So I thought I had a stuffer picked out...
Then I thought, it would be nice to have the motorized one, if I'm going to talk the Mrs into a stuffer I don't want to have to do it twice!
Then I started looking... Ouch! 4k! 2k ! Oh My!
Meatprocessingproducts has the motor for the Weston, but no Weston stuffers ??
Found the weston 11lb for 289.99 and the motor for 229.99 - Thats a little better.
Anyone have a Weston ?
Good / Bad / Ugly ?
Weston makes the Cabala's stuffer, I have the motor that attach's to the 11# Cabala's stuffer. it works good when doing large quantity's, the down side is that there is 1# of meat left in the bottom of the stuffer. The motor has a varable speed control which is nice when doing brats it can run slow, and when doing 1# bags of ground meat can run fast. Great nephew likes to help by running the foot peddle.
Hope this helps.
Quote from: FLBentRider on January 20, 2010, 11:19:03 AM
So I thought I had a stuffer picked out...
Then I thought, it would be nice to have the motorized one, if I'm going to talk the Mrs into a stuffer I don't want to have to do it twice!
Then I started looking... Ouch! 4k! 2k ! Oh My!
Meatprocessingproducts has the motor for the Weston, but no Weston stuffers ??
Found the weston 11lb for 289.99 and the motor for 229.99 - Thats a little better.
Anyone have a Weston ?
Good / Bad / Ugly ?
Yeh, I have a 20 lb. electric. Let me get the link.
Here's the link to the guy where I got my stuffer I got. He doesn't show the motor with it. Email the guy if your interested. He had a deal with the motor I paid $576.25 with shipping
http://stores.ebay.com/All-Vac-Sealer-and-Butcher-Supply
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12226.0
Quote from: Roadking on January 20, 2010, 02:00:57 PM
Here's the link to the guy where I got my stuffer I got. He doesn't show the motor with it. Email the guy if your interested. He had a deal with the motor I paid $576.25 with shipping
http://stores.ebay.com/All-Vac-Sealer-and-Butcher-Supply
You pretty happy with it ?
Real happy. When I make 20 lb. loads I had my wife helping me guide the hog casings. Plus I had to load 4 times. Now I load once, foot pedal on the floor and she don't need to help. The only thing I don't like is your left with 1 lb. at the bottom of the stuffer, but I'm in the process of making a shim to fill the area at the bottom without interferring with the piston travel.
If you make large quantities it's the only way to go.
Quote from: bullhead on January 20, 2010, 12:58:24 PM
Weston makes the Cabala's stuffer, I have the motor that attach's to the 11# Cabala's stuffer. it works good when doing large quantity's, the down side is that there is 1# of meat left in the bottom of the stuffer. The motor has a varable speed control which is nice when doing brats it can run slow, and when doing 1# bags of ground meat can run fast. Great nephew likes to help by running the foot peddle.
Hope this helps.
Ditto, but I dont have a great nephew. ;D
Oops wrong post
FLB
I have the Cabelas 11 lb stuffer with the electric option as well. It works real well. For me I probably would have been better off to go with the 20 lb unit because I typically make 80 lb batches at a time. I originally bought the stuffer without the electric option. I bought the electric portion directly from Weston. They sell refurbished units with full warranty. They don't advertise them on their web site but you can email them to see if they have any available. I think I paid about $145. for mine.
Mike
I've got the Cabelas 11 lb and the Cabelas motor also.
The system really works great.
I only use it a few times a year, so I remove the motor and put the stuffer and motor in their original boxes for storage.
If I'm doing something that goes in 1 or 2 lb bags, I just crank by hand.
Only 2 downsides I see w/ the motor:
- Slower to get the ram back to the top for refilling w/ the motor than can be hand cranked
- When the motor is stopped, the meat is still under pressure and continues to ooze out the tube. W/ the hand crank, I can back off the handle to remove canister pressure on the meat, and flow out the tube stops immediately. My solution is stuffing the entire casing length, then cutting links to length afterword. When I made brat links w/ the hand crank, I'd have the wife help--she twisted every link as they were made off the end of the stuffer tube.
Looking back, I wish I had the 20 lb. Even though I only do a few batches a year, filling it once instead of 2-3 times sure would be nice. Luckily mine is an older model w/ teeth all the way to the drive shaft tip, so I can drive the ram to the the bottom of the canister (gotta be careful w/ the motor to not ruin something by bottoming it out, but I've got the shaft marked where I need to stop).
get smokin
drano
Which one you getting FBR?
Quote from: classicrockgriller on January 21, 2010, 06:22:57 PM
Which one you getting FBR?
I leaning toward the 20lb weston with the rebuilt motor.
I'm not sure where I'm going to
PUT it...
Quote from: FLBentRider on January 21, 2010, 06:25:02 PM
Quote from: classicrockgriller on January 21, 2010, 06:22:57 PM
Which one you getting FBR?
