Sausage stuffers, plastic or metal tubes?

[5 shot group]

I am looking at getting a LEM 5lb stuffer and see you have the option for one with either stainless steel tubes and one with plastic tubes. I am leaning towards the SS as i belive they will last longer and I am hoping this is a one time buy. However, I have read where the SS tubes may tear the casings if you are not careful and the plastic ones are more forgiving in that respect.

Anyone have any experience one way or the other?

 

[Tod osier]

Look at the hakka stuffers if you aren't tied to lem. A 5 pounder is quickly outgrown. I have a 15 pound hakka and it is very nicely made.

 

[Trial153]

Metal for sure. A stiff brush will score the inside of plastic tubes and makes for great breeding grounds.
The metal is also dishwasher safe as well

 

[5 shot group]

Look at the hakka stuffers if you aren't tied to lem. A 5 pounder is quickly outgrown. I have a 15 pound hakka and it is very nicely made.

Those Hakka stuffers look pretty good. Do you know how they are able to charge such a lower price then LEM? Or is it that LEM is just that much over priced?

 

[5 shot group]

Metal for sure. A stiff brush will score the inside of plastic tubes and makes for great breeding grounds.
The metal is also dishwasher safe as well

Great point, I didn't think about bacteria growth

 

[Trial153]

Great point, I didn't think about bacteria growth

I recently got the 15 pound mighty bite from lem with the metal tubes, no complaints at all. Havent looked at any others of late as this replaced a 5 pound stuffer from lem also... honestly I didn't shop around. I have a 20% off code and ran with with it

 

[GrayGoose]

I have the 15 lb LEM that came with plastic horns and bought a steel horn for smaller casings. I'm a beginner at sausage making but had no issues with casings tearing using either the plastic or metal horns.

 

[Antarctica]

Never heard of the hakka. Took a look and had to have one. Looks like my old enterprise will be relegated to looking pretty..

 

[5 shot group]

Looks like hakka also makes breast milk pumps...guess they are into both sucking and stuffing

 

[mahnster]

I would recommend going bigger. I made it one season with a 5lb and am likely going to upgrade to a larger one.

 

[Roy68]

SS due to ability to clean and avoid bacteria growth. Stay away from aluminum though as it will create off tastes due to reactions with salts and cures. Also a 5# Stuffer is to small. Size up one size for sure.

 

[muddydogs]

Like others have stated, go big or go home. With a 5 pound stuffer all you'll be doing is filling it. My Enterprise 12 pound stuffer is to small for me and I would like a 25 pounder but I just can't bear to stop using the old Enterprise that I restored and works so well.

As for tubes I have been using plastic, the tube brushes are not hard enough to scratch the plastic and any tube needs a good hot soapy water cleaning anyway. Good thing about plastic is there easy to cut if you need to do a little customizing on the tube.

 

[Tod osier]

Those Hakka stuffers look pretty good. Do you know how they are able to charge such a lower price then LEM? Or is it that LEM is just that much over priced?

Stuffers have always been overly expensive imo and I limped along with an expensive, but cheaply made 5 pounder for too long. The reviews on the Hakka stuffers are good. There is one Hakka design Of a vertical stuffer that doesn’t get great reviews. For the models with the bad design the gear box looks different and is easily identified by seeing the drive gear exposed, the better rated models have the gears hidden in a gear box. The larger stuffers seem legit, mine is great, heavy and shiny, it is 2 speed, cleans up easily. Metal horns and a lot of them. The only downside I can see is that the stainless case is a little sharp in places.

they are made offshore, but most of the competition is too. I don’t know about lem.

 

[Antarctica]

The Hakka I just bought was the 15 pound. Hope it is not the one with bad reviews - the reviews I saw were all good.

My enterprise is a beast to move around but the biggest issue is cleaning it. It doesn't really disassemble and its a pain to get down in the sink, etc. I also need to mount it to a board in the future, which will make cleaning even more problematic.

If the Hakka solves that, then I'll hopefully make more sausage, which is the goal...

 

[5 shot group]

What i have read so far, the LEM uses steel gears while the Hakka uses aluminum gears. I would think that as long as you are not putting too much pressure on it, the aluminum should be fine.

I am now looking at the larger models and see i have run into another problem. It seems once you get over a certain size, it is recommended that you no longer use it to make snack sticks because of the pressure.

Anyone run into an issue with using a 15+ pound stuffer to do snack sticks?

 

[Tod osier]

The Hakka I just bought was the 15 pound. Hope it is not the one with bad reviews - the reviews I saw were all good.

My enterprise is a beast to move around but the biggest issue is cleaning it. It doesn't really disassemble and its a pain to get down in the sink, etc. I also need to mount it to a board in the future, which will make cleaning even more problematic.

If the Hakka solves that, then I'll hopefully make more sausage, which is the goal...

the ones I’m talking about with more bad reviews are the painted vertical ones, i think they are smaller than 15, i know there is a 7 pounder.

 

[Tod osier]

What i have read so far, the LEM uses steel gears while the Hakka uses aluminum gears. I would think that as long as you are not putting too much pressure on it, the aluminum should be fine.

I am now looking at the larger models and see i have run into another problem. It seems once you get over a certain size, it is recommended that you no longer use it to make snack sticks because of the pressure.

Anyone run into an issue with using a 15+ pound stuffer to do snack sticks?

I have a 1/2 inch (13 mm) tube that I use with mine. There is a lot of back pressure using it, I keep the speed moderate and it works well. With the gear ratios and subsequent pressure involved I have no doubt you could do some damage to the unit. I’ve had the gasket on my cheap 5 pounder Blow up and out when pushing too hard with a narrow tube.

the narrower and longer the tube the more pressure, mine is as long as I could find to cut down on casing reloads.

my Hakka did not come with the small tube for snack sticks, but I had one that I was able to modify to work.

 

[GrayGoose]

Anyone run into an issue with using a 15+ pound stuffer to do snack sticks?

With the 15# LEM you can run a 5/8 horn to stuff 21 mm casings. This is the smallest reccomended horn to use with this stuffer. I usually add about 3 oz of water per pound when stuffing snack sticks to help it flow better.

The 5# LEM can stuff smaller casings for snack sticks.

 

[cravingame]

Look at the hakka stuffers if you aren't tied to lem. A 5 pounder is quickly outgrown. I have a 15 pound hakka and it is very nicely made.

I have the 15 Hakka and love it! Also get the $23 LEM Bag Tie Machine for bulk burger and sausage bags! A lot easier and cheaper than vacuum sealing.

 

[Antarctica]

Received my Hakka today - very nice! Can't wait to make some sausage. Cleaning is going to be so much easier.