a couple of questions about sausage stuffers

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cal1956

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Apr 14, 2015
1,068
319
Colorado
after making our first batch of sausage , we realized that we need to buy a separate stuffer so here is our questions : how hard is it to crank the vertical stuffers , and also how long does it take to stuff 5lbs at a time  using the vertical stuffers ?
 
Most of the verticals crank fairly easy, you just need to have it mounted to something. Depending on what you're making, you can stuff 5lbs in about 5 minutes or less.
 
yep.....very easy to crank. Actually, I go much slower than needed to avoid blowouts and I crank out 5 pounds in about 10 minutes. I've got a Lem 5 pounder...metal gears, herky...good product but a little spendy
 
Cant beat the LEM 5lb stuffer. No need to mount just use some that rubber drawer liner stuff under the stuffer so it dont slide around. I have put over 4k lbs of meat thru my LEM with no problems even thru a 3/16 tube.

Have fun with your stuffer.
 
thanks for the reply's   we know most of you use them and after stuffing 25 lbs with the meat grinder  we knew we needed to buy one , as most anything would be better than doing that again , we will probably be doing 25 -50  lb batches and just wanted to make sure  that it wouldn't wear us  out using it ...lol 
 
I have one from northern tool. Love it. Costs under 100 bucks.
 
I have LEMon of a LEM stuffer. Horrible customer service if you have a problem! Read my thread on it, Is my LEM a Lemon.
I have read your post about your LEM stuffer , what happened to you was just plain wrong , while I understand that any company can have a defective product , they should have bent over backwards to correct it , but with that said everyone else seem's very satisfied  with their LEM  . whatever we decide to buy Must be stainless steel and have metal gears and  the LEM fits those requirements , alto we have not yet made a firm decision
 
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thanks for the reply's   we know most of you use them and after stuffing 25 lbs with the meat grinder  we knew we needed to buy one , as most anything would be better than doing that again
I learned that lesson quickly as well. Even pushing just 5 lbs. through the grinder for stuffing was enough to make me happy to spend the money on a dedicated stuffer. The LEM was going to cost well over $200 all-in to get it to where I live so I went with a Grizzly that I was able to grab from amazon.ca for just over $100 shipped. If the plastic gears ever break or wear out, I'm going to order a set of metal gears from LEM and see if they'll fit... but it's held up great so far.
 
thanks Larry , but I just don't feel comfortable with nylon gears , I am looking at a couple of different one's in the $ 150.00 - $200.00 range
 
I have read your post about your LEM stuffer , what happened to you was just plain wrong , while I understand that any company can have a defective product , they should have bent over backwards to correct it , but with that said everyone else seem's very satisfied  with their LEM  . whatever we decide to buy Must be stainless steel and have metal gears and  the LEM fits those requirements , alto we have not yet made a firm decision

I researched for three years, I too wanted the metal gears and stainless tubes. I picked the LEM. I have several other LEM products that were fine. But let me tell you if you have a problem, be prepared to bend over.

I have been in the customer service business my whole life, and no matter what the customer is number one.

I received replacement parts and that fixed the problem. But not before LEM's customer service blamed my processes for causing the problem. Then I had to rebuild the stuffer. Thankfully I am a handy person.

Rant done.
 
 
thanks Larry , but I just don't feel comfortable with nylon gears , I am looking at a couple of different one's in the $ 150.00 - $200.00 range
Don't blame you on that one... I probably wouldn't feel comfy about it either if I was stuffing 25 -30 lb. batches on a regular basis.. It's seeing more of a 3 - 5 lb. batch every now and then use with me.
 
yea I really don't see us doing less than 25 lbs at a time and  maybe as much as 50 lbs  so the nylon gears just isn't an option for us
 
i have the LEM 10 lbs SS and love it. it is actually rated to use the small stuffing tube to make the small pepperoni sticks where other models are not. clean up is easy. i put a rubber mat down and then C-clamp it to my bench. im a 1 man show and this works great.

i have a complete line of LEM stuff, grinder, stuffer, vac packer, meat mixer and enjoy them all. actually i have had the complete opposite with customer service... maybe just lucky. my heat strip went on my vac packer and a new one was here in northern Canada in 3 days. also had a cracked knob on my mixer on arrival and a new one was sent immediately. the wiring harness loosend off on my grinder so i sent them a pis and asked if i could crack open the case and screw the grommit back on and not ruin my warranty and they were ok with that.

good luck with your choice !!!!

Goliath
 
I recently looked at quite a few stuffers and went with the Weston 11 lb vertical for several reasons. Good brand, all SS tubes and parts, metal gears, and found it at a great price. Almost went with the guide model at Gander Mtn, but that is the same as the Weston with a few mods, actually made by them. Not nearly as pricy as the LEM, though I have a LEM big bite grinder that is great and was well worth the money compared to others I looked at.
 
I have a lem works great so far. the ones you posted above, you are or can loose  a lot of meat in that elbow. you can try to dig it out and make patties but what a "PITA" Good luck on whatever you buy and make sure you let us know how you like it. 

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS
 
 
that's a good point that I had not though of !!!!   by the way whats a "pita" ......... I hate acronym's
 
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