water stuffer

[cal1956]

i was thinking the same thing about the valves , give me a couple of weeks and i'll let you know if the brass valves are needed for better control

 

[mosparky]

My issues were that it didn't stuff a large enough batch, I need 20 pound minimum.

Tall, this where high school geometry you swore you would never use (me too) can be your friend if you care to build your own. Ground meat is a little less than 25 cu in per pound (actually 23.XX but I round up to make math easier). A 6 inch pipe has a surface area of 27 square inches, so that's 27 cu in per inch of length. A 20 inch chamber will yield a little over 20 lbs using rough math. Remember that 20 inches is the chamber only not including the piston and chamber behind it.

but spending $ 150.00 for a couple of bucks worth of plastic is kinda hard to swallow

Cal, 150 is not that bad a price. Clear PVC is mega expensive compared to the run of the mill white pipe at Home Depot. I use some at work and have to listen to the boss complain about the price. To buy small quantity, that much clear PVC in 4 inch diameter would cost you 50-75 bucks. It is a lot smoother inside than the white tho. You can certainly build your own from white far cheaper. I have one in the works in white for this very reason, myself. I even considered putting a rare earth magnet in the piston so I can stick another one on the outside to track the piston movement,

 

[mosparky]

if anybody is using these on a well system and not a municipal water source, how does the speed react when the well pump kicks in? does the meat start shooting out to quickly or is more gradual and manageable?

Jimmy, assuming you have a working pressure tank on your system the pressure won't rise violently. The water stuffer will work better at one end of the pressure range than the other and will depend greatly on how much water you added to the meat mix. The full volume of the stuffer is only a couple of gallons, so the likelihood of having the pump kick in as you are stuffing gets pretty slim. For consistant results you might want to use it when the pressure is at max and nobody is watering the lawn or filling the pool.

 

[cal1956]

mosparky , you just brought up another question , we never add water to our sausage , so will this thing have enough power to work without adding water to our sausage ?

 

[mosparky]

I have no idea. Nearly everything I've read here has you adding enough water to make a sticky mess, then fill the stuffer, of any type. The boss ran me thru the quick math on the hydraulic advantage created by applying the 60 psi water line pressure thru a 1/2 inch hose to a 4 inch cylinder and the numbers got astronomically big. I think he had the math screwed up, but math is a subject he knows well (engineer).

 

[tallbm]

Tall, this where high school geometry you swore you would never use (me too) can be your friend if you care to build your own. Ground meat is a little less than 25 cu in per pound (actually 23.XX but I round up to make math easier). A 6 inch pipe has a surface area of 27 square inches, so that's 27 cu in per inch of length. A 20 inch chamber will yield a little over 20 lbs using rough math. Remember that 20 inches is the chamber only not including the piston and chamber behind it.

I'm set for now and don't plan to build one but that makes sense for doing the volume I would need.
The next question would be if enough water pressure could be generated to push 30 pounds of meat through the stuffing tube. I know with my current hand crank 10L stuffer takes some real pressure to do so.

I wonder if this is why I never see water stuffers above 9 pounds or so. It is interesting.

 

[mosparky]

My Boss at the store has a meat processing business at home. He built a 100 pound water stuffer from a 20 or 24 inch PVC Pipe, runs it from his well pressure. Most likely 60 to 80 psi. He got the pipe from a road crew that was reworking some road side drainage of some sort. It was a cut off they didn't need and didn't really want to load and haul back to the shop just to unload again.

 

[oil99]

In regards to valves the only issue with the ones that come with is the handle length. Sure being plastic they might not last as long as a brass one but they’d last years based on what they are used for. The advantage of brass would be a longer handle which would provide more control, via a longer lever. But once you find the sweet spot, it’s a breeze. Again, this is ideal as a one person stuffer.

As mentioned I use air and use my RV pressure regulator, which I think is 38-40lbs. For the most part I stuff same day, but have also done next day. I have noticed that more PSI/valves adjustment is required on next day or any sticky mix. Super thick I’d have to ditch the pressure regulator. Using water you need a drain line, with air I just use the valve. I don’t mind the sound of 40psi hissing out, but if you have a crowd, or someone easily annoyed, you can attach a hose and exhaust elsewhere.

One advantage with water vs air is resetting the plunger if I remember correctly. I just use a long wooden spoon and manually push it down the tube.

A few other tidbits...
-I use crisco on my o-rings and lube up the plunger before inserting. Make sure you clean well as that stuff doesn’t wash off easily and can build up.
-I marked a stop point with a marker on the tube so I know when it’s at the end/bottoming out. I think it’s designed that within the pressure limits it just bottoms out and stops stuffing anyway.
-Like any stuffer, you are left with a burger size patty at the end/in the tube. Perfect for the fry test, but not always desired. I use a 4” filler ring, cut from a 1/2” white poly cutting board to fill the gap. Not my idea... saw it somewhere on the google net.

Good luck and enjoy. This thing made my sausage stuffing life a lot easier. Cheers!

 

[nanuk]

I worked in a shop that had a 100lber

it took more time to fill it than to empty it.

I couldn't keep up with the linking, it was that fast.

and it worked GREAT for filling the 1 and 2lb plastic bags. We had one of those tape ties that taped the bag and cut itself off in one motion!

AMAZING tool.
Far too large for my needs, but if I was ever going to grind up a whole cow???

 

[cal1956]

i just received an e-mail from "dakota sausage stuffer " regarding the question

mosparky , you just brought up another question , we never add water to our sausage , so will this thing have enough power to work without adding water to our sausage ?

it put my fears to rest
and yes i will be buying it !!!!

 

[tallbm]

I worked in a shop that had a 100lber

it took more time to fill it than to empty it.

I couldn't keep up with the linking, it was that fast.

and it worked GREAT for filling the 1 and 2lb plastic bags. We had one of those tape ties that taped the bag and cut itself off in one motion!

AMAZING tool.
Far too large for my needs, but if I was ever going to grind up a whole cow???

Those bag taper and cutters are awesome! I use one. Another advantage is that you can defrost the bag in the microwave if you need to without worrying about a metal hog ring in the microwave... also not having to fight with hog rings period is a major advantage :D

 

[cal1956]

this thing is AMAZING !!! next week is when i plan on making a large batch of smoked sausage and before i had 50 -100 lbs of meat ground and ready to stuff , i decided to try a "test batch " with my new Dakota water stuffer . i bought this a couple of months ago and have never tried it before today . before this we had always used a 15 lb vertical hand cranked stuffer.....NEVER AGAIN !! the Dakota water stuffer made stuffing the casings an absolute breeze to do , no more straining and cussing to turn a crank , simply set it up , fill it and crack open the water valve , thats all there is to it ! the water does all the hard work for you
i will never ever use and old fashion hand cranked stuffer again !!

 

[cal1956]

this is going to make stuffing sausage casing's a lot easier from now on ....no more cranking !!!

 

[KBFlyer]

This thing here is called the Kirby cannon. Had it many years and it has processed hundreds of pounds of meat. 30 pounds at a time. I have since added a auto valve system with a foot peddle which makes the job that much easier.
Here is the fellows youtube channel that makes them.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHeW63JzcmwhzPDyUqHkNVg

 

[cal1956]

i like it !!! the only thing i would change is , i would like to see a clear tube ( i just like watching the Dakota work ...lol ) you have to give these water stuffers credit , they sure make stuffing sausage fun instead of work !!!

 

[cal1956]

since i started this thread i have bought a Dakota water stuffer and used it for about 150 lbs of sausage , the valves work great at controlling the speed , its very easy to control how fast or slow you want to go , this by far is the easiest stuffer i have ever used