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.

 

[brymoore]

I have a 1hp Cabela’s grinder. I ground my mule deer lose meat in a few minutes. It took more time to clean it.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I never thought about “throat size” as far as cutting strips to fit. Personally, I like making the 1” x 1” x height strips, because I end up trimming off a little extra tallow and connective tissue as I go along.

 

[MTLabrador]

Factoring in storage space, size and weight, throat size, free shipping as part of the deal, and way too much overthinking about everything else, I pulled the trigger on the Lem big bite 3/4. May it be blessed with many shoulder season cows and R7 mule deer neck roasts.

 

[Hem]

Factoring in storage space, size and weight, throat size, free shipping as part of the deal, and way too much overthinking about everything else, I pulled the trigger on the Lem big bite 3/4. May it be blessed with many shoulder season cows and R7 mule deer neck roasts.

I have the 1/2 h Lem. Its been fine, but I like the idea of the 3/4 better.
I think you will be very pleased...so long as you have a foot pedal.

 

[El Jason]

Factoring in storage space, size and weight, throat size, free shipping as part of the deal, and way too much overthinking about everything else, I pulled the trigger on the Lem big bite 3/4. May it be blessed with many shoulder season cows and R7 mule deer neck roasts.

I think you’ll find it does everything you need it to. I’ve had my 0.5 LEM for about 22 years now. It’s probably ground over a ton of burger with only minor repairs/part replacements.

 

[Hem]

I think you’ll find it does everything you need it to. I’ve had my 0.5 LEM for about 22 years now. It’s probably ground over a ton of burger with only minor repairs/part replacements.

There is no arguing about the quality of LEM.
Think I have had mine for close to 20 years with no repairs/ replacements.

 

[mtmuley]

I think you will be very pleased...so long as you have a foot pedal.

Yep. mtmuley

 

[MTLabrador]

I should add the foot pedal, never tried one.

 

[Hem]

I should add the foot pedal, never tried one.

No more on/ off with slimy hands.
Way more efficient.

 

[INMT]

I should add the foot pedal, never tried one.

You won’t regret it.

 

[Jbotto]

I keep coming back to this post. I really need to upgrade away from the Kitchenaid grinder attachment. I did the last gallon bag of elk trim last week and it could go a lot smoother.

 

[LCH]

I ground 250# of deer and elk last week, still hasn't let me down. I did have to take it apart and unwind some silver skin about half-way through.

View attachment 205152

I have had no problems at all with this grinder. Have done deer, antelope, hogs, and elk. I did over 100 pounds of elk Thursday, I'm sure the grinder ran less than 20 minutes total. It will grind just as fast as I can drop it down the hole. I've never needed to use the plunger.

The only real downside is the throat size is smaller, so it takes longer to cut. I've used a couple of the sub-$100 Cabelas grinders, usually dealing with broken plastic gears, and this is far superior.

I could have gotten a larger throat and more horsepower for the money, but I'm glad I went with the one I did.