needed to adjust it. In another case, I didn’t have a tight seal at the bottom of the bag I’d made from a roll. I fixed that by doing a second seal on the bottom of the bag, and then it sealed perfectly. Since sealing isn’t always perfect, no matter which machine is used, I often double-seal bags; it’s an easy habit to acquire.

While it was disappointing to get a poor seal when making a bag, I've had occasional issues with almost every vacuum sealer I’ve used. A small wrinkle in a bag material is all it takes. I preferred the seal created using the moist setting, but that wasn’t an option when using the Seal-Only mode, so I found a workaround. With an intact roll instead of a bag pre-cut to my desired length, I could use the Vac & Seal and Moist settings. It pulled enough vacuum to fool the machine into thinking it was vacuuming a bag, and I got my better seal. It took a little longer than just sealing, but it was easy to do.

When I sealed fresh walnuts, I loved that they took less space to store while they also stayed fresh. I sealed ground beef that was destined for the freezer. Although it pulled some liquid from the meat, the seal was solid, and the meat froze well with no hints of freezer burn.

I also vacuumed-sealed some country pork ribs that I cooked using sous vide. The bags stayed leak-proof throughout the process.

The one downside to this sealer is that the manual said there should be a 40-second wait between sealing bags. While that would be inconvenient if there are multiple people working on packing and sealing bags in an assembly line, for someone working alone it’s less of a problem since it takes time to put food into the bag and position it in the sealer. That probably would take more than 40 seconds each time, so the machine will have enough time to rest without thinking about it.

Features: Useful extras

Starting at the left side of the controls are lights for Gentle and Airtight, with a button to the right of them labeled Vac Mode. Most of my sealing was done using the Airtight mode, but the gentle mode can come in handy for sealing foods that need a little less pressure.

I tested the difference between the gentle and airtight settings using a pair of overripe bananas that were destined for the freezer for use in smoothies. At first, there wasn’t much difference, but then I saw that the exterior of the one vacuumed on Airtight was a little smooshed, while there was just a little air in the bag of the one I sealed with Gentle. The difference wasn’t breathtaking, but it’s good to have options.

I then decided to sacrifice a slice of bread to test the gentle setting. It didn’t fare well—the bread flattened and didn’t recover when I opened the bag. That’s not to say it’s impossible to vacuum-seal baked goods, since it’s possible to press the Seal button at any point to stop the vacuum and seal the bag. I am unlikely to want to vacuum-seal something as squishy as bread, but it could be handy for dense brownies or for delicate fruits like strawberries that I wouldn’t want to smash or bruise.

Next are the buttons for Moist or Dry, with a button next to it that says Food that toggles between those settings. The main difference between the two settings is that the moist setting seals a little longer. Unless my seal is for something short-term, like for cheese that I’d store in the refrigerator, I prefer the Moist setting for a more secure seal.

Next are buttons for Seal, Vac Seal, and Stop. Those seemed obvious. The Seal button will simply create a seal on a bag, like when I made my own bags from a roll. Vac Seal vacuums the air out of a bag and then seals automatically. And Stop will, well, stop the process immediately. The Seal and Vac Seal buttons light up and then turn off when the sealing is done, so there’s a visible cue that it’s okay to retrieve the bag.

While the Food button made sense in controlling the Moist/Dry settings, that button is spaced evenly with the next four, making it seem like it was part of the group. Not a dealbreaker, but I would have liked a larger gap, or perhaps a border around the light/button pairs to make it completely obvious.

Price: Very reasonable

With the multiple settings and the accessory port, this multi-use vacuum sealer is very affordable compared to its more expensive peers. It retails around $70 to $114, depending on where you purchase it. Considering that it can keep foods safe from freezer burn and extend the life of cheese or deli meats in the refrigerator, it may even pay for itself in a short time. Now that sous vide cooking is becoming more and more popular, it will come in handy for that as well.

Mueller Vacuum Sealer vs. FoodSaver v4840 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System

FoodSaver v4840 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System: Retailing at around $200, the FoodSaver v4840 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System has more features and is much larger. Unlike the Mueller machine, the FoodSaver system includes both a countertop and handheld sealer, as well as automatic bag detection and sealing. While I have used FoodSaver machines in the past and liked them, I have to admit that I liked the smaller size of the Mueller machine. And although it didn’t have all of the features of the FoodSaver, I didn’t miss them. I’d suggest the Mueller for anyone who doesn’t absolutely need the features the FoodSaver provides.