VIVO Sausage Stuffer Vertical Stainless Steel 3L/7lbs 5-7 Pound Meat Filler

My Vivo 5-7lb stuffer arrived this morning and I was so excited I put it right to work stuffing 5 lbs of snack sticks. This stuffer has quality written all over it and for the price I'm very pleasantly surprised! I will list the pros and cons below. The cons aren't even really cons, just slight inconveniences.Pros:The stuffer is very well built. It should last a very long timeEverything comes apart and is easy to cleanThe gears are very smooth, so cranking meat through it is a breezeThe seal on the plunger is perfect. I didn't have any meat escape up the sides1 person operation. I stuffed 5 lbs of meat in less than 30 minutes. (and I go slow) lolCons:The VIVO sticker on the base had curled up and was hardly attached when I took it out of the box. If I was VIVO I wouldn't even put that useless sticker on the product. It serves no purpose and the sticker was my first impression of the product. I just pealed it off.Even though this stuffer is really easy to crank, the handle fell off twice when I took my hand off it during the stuffing process. It was no big deal, because it slips right back on, but I do think if VIVO drilled a small hole in the handle and used a simple hitch pin this slight inconvenience would be resolved.Some people have mentioned it would be nice if there were holes in the base to secure the stuffer to the table. I also think this would be a nice addition, but I was able to operate the unit while it was just sitting on my table. I didn't even have to use clamps, but it would be easier if the unit was either bolted or clamped to a table.The stuffing tubes are plastic. This is such a high quality stuffer it would be nice to at least have the option to get stainless steel stuffing tubes. However, the plastic stuffing tubes are thick and I expect they will last many years.I am super excited to own this stuffer and I would recommend it to all my friends. I've seen comparable stuffers sell for twice as much as this one. This stuffer has metal gears and they are smooth!!! I'm very excited I got this stuffer before VIVO realizes what a bargain they are giving us, and jack up the price. lol j/k.... I really do think it's a bargain though.I hope you all find this review helpful and I'll be happy to answer any questionsScrubben Bubbles

My father and I have been stuffing sausages in various size casings (from the usual sheep and porcine "standard sausage" type sizes, to (my favorite) summer sausages in the 1 and 3 pound casings. We've been using attachments to his grinder to do the job -it was a hassle to get the casings to fill tightly (messy, and the grinder doesn't like to put any pressure in the casing, tending to cavitate) -the last straw was when I wanted to do 17mm snack sticks and purchased a tube that would fit these collagen casings -the grinder just wasn't up to the task (took us over half an hour to do three small links before giving up and just making summer sausage with the rest).I purchased this VIVO Sausage Stuffer after looking at many others -unlike most of them that had a plastic piston (really?) or even when they had a metal piston, they had a plastic collar (where the stuffer tube connects to the outlet) (again, you make a stainless tank, and other solid parts, then skimp on the collar -a part that HAS to be screwed on tight, and taken apart EVERY TIME you use it) -no way.The VIVO has all metal parts (except of course, the gasket) -the gears are smooth, the collar is metal (looks stainless, but even if not, its heavy and polished) and the tank and output throat have very clean welds, stainless tank -this thing comes apart easily, tilts back for easy filling and locks back in place. Its easy to clean and sanitize. The crank handle has a wing-screw to lock it onto the shaft so it won't slip off (they clearly paid attention to prior comments and reviews). Its a solid, easy to use device that is compatible with other output tubes if you need them.We filled 7 pounds of snack sticks (not sure how long it took) our first time out, and my father agrees -this was the best purchase yet. I'd recommend it in a second!If you make sausage, you NEED this as well -it will make your life much simpler.

This machine is absolutely perfect for making my vegetarian sausages. I am thrilled with the performance, the construction and material quality of the unit, and the ease of clean-up. I did have a problem, as others have mentioned, with the little rubber footings that plug into four holes on the bottomside of the base, but all in all, that issue is a minor inconvenience compared to the great value and operation of this unit. I was able to stuff about 5 lbs. of vegan sausage "dough" into 1" plastic casings in about 20 minutes compared to that task taking over two hours the way I was having to do it before. The only other wish I have is that this model was better-equipped for direct-mounting on a butcher block. Some of the other stuffers have four open mounting holes that are easily accessed from above the unit. This particular model only has small holes on the bottomside for use in attaching the rubber footings - not intended for permanent mounting on a table. Because of this, the unit has a tendency to shift when cranking the plunger. I may end up having to mount a couple of C-clamps on the base to stabilize it better. Still LOVE it though!!