I bought the #12 electric grinder from Northern and the 5lb piston stuffer as well. I had a $20.00 coupon and got both for $179.00. Like I said earlier, I was delighted in both the quality and performance of both items , especially at that price. The only thing that I was disappointed was that the stuffer did not come with a 3/8 tube, so I picked that up last night from bass pro for another $12.00.
Butt.......I've read that the manual grinders work well, so I wounder ....? Does the knife feel sharp? and is it making good contact with the plate? ....Possibly there is a spacer missing that would keep it tight against the plate? ....on my grinder, I washed everything and then assembled and started grinding, and it was not feeding very well, then I noticed a small plastic washer and metal shim sitting in the sink, I could not see this part anywhere in the parts diagram, but finally figured it went at the opposite end of the auger from the knife and was there to control end play and keep the knife pushed against the plate. After I installed the spacer, the grinder would pump everything out faster than I could feed it in.