My Grinder Sucks - Grinder reviews

[kwyeewyk]

It's supposed to make it so you get the texture of two passes through the grinder on the first grind. Yes, the plate with the large holes is closer to the auger, then the normal plate goes on the other side of the blade against the retaining ring. Here's a video from LEM showing the assembly

Interesting, never seen that before, seems like the first plate is probably too coarse. Looks like their goal of 4x faster, no wait between grinds, no second clean up, and less frustration didn't pan out. Does it make good burger other than the extra work?

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Is the meat very slightly frozen? Or completely thawed?

Even with thawed I wouldn't think it would clog up so fast but you might have to always use slightly frozen meat

I have tried grinding meat at a range of temperatures from cool room temperature to partly frozen. Since the chilled meat just starting to stiffen still had trouble, I left one tray in the freezer until the meat was firm but still could be compressed with my fingers. A few thumb sized chunks of that stopped the grinder as if I had filled it with gravel.

Have you tried it without the inner plate and use it with just the outer like a regular grinder?

I haven't tried that. It looked to me like the first plate is helping keep the blade in the right place on the auger shaft. Not sure if it might wobble without that plate.

Interesting, never seen that before, seems like the first plate is probably too coarse. Looks like their goal of 4x faster, no wait between grinds, no second clean up, and less frustration didn't pan out. Does it make good burger other than the extra work?

The burger texture is good. I haven't needed to run any of it through twice. It grinds meat with no connective tissue quickly and easily. Most of what I want to grind has silverskin or similar tissue though.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I have tried grinding meat at a range of temperatures from cool room temperature to partly frozen. Since the chilled meat just starting to stiffen still had trouble, I left one tray in the freezer until the meat was firm but still could be compressed with my fingers. A few thumb sized chunks of that stopped the grinder as if I had filled it with gravel.



I haven't tried that. It looked to me like the first plate is helping keep the blade in the right place on the auger shaft. Not sure if it might wobble without that plate.




The burger texture is good. I haven't needed to run any of it through twice. It grinds meat with no connective tissue quickly and easily. Most of what I want to grind has silverskin or similar tissue though.

Ya that doesn't seem right. Maybe call LEM and see what they say? Cause my little mini LEM never plugs even with thawed fronts going through it

 

[Boarmaster]

Don't waste your time on the small one...Go for at least the 15lber.

This. I started with a 5lb stuffer. It stuffed just fine. But pain to refill. I bought a 15 soon after.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Ya that doesn't seem right. Maybe call LEM and see what they say? Cause my little mini LEM never plugs even with thawed fronts going through it

I need to make time to do that well ahead of hunting season. I processed my elk in the evenings after work, and their customer service line was closed. Once I got it done I mostly forgot about the situation until I saw this thread.

 

[NY_BLUES]

I have a Weston #12, 1 h/p grinder. Love it. Can grind a whitetail in no time, and easy to clean. Paired with the weston 15lb sausage stuffer, I can get a deer from the meat pole to the freezer in less than an hour.

 

[Cammy]

I have used an LEM #12 grinder for the last 20 years and would buy nothing less than a #12. Went halves with my BIL 15 years ago on the first unit and then bought the newer "Big Bite" as it had an option to use a tomato processing attachment. I use a 5 pound LEM stuffer and don't have any issues with capacity to make sausage.

 

[2rocky]

Anyone have thoughts on Vevor?

Commercial Stainless Steel 450lbs Meat Grinder Blade Plate Sausage Stuffer FDA | VEVOR US

VEVOR Commercial Meat Grinder offers 1100W power, 550LB/h capacity, stainless steel build, two blades, and grinding plates for efficient meat processing.

www.vevor.com

 

[Dave N]

Anyone have thoughts on Vevor?

Commercial Stainless Steel 450lbs Meat Grinder Blade Plate Sausage Stuffer FDA | VEVOR US

VEVOR Commercial Meat Grinder offers 1100W power, 550LB/h capacity, stainless steel build, two blades, and grinding plates for efficient meat processing.

www.vevor.com

Chinese company kind of like Temu. Personally, I wouldn't.

 

[Sask hunter]

Been happy with the cables 1hp for the last 5 or so years

 

[2rocky]

Chinese company kind of like Temu. Personally, I wouldn't.

 

[Dave N]

That video seems like it's a good grinder. I had done a quick Google of the name and saw a couple things that concerned me, thus my negative response. I'll share a couple that I found. If you get one let us know what you think. Me, I would rather have something that I know I could get some customer service somewhere in the states for parts or repairs. Doesn't sound like these do but I could be wrong.