I leaning toward the 20lb weston with the rebuilt motor.
I'm not sure where I'm going to PUT it...
Plenty of room in the Sprinter! (think of it as a 9.5' tall rolling POD)
NePaSmoker says he has very little meat left in the bottom of his vertical stuffer. Evidently it depends on brand and design, mine is a 15 year old SMI 5 lb stuffer, for example, it has no air relief valve while the new ones all do. It also leaves about 1/2 lb of meat in the bottom of the cylinder. So I asked my friend who has a good shop to make me a shim to put under the piston. If it works, and there is clearance, I may just attach it to the piston with stainless screws. It is made of Starboard, a material commonly used for a number of marine applications. Here is what it looks like.
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ZR7GceXa-uE/S1mxAiqoTGI/AAAAAAAAAj4/VrgaWSqj3tk/Starboard%20Shim%20for%20Vertical%20Stuffer.jpg)
Have you ever worked with that Starboard? Does it nail and/or screw like wood? Is it structural like wood? I bet its expensive.
I've worked with starboard before, used to use it on the bottom of saltwater aquariums. It's a lot like what you would find with a plastic type cutting board. You can cut it with a jig saw, should be able to screw through it although you will want to drill pilot holes. It's pretty easy to work with, comes in different thicknesses and is pretty darn tough and durable.
Hey TTNuge if it works I could use one of those spacers.
I have the Cabela's / Weston 11 lb stuffer and the piston not going all the way to the bottom is a real pain.
Let us know how it works.
Thanks
If you search E Bay for "KING STARBOARD POLYMER HDPE" you can get it in different thicknesses and should cost from $10-20 shipped for a square foot piece.
Quote from: TTNuge on January 22, 2010, 08:40:27 AM
If you search E Bay for "KING STARBOARD POLYMER HDPE" you can get it in different thicknesses and should cost from $10-20 shipped for a square foot piece.
Thanks for that tip!
Is that the same as the stuff that is in cutting boards? I could make a huge one.. (and in any shape)
Quote from: TTNuge on January 22, 2010, 08:40:27 AM
If you search E Bay for "KING STARBOARD POLYMER HDPE" you can get it in different thicknesses and should cost from $10-20 shipped for a square foot piece.
Thanks TTNuge
My guess is that since its made for marine purposes is that it is not food grade. Personally I would check it out before using in my stuffer.
here (http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=385&/) is the company that I bought my cutting boards from for my cheese press.
eta -- I just looked at that companies website and they do have some cutting board material listed as one of their products but I would be careful to make sure that you are buying something food safe and not a different material
I'm just going to use it for a work area - something that would wipe clean easily.
That's what I do with my big cutting board now.. It cleans up easier than stainless steel.
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/SxKOJhM0hpI/AAAAAAABAzU/LAtMylkqB3A/s720/DSC00215.JPG)
They had a strip of that stuff that would fit nicely across the front rack of my Traeger.
I have not worked with Starboard, but it is sort of like a plastic cutting board material, and big sheets are very expensive. Good stuff though.
This turned out to be perhaps 1/16" too big to fit in the cylinder, so it went back to my friend on Guemes this morning via Priority Mail. Last time I measured the piston and took off 1/16". This time I am going to measure the inside of the cylinder and allow a bit of slop! It also is too thick to screw to the piston, not enough clearance when the screw is at the top of its travel, so will need to rig a way to retrieve it from the bottom of the cylinder after stuffing...
Quote from: Quarlow on January 22, 2010, 08:13:57 AM
Have you ever worked with that Starboard? Does it nail and/or screw like wood? Is it structural like wood? I bet its expensive.
Just thinking here but if you made sloppy wouldn't the meat force up the sides and be hard to work with. Or would it be such a small amount not to worry about?
If you are looking for something cheap for a work surface look in to a material called UHMW(ultra high molecular weight).
It is relatively inexpensive and come in a variety of thicknesses and sizes. You can check McMaster Carr
http://www.mcmaster.com/#uhmw-polyethylene/=5hsgk7 (sorry don't know how to post fancy "hear" and attach link, I'm new)
I have also used it in food applications before. Delrin is a another good choice (more dense) but is also more expensive.
I would think either would work well as as a spacer in a stuffer as well.
So, next to last chapter in the starboard stuffer spaces saga. Yesterday I stopped by Harbor Freight Tools and got a little $2 slide caliper, and RE-measured. The spacer, it seems, needs to be 4-5/8" - this will let a little bit of meat squish up the edge but since the piston is right on top of it, it will not be a problem. A plastic cutting board would have been a better choice for the material, because it is thinner. The starboard is just a shade too thick, so my friend put a stainless threaded socket in it so I can screw in an eye to retrieve it from the bottom of the cylinder, it is on its way back via Priority Mail right now. Last chapter will be when it gets here and can finally get the last meat out of the bottom of the cylinder into the dang casings!