Chard MM-102, Meat Mixer with Stainless Steel Hopper, 20lbs , silver

The 1st time it was used the bearings disintegrated and ended up with metal shavings all through the meat. A real piece of junk and waste of money.

I bought this meat mixer for my son in law as a Christmas present. He was well pleased with it. He has mixed his meat for sausage in it and like it, says it works well.

Poorly packaged and shipped. Almost looked like it was previously used and some of the plexiglass was broken. Also, it's not polished, stainless steel. It's just steel. Lame but whatever. Aside from that it's great design wise. Makes short work of sausage meat and mixes great. I used to mix by hand because my kitchenaid had the tendancy to overmix sausages too much and then it would have a yucky texture and not cook well. This mixer is basically the same as doing it by hand, but without getting frostbitten .....which can be fun as well if you are taking shots while having a sausage making party with your homeboys and seeing who can take the most pain. I did not see any sort of grease or anything leaking into the meat while mixing, I don't think that is even really possible. Seemed like a pretty clean and sanitary device. I'm docking a star because the welding could be better, and it's not actually stainless steel. The touch of the steel is kinda like a chalk board, don't scratch it with your finger nails.

When I first opened the box I was kind of confused as to if it were made of stainless steel. Thinking it weighs more then aluminum but looks like aluminum so I put a magnet on it and when it didn't stick I jumped to the conclusion that it was aluminum. Well before I went off thinking I got screwed I checked around and found out that there are many kinds of stainless steel but the two main types are austenitic and ferritic. Ferritic stainless is magnetic but not used in the food industry. Austenitic stainless is non magnetic and is use in the food industry so I'm OK with this mixer. Lem sells the same size meat mixer for $150 so I'm not complaining about the price on this one. Also wanted to say it fits in my dishwasher without the top rack. Mixes my sausage and kielbasa just fine in no time.

used got to me with a broken lid and a bent leg but for the warehouse return price it worked great and re bent the leg and don,t need a lid I mixed two 6 pound batches of sausage and a 15 pound batch salami

*this was our first time using the mixer* We weigh our sausage in 15 lb increments, put the first batch in and heard it grinding, so stopped, pulled the meat out, then reassembled and rotated to see what was rubbing, one of the blades was grinding on the side. Very lightly twisted the blade and worked for the next 15 lbs, then the problem not only came back, but a piece of the metal broke off into the meat, and the mixer is unusable. Mixed the rest by hand. This might've just been a faulty part, but seeing how you can't return or replace this item, looks like I'm out $150. *Buyer beware*

This is a good product for the money, but not without flaws. First, the manufacturing fit and finish is not high-end. Mine came with one of the "legs" bent in slightly causing it to wobble when cranked. Not a big deal...a pair of vice grips and a little tweaking got it straightened out. Same goes with the mixing blades. They were slightly bent causing them to hit against the stationary spikes...again, simple fix. Finally, some of the welds were not done well. They are functional, and it doesn't leak, but I guess my standards a little high. Be sure to thoroughly wash every part in hot soapy water to remove the manufacturing oils. Even after cleaning two times, it still had a slight petroleum odor. As far as performance, you'll need to make sure the crank handle hangs over the edge of a table or counter top. We could mix 10 pounds of meat, but you need to reverse directions every 30 seconds or so to keep the mix moving. It also helps to have a wooden or rubber spatula to dig out the mix from the corners. It does a great job in mixing the meat, spices, and cure...just make sure to add the recommended amount of ice water to keep the mix from getting too stiff. Unloading the mix is a little bit of a chore, but it would be so with any smaller type mixer. Finally, cleaning is a royal pain. It's way too big to fit in the dishwasher so you'll have to clean by hand, but I knew this going in, so I really can't whine too much. Overall, I'm satisfied with my purchase I as only make sausage as a hobbyist, but if I had to make a lot or used it all the time, I'd probably go with a nice, more expensive one.

So far so good, I used this yesterday to make some venison jerky and it was easier than mixing the meat by hand. I did need to turn it backwards a couple of times because it looked like the meat wasn't mixing to much which was no big deal just thought I'd mention it in case someone has the same issue. Over all after using it just once I did like it. Also I had been looking on eBay and couldn't get them to go lower than $90 for a new one, I got this one from Amazon for $65....