I have been researching on this forum for over a month now. It has been the best resource I have found online for sausage making and almost every question I could possibly have has been answered here.
About me: I am an avid cook and would consider my grinding volume to be on the low-end as my husband and I are a two person household and we are not hunters (so we won’t be grinding a whole deer for example). I am guessing we would grind only 2 - 3 times a year, then freeze the sausages we make and meat we grind up. Pretty basic stuff.
I was originally going to buy a $100 variety grinder but many of you changed my mind and I’ve decided to invest in something more substantial.
What I haven’t figured out is how much horse power do I need for my grinder? I am deciding between these two:
LEM .35 HP 36 lb 4 lb/min #8 Neck $289.99
LEM .75 HP 47 lb 6 lb/min #12 Neck $399.99
FYI, there is no .5 HP version. The jump goes from .35 HP to .75 HP (not sure why). From what I have read (including many LEM user reviews) the .35 HP should be more than adequate for my needs but the .75 HP is only $110 more with considerably more HP.
The main differences is the .75 HP is 11 lb heavier, does a slightly higher volume per minute and has the larger #12 neck. I have no problem spending the extra $110 but wonder if this size is just overkill for me? This is something I am hoping will last me a long time and that I won’t need to upgrade in the future.
BTW, I will be buying a separate sausage stuffer instead of using my grinder (which I originally had planned to do). This forum advice will save me many headache from what I have read. My choice is the: LEM 5 lb stainless steel vertical stuffer.
Thanks for all the great resources on this forum. I would really appreciate any input as my husband is truly sick of my paralysis of analysis over this!
About me: I am an avid cook and would consider my grinding volume to be on the low-end as my husband and I are a two person household and we are not hunters (so we won’t be grinding a whole deer for example). I am guessing we would grind only 2 - 3 times a year, then freeze the sausages we make and meat we grind up. Pretty basic stuff.
I was originally going to buy a $100 variety grinder but many of you changed my mind and I’ve decided to invest in something more substantial.
What I haven’t figured out is how much horse power do I need for my grinder? I am deciding between these two:
LEM .35 HP 36 lb 4 lb/min #8 Neck $289.99
LEM .75 HP 47 lb 6 lb/min #12 Neck $399.99
FYI, there is no .5 HP version. The jump goes from .35 HP to .75 HP (not sure why). From what I have read (including many LEM user reviews) the .35 HP should be more than adequate for my needs but the .75 HP is only $110 more with considerably more HP.
The main differences is the .75 HP is 11 lb heavier, does a slightly higher volume per minute and has the larger #12 neck. I have no problem spending the extra $110 but wonder if this size is just overkill for me? This is something I am hoping will last me a long time and that I won’t need to upgrade in the future.
BTW, I will be buying a separate sausage stuffer instead of using my grinder (which I originally had planned to do). This forum advice will save me many headache from what I have read. My choice is the: LEM 5 lb stainless steel vertical stuffer.
Thanks for all the great resources on this forum. I would really appreciate any input as my husband is truly sick of my paralysis of analysis over this!

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