Considering a Meat Grinder, Need Advice

[billm75]

Hey folks,

I'm planning to purchase a meat grinder here soon, and would like some input about the one I've been looking at. I don't know much about them, what the #22 means, etc, so I'm hoping you can straighten me out.

Here's a link to the one I'm thinking about getting:
http://www.unbeatablesale.com/wstn01...ci_sku=WSTN010

My goal is to grind beef for hamburgers, meatloaf, etc, and pork for sausages. I don't want anything that's overkill, but I also don't want something that's going to be lousy in a week either.

Manual is fine, I only plan to grind once a month.

I appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

 

[rbranstner]

Can you let us know how many lbs you plan on grinding when you do a batch. If you are going to be grinding lots of lbs I would get a bigger better one but if you are only going to be doing small batches you can get buy with a small pretty cheap one.

 

[formerlyfatguy]

Check out Gander Mountain's stuff. Real good prices and a great product.
I think they have a good motorized unit on sale now.

 

[mballi3011]

I have the cheap one from gander 89.00 on sale but 99.00 normally and it works great just don't try to grind a cow or nothing. I also have the stuffer and it really works well too. and it was only 99.00 bucks too. You can grind up a ton of meat really quickly too. It's an idea I'm lazy too.

 

[meat hunter]

If your only going to grind once or so a month, that unit you linked us to looks great. The numbers represent the size. The smaller the number, the smaller its capacity, bigger the number, the more it can handle. #32 would be a good size. Also, in the future if you decide you are going to grind more and more, that unit can be converted over to a motor via a belt and grooved pulley.

 

[bbq engineer]

Hey Bill,

Check out this link from the Hog Warden...It has one of the best comparisons of hand crank grinders that I have ever seen...starting a couple pages back.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=75149

I consider the information from Hog Warden solid gold...he knows of what he speaks...take a look and see if this might give you some additional information for your purchase.

Good luck!

 

[tlzimmerman]

If you are doing hand crank....I would go for a #32 size if it were me. #22 is probly good too depending on how much you want to grind, and will probly store better if you aren't going to grind more than 20 pounds ever. The extra size really helps not having to cut everything up so small, and a #32 hand crank grinder is going to handle your larger batches better if you ever get into some.

We have ground alot of deer over the years with a good old #32 hand crank, and I think a 22 it woulda been a lot more of a struggle. I tend to buy bigger but thats just my personality, and either will probably serve your needs fine.

That said, you can get some nice electrics in #12 size from gander for 100 bucks as said above. Bigger to store, but makes you less sore!

 

[bbq engineer]

Take a look at the link I posted...HW says this about a #32...

I suspect you need an NCAA Division 1 lineman to operate the crank on a #32 if you are trying to push the first grind of meat through a 3/16" plate.

and this quote..."A #32 is about half again larger than the #22. It is a beast. I'm not sure mere mortals could crank one to push the first grind through a 3/16" plate. For home use, this is a stretch."


Now the question is...How big a man are ya?

 

[billm75]

While I'm a pretty big boy, I don't want to be dead after grinding. I really only plan on maybe 20lbs at a time, maximum. Just enough to keep the boys in burgers. (my 7 year old can clean out Burger King's stash). The other 3 boys will usually pick up the scraps.

And for sausage, probably about the same. Not more than 20lbs at one time/month.

Thanks guys for all the help. I'll let you know what I end up going with. Saw a nice electric model at Harbor Freight someone else recommended, so I'm going to look into that as well.

 

[travcoman45]

Get a #32 with a pulley an put a motor on it, ain't hard ta do an will grind anythin ya wan't.

 

[hounds51]

Check this out. I have one like this, and love it. I couldn't even dream of turning it by hand though.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_47552_47552

 

[mossymo]

billm75
If you are wanting to start with hand grinding, here is a grinder with steel ball bearings I would advise -http://cgi.ebay.com/32-Ball-Bearing-...item33594cef10

My reasoning is the one you posted claims nylon bearings (I am assuming these are actually bushings) and it does not come with a pulley if you want to motorize your grinder with a belted pulley down the road.

