I have a VP230 and have only used 3mil bags bought directly from VacMaster. I bought many sizes, but mostly use 6x10 and 8x10, but also 10x13 and 12x15. Sign up for their emails and get a discount. I probably only get two emails a month at the most announcing a sale or new product. When you place the order for the bags, go ahead and get a couple quarts of compressor oil. I've changed mine once so far and will do so any time I see the oil in the sight glass starting to look the least bit milky.
I like to buy mixed nuts and other things in bulk to snack on, so also bought the 6x8 zippered bags, These are great to take on road trips (or help with portion control while watching tv). Seal your stuff, and when you want a snack, rip off the zippered part, then use the ziplock style closer until you're ready for more. As a side note, you can place two 6" wide bags side by side when sealing, so halves the number of cycles.
Be careful sealing liquids. Always take out the spacer so the mouth of the bag is as high as possible. This seems like common sense, but sometimes you can lay the bag down and still have the mouth higher than the spacer, but just take it out. When it starts boiling, be ready to hit the stop, regardless how much time is left on the timer. This will seal the bag and release the vacuum. I've been lucky and not had a bag blown up spraying liquid everywhere, Don't turn your back on liquids! The same goes for things you don't want to crush... and this thing can and will crush some items. If the needle is in the green, it still has more vacuum than my FoodSaver sealer ever had.
Cool "party trick" is cutting watermelon into cubes and sealing them. There are valid reasons to do it anyway, but it's way cool.
The VP230 is a beast, so I bought
this cart from Sam's Club. It's just the right size for machine on top and the boxes of bags fit nicely on the two lower shelves. It came straight out of the box onto the cart and they've been paired ever since.
Buy this cover. It;s only $15 and fits perfectly. I put a microfiber cloth on top of the "lid" as extra protection, then this cover.
For a helping hand,
order these. You'll be glad you did. The height is easily adjustable. I roll the edge of the bag over an inch or so, then attach to these holders. They are great when you want to seal soups, red sauce for pasta, etc. They may seem flimsy at first, but the bag does the real work. These just help tremendously.
For a funnel, I've found the easiest and cheapest thing to use is a red Solo party cup with the bottom cut out. They fit very nicely in a 6" wide bag and makes the job so much easier while keeping the sealed area clean.
I can't call it a regret, but wish I'd bought a high quality vacuum sealer many years ago. It was an investment for us empty nesters. We were used to cooking for five kids and all their friends. Once they left, it was hard cooking for just the two of us. Now we do our meal prep on the weekends and don't go through that "What are you hungry for? I don't know. What are you hungry for?" during the week. We even invested in a good chest freezer and focus on buying food in bulk only when it's on sale. No doubt we've saved more buying this way and having our meals ready to eat than the initial cost of the machine, bags, and deep freezer.
Congratulations! Enjoy your new toy.