buying new grinder or stuffer need advice

[Reeder]

I have access to a hobart grinder but it does a poor job at stuffing. Is there any pros to buying just a separate stuffer instead of a new right, stuffer/grinder?
I was looking at this:
http://www.amazon.com/STX-MEGAFORCE-IND ... ewpoints=1

THe stuffers are about the same price, only about 40 dollars cheaper, but it would be nice just to have the 2 in one, unless it lacks somtehing that i am overlooking.

[Big Guy]

Ok its not 3000 watts. that is a model # designed to confuse the customer.
A typical house hold circuit in North America is 15 amps and 120 volts a 3000 watt motor would draw 25 amps that would blow the breaker every time you used it.
3.4 Hp I think not, possibly .34.
I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Their false and misleading specs. put me off.
Get a Northern tool .5 hp grinder for $99 it will work fine for small to medium jobs. Don't even think of stuffing through a grinder, it can be done if you have a lot of patience, but you would be better off if you spent another $99 and got the northern tool 5# stuffer.
my $0.02

[solaryellow]

I agree with Big Guy.

[wheels]

This explanation on one of their agents website's is bizarre to say the least.

Most electric meat grinders manufactured for "Heavy Duty Home Use" (Personal Grinders) are rated by "WATTS" and not "HORSEPOWER". These grinders normally range from 600 Watts to 3000 Watts and the horsepower is a calculation from the Watts - NOT from the manufacturer. Our MEGAFORCE 3000 Series Electric Meat Grinder comes from the manufacturer with a "Locked Motor Wattage" of 3000 Watts of Peak Output Power and the 3.4 HP "Rating" is a mathematical calculation from these Watts - just as most all meat grinders sold on Ebay are!!! The actual "Running Wattage" (with no load) of this meat grinder is 600 Watts which is one of the highest possible ratings of any electric meat grinder in its class!!!

They seem to be saying that it's OK to claim that it's 5 times more powerful than it actually is just in case another manufacturer says something similar about their machine. Oh well, I guess that they call that marketing? We call it 'bare faced lies' around here!

Phil

[tommix]

And all those raving reviews on Amazon!! They sound way too phoney for me, it seems like a company rep was posting them.

From what I have read here and learned from experience get a dedicated stuffer or grinder but don't try to get a machine that does both.

Tim

[DanMcG]

Listen to the above posts Reeder, Some very sound advice.

[Snags]

The guy giving the review sounded like he was paid to do an infomercial

[Reeder]

Yeah i kinda thought it was a bit phony sounding to be honest. and i HAVE to stuff sausage through a grinder at work and it is a pain in the a$$. K i will stick with the grinder i have and get a stuffer to match it. Really its a cool Hobart. My grandpa bought it probably 40+ years ago from a company that went out of business. It works, i just need to rewire it and get some new dies/a blade for it, and fix the wiring on the back (it looks like it will electrocute me if i'm not careful.) Once again thank you guys for the help. And I really do enjoy spending hours on here looking through the posts you guys have put up on sausage. Im about to get into drying some sausage; i got some pink salt, T-spx F-LC, and a bunch of casings. and a couple old refrigerators. If anyone has any tips im all ears.