If you do want to motorize the grinder down the road with a pulley, bushings will wear out, as where bearings can evenly handle the uneven pull on the grinder much better.

Here is a link to how I motorized my grinder with a pulley - http://www.sausagemania.com/grinder.html

Here are a few pics of the grinder I motorized using those directions -







Also since those pics were taken I have added a stainless steel meat tray from here - http://www.sausagemaker.com/63209sta...atgrinder.aspx

 

[mossymo]

travcoman45
Your set up is very nice, I like it alot .....

 

[mulepackin]

You can grind a lot of meat, even by hand with a number 32 grinder. I used one for about 5 years. It has to be the regular crank, not the crank on the pulley style. Just too short of a throw. You do have to coarse grind first, then fine. You can get pullies for the regular one later on if you are inclined to motorize it and are handy. After all my sausage making partners moved away, I motorized mine. It really grinds now.

 

[mossymo]

mulepackin
That is a fine looking set up you have also. With direct drive; bushings or bearings does not matter, direct drive gives a more even wear on bushings or bearings.

How may RPM's is the motor rated for that is turning the grinder?

 

[mulepackin]

I don't have the data right in front of me, but IIRC it is a 1/4 HP Dayton, 1725 RPM, but gear reduction. Again don't exactly recall the reduction ratio, but it puts me right in a pretty good grinding speed. It does get warm. I just pack ziplocks of ice around it. I've worried about the plastic bushing at the rear of the screw, but it seems to be holding up fine. I've not found anything to replace it with, so my thought is to get a machine shop to machine me a bronze one when it's day is done.
Edit: It's a 14.4:1 reduction ratio, so thats about 120 rpm. Sounds fast, but still works great.

 

[afreetrapper]

I would stay away form the Porkert and Weston models as previously mentioned the Weston has a plastic combination bushing thrust washer. Porket has this also I have a friend who recently purchased a Weston and is sorry he did. It is unfortunate they use this bushing because the quality of the casting on the Porkert (made in Checoslavakia) is very high quality. I have a new in the box Porkert #10 I picked up at an auction dirt cheap it has this same bushing.
My grinders are
1- #3 Universal I use for 1 Lb trial batches
2- #10 Enterprise
1- #12 Enterprise
1- #20 Enterprise
They were all purchased at farm auctions at very reasonable prices I have been using them for over 30 years and I would put them up against any new off the shelf grinder

Enterprise is now Choprite since 1983 and they still make a quality product but you will pay for it.

some information to chew on

#10 Clamp base
#12 Bolt down base
#20 Clamp base
#22 Bolt base
#32 Bolt base

Size Rate of grind Lbs per minute Recommended Use
#5 1lb Cooked meat
#8 2lbs Cooked meat
#10-12 3 lbs Household,small game
#20-22 4 lbs Hunters with a lot of small game
#32 5 lbs Annual butchering

 

[hog warden]

I might modify that to include a large women of German ancestry. I'm thinking of one of those beer fraus who can hoist 8 steins at once. (In my family, the large German women sat on each end of the 2 x 10 board the #22 Enterprise grinder and motor were clamped to).

I only use Enterprise hand crank grinders, but my batch sizes top out at 12 pounds or so. The two smaller ones (#5 and #12) will easily do a pound a minute. Ten pounds in 10 minutes? That is a lot of sausage in not much time. $20 bucks plus shipping on ebay.

Having said that, if a guy was going to make 20 pounds at a time, and didn't already have a hand crank grinder, I'd buy a motorized unit to start with. With the grinder, motor and all the belts, pulleys and bearings, along with mounting surface, you will have as much or more invested in a hand crank and gear as you would a good 1/2 horse or larger motorized unit.

 

[hog warden]

I agree. If I ever hook one of my #22's up to a motor again, I intend for it to look a lot like his, with motor and most of the belts hiding behind guards and sections of plywood. Gearing at the grinder to be about 75 rpm's. Bring on them dead deer!

 

[tlzimmerman]

Can't say I have ever thought a 32 grinds too hard, but we always grind twice, never a single grind. Maybe I am just a macho man!

A 22 is probly your best bet for what you want to do, I always buy bigger than I think I need though, thats just my personality, and why I recommended a 32.