VacMaster Vacuum Marinator Canister Container 2-1/2-Quart for Vacuum Packaging

I'm not sure what other reviewers are talking about. Either VacMaster has a serious problem with product quality or the other reviews have a serious problem figuring out how to use this properly. Hook the container up to suction, suck out the air, seal the container by rotating the knob (are other people missing this step?) and the air stays sucked out...Like I said in the title - this food container sucks...well, more accurately, the vacuum does the sucking and this container keeps out all that air that's been sucked away.The unit I have is built extremely solidly. I also have the FoodSaver version of this container -  FoodSaver T02-0050-05 Quick Marinator 2-1/4-Quart Square Canister  and there is no comparison between the two - The VacMaster is much sturdier.I've used this container a few times - both for quickly marinating meats and for short term storage of leftovers. In neither case has it lost vacuum - at least not until I rotate the knob to "open" and hear that pleasant "hisssss" as the air pushes it's way back into the container.Hopefully this container will suck as well for you as it has for me :)

Works well, and very sturdy. Sometimes the valve seems to stick a bit. Great for marinading.

We've tried these containers multiple times over 6 weeks. Neither one will hold a seal more than about 7 days. Empty, full, upright or on side, just will not hold.Container itself, and lid, are very substantial, good quality, but no seal makes it useless. Out of return time now.

I took this container, and placed it inside my chamber vacuum sealer, then pulled a strong vacuum on it. It not only withstood the vacuum, which at 15PSI exerts a couple thousand pounds on it when under vacuum, but it also held the vacuum even after several days. I tested it by placing a vacuum sealed bag of water inside, which had a tiny little bubble. Under vacuum, this bubble gets really large, and blows the bag up like a balloon. Even after several days, the bag inside remains inflated, so I'm pretty impressed.The valve is excellent, and strong as well, easily turning from "vacuum" to "lock" and then to "open" when it's time to take stuff out.I'm going to use this to make aerated chocolate.I just wish this were available in some larger sizes.**update**After a month or two of regular use, I came in to the kitchen one morning to discover that it imploded. Oh well.

We have five of these and four of the small ones, and have ordered more. Yep we are sold. Having used them for some weeks now we have only had one sealing problem, and that was operator error. We sealed espresso ground coffee (finely ground) and the lid came off after 24 hrs. Our fault we failed to check the seal which we discovered had been contaminated with a small amount of ground coffee, a simple wipe put this right. We were fed up with buying top quality soft fruit and vegetables and having to throw out spoiled goods after a few days (yes we do have a very good refrigerator set at the recommended temperature). These babies solved that problem, strawberries and raspberries lasted more than seven days, bell peppers ten days and counting etc. Haven't tried for marination so no comment. Oh by the way have converted one into a cheese box, just remove a portion when required bring to room temperature and enjoy.

Work very well, but kind of small. Really only good for sauces and small batches of leftover veggies, that set of thing. VacMaster needs an in-between size, a the next size up is a bit large.

Love this canister! I got it to marinate meats for the smoker or the grill. It's very well made, heavy duty consruction. My son was coming over with his smoker to cook for our bbq. He marinated a pork loin in his frig over night. I put my pork loin in this and used the vacuum sealer marinating setting, then just put it in the frig for a couple hours. He smoked both loins together and my loin was way juicier and had more flavor throughout the meat. The only bad part was my loin got ate up and he left me with his dry leftovers. The dog was happy.

The steaks taste awesome!