How can VEVOR be so cheap?
AI Overview

VEVOR's cheap prices stem from its model of sourcing and marketing tools at low cost by manufacturing in China, leveraging large factories with lower production costs, and utilizing direct-to-consumer sales and influencer marketing to cut traditional advertising expenses. While this results in affordable prices, it can sometimes mean products are of lower quality than premium brands, sometimes requiring user adjustments or being suitable for hobbyists rather than professionals.
Factors contributing to VEVOR's low prices:
In-house manufacturing and Chinese factories: VEVOR works with large Chinese factories to produce its tools, which significantly lowers production costs due to lower labor and material expenses.
Direct-to-consumer sales: By selling directly to customers online, VEVOR cuts out intermediaries and their associated markups, keeping prices lower.
Influencer marketing: VEVOR partners with social media influencers to promote its products, which helps them avoid the high costs of traditional advertising.
Focus on value, not perfection: The company targets hobbyists and those on a budget, prioritizing low cost over the high-end features and quality found in professional-grade tools.
Rebranding and widespread sourcing: VEVOR does not manufacture its own products but rather sources and markets them from various manufacturers, sometimes relabeling identical tools from different factories.
Trade-offs of low prices:
Varying quality: Product quality can be inconsistent, with some items being quite good and others falling short of professional standards.
Lack of refinement: Some tools may require minor adjustments by the user and may lack the advanced features and dust collection of more expensive brands.
Less customer support: VEVOR may not be as focused on fixing design flaws or providing extensive customer support, which helps keep costs down.

And I saw this.

Never Use VEVOR, They Are a Scam! : r/Tools https://share.google/kHZCnyvJi5dwk7q4Q

 

[2rocky]

Thanks Dave. I appreciate your vigilance. Looking at many of the other Sportsman models (LEM, Meat!, Weston) I saw very similar units with slightly different aspects. My suspicion being, like with large appliances, one or two main manufacturers puts different nameplates and housings on a standard motor and gearbox.

FWIW Home Depot sells an off brand grinder that uses exactly the same pictures and descriptions as the Vevor product. Just the nameplate is different.

 

[SFC B]

I got this joker and it is a BEAST....full disclosure I went this big 1) because I have used .5 hp models that did nothing but PMO and 2) I used my discount expecting this is a "one and done" purchase. Well trimmed meat with the dual grind will grind as fine as I can imagine wanting. Speed wise...holy crap. I have a foot pedal as well and I can load the hopper, not have to stuff at all, and cannot keep up. Last session I did a large plastic meat lug full in....seriously......about 2 minutes. Very happy.

LEM Dual Grind 1 HP #22 BigBite Meat Grinder

Spend more time eating and less time preparing with the LEM Dual Grind 22 that can cycle through two grind in a single pass!

www.scheels.com

 

[Hem]

I got this joker and it is a BEAST....full disclosure I went this big 1) because I have used .5 hp models that did nothing but PMO and 2) I used my discount expecting this is a "one and done" purchase. Well trimmed meat with the dual grind will grind as fine as I can imagine wanting. Speed wise...holy crap. I have a foot pedal as well and I can load the hopper, not have to stuff at all, and cannot keep up. Last session I did a large plastic meat lug full in....seriously......about 2 minutes. Very happy.

LEM Dual Grind 1 HP #22 BigBite Meat Grinder

Spend more time eating and less time preparing with the LEM Dual Grind 22 that can cycle through two grind in a single pass!

www.scheels.com

Interesting reviews on that link.

 

[thomas89]

Last session I did a large plastic meat lug full in....seriously......about 2 minutes.

It’s borderline enjoyable to grind meat when you have a decent one.

I know my old countertop model courtesy of my MIL had me putting off grinding as long as possible.

 

[SFC B]

Interesting reviews on that link.

From using several grinders I would bet there are a few things with the folks that are happy......1) not trimming well. If you don't want to, you shouldn't use the double grind because it is very fine and a lot of connective tissue will gum it up. 2) Folks that don't keep the meat cold, tray pre-chilled etc...... 3) folks that aren't diligent about cleaning/taking care of their stuff. The ones that say it "doesn't have enough power"? Man, I don't get that one in the least....some folks you could give a million dollars and they would complain it wasn't 2 million

 

[2rocky]

going to look at a used LEM Big Bite #8 tomorrow. 250 sound like a fair price?

 

[Dave N]

going to look at a used LEM Big Bite #8 tomorrow. 250 sound like a fair price?

Yup.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Here's an update on my jamming dual-grind Lem. I contacted their customer support and they quickly replied with a recommendation to oil or grease the bushing, and sent this how-to video

I did that, using vegetable oil instead of the spray shown in the video. I ground about 20 pounds of elk/pork mix for sausage without any jams or cooking the meat. That's a huge improvement! Most sinew and silverskin had already been trimmed from the elk, so it wasn't an exact test of normal processing. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that later this year.