re: Is there a vacuum packing machine that isn't total crap?

I've never had that problem. The reservoir gets some fluid, but not enough to fill it. If it would get full, I'd just dump it and keep going. It doesn't pull out enough of the moisture from the fish or meat to affect the quality, but not sucking all the air out, will definitely affect the quality if frozen long enough for freezer burn to get to the protein.