Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me begin with stating that this is the first stand alone sausage stuffer I've ever used. Years ago I started out grinding and stuffing sausages using a "Kitchen Aid" with the grinder/stuffer attachment. It worked but oh my, it was a lot of work. I finally wised up and bought heavy duty grinder I would use to grind the meat and then run it through a second time to stuff the sausage. It worked o.k. for stuffing but by double grinding, the meat ended up being ground to fine. The other downside was it required two people working together to correctly stuff the casings. My stuffing partner (wife) passed away a few years ago so I just starting making sausage patties instead of links. I finally wised up and started reading reviews on Amazon concerning stuffers in the price range I could afford. From the reviews I read concerning this stuffer it appeared the only downside was the fact it took a fair bit of cranking to remove plunger assembly so the hopper could be refilled. All in all, it seemed just about everyone loved this stuffer so I took the plunge and bought one. "I am now a HAPPY sausage stuffer!! This stuffer did indeed make stuffing sausage so much easier and I can operate by myself, hip, hip hooray!! The other reviewers did a fine job describing how this stuffer performs so I won't bother to repeat the raves here but I would like to add a couple thoughts. First, it is easy to clean this unit. When you're taking it apart to clean it, don't forget to remove the o-ring on the plunger in case any meat fragments got under the o-ring. It's easy enough to do. I just carfully used a butter knife to slip under and lift the o-ring out of it's groove. Just be careful so you don't damage toe ring. The second suggestion I have works great but the LEM folks will probably frown on this one. In place of the crank handle, I use a cordless, variable speed DeWalt drill motor coupled with a 6 point 3/8 drive 9/16" socket. I also adjust the drill motor so that it will slip (screwdriver setting) so it's impossible for me to crank to hard and damage anything. It's so easy to vary my stuffing speed with this set up and it only takes a few seconds to crank the plunger back out so I can refill the hopper. One other thing I did was before I ever used the stuffer, I removed the gear cover and I packed the gear housing full of food grade synthetic grease. Those metal gears will be around long after I'm dead and gone!! If the LEM folks want to void my warranty, I'm fine with that. As well as this thing is built and the material used to build it with, I don't see much chance of it coming apart. Sorry for such a long review. I seldom review items I buy but in this case, I decided to share my tidbits in case anyone is interested. Y'all have a GREAT day!!!