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The FoodSaver V3835 is an external upright vacuum sealer. As it is configured to stand upright this unit is ideal for the smaller home where space is at a premium.

This model is suitable for light use in a home kitchen probably for people living on their own or a small family looking to vacuum seal the occasional item.

It is OK for doing small amounts of occasional sealing but if someone were to plonk half a deer down on your kitchen counter then it would really struggle to get the job done.

Uses

This machine can be used to seal bags and to make bags from rolls. The method is pretty straight forward as the V3835 operates automatically. As stated above, you just insert the bag far enough into the slot and the machine starts the vacuum after it senses the bag. Once the full vacuum is reached the heat sealing strip operates and the bag is sealed.

The unit can also be used in heat seal only mode to reseal Mylar bags such as chip packets to keep the contents fresh until you want another helping.

Due to the accessory hose port and the supplied hose you can also use the V3835 to vacuum seal Jars, Mason Jars, Bottles and Canisters by using various attachments that can be purchased from the FoodSaver range.

The accessory hose can also be attached to the FoodSaver Marinator so that you can soak your meats and vegetables in tasty marinades quickly prior to cooking to add more flavor to your meals.

Using a vacuum sealer for food storage will protect foods that are stored in the freezer from freezer burn and greatly extend their shelf life up to 5x longer.

Features

Controls

Vacuum Speed
There are 2 vacuum speeds, a Normal Speed setting that can be used for most types of food, and a Gentle Speed setting that can be used for vacuum sealing foods that are liable to be crushed such as chips and sponge cakes. Once your crushable foodstuff has reached the required vacuum you can press the Seal button which will then seal the bag at the same time stopping the vacuum pump allowing you even more control.

Food Settings
Different settings are provided for moist or dry foods. If the machine is set to Moist then heat from the sealing bar is applied for longer when the bag is being sealed. This helps to ensure that the bag is properly sealed even if there might be a chance of a small amount of moisture getting between the edges of the bag seal.

Accessory Button
The Accessory button is activated when you want to use the unit with the accessory hose that is supplied. This increases the versatility of the unit so that you can vacuum seal jars, bottles and other containers by using the various add-on items of equipment supplied by FoodSaver.

Marinate Button
Press the Marinate button and then any meats or vegetables that you want to marinate will be subjected to a 10 minute cycle of vacuuming designed to quickly infuse your chosen foods with more flavor from the marinade that you add. The way that this works is that the vacuum is first applied and maintained for a few minutes and then the vacuum releases causing the marinade to replace any juices that were sucked out of the meat and fill up any spaces.

The vacuum is then cycled and pulsed in a similar fashion twice more so that your food is completely marinated. This is a huge timesaver as you no longer have to soak foods overnight to get the best flavor.

FoodSaver sell a Quick Marinating Canister that is specially designed for marinating foods easily with the minimum of fuss. Its well worth a look if you want to save yourself time marinating items.

Instant Seal
The Instant Seal button does just what it says and allows you to seal a bag up without using the vacuum pump or alternatively you can seal the bag at any time during vacuuming. This is an extremely useful feature as it means that you can watch the bag that you are sealing and stop and seal the bag before any delicate foods are crushed.

Seal Indicator
The large Seal Indicator lights up blue at the top to show you the progress of the vacuum and once complete the lower lights go red to indicate that heat is then being applied to the seal.

Sealing Mechanism


The Sealing bar on this particular model is around 12” long so the maximum size of bag you can use would be around 11”. The unit also has a thermal cut-out that operates once the machine has overheated protecting it from accidental damage. After a short wait, 20-30 mins, the unit is ready to go again.

This member of the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Range incorporates SmartSeal technology that once switched on allows the unit to sense the presence of a bag then automatically apply the vacuum and seal the bag at the end of the vacuuming process to your pre-set requirements.

The unit also comes complete with a retractable sealing accessory hose that can be used in conjunction with FoodSaver attachments so that you can seal canisters etc with the unit, increasing its versatility.

Bag/Roll Cutter

This unit has a built in cutter that you can use to easily tailor bags to the desired size when cut from the roll. The bag or roll is pulled under the cutter bar and then the cutter blade is slid across the width of the plastic material when the desired length is reached.

