#12 Meat Grinder - Wattage

Post Reply
User avatar
Shuswap
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 444
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 14:05
Location: British Columbia

#12 Meat Grinder - Wattage

Post by Shuswap » Mon Aug 11, 2014 00:54

I'm in the market to replace my old Moulinex meat grinder. I'm considering a #12 because it has more plates available than a #8. #12's come with 350, 500 and more watt motors. I'm zeroing in on a 500 Watt motor. I usually go to Amazon.com for reviews but in this category almost every grinder they handle, which is lots, each has numerous reviews. I'd appreciate any opinions you might have about this.
Cabonaia
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 597
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 02:07
Location: Morgan Hill, CA

Post by Cabonaia » Mon Aug 11, 2014 04:45

Hey Shuswap - Good fun to buy new stuff! I don't think it's all about watts. That is a measurement of how much electricity the motor consumes, which doesn't tell the whole story. You also see a lot of boasting about horsepower. Again, I think this is a little suspect. It may sound silly, but check the shipping weight. A well built, heavy duty grinder will be...heavy. Some hefty brands that people seem to like are Torrey, Trespade (which makes the Cabella's top line grinders), Weston, and LEM. They are more expensive than some of the ones with high wattage and HP claims, but very solid. There is a less expensive one you see a lot called Turboforce that seems to get good reviews. I think some folks on this forum have one and can tell you if they like theirs. There is also one called a Kitchener that appears under many different brand names. Again, others can tell you of their experience with that line.

#10s and #12s have the same outlet diameter and thus use the same size plates, but 12s have a bigger throat and will have a stronger motor. That means you can cut your meat into bigger chunks, and can grind faster.

I have a #12 Cabelas/Trespade. It grinds pretty much as fast as I can load it. I'm very happy with it. It's heavy. :grin:

Piece of advice - get a foot pedal if you don't have one. But don't pay 40 bucks for a "grinder foot pedal." It's a generic piece of equipment you can get for much less if you search for it on Amazon. You'll get the exact same thing for half the price.

Good luck with it!
Jeff
User avatar
Shuswap
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 444
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 14:05
Location: British Columbia

Post by Shuswap » Mon Aug 11, 2014 05:45

Jeff, thanks for the reply. I can't disagree with anything you've said - I saw a #12 with 2,000 Watts and 2+ hp for under $100 but it didn't pass your weight test - it was a feather lite, which raised many questions in my mind :roll:

My understanding was that folks used the foot switch for stuffing, which I won't be doing on the grinder as I have the 5lb. Lem stuffer.
Cabonaia
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 597
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 02:07
Location: Morgan Hill, CA

Post by Cabonaia » Mon Aug 11, 2014 06:18

I have a stuffer too, but it's not electric so no foot pad needed. That hand I use to crank with would come in awfully handy twisting the links as they came off, but dang are those motorized stuffers pricey.

I like a foot pedal for my grinder because that way I can use two hands to get the meat from the trays (that I semi-froze the meat on) to the grinder, and it doesn't matter if my hands are dirty when it comes time to turn the grinder on and off. I don't like to let the grinder run without any meat in it.
Gulyás
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 459
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 19:58
Location: Wisconsin

Post by Gulyás » Mon Aug 11, 2014 10:54

I think 3 things are important when choosing an electric meat grinder.
Wattage/hp., size, and the kind of auger.

2 links for understanding the auger.

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/part ... rsion-kits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGfb3hgCFu4
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
Post Reply