About two weeks ago I started looking for a meat slicer, searched the internet and read about them. My 2 teen kids have been doing beef jerky for a year or so, on/off and they've mentioned to my wife (I just overheard and was in the room) that their meat slicer isn't the greatest and that's why they hate doing it. They're both college student with not much income so they don't have the funds to invest in a nice slicer. They put their money together to get themselves a cheap $80 one (proud of them for it). I never really paid attention till I tried a few passes using their $80 meat slicer. I immediately packaged it up and told them to stop using it, it's a safety hazard. As a parent we all want the best for our kids so that was when I told them I will invest in a slicer to help their small biz grow.
Reading online, I toggled back and forth between ordering one online, a china one or used commercial (hobart, berkel, globe etc) one. What I've noticed was that the china one don't rate their motor in HP but the commercials ones do and the china ones rate by watts and the commercial ones dont. Most of the china ones that are in the $300-400 range can't slice cheese. If it can't slice cheese, then for sure it'll struggle with semi frozen beef. Also, there wasn't alot of support for replacement parts on the china built ones. I read (I believe on this forum somewhere or could be on reddit) that a used commercial would outlast a new china slicer any day if maintenance is kept. It's proven in the commercial industry which is why businesses uses them. So with that in mind, I decided against a china one and started the search for a used hobart. As I searched I found 2 local to me on FB market place. Both are hobarts 1712. I went to look at them. Here are some infos on them.
1st machine
Model = Hobart 1712
HP = 1/3
Amps = 5.4
Blade looks to be in ok condition, needs sharpening. There are no chips to the blade itself. The sharpening assembly is there with the unit. The carriage tray slides freely and the auto slice feature works. The motor turns on but is slightly noisy when it first trys to start. As soon as the motor starts and the blade starts it's rotation, it then quiets down. Needs a deep clean as it's been sitting outside under a tree covered with cardboard only.
2nd machine
Model = Hobart 1712RE
HP = 1/2
Amps = 6.2
Blade looks worse than the 1st machine. Has a few chipped edges. Looks like he tried turning his blade into a serrated homemade DIY blade. Not sure if sharpening it will help or work. Does not have the sharpening assembly. Did research and this one uses the more expensive sharpening assy kit. The carriage tray is stuck solid and does not slide so no way to test if the auto feature is functional. The motor turns on and is much quieter than the 1st machine. Needs a super deep clean. The inside is super dirty with built in grease/grim and is heavily caked on. This one I believe sat inside his garage for a while so I'm not sure it got exposure to the outside weather compared to the first one.
The sellers are asking $400 for the machines. I know I'll have to put some time and money into restoring both and will have to buy a sharpening assembly for the RE model as that one is mounted on the top of the blade. Upon closer inspection, the aluminum gauge plate on both has the slot to where you mount the sharpening assembly to. I believe the 1712's $100 sharpening assembly would work with the RE as well. Can anyone confirm?
Out of the two, which one would be a better buy? I like the 2nd one due to the quietness of the motor and the 1/2 HP vs 1/3 HP, but knowing I have to buy the sharpening assy and possibly a blade it is making me decide against it. Anyone know the difference between the 1712 and 1712RE model? I can't find anything about them. Read the online manuals and no info.
TIA
Reading online, I toggled back and forth between ordering one online, a china one or used commercial (hobart, berkel, globe etc) one. What I've noticed was that the china one don't rate their motor in HP but the commercials ones do and the china ones rate by watts and the commercial ones dont. Most of the china ones that are in the $300-400 range can't slice cheese. If it can't slice cheese, then for sure it'll struggle with semi frozen beef. Also, there wasn't alot of support for replacement parts on the china built ones. I read (I believe on this forum somewhere or could be on reddit) that a used commercial would outlast a new china slicer any day if maintenance is kept. It's proven in the commercial industry which is why businesses uses them. So with that in mind, I decided against a china one and started the search for a used hobart. As I searched I found 2 local to me on FB market place. Both are hobarts 1712. I went to look at them. Here are some infos on them.
1st machine
Model = Hobart 1712
HP = 1/3
Amps = 5.4
Blade looks to be in ok condition, needs sharpening. There are no chips to the blade itself. The sharpening assembly is there with the unit. The carriage tray slides freely and the auto slice feature works. The motor turns on but is slightly noisy when it first trys to start. As soon as the motor starts and the blade starts it's rotation, it then quiets down. Needs a deep clean as it's been sitting outside under a tree covered with cardboard only.
2nd machine
Model = Hobart 1712RE
HP = 1/2
Amps = 6.2
Blade looks worse than the 1st machine. Has a few chipped edges. Looks like he tried turning his blade into a serrated homemade DIY blade. Not sure if sharpening it will help or work. Does not have the sharpening assembly. Did research and this one uses the more expensive sharpening assy kit. The carriage tray is stuck solid and does not slide so no way to test if the auto feature is functional. The motor turns on and is much quieter than the 1st machine. Needs a super deep clean. The inside is super dirty with built in grease/grim and is heavily caked on. This one I believe sat inside his garage for a while so I'm not sure it got exposure to the outside weather compared to the first one.
The sellers are asking $400 for the machines. I know I'll have to put some time and money into restoring both and will have to buy a sharpening assembly for the RE model as that one is mounted on the top of the blade. Upon closer inspection, the aluminum gauge plate on both has the slot to where you mount the sharpening assembly to. I believe the 1712's $100 sharpening assembly would work with the RE as well. Can anyone confirm?
Out of the two, which one would be a better buy? I like the 2nd one due to the quietness of the motor and the 1/2 HP vs 1/3 HP, but knowing I have to buy the sharpening assy and possibly a blade it is making me decide against it. Anyone know the difference between the 1712 and 1712RE model? I can't find anything about them. Read the online manuals and no info.
TIA
