Not sealing the bag
My husband is a fisherman here in Key West and swears by his vacuum sealer, but he was about to throw it through the window last week when it stopped working.
The motor would just run and run, but the vacuum never kicked on.
I found an answer online that solved his problem and may help some, but not all of you.
Apparently, it was all about bag placement for us.
When you're just trying to seal one end of the plastic to make a bag from a roll, make sure the end of the plastic is just on the front, flat heat seal strip and is NOT touching the black, rubber gasket that lines the vacuum tray, Also, make sure the end is NOT hanging over the gasket and into the vacuum tray.
Apparently, the machine was sucking, but air was constantly come through the other, open end.
Once you've sealed a bottom into your bag and have added your contents, then you put the open end (after making sure it's dry) all the way into the vacuum tray.
Hope this helps, good luck! I was so happy to find an answer online that I figured I'd share it with others.
Here's to fresh fish!