Drip Tray

The drip tray is of a special type patented by FoodSaver and can be removed easily for cleaning and is safe to be washed using your dishwasher.

Bags and Rolls

This appliance comes complete with a number of different items in the box:

  • 1 x 10 foot by 11 inch roll so you can make your own bags
  • 3 x 1 Quart Bags
  • 2 x 1 Gallon Bags

Storage Compartment

This sealer has a built in storage compartment that can be used to store your FoodSaver or bulk buy vacuum sealing rolls. Note that the 50 foot rolls of sealing material may have to be cut down in length to fit the roll holder.

Power/Voltage

The unit needs to draw power from a 120 Volt supply. It comes fitted with a standard 3-pin polarized plug to prevent connecting the unit to the supply the wrong way round.
The cord fitted is short so that it cannot be grabbed by a child from below the counter top.

Dimensions

The V3835 stands 10.25 inches tall, 17 inches long and is 5.25 inches deep.
This model stands upright rather than laying flat on the counter top so if you are limited for kitchen space then this might be a good unit for you.

Maintenance and Repairs

A number of common spare parts can be purchased from the manufacturer. These include, an Upper Gasket Assembly, Drip Tray and Bag Detection Tray.

Place of Manufacture

Manufactured in China

Warranty

FoodSaver give a one year limited warranty with this unit.

Accessories

This FoodSaver model can be used in conjunction with most FoodSaver accessories so that the end result is a truly versatile machine that is well-suited to perform many different food storage functions.
The following attachments are available, Jar Sealer, Wide-Mouthed Jar Sealer, Bottle Stopper, Sealable Canisters, Quick Marinator.

Pros

  • It takes up a lot less counter space than other sealers due to it being able to operate when standing vertically
  • You can manually stop vacuuming at any time by pressing the Seal button
  • Has an accessory hose attachment greatly increasing the versatility of this appliance

Cons

  • Due to the SmartSeal technology and the automatic nature of the vacuum and sealing mechanism this machine uses more bag material than semi-automatic or manual machines. The bag needs to be inserted sufficiently far so that it can sense it before it will vacuum. This roughly translates to 1.5” of bag material wasted at both ends
  • Sometimes the automatic bag sensing can be temperamental and the unit fails to sense the bag. Several insertions may be required before the machine will sense the bag
  • The unit heats up quickly due to the heat sealing taking place at the bottom and may need to cool down after doing 2 or 3 seals. This can mean that your are spending a lot of time waiting if you have a lot of sealing to do so we think that this particular model is more suited to the occasional light user
  • It makes quite a noise when vacuuming but then again most sealers are pretty noisy

Consumer Ratings

Lots of reviewers have used this product. There are lots of widely differing opinions as to how good the V3835 actually is with it averaging around 3.5 out of 5 on several different shopping sites.

An interesting fact of note is that even when people give this unit a good review they still bring up the sensing of the bags being a bit hit and miss so if you are purchasing this machine because you like the look of the SmartSeal feature please be aware that it doesn’t work very well for some people.

Another thing that seems to irritate people was the amount of bag material that was wasted because the bag material needs to be inserted quite far into the unit before it can sense the bag.

Price


Can commonly be found retailing between $179.99 and $139.97 with the best price currently available on Amazon.

Summary


This is not a heavy duty machine by any means and would be ideally suited to someone having a small kitchen countertop as it has a smaller footprint than similar machines.

This unit would also be suitable for someone who only does small amounts of sealing as the machine can only carry out 2 or 3 seals before it needs to cool down.

We think, after looking at several models that most people would be best suited by looking elsewhere to fulfil their sealing requirements as this model is overly fussy about detecting bags and overheats too easily.

If you’re determined to get this model then be aware that the price is considerably cheaper on Amazon, even cheaper than at the manufacturer’s site!

Tips when Using the FoodSaver V3835


Make sure when inserting bags that you insert the left side of the bag into the right hand side of the sealing slot and then slide all the way to the left. This will increase the chance of the bag being properly sensed every time.