Stuffer advice

[fishinjoe]

I am upgrading from my 5lb plastic gear suffer due to one of the gears cracking during my last batch. I have came across this and was wondering if anyone had any experience with it . Also horizontal or vertical?

 

[73saint]

I have a LEM 5lb stuffer w/ metal gears and really like it. I typically work in 5lb batches so its perfect for that and also all the parts but the main body fit in the dishwasher to make cleanup a snap. The main body only takes a few seconds to wipe down with Clorox wipes.

The stuffer you posted looks nice but if counter space is limited a vertical is better than a horizontal. I'd also be curious as to the cleanup process.

If I had to choose between:

1. A smaller stuffer that need to be reloaded several time but is easy to clean
2. A larger stuffer that does not need reloaded as frequently but takes longer to clean

I'll choose #1 every time.

I was looking at that 5# LEM stufffer at academy last week. You just helped me make my decision!

 

[smokeybreeze]

I started with a 5# Weston vertical stuffer, but not even half-way into stuffing my 40# batch of sausage its gears seized, so I got the LEM 5# vertical stuffer and not only did it work flawlessly, it was a breeze to clean, and it came with clamps to hold it down. See my post here about that experience.

 

[chopsaw]

Did you check to see if you can get steel replacement gears ?

 

[dward51]

At one time LEM had a metal silver gear 5 pound stuffer that was reported by many that the gear set was a direct replacement for the white nylon ones (plastic) like the Kitchener and other models used. However they have been discontinued for a long time. I have been told the black metal ones will work, but you also have to replace the threaded rod and the plunger as the thread is different on that model. I cannot confirm this, but I have seen it posted several places.

You would think someone would market them as there are a ton of the white nylon geared stuffers out there and for a decent price most people would gladly upgrade. That being said, I'm many years on and still using my 5 lb white nylon geared Kitchener model. Just pay attention to where the plunger bottoms out, and don't put too much pressure at once on the gears when stuffing small casings like 15mm snack sticks. I actually marked my threaded rod to indicate where the plunger is bottomed out. That way I know when to stop cranking. It's been working for several years for me (probably just jinxed my self though!).

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'd go with vertical; I heard horizontals get alot more stuff stuck in them. <Not sure if it's true or not> but you can also work a vertical in a more natural motion and when you gotta refill, it's less messy. Just my two cents, I only maybe run 5 pounds of sausage a month tops though, and most of that has been and forever will be in summer sausage form. So I'm not some wise man here!

 

[SmokinAl]

I have had a 5lb. LEM for years & it still works like new!
You can't beat metal gears.
Al