Vertical stuffer

[Crow Hunter]

I have a stuffer that looks like the one in the picture, but would like a vertical one. Who makes a good one for not a ton of money?

 

[reinhard1]

The best price I think is found at Northern Tool.  The brand is Kitchener.  I have that one that I bought several years ago and still works fine.  It's a 5 pound vertical stuffer and comes with 3 stuffing tubes.  You can get a LEM vertical stuffer at Fleet farm that is a 5 pound vertical also but that would be more money.  The Kitchener is $100 last time I looked and the LEM is around $130 or more, maybe cheaper on line.  good luck.

[Crow Hunter]

Thanks. I looked at the Kitchener but the stuffing tube sizes struck me as a little odd. My stuffer tubes are 10,20,30 mm and the Kitchener is advertised as coming with tubes 12.7/ 22.2/  25.4 mm (converted to metric from 0.5/ 0.875/ 1.0 inches listed in the advertising). If the largest tube works for you with 30mm or so hog casings I will certainly take your word for it!

[Jim Almquist]

I picked this up on Amazon. All stainless including the stuffing tubes. Also all metal gears. They do make smaller units as well.

Hakka 11 Lb/5 L Sausage Stuffer 2 Speed Stainless Steel Vertical Sausage Maker

[leechlake]

Crow Hunter-  I got one exactly like yours.  If we buy two ropes we can each have a boat anchor that works better?

[Crow Hunter]

Yup! Fill them with cement, you would have a fine anchor. The meat squishes out around the piston, and the last half pound of meat can't be pushed out into the tube because the piston does not go in far enough. I actually thought about getting a rubber ball about the right size and try that to get the last portion of meat pushed thru the tube...

[bobberineyes]

Check out this state of the art stuffer. Gramps passed in 58, back then you made due with what was working.

[Crow Hunter]

Wowser. I will stop complaining now. It's amazing what people back then came up with to do what they needed to get done.

[leechlake]

16 minutes ago, bobberineyes said:

Check out this state of the art stuffer. Gramps passed in 58, back then you made due with what was working.

that's hi tech.  My dad used a bull horn...little stubby thing about three inches long I'd bet.

[bobberineyes]

Not to change the subject  (hijack), but how they all got by back in the day is really impressive.  Farm life was about as tough as it got...that'll make LL feel better... my dad is a pack rat, you should see some of the stuff he saved from the farm.

Edited April 3, 2016 by bobberineyes

[reinhard1]

I use the largest size tube for summer and fibrous casings and the medium tube for hog casings and the smaller tube for sticks.  good luck.

[PurpleFloyd]

I just run mine straight in from the grinder as our group has been doing for nearly 4 decades and suspect that won't soon change.

[charliepete]

 

Cabela's has some very nice stuffers, but they are expensive.  I bought my first one 15 years back and it's lasted, but I have replaced a few parts over time.  While we were getting things figured out we were trying to push too dry of sausage through snack stick horns and ended up stripping the bar gear.  While getting parts to repair my original I subsequently figured out that Cabela's has their equipment made for them by a company called 'Weston' who sell the same products under their own name for about 1/2 the price.  If I had to do it again I would buy strait from Weston.  I have also tried the 'Kitchener' brand (Gander has the same thing with their name on it).  I found it to be extremely low quality and hard to turn.  With my Cabelas/Weston machine I can actually turn out sausage by myself in a pinch...not possible with the Kitchener behemoth.  I returned mine immediately.

[reinhard1]

Charliepete, I think you may be getting a little hard on Kitchener brand.  I've had mine for over 10 years and have had no problems.  I've stuffed from many stuffers through my work and while the Kitchener brand was not the all metal gears ect. it did the work for "at home use".  Another factor with stuffer is not the stuffer itself.  It's the user.  If you do not have a proper mix with the proper moisture content you will have a rough time with any stuffer.  If you have to use force to push the meat through then it's the mix and not the stuffer.  I believe sausage making is very enjoyable and what makes it enjoyable is using the right equipment and knowing how to use it.  the Weston brand, LEM, Cabela's, Kitchener, and other brands are all good when used properly.  good luck.

[charliepete]

Reinhard1, what size model do you have in the Kitchener brand?  I had bought the 15lb model and it was a beast to turn.  I truly thought the thing was broken until I tried some others in the store while returning the first one.  I am a fairly big guy and found it cumbersome, there was no way my wife could turn it.  Compared to the Weston/Cabela's brands the amount of force required is night and day difference.  It's easy to why when you look at how they are geared.  Maybe the 5# model would easier to turn.....in my case when I am turning out a small batch I just use an oversize Jerky maker (looks like a oversize caulking gun).  

