Dakota Sausage Filler --- Road Test

[Fatman]

The Dakota Water Sausage Filler

I was asked recently by Franco to road-test and review the � Dakota Sausage Filler� I agreed on condition that I gave an honest report and spell out if there were to be any bad points. Franco insisted that I were to be honest, so with that, I strutted around for the next few days thinking of comments that Jeremy Clarkson would use, whilst I waited for the stuffer to arrive.

Well the day came, the stuffer was duly delivered by a prompt courier service and I was like a child ripping open the packaging of my Christmas presents. On opening the box, I found what I first thought was a joke, it�s a hamster play pen I said loudly to my wife and children, who were also eagerly awaiting to see this � Ultimate� stuffer as it is described.

I stared hard at this piece of plastic tubing wondering how on earth was I going to find anything positive about this stuffer, after all Franco had explained earlier, he his intending on selling this on his website. Then I remembered that he had explained that only an honest opinion would do, I must say what I think and not to glorify anything, I knew in order to be fair I had to put this stuffer to the test and make some sausage in the way I would do normally. I reached deep into the box to find that they were no instructions to follow, how was I going to put the many pieces together and how was I to use it. I must say at this point the whole thing including the box weighed less than 4lbs.

I paused for a while and then thought let�s try a few search words on Google and see if that help�s. Well it did, I found a website www.dakotasausagestuffer.com who make this stuffer, the website does offer some very clear and concise instructions on how to use the stuffer accompanied by some step by step photographs. I am now thinking if the machine is as good as the website then we are in for a treat, so I quickly assembled the stuffer and then rigged up some piping along with some �Hozelock� fittings to the cold tap in my kitchen. I filled the stuffer with a plain pork mix, the tube is of clear plastic which allows you to see the contents of the sausage mix and the plunger behind the mix which is controlled by pressure of the flow of water, which can be controlled by a small lever/switch on the inlet valve. Mix ready, skins ready, stuffer ready, here we go, turning on of the water supply it took no effort at all for the water to start driving the plunger forward, thus forcing the sausage mix into the skins at a steady pace. I was impressed! as I live on a farm where we have only a spring water supply with very little water pressure.

With more skins still to fill, I needed to reload the tube, this is where it starts to get tricky, you can only load from the front so the spout along with the skins have to be removed from the stuffer, you have to remember to turn off your water supply and empty the tube of it�s water before you can reload. The water content was a little under a gallon, rather a lot I thought for each load, plus the inlet and outlet valves were badly placed side by side rather than the inlet being placed above the outlet. On reloading the tube I found it difficult to move the plunger and when I did move it, I got my arm stuck in the tube as it is very narrow and I was unable to push the plunger all the way back to it�s start position. This also made cleaning the tube difficult.

This model can also be supplied with extra fittings to make � Jerky� I�m glad I did not have to road test these, but it did lead me to think that this style of stuffer would have it�s use�s in Scotland where they make the Lorne sausage, something for the makers to think about perhaps. To try and finish on a high point this machine does have a distinct advantage in that it has it�s place in the sausage world, and that is, it can lend itself very well to people with just one limb. Where as the machines we usually use albeit built for one pair of hands we are often heard screaming for extra hands. I�m serious about this comment and hope the maker�s may direct their stuffer to that market area.

Jeremy Clarkson I�m sure would describe this stuffer as a Robin Reliant (Plastic Pig) with an appeal to, well robin reliant owners.

Me, I�ve tried many stuffers and my trusty robust �Reber� is still tops for me, but then I�ve always driven a Ford.


Regards

Fatman

[Franco]

Fatman,

Thanks for doing the test for me, after the good repoerts I heard from this machine from the US I was expecting more from it, I tried it briefly with limited success.

I found the only good point was that it had a transparent tube enabling you to see how much mix was left inside.

After shipping costs and VAT the stuffer would have to sell for around �150, when you consider that the 5kg Reber stuffer in stainless steel is only �149 it seems a bargain when you considered the water stuffer is made from plastic.

Franco

[Fatman]

Franco

This may sound a biased comment as you sell the Reber, but I must say of all the stuffers/fillers I have come across I have yet to find one that beats the Reber for value for money.

The Reber as we have mentioned before is not without it's drawbacks but with some positive feedback getting back to the Reber design team I am certain they will address the design of the plunger head and the small sized nozzle.

I have travelled across Europe with my trusty Reber in the boot of the car as we anoraks do and I have buried my Reber under hiking boots and heavy suitcase's and yet it is always at the ready for me.

Regards

Fatman