Homemade Sausage Making

I have a manually operated Porkert #32 grinder that I motorized. I am running it on an old washer machine motor that I dropped down to around 90ish rpm with two belts and the respective pulleys. However it slips a lot more than I find acceptable at the moment. Since I invested in a used buffalo chopper with a #12 drive hub I have decided to purchase the following: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/meat-g ... 12HGA.html

It doesn't have a name but the reviews seem pretty good. The cost is way way below the Hobart version. In some sense it is too good to be true. Does anyone have anything bad to report on this? WebRestaurant has really high shipping costs and a restock fee so I don't really want to go down a path it might be best to avoid. Should anyone have any thoughts whatsoever I would be grateful.

thanks
Scott G

Since a wimpy motor/drive is the part of a consumer-grade grinder that gives us the most grief, this attachment on your buffalo chopper seems like a great way to go.

I really can see how you can go wrong at that price, even with the $12.00 shipping

Funny Bob K your comment can be read either way

I really can see how you can go wrong at that price.

I believe you meant "can't" and believe that to be the correct interpretation but Murphy and his law may be looking for some humor. Who knows. Anyway I bought it last night so in the very near future I'll at least know if there are problems with very low cost alternatives

thanks all

If it fits the Hobart it's a great deal.

I wanted to update this post having made a few pounds of sausage. The grinder itself is perfectly functional, in fact it is pretty good. The detent on the grinder plates engages a wire soldered into the grinder itself, so that likely will fail some day...but at $80 it is hard to beat.

The one truly bad thing that I could say is that I feel it grinds a bit too fast, but this is not grinder specific...it is a result of the Hobart PTO attachment. So after not too much time I get metal to metal grinding between the plate and the cutter that results in a metal slurry building up . I have actually seen this occur even on my hand cranked grinder but it is much worse on this grinder.

The second issue, albeit minor is that the mouth of the grinder has a large diameter at the opening but a step down to a slightly smaller diameter just before the auger, this sometimes becomes a problem with meat jamming...and with a faster than desired rotation, I get a bit stressed to push the meat into the auger to keep everything lubed with meat and fat. This is easy enough to fix though, just make sure the pieces are not clumped together in a semi-frozen block.

As much as this works to get the job done, I really like my Porkert #32 hand grinder. I motorized it with pulleys and it slips too much as I said up above, however, I have decided to keep it and someday I will add a direct drive (or create a transmission to slow a motor down) with a failsafe coupling of some sort. I just really like how it works, so I'm keeping it too

Forgot to ask, do other people get this metal particulate accumulation and if so how do you deal with it?

I get that with my Lem #12 (which I hate). I don't think that you can avoid this entirely, but it's probably caused by using carbon steel plates and knives, rather than those made entirely out of stainless steel. Also may be caused when the auger doesn't rotate perfectly. If the grinder runs too fast it also might be generating more heat with friction.

Good to know everyone faces this to some degree. I may start to add stainless to my plates and knives as I move forward. But I think you or Butteerbean or StefanS suggests each plate be paired with its own knife anyway....i guess these would make great stocking stuffers or gifts from the young'ns in that each combo isn't too expensive

Metal slurry will accumulate with stainless steel plates and knifes too. IMO - stainless steel plates and knifes are good for cleaning and storage. But they also very "soft"(grooves and loosing sharp edges). They require often sharpening (if you are serious about meat grinding). I'm using Cabela's # 22 grinder and I'm happy with it. It has one nice future - reverse. Also I'm using high end of plates and knifes - check ALFA International - they are not required sharpening often. They are carbon steel, and after use them - I clean, wash and dry. Then I cover them with mineral oil, by the fact I do that with every metal surfaces on used equipment.
About your slipping belt - there is something wrong. If your motor holds RPM that mean that belt is too long, too small edges or too greasy, or lack of tensioner. BTW most of older hand meat grinders have hopper like .... fennel.