[leechlake]

CP-  there's a recent post on this if you look down a bit.  I think RH uses the 5 pounder.

I've tried the jerky gun trick and it works but it seems I spend so much time stuffing the stuffer I could stuff the sausage by hand.  Me being impatient doesn't help.

[charliepete]

Yeah...the Jerky stuffer I have does 1.5#'s at at a time. For a 5# batch that isn't too cumbersome to fill it 4 times.  When I do any volume I drag out the 11# vertical stuffer and it's a breeze.  I used to get together with a crew of buddies and knock out a few hundred pounds of sausage in a day every year.  We had multiple grinders going and people manning packing and stuffing stations.  It was fun and a good excuse to get together and whoop it up a little after the season was over, but we've all drifted to doing our own game now (kids ruin everything  ).  Instead of a single all day sausage event I tend to make 10-15 pounds at a crack multiple times over the season.  It gives me a chance to try new stuff and spending time smoking small batches etc.  I am working my way through a sizable bear and a heavy 6 pointer this year. 

[reinhard1]

I've got the 5 pound model.  Plenty big for my batches from 10 to 25 pounds.  What is important here is that you found a stuffer that works for you.  I have operated stuffers from my 5 pounder to the 25 pounder in the vertical and also hydraulic stuffers which do very large batches.  Those were very nice for what we had to do but they are spendy.  I often recommend the 5 pound Kitchner  to guy's first starting out.  It's not expensive [Usually under 100 bucks] and works for the average batches a lot of  us do.  Most of the guy's I know have 5 pounders in various brands.  Having all metal gears is good as far as durability, but the hard nylon gears have lasted me around 10 years.  I've been fortunate in making sausage for many years so I got the mix and the moisture down well so I seldom run into problems.  That is really important in sausage making.  Using the right tube for the type of sausage you will be making also is important along with the right size casings needed for that tube.  I have never owned a 15 pound Kitchner so I can't comment on that model.  I'm very glad you found a good stuffer.  I've got a good size Kitchenaid mixer and am thinking of getting the grinding attachment for it.

 

I have the opposite problem with small batches.  Not the stuffer, but the grinder.  the grinder works great but I don't like cleaning it for 5 pounds or so when I'm experimenting with a new formula.  I looked on line and they have the stainless steel attachment for around $80 bucks.  good luck.

[charliepete]

I actually do all my grinding with the grinder attachment for my kitchen aid.  I keep a dedicated toothbrush in the box it came in and it makes cleanup a breeze (if you don't let it sit around until it hardens).  I mentioned I like to make small batches, part of that is that I like to use the bread hook in my kitchen aid mixer to mix the meat.

[PurpleFloyd]

On 4/4/2016 at 9:29 PM, PurpleFloyd said:

I just run mine straight in from the grinder as our group has been doing for nearly 4 decades and suspect that won't soon change.

I stand corrected. After trying to run snack sticks through my grinder into the 19mm casings this weekend it was turning to mush so I went to mills and picked up a 5 lb vertical stuffer and that changed everything. The grinder is now retired from stuffing.

 

#olddognewtrick 

[pikestabber]

A little late to the party, but I know that the bigger the stuffer, the harder the cranking will be in many circumstances. Simply stated, you need more force to push 11#s of meat through a 1/2" tube than you do when pushing out 5#s. I am sure some higher end stuffers are geared better and maybe work fine, but for base level models, you might be better off sticking to the smaller 5# stuffer.

A buddy of mine grew up in a butcher shop, and he is a "Tim the Toolman" more power type if ever one existed, and even he said to just run with a 5# stuffer for ease of use. Yeah, you refill twice as often, but in his experience it ends up being faster and less hassle than trying to mash down on a big vertical stuffer of 11#s to 15#s or more. I should note that this is for hand-cranking (manual) models. If you want to go bigger, you likely need to look at a water-fed, electric or hydraulic models, but that is overkill and way more expense than a home operation wants to dabble in, I would think.

I have a LEM 5# and absolutely love it. You can churn out 25# batches in no time.

[Crow Hunter]

Thanks, Pike. I am going to buy one at some point soon and I had decided on a 5# for the reason you mentioned, it is plenty big enough for my needs. .

Edited April 26, 2016 by Crow Hunter