New sausage stuffer

[jaxon2]

In the market for a new sausage stuffer and looking for feedback. I currently have an older cabelas 5lb stuffer, but the gears have gave out. Im looking to get something with a larger capacity. The Hakka 11lb stuffer and waltons 11 lb stuffer look really similar and are in the range for what I want to spend. Anyone have any feedback on either of these stuffers? Or other recommendations?

 

[Fueling Around]

No feedback on either of the stuffers you mentioned. I looked at a lot of smaller units. I have my father in law's old cast iron unit (8#) and love it except for the horn which leaves a lot of mince when making smaller batches.
I did look at the Weston for larger too.

 

[tallbm]

In the market for a new sausage stuffer and looking for feedback. I currently have an older cabelas 5lb stuffer, but the gears have gave out. Im looking to get something with a larger capacity. The Hakka 11lb stuffer and waltons 11 lb stuffer look really similar and are in the range for what I want to spend. Anyone have any feedback on either of these stuffers? Or other recommendations?

Hi there and welcome!

I owned a 5 pound Lem that I gifted to my brother after I got a 7lb Hakka.
I also own a 10L (22-23lb) Arksen.

I have never owned a 10 or 11 pounder BUT I can say that it would very very very wise to go get your hands on one in person and see if it is going to be too big or heavy to be practical for you to use.
These things get big and heavy fast so be sure to pick it up and understand that the box size will be very close to the actual size of the thing so you will need that much space to house it.

Also keep in mind that the larger the stuffer and the smaller the tube, MUCH more pressure will be needed to force that much meat through the tube.
My 10L Arksen takes 2 humans to work when using.
1 burly strong enough person to crank stuffing 20mm-32mm (sheep casings to brat size hog casing) sausage. It takes some considerable force to crank that much meet that no child or sub-burly person is going to be able to do.


Hopefully someone will chime in and say if they can fill an 11 pound stuffer and work it solo to easily stuff 32mm brat size sausage. If you get an electric one then cranking is a non-issue since the motor does it for you.
I can manually work my 7 pound Hakka but have never done 20mm or smaller sized casings. Only ever done 32mm or much larger fibrous casings and did them all solo.

I hope this info helps.

 

[GatorAGR]

I have the Hakka 7 lb'er. Love it other than than the exit spout comes out the bottom leaving 1/4 lb or so of meat in it so I have to either use it for bulk or put it in my jerky gun to get one more link. Kind of a pain in the a$$, but it is made very well and a great deal for the price. Can't recommend the larger model, but I can vouch for Hakka in general. Solid equipment.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I got the 10lb red top one from the sausage maker. I didn't like the plastic feed tubes so I added the stainless tubes and the plunger with brush for cleaning them.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I can't say anything about the two you mentioned but I have a seventh lb horizontal Hakka and does a nice job. Leaves almost no meat in it when empty.

Ryan

 

[JckDanls 07]

Love it other than than the exit spout comes out the bottom

This is what I was going to elaborate on... The ones with the 90` elbow coming out of the bottom of the canister wastes a substantial amount of meat... Rather look for one with the tube coming out of the side at the bottom... I haver the LEM Big Bite 5lb stuffer that comes out the side... The LEM also has metal gears and that's another thing you want to be aware of... Make sure it has metal gears and not the plastic ones as they will strip out...

 

[SmokinEdge]

I can’t speak to the two units mentioned by OP, but I will say make sure any stuffer you look to buy has metal gears and If it’s 10# or more capacity look for a 2 speed with gear reduction. I have a friend with a 15# from Cabelas and it has the gear reduction which helps a lot making it much easier to crank. I personally have the 10# electric from LEM and really like it but is a bit pricey.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Get a 5 lb LEM or the new 10lb electric LEM and be done with your search.

 

[chopsaw]

I currently have an older cabelas 5lb stuffer, but the gears have gave out.

Good chance that's a LEM stuffer . You can buy the kits for those styles . Just need to get the whole thing . Gears and the threaded shaft .
I rebuilt mine a couple times now . Bought some nylon bushings at Lowes and adjusted the run out ( like a Ford 9" rear end . ) Keeps that edge from rolling off the pinion gear under pressure .
Even if you get a new one , I'd fix the old one .
The nylon bushing is an upgrade over the brass .

Pinion now rides deeper in the ring gear . Less pressure on the point of the tooth .

Factory nylon bushing , and an added metal bushing . Not washers , bushing are machine flat .

 

[hoity toit]

In the market for a new sausage stuffer and looking for feedback. I currently have an older cabelas 5lb stuffer, but the gears have gave out. Im looking to get something with a larger capacity. The Hakka 11lb stuffer and waltons 11 lb stuffer look really similar and are in the range for what I want to spend. Anyone have any feedback on either of these stuffers? Or other recommendations?

I had the 11 pounde vertical manual stuffer..its great if you are doing large size stuffing like summer sausage. Stuffing smaller casings only fill it 1/2 way because that is a large column of meat you are pushing. I then traded up and went to an 11 pound electric stuffer thinking I could fill it all the way up and let the motor do the work....I was wrong. What happens is the gasket has so much pressure on it it blows out, especially if you have a dry mix that is already getting sticky. I also have a 10 lb Dakota stuffer. To be honest with you I prefer using it over the electric one because I have never had an issue with it failing. To sum it up....each stuffer or tool has a meaningful purpose....find the one that works for you best.

HT

 

[hondabbq]

I have an 11 lb Cabelas manual stuffer. I have done everything with zero issues. Deli chubs. Sausages. Snack sticks/ 20 mm.

My only recommendation which has already been said, metal gears.

 

[crazymoon]

J2, A 5 pound TSM or LEM is good if you plan on doing a lot snack sticks.

 

[tridiot]

I have a 'Backyard Pro' brand 5-lb stuffer. I'd never heard of it, never had any occasion to really research sausage stuffers, then I won this one in a contest - and it's been off to the races with my meat curing obsession! lol

Backyard Pro Butcher Series SS-5V 5 lb. Vertical Manual Sausage Stuffer​

As others have said here, a 'side port' seems to me to be pretty nice. I've looked at a number of other ones, larger ones, as I get tired of refilling this one too much, but one thing that's worried me about the Hakka and such (Hakka seems well-regarded in my research) is the bottom port ejection which does look like it would leave a substantial portion of mix/farce behind.

Overall, I've been pretty happy with this one, and for a cheap stuffer (~$100), I'd recommend it for those just getting into sausage making and not wanting to make a huge investment.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Also the problem with bottom exit... You can't sit the canister on a flat table/countertop because of the elbow out the bottom...

 

[Norwester55]

I've been using a 7lb Hakka vertical for the last 6-7 yrs. No complaints other than the usual quantity of meat left in the elbow. I recently picked up a 11 lb horizontal (Hakka again) and like it much better. Other than just a very small amount of meat left in when done it seems easier to control, is more stable and it is easier to clean. No problems with 19mm snack sticks.