Cabelas Sausage stuffers

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erain

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Feb 2, 2008
2,678
30
cental minnesota
I had issues with my cabelas sausage stuffer which i purchased in 2007 and when i called them and told them of my issue they were wanting to take care of my problem best way possible. at the time i first called in, prob in feb or so... the only prob with that was what good would it realy do as i would be recieving the exact thing i already had which i knew had a problem? i also had an electric stuffer motor bought at same time with no defect to it per se... the motor however put excessive torque on the gears and they would not stand up to the pressure so they discontinued it in 2008 or so.. especially when using the small tube for snack stix, or when bottoming out the stuffer. so when i got there new processing catalog several weeks ago and seen they came out with a new stuffer with stronger gears, and now there electric motor had a clutch built into it i gave them a call again. they most graciously ordered me a new stuffer and motor to be picked up at my local store in Rogers MN. These guys customer service cannot be topped, Well maybe Todd can, but for a huge company to do this and then work with a local store to help the customer is unprecidented in these days. also for the people who own this stuffer and go and ck theres out and see no issue, prolly because it is using the electric motor, running it to the bottom of can, and using the snack stick tube or combo of all 3 which lead to this.

below are some pics of old and new stuffers and things to look for. picture of the old style stuffers from box which i still had.


if you noticed the frame on these old stuffers was a green color.


stuffer motor


stuffer


all boxed up for return, i always put them away in there original boxes and used the original styrofoam...


and here we start getting into the defect, the cover over the gears is kind of spring loaded so can be easily removed by hand. will give credit to the design though. is built so if any metal shavings were to fall they would be contained and not fall into meat.

this is an 11 lb. model...


pics of gears and shavings.






this the main plunger shaft, notice the gear tooth tips, some of that is worn off. i usually have plenty of liquid in sausage for easy stuffing etc... but the gear teeth were still not strong enuff.




and here is the latest and greatest...


new motor which is just a tad bigger than old, however this one has a clutch in it where the old one was a direct drive.




this shows the drive end, now square instead of splined... making it impossible to attach the old style non clutched motor onto it.


here is the new stuffer with protective film still on it. I upgraded in size to the 20 pound... thought the 11 just a bit small especially doing bologna or summer sausage. i had to pay for the size difference. if you note it doesnt have the clips on top of canister like the old one did, much nicer and less cumbersome. i know you canot see in pic but can also has "feet" on it now so it will stand up while filling. they also prevent the can from pushin off center which did not help with the gear/rack clearance. the further the plunger was down on the old model the more clearance between the teeth. not good.


some other changes, the shaft has level marks, the only one important to me is the empty one. get close to it and lay off the motor.


like said earlier, the drives are now square instead of the splined shafts. also note the color. the upgraded models have a black frame instead of green. i took a look at the section of the store where they displayed this equipment. the green is still the displayed model. they had to order me in the new model which is shown in the processing catalog which was sent out a couple weeks + ago.


note the difference in gearing from earlier pic... also the material used for the gears and main shaft has beem modified.


comes with 4 tubes, summer sausage size down to 1/2" snack stix size tube. main reason i included this pic is you can see the feet on the bottom of the can. have not used it yet but from what i see this will be twice the stuffer my old one was, size not part of that comparison. cannot wait to give it a shot.
 
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Looks very nice.

 I have been lusting for the 11 pound set up since I saw the new catalog.

It would make life a lot easier for me..

  Craig
 
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Looks like you're ready now Erain!!!

Great thread showing the goods & the bads.

Are we going to see some smoked Northern Pike, Walleye, and Lake Trout sausages now???  
biggrin.gif


Thanks,

Bear
 
Hey Erain
I own the old Cabelas 20" stuffer and electric motor. The main shaft is aluminum, and I also have metal pieces chipping off.
Also, the plunger does not go all the way down, and it leaves about 2# in the bottom of the can. I have to remove the remaining meat, and put it in my Jerky Cannot to finish off a batch.

Does the new stuffer have a different material for the shaft, or is it still aluminum?

Did you need an original receipt?
Did you just call customer service?

I would like to upgrade also, before the shaft on my stuffer breaks teeth!


THX!


Todd
 
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Erain,

Does the shaft have teeth all the way to the top or does it stop like the other one did?

Congrats on the new stuffer.
 
