one last weston #8 grinder question....... promise

[fxsales1959]

Sorry I'm all AC/DC about this grinder thing. haven't pulled trigger yet. Many of you recommended the #8 Weston grinder for light duty grinding. tried my best to figure this out without bothering Y'all. watched a bunch of you-tube ninnie's videos.
Sent Weston an email with this question. So does the auger on the 675 Watt model have a plastic gear, or is it one piece aluminum? Some videos show it with a plastic gear(and a spare) not very reassuring. The one I'm researching is $149.00 on the Weston website. There are cheaper #8's too, but I'm not going to short $50 for plastic gears.
Thanks for putting up with me.

 

[Hijack73]

I don't own a Weston, but are the gears plastic or nylon? I've seen nylon gears go for YEARS 6 days a week 24 hours a day on a conveyor belt moving thousands of lbs/hr....

I doubt my cheaper grinder (#12, cost me about 125 new) has the guts of a Panzer, but it's held up awfully well over the years. I ground about 7 lbs Saturday night and it took well under 10 minutes to double grind. That's a bit bigger than an average batch for me but I use it at least twice, and probably more like 3x month on average. I'm betting the gears are nylon or plastic.

 

[DougE]

Sorry I'm all AC/DC about this grinder thing. haven't pulled trigger yet. Many of you recommended the #8 Weston grinder for light duty grinding. tried my best to figure this out without bothering Y'all. watched a bunch of you-tube ninnie's videos.
Sent Weston an email with this question. So does the auger on the 675 Watt model have a plastic gear, or is it one piece aluminum? Some videos show it with a plastic gear(and a spare) not very reassuring. The one I'm researching is $149.00 on the Weston website. There are cheaper #8's too, but I'm not going to short $50 for plastic gears.
Thanks for putting up with me.

I believe mine is the 8lb. 575 watt one. It is, just looked at the tag. It does have a plastic spline (gear) that screws onto the driven end of the auger, which is driven by the motor.

They give you a spare plastic spline in case it strips, but I have never needed it in a couple years of use. Don't overload whatever grinder you have, and all will be well.

 

[fxsales1959]

I believe mine is the 8lb. 575 watt one. It is, just looked at the tag. It does have a plastic spline (gear) that screws onto the driven end of the auger, which is driven by the motor.

They give you a spare plastic spline in case it strips, but I have never needed it in a couple years of use. Don't overload whatever grinder you have, and all will be well.

thank you,
like I said. over thinking this.

 

[chopsaw]

like I said. over thinking this.

No ,, I think you're taking a smart approach .
I never mind spending the money if I get what I pay for .
Been following this , and I think you're on the way to some great results .

 

[fxsales1959]

I believe mine is the 8lb. 575 watt one. It is, just looked at the tag. It does have a plastic spline (gear) that screws onto the driven end of the auger, which is driven by the motor.

They give you a spare plastic spline in case it strips, but I have never needed it in a couple years of use. Don't overload whatever grinder you have, and all will be well.

dang all enablers. ordered from the orange store. $94 plus gov tax.

 

[DougE]

dang all enablers. ordered from the orange store. $94 plus gov tax.

I believe Fueling Around has the same one as me and made a similar comment about us enablers lol.

I think I got mine for $99 plus tax from Dunham sports, which has since closed their store, here.

 

[clifish]

Did you end up getting the Weston #8 from HD? seems like $95. How load is it, seems kind of load in the you tube videos. How do you like it? Seems it is a plastic gear but at least you can get parts from Weston.

 

[DougE]

Did you end up getting the Weston #8 from HD? seems like $95. How load is it, seems kind of load in the you tube videos. How do you like it? Seems it is a plastic gear but at least you can get parts from Weston.

How load is it? Not understanding the question. I have had the same 8# Weston grinder for a couple years and it does a fine job.

Untelling how many pounds of meat I have run through mine with no issues as long as you feed it reasonable size chunks that have been chilled down in the freezer for a bit.

The plastic drive spline on the auger is a non- issue. They provide a spare with the grinder and my spare is still in the plastic wrap it came in.

 

[clifish]

How load is it? Not understanding the question. I have had the same 8# Weston grinder for a couple years and it does a fine job.

