For me, many factors come to play, especially environmental. If you live near a coastline or high humidity area, I recommend going with the best quality stainless that you can get within your budget. As Van mentioned above, there are different grades of stainless. Here in Hawaii most stainless appliances (e.g. BBQ's etc.) will rust...yep stainless steel rusts. That's because it's a lower grade of stainless. This is why commercial and surgical grade stainless things are so expensive comparatively...they are made with a much more superior grade of stainless and therefore have a much greater resistance to rusting/oxidization. The last thing you want is for rust to develop in your extractor and taint your honey! People in some places in the country need not worry about this nearly as much, but in my case and that of many others, this should be a serious consideration. I also like the suggestion above of looking for a machine with good/sturdy legs. Yor extractor is a workhorse and will have a lot of forces applied to it. It is worth investing in a quality built machine made with quality materials whenever possible IMO.
