Stuffing Tubes Sizes
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Austin,
My hydraulic stuffer isn’t a big fan of the 15/17mm collagen tubes so we have experimented with 19 and 21mm and think we have settled on the 19mm. In any case the smaller tubes seem to be more difficult to get on the smaller horn and so we end up decompressing or stretching the tubes out to fit them on and we lose some of the advantage of the hydraulic stuffer because we spend more time loading casings. Why are the horns not long enough to hold the entire compressed casing tube or do you have a tip or hack? -
Parksider
Most manual and hydraulic sausage stuffers don’t have as long of a stuffing tube as the casing. The casings are manufactured at a length to suit larger commercial applications where a vacuum stuffer is used. Vacuum stuffers typically have a longer stuffing tube. Many manual/hydraulic stuffers don’t have the same amount of power to push meat out of an extremely long and small tube, so you typically see shorter stuffing tubes when compared to vacuum stuffers, and the casings are typically manufactured for use specific usage requirements on the larger vacuum stuffers.What kind of hydraulic stuffer are you using? There may be a chance that there is another stuffing tube out there that will fit your process and be a better fit for your casings though. Overall length still might be an issue, but it can be worth looking into.
When I am making 19-21mm sticks, the first thing I always do is just break the casings in half to make them fit and easier to work with. For me, and most cases, I find that breaking the casings in half to start is just the easiest and still gives me plenty of length on the strands when they are stuffed out to be long enough for hanging in any scenario/smokehouse I’ve used. As long as the stuffing tube is small enough for the casing to fit the diameter, it usually is still pretty quick for me once I break the casings in half, then just slide them on the stuffing tube. If the stuffing tube diameter doesn’t fit the casing, I find that as the biggest impediment to speed for me.
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Austin
When we use the 15/17MM casings is where i have trouble and have to decompress the casing to fit it on the tube so the tube is definitely not long enough and takes the most time to reload. Might have to look into a vacuum stuffer… -
Parksider
If you wanted to send me the make/model of the hydraulic stuffer you are using, I can do some checking to see if we can find anything else that might fit your stuffer better so you don’t have to decompress the casings. I might not be able to find something long enough to fit the entire length of casing, but there is a good chance of finding something to at least fit the diameter of it. -
There is a chance that the dimensions on the Talsa stuffing horns match what you have. The outside diameter of the flange of the Talsa stuffing horns is just over 2.25 inches, if yours is similar we might be able to help you out?