That’s amazing! Good customer service good luck wit the new gear

one thing i have always got with cabelas is the most excellent customer service

Hey Erain
I own the old Cabelas 20" stuffer and electric motor. The main shaft is aluminum, and I also have metal pieces chipping off.
Also, the plunger does not go all the way down, and it leaves about 2# in the bottom of the can. I have to remove the remaining meat, and put it in my Jerky Cannot to finish off a batch.
Does the new stuffer have a different material for the shaft, or is it still aluminum?
Did you need an original receipt?
Did you just call customer service?
I would like to upgrade also, before the shaft on my stuffer breaks teeth!
THX!
Todd

i have heard of making a plate out of food grade HDP and putting on top of meat to give an additional depth of push, i dont mind the lil extra on ther bottom, i will just save that as bulk and use for patties. or if i making multiple batches of different sausage. just put in the next batch and watch to when it changes color going into the casing and tie off casing at that point.

i did not have the reciept, i called in cust service and they looked it up on there computer, found it and mailed me proof of purchase on the two items. they also included notes in the computer system so when i went to my local store all was taken care of. reason i didnt just send back to catalog center is the old style is still being solod and there was no way of telling what may have been pulled from shelf. i could have recieved another green one. the "black" new style stuffers were not even available at the time the catalog came out and it had to go on backorder til it arrived this past week. plus i didnt have to pay to ship it back...

i do know there is a new policy they have started about not excepting returns after one year... but from what cust service gal told me is i had made initial contact before this policy was started. either way i would give it a shot.



Erain,
Does the shaft have teeth all the way to the top or does it stop like the other one did?
Congrats on the new stuffer.

i am pretty sure it stops like the old one, reason i believe they dont want the pressure exerted on the bottom of the SS can... will take a peek in the box later and let you know for sure. i also have an old enterprise which was my grand parents, but heavy, bulky, hard to clean, etc... but will last forever. i kind of thought i had another last forever stuffer untill i removed that cover over the gears. hoping this one solves the issue. just glad after the long time period they stood behind it.

just hoping anyone looking into one sees this and makes sure they get the upgraded stuffer instead of potentially spending some hard earned coin and possibly end up with problems down the road. cause like i observed, they are still selling the old style in the stores, probably til there stock runs out???
 
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I made a spacer and extended the shaft.
Called Cabelas Customer service, and they are enforcing the 1 year warranty.

They will order me a new shaft, but I will have to pay for it. The same thing will happen all over again.
The rep told me that the motor had too much torque, and ruined the shaft and gears. This is fixed on the new version with a clutch on the motor and a set of stronger gears. The shaft is still made of aluminum.

I guess you'll know how well it performs, when you make snack sticks

Keep us posted!


Todd
 
The new stuffer looks like a great unit, currently have a gander mtn 15lbs stuffer but thinking of upgrading to a 30lb cabelas unit with the motor, have you had a chance to use it yet?  Curious how well id like the motor, I know usually after stuffing a casing with my unit I have to back off the pressure so when I place a new casing on it doesnt continue spewing meat out, is it easy to reverse it real fast in cases like that?  About a month ago I got an ad from the local cabelas and they had the stuffer marked down to $330 which was $120 bucks off!  Kicking myself now as I got over 100lbs of snack sticks to make for myself and some buddys... Oh well thanks for your post though and hope to hear about how its working out for ya 
 
The new stuffer looks like a great unit, currently have a gander mtn 15lbs stuffer but thinking of upgrading to a 30lb cabelas unit with the motor, have you had a chance to use it yet?  Curious how well id like the motor, I know usually after stuffing a casing with my unit I have to back off the pressure so when I place a new casing on it doesnt continue spewing meat out, is it easy to reverse it real fast in cases like that?  About a month ago I got an ad from the local cabelas and they had the stuffer marked down to $330 which was $120 bucks off!  Kicking myself now as I got over 100lbs of snack sticks to make for myself and some buddys... Oh well thanks for your post though and hope to hear about how its working out for ya 
 
Very good info your posting. I know some members have the orange weston stuffer (me included) and were wondering about the spline hook up to the new motor which will not fit. Let us know how you like the new stuffer/motor combo before i shell out $700

Shaft on my Weston.

dc95f0e4_DSC00355.jpg


FYI

I worked at Cabelas in the smoking/processing area and Weston makes the stuffers for Cabelas.
 
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Nepas,  I'd measure the size of the square head on the new stuffer gears, almost looks as if you could grind out 4 of points on your splined version to make it square and it might work with the new motor, all the other holes look like they'd line up!
 
easy salotion guys is go to your local fabracation shop and show them the shaft and gears, and tell them what you want done, and they will make you a new shaft, gears and they could make it to fit the new motors.
 
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