Tilia FoodSaver Professional III Kit

Pros: Locks itself, professional grade, good quality.
Cons: weight, price.

I had a Tilia FoodSaver for about two years but it was a small one. It did the job and did well until it finally gave up the ghost. I knew that I wanted a better one and decided to look and see what I could find on the market. I found the Tilia ...

Pros: total replacement for plastic storage containers, convenient press/release power, long-lasting, inexpensive glass jars
Cons: not good for fresh (uncooked) produce, special Tilia containers are expensive, unit is expensive

I have owned a Tilia Foodsaver Professional II for about 7 years. Finally it gave way a month ago and I recently got the III model, which, for us, is the same (there are extra features, but we don't need them). This has become an essential appliance ...

Pros: Bag storage, bag cutter
Cons: Sealing strip does not completely seal.

I have had 4 Food Savers over the last 15 years. Every few years, I invested in the new and improved model, as I do a lot of vacuum sealing. The Professional III is supposed to seal 50 bags without overheating the seal strip. Unfortunately, since the day it arrived, I have not been able to seal ONE bag that didn't have an air leak. This machine is the most expensive model I have purchased and is the biggest disappointment of all the models. I would not recommend this model to anyone.

Pros: A great place to WASTE money that most of us don't have today. 
Cons: Not a good machine at all. 

I have have 2 machines in less than a year and neither one worked for more than a week.  After that I had to manually seal the bags when the machine got to 3 bars.  Now it only gets o one bar leaving air in the bag, just as well use zip-locks.

Pros: I LIKE MY FOOD SAVER. I USE THE MASON JAR SEALER
Cons: THE CANNISITERS HAVE POOR PLASTICS BUT SOME LAST LONGER THAN OTHERS.

MY FOOD SAVER CANISTER DEVELOPED SMALL LEAKS IN THE BOTTOM PLASTIC. HERE IS HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. FIRST PUT ABOUT 1/4 FULL OF WATER IN THE CANISTER AND PERFORM A VAC SEAL.
YOU WILL SEE SMALL AIR BUBBLES WHERE THE LEAK IS. NEXT TAKE YOUR HOT GLUE GUN AND APPLY GLUE TO ALL THE AREAS OF THE LEAK WHILE HOLDING OVER YOUR HEAD WITHE THE WATER AND VAC SEAL STILL IN PLACE. WHEN U HAVE SEALED ALL THE AIR HOLES U WILL SEE NO MORE BUBBLES IN THE CANISTER. MAKE THE GLUE IS VERY HOT AND DO NOT HOLD IT IN ONE PLACE TO HOT TO MELT THE PLASTIC. JUST ENOUGH TO FLOW THE HOT GLUE INTO THE SMALL CRACKS IN THE PLASTIC,

Pros: Roll storage, hands free bag making and sealing
Cons: Customer Care, apparent manufacturing defective sealing strip

I have had 3 Tilia foodsavers over the past 20 years. I started with a modest model and it worked well. I upgraded to a Professional II and it was grand for about 8 years, sadly it died last May (2007).
I was offered a price reduction on a Professional III, due to my loyal patronage and the fact that Tilia no longer made the Pro II, so I purchased a III. A week ago (luckily 3 weeks before the warranty expiration date), the III starting burning through the bagging material (while making bags) and that made vacuuming and sealing impossible. I have had all sorts of problems with customer service at Sunbeam, apparently the new corporate owner of Foodsaver, including outright mistruths about what I could expect. I am still waiting for my replacement III and from the reviews I have read here it seems that I will probably experience similar problems with my new one.
Tilia used to be a trust-worthy company and stood by it's products, unfortunately that seems to have changed. I guess I am doomed to going back to use my bread bags for food preservation.

Pros: Good when they work
Cons: Sealing strip, customer service

I have been a loyal customer for the past 20 years with foodsaver. I have always had good luck untill I bought the Professional III. It keeps melting the bags when you seal them, so you do not get a proper seal. Tillia was bought out by Sunbeam and now its is horrible trying to get customer service. Its a shame that Tilia decided to sell out as this is my last foodsaver I will purchase. The old foodsavers worked great and did what they were intended to do. I hope that Sunbeam will review their customer service and the product. My Pro III was less than one year old and worked great for awhile until the sealing strip started to malfunction. Sunbeam customer service acted like they could care less if people have been loyal customers and that they want to continue to be a customer. What a shame!!