Russell Hobbs Seal Fresh RHVS1

This vacuum sealer can be found cheaply enough around the place but you will pay DEARLY for the vacuum bags. They are crazy expensive. You cannot use other, cheaper vacuum packing bags - you must use the Russell Hobbs branded bags. Their vacuum bag rolls are 6m long which seems like a good amount, but once you start using them they disappear… Read more

quickly, especially if you're vacuum sealing longer items like long fish fillets or root vegetables.

Doing a quick calculation I would be paying 75c to $1 per bag - it's ridiculous

I could only find Russell Hobbs branded vacuum bags that are 28cm in width. They do not offer a variety of width sizes. It's 28cm and that's it!

You need to seal and cut your own bags. So I'm paying like $1 per bag PLUS I have to make them myself by sealing and cutting them? Um, no.

The suction isn't great. It's OK if you're storing items for a short period I think, but if you want long term, shelf stable storage for a year or so or if you want to freeze something for quite a few months I would not trust it.

I'm returning this vacuum sealer. Avoid!

Just won't work – I have got mine from Flybys points. It does not work on vacuum seal plugged it in and it just makes a noise. Heat Seals fine. This is first use. I trusted Russell Hobbs products before not now Show details

Stay away from Russel Hobbs products – Absolute crap. Frustrating to use as it will may work 20% of the time.

Thinking the brand was good. I was mistaken – Growing up I always thought Russell Hobbs was a decent brand. people this machine is full Junk Show details

Rubbish product – Bought this to replace an old "cheap but good' model that isn't available anymore. Thought Russell Hobbs was a reliable brand - but was very disappointed! From the very start the suction was problematic, no matter which setting I used. The Seal function automatically switches on way too fast to allow all the air to be removed and there's no way around that. After persevering for 3 months I'm ditching this and buying something better. Show details

Crap. Don't waste your money – This machine lasted 18 months & now won't vacuum. It's hardly had any use. Not recommended..I'm looking for something that will last & keep working. Total waste of money. Not unusual for Russell Hobbs products!

Great for home use – Purchased this in Sep '19, and was really happy with it's ease of use and great functionality. Although after about 6-8 months we had issues with it and it would start to take a while to extract all the air and/or not seal at all. Thankfully it was under warranty and I was able to get a brand new one in its replacement and haven't had issues… Read more

since. We mostly use ours for freezing meats and it makes for an easy defrost, and the most I've sealed in one session is about 15 medium/large sized bags with meat perfectly fine. We use generic/unbranded seal rolls and haven't had an issue. I would note that it will only seal really nicely if the plastic is flush against the heat seal (not sure if commercial sealers can deal with this). It's obviously not a commercial product where the air extraction is really strong but does the job well for home use.

Fantastic! – Fantastic! Love our Russell Hobbs heat sealer! So easy to use. Doesn’t take long to seal. And has moist and dry options which makes it multi purpose. So far have only used it for meat and veg for the soups vide. Would definitely recommend Show details

Love Hobbs! – I liked the Russell Hobbs design better than other brands so naturally I was drawn to this brand. Just purchased this today. It's very fast and does an excellent job. The only thing I dislike is how loud it is, but it literally takes seconds to vacuum and seal. Very pleased and happy with this product. Would absolutely recommend. Show details

disappointed – Have had three now in two years replacements as the others have broken down, not pleased at all and the third one has just given up after 9 months ownership, I am not a high user either just use it for fish but very disappointed as they are good when they are working, John Show details

Such a great investment! Sad I didn't get it sooner! – My partner and I were in search for one and decided on this one after reading reviews. This was our first food sealer and could not be happier with our decision! It's super easy to use and doesn't take up a lot of space (even love the self store cord space so - no dangly-bits of cord when put away). We've used this for both cupboard + freezer… Read more

storing and couldn't fault it. Food comes out fresh, seals haven't broken and easily re-seals. One thing I wasn't sure about and found hard sourcing was the seal rolls/bags. I couldn't find the same brand but opted to try a department store own brand roll and works just as well for more than half the price of other rolls. When sealing it is a little louder than expected on the turbo option but it doesn't really phase us. Totally recommend this product otherwise!

Fantastic item – I'm on a special diet where food preparation is key and this has helped me prepare everything and freeze my meals. The only problem I have is when I tried to track down the containers that are sold separately they were unavailable, I finally was able to order them but still waiting on the tube that actually makes them usable.  Show details

Fairly new but no complaints – I bought this after reading reviews on this site. I haven't had it long, but it seems to be working very well. Is is easy to use and easy to clean. It is great, working well, I am happy. End of story.  Show details ·  1

Great Little gadget – This is my 1st vacuum sealer, it was recommended to me by my sister and I think it's a great little unit. I would recommend it anyone, it keeps things very fresh and gives me more space to store things in the fridge and freezer. I even use it for my dog food.  Show details

Works reliably every time – A really well made product at a great price. It is something that I continually look forward to using as it always works without any hassles. Had trouble finding a retailer for some reason, but I got one at JBHifi. After buying one at Kmart and returning it as being worse than useless, this one is a Rolls Royce and I haven't found anything that it cannot do.  Show details

Very impressed – This is my first food vacuum sealer so nothing to compare with. Found that this one works every time. The vacuum and function is fast and the bags are sealed properly with no leaks. Used it to vacuum seal food when we went camping. Kept everything nice and fresh, plus reduced that space taken by the food in the cooler. Yet to test the container kit feature.  Show details

My second sealer – Bought it at Prouds Fiji. I was so glad they had this product in store. The bag sealer on this unit is so quick and silent unlike the Sunbeam I had before was so noisy. The settings are just what I need. Can't do without this great product fully recommended to all my friends.  Show details

Great little sealer – Have used the sealer for chicken, redmeats and a few dry items. Also used it to seal fishing gear for a trip. Found the standard/normal setting for vac is quite enough for everything I have packed so far. I did try the turbo vac just for fun and it certainly drew more air out of the channel bags, but have not found the need to use it so far. Good… Read more

for keeping fresh red meats for ten days plus in the Engel or caravan fridge. I usually cut and seal bags from a roll, and have had no problems with overheating or poor seals that other reviews of other machines have reported. You must ensure you keep the seal area of the bag free of meat, blood or any other contaminant. One way is to lay a piece of paper towel in the opening of the bag when you fill the bag with your product. Then withdraw the paper towel carefully before sealing the bag. This way the meat doesn't touch the seal area. After reading all the other reviews on vac sealers I was not confident when I bought this little beauty but so glad I did. Its a little ripper. Like a kid with a new toy.

Happily suprised at performance at this price point – After reading about all of the other vacuum sealers around the $100 range being terrible I was skeptical this would be any better. Couldn't find any reviews but thought I'd give it a shot anyway. I bought it from JB Hi-Fi today and spent 3 hours vacuum sealing half a cow. Never overheated, never melted the bag and it sucked most of the air out… Read more

each time. Takes some trial and error to work out you need to leave space all around the meat otherwise you get trapped pockets of air. Otherwise very happy. Has a turbo feature to suck more air out, a seal feature to only seal a bag or create one from the bag roll without using the vacuum and a moist/dry option to seal for extra long to get through the moisture that gets sucked into the seal point.

Still half the cow to do tomorrow but I'm confident it will last.