Untelling how many pounds of meat I have run through mine with no issues as long as you feed it reasonable size chunks that have been chilled down in the freezer for a bit.

The plastic drive spline on the auger is a non- issue. They provide a spare with the grinder and my spare is still in the plastic wrap it came in.

On the video I saw it seemed load...but then again I really have no point of comparason. Thanks for the feedback for under a $100 it seems like a no brainer. That is about the same price as a "real" Kitchenaid grinder attachment.

 

[DougE]

On the video I saw it seemed load...but then again I really have no point of comparason. Thanks for the feedback for under a $100 it seems like a no brainer. That is about the same price as a "real" Kitchenaid grinder attachment.

One pass through a 4.5mm plate.

No issues at all as long as you run 1 inch or so cubes and run them through chilled down to around 32° or so. It'll run a 5# batch fairly quickly (I generally do 2KG batches for simplicity).

 

[Fueling Around]

Sorry for the late reply. Been working crazy hours and don't see many posts

I believe Fueling Around has the same one as me and made a similar comment about us enablers lol.

I think I got mine for $99 plus tax from Dunham sports, which has since closed their store, here.

I got mine on sale plus the free gift card for signing up for the credit card from Scheels. Shipping took a big bite but around $70 all in.
The nylon gear is the worst of my worries. The silicon gasket at the base of the gear blows out on harder grinds. Would love to get a spare in case it tears.

Did you end up getting the Weston #8 from HD? seems like $95. How load is it, seems kind of load in the you tube videos. How do you like it? Seems it is a plastic gear but at least you can get parts from Weston.

He did Cliff

It's here ( doesn't take much to excite me ( too many pics)

After bugging Ya'll to no end I got my Weston #8 from orange box yesterday. Since I had 2 lbs of cubed butt in the freezer I thought I'd take it for a ride. 1Lb for copycat Jimmy Dean hot patties, cause mama makes me a sausage egg and cheese biscuit every morning. The other pound was destined...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

On the video I saw it seemed load...but then again I really have no point of comparason. Thanks for the feedback for under a $100 it seems like a no brainer. That is about the same price as a "real" Kitchenaid grinder attachment.

I learned to NOT freeze the meat before you grind. It will labor a bit if any part of the meat chunks or strips are frozen. Well chilled is more than enough to get a good grind without fat smear
Head, plate, and auger go in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Next trip Cabelas I will get the ice pack wrap for the grinder head.

 

[chef k-dude]

You are right, you dont want to freeze the meat hard. When I refer to freezing the meat its really a misnomer. What I mean is I use the freezer to quickly chill the meat chunks and grinder parts. I grind the meat when it just begins to get that firm, slightly frozen exterior but the chunks still give when I squeeze them. If the meat is too cold/frozen it will drop almost as granules from the grinder rather than ropes of grind.

 

[clifish]

Thanks for the reply, so far Walmart has it for $89, as for the gasket, I assume it is an o-ring? If so I would think that could be had easy enough at a good hardware store? I believe this has 2 speeds, what speed to you usually grind on?

 

[fxsales1959]

thank you all.
I did order from HD. Weston website said they were out of stock. HD said they had 12. took a chance. $0 freight ship to store . took about 5 days. Double checked with Weston to make sure buying from HD wouldn't FU warranty. Love it, so far.

 

[DougE]

I learned to NOT freeze the meat before you grind.

I call how I do it par-frozen. The outside of the chunks is firming up, but you can still mash them between your finger and thumb. About 32 to 30° F by my instant read.

 

[clifish]

thank you all.
I did order from HD. Weston website said they were out of stock. HD said they had 12. took a chance. $0 freight ship to store . took about 5 days. Double checked with Weston to make sure buying from HD wouldn't FU warranty. Love it, so far.

Shitty meat sales this week are not helping my decision! .. but the 19$ I spent at the butcher for 3 burgers last week is.

 

[fxsales1959]

Shitty meat sales this week are not helping my decision! .. but the 19$ I spent at the butcher for 3 burgers last week is.

I've been lucky, our Latin meat market has had chuck steaks for $4.99/lb. it's not a true chuck roast but the fat ratio is pretty good. Ground chuck at the Italian market is $4.99 and who know where it is ground from. I'm fixin on frying a couple of 6 oz burger s made from the grind.