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.

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