My Grinder Sucks - Grinder reviews

[MTLabrador]

It’s time for me to step up to a real grinder, my little Cabela’s one doesn’t cut it and the butcher shop I used to use to grind meat is way too expensive now.

Is 3/4 horsepower enough to comfortably grind an elk and a deer or two every year or would I regret not stepping up to a 1hp? There’s good deals out there on Lem and MEAT right now, but I could get a 1hp MEAT for the price of a 3/4hp Lem. Anyone have a preference or know if Lem is actually worth the premium?

 

[jrabq]

I have a 3/4 hp and it grinds as fast as I can supply the meat. Maybe if you had 2 people working a 1 HP is worth it The 3/4 HP is already pretty heavy so I'd consider that vs 1 HP.

 

[INMT]

It’s time for me to step up to a real grinder, my little Cabela’s one doesn’t cut it and the butcher shop I used to use to grind meat is way too expensive now.

Is 3/4 horsepower enough to comfortably grind an elk and a deer or two every year or would I regret not stepping up to a 1hp? There’s good deals out there on Lem and MEAT right now, but I could get a 1hp MEAT for the price of a 3/4hp Lem. Anyone have a preference or know if Lem is actually worth the premium?

I asked a similar question last year and got a lot of good responses. Caused me to go with the 1 hp and I couldn’t be happier. The thing is a beast. As a lot of folks said, you might regret going smaller but you’ll never regret going bigger. Buy the 1 hp.

Is .5 HP Grinder enough?

I’ve always processed my own animals except for grinding. Local shop does a great job and prices used to be so low I didn’t consider buying a grinder. They’ve gone up 180% in the last few years and I’m tired of paying. MEAT is having a big sale on their .5 HP grinder. I have one of their vac...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

It’s time for me to step up to a real grinder, my little Cabela’s one doesn’t cut it and the butcher shop I used to use to grind meat is way too expensive now.

Is 3/4 horsepower enough to comfortably grind an elk and a deer or two every year or would I regret not stepping up to a 1hp? There’s good deals out there on Lem and MEAT right now, but I could get a 1hp MEAT for the price of a 3/4hp Lem. Anyone have a preference or know if Lem is actually worth the premium?

I use a 0.5hp and process around 100-200lbs a fall. Never had an issue, but does take a bit longer than bigger ones I'm sure. Never been able to justify going larger until my current one dies.

Ymmv

 

[Bowmannate2000]

My lem 8# .5hp hasn't slowed me down grinding. Takes me longer to clean it than it does to grind all my deer trimmings. But if you have the space and budget for it, wouldn't hurt to go larger.

 

[Gulf of America]

It’s time for me to step up to a real grinder, my little Cabela’s one doesn’t cut it and the butcher shop I used to use to grind meat is way too expensive now.

Is 3/4 horsepower enough to comfortably grind an elk and a deer or two every year or would I regret not stepping up to a 1hp? There’s good deals out there on Lem and MEAT right now, but I could get a 1hp MEAT for the price of a 3/4hp Lem. Anyone have a preference or know if Lem is actually worth the premium?

One thing to consider is that the diameter of the throat may be the controlling factor on how quickly you can grind, not the power of the motor, but the throat is typically larger on a more powerful grinder. My 1hp Weston will grind faster than I can feed it, but the throat diameter is definitely the limiting factor, especially on second grind. I pull my 2.5gal grind bags out of the freezer the night before grinding, but they're still functionally a giant block of ice that I have to cut into big julienne sticks to feed the grinder - the thicker those sticks can be, the easier my life is.

 

[Dave N]

I have a cabela's 1/2hp and it kicks ass. 20 pounds only takes a few minutes. A 2nd grind takes longer, of course. Bigger is usually better but I think if you only do 1 elk and a couple deer you'll be fine with a smaller one. The weight and cost add up!

 

[Jnasa]

@MTLabrador You can do what you want with a 3/4 hp grinder. Larger sizes will grind faster. Also most grinders you are supposed to stop after so many minutes of run time to allow to cool.

Most grinders have their pounds per minute as a reference. It wouldn’t be bad for you to step up to a 1hp if you can justify it.

I have a friend who has had a cabelas carnivore for over a decade now. Between him and family he grinds 2-3 elk a year and 4-5 deer.

Another place to check is Walton’s. They have some sales going. They also have YouTube videos on some of their grinders.