Opinion on meat slicer, Hobart

[mendozer]

I need a new meat slicer. I have on one of those home unit that is so chintzy and a pain to clean. Meat gets into the screw heads every time and it just sucks. I want either a used commercial unit or something like the several brands out there that are either home/small deli units one notch above the home units.

I was looking at KWS 320W slicer which has good reviews and specs on the motor and blade.
Beswood does too but they're from australia so parts sourcing may not be best.
I have a local ad on Craigslist for an older Hobart 1612 for $385. A new KWS is like 370 and Hobarts are awesome....but this one's old. I wanted to gauge responses on older units from workhorses to see if it's worth the expense buying an old unit.
Other brands I saw were Weston, Adcraft, etc. They all look like variations of the same machine likely out of the same Chinese factory with slightly different motors since they list different RPM and horsepower.

 

[crazymoon]

MD, Many old units are better than the new stuff on the market today. The major issue with an old one is the blade ,is it still sharp? Other concerns would be the power cord being cracked or frayed.Also listen to it run before purchasing to make sure it runs obviously but also to hear that the bearings are not funky.It would be nice if the seller would let you slice something before buying? It is also probably a heavy slicer compared to the new small jobbies on the market today.

 

[DanMcG]

I have a hobart 512, which is very similar to 1612 just older. It's a good unit but as mentioned they are heavy and not something you want to move around alot. Clean up is a little bit more work then a home unit, not a big deal if you have a lot of meat to cut, but I don't get it dirty for just a couple pounds of bacon.
Does it come with a sharpener? If not that will cost you a $100.

 

[LanceR]

The Hobart 1612 is a darn good slicer. Most if not all the parts are readily available and they are pretty easy to work on if you have basic hand tolls and basic mechanical skills. In fact, I have two 2812PS slicers (PS=built in portion scale) and one 512 on the workbench right now....

If the 1612 slicer is complete with the sharpener, fence etc, the blade is either good or save-able and it isn't abused in any other way, that's a great price. They can be cleaned up and tuned to be silky smooth and will be more than enough slicer for any household.

On the other hand, they are heavy (as has already been said) at around 85-90 pounds and they are bulkier than a household quality slicer so you'll want to be sure that you have room for it's storage footprint of around 26"W x 24"L and 21" high. You'll need more space around it when slicing.

I don't think that the Hobart 512 that danmcg mentions has the "deflector" on the back side of the blade area to keep sliced product away from the blade drive shaft etc. The 1612 should have one and it keeps food from getting into hard to reach places.

PM me a link to the ad please and I'll let you know what I think of the slicer.

 

[rexster314]

I bought a 1612 back in 2014 and haven't regretted one bit. One of the constant problems of the old Hobarts is the adjustment dial and gauge plate sticking to the point of not working. Previous users have used WD40 on the parts, and after a while, the stuff just gums up everything. I paid 150 for mine with the Hobart sharpener. I have it on a dedicated roller cart. I did replace the power cord and the adjustment dial over the last 3 years.

 

[fajitapot]

Hobarts are tanks and will last forever with proper care. But the KWS model you mention is actually made in China and rebranded by dozens of different companies (I'm pretty sure they're actually made by Globe, another great company). I've used several slicers and got the KWS 12" for home and don't regret it at all. It's aluminum, so not as heavy as some of the others, and I found it for $299 with free shipping after spending a few days finding it listed under different brands all over the internet. It's rated for "several hours" a day, so plenty of power for my charcuterie and deli meats (even frozen). I can slice my ham as thin as prosciutto with ease. It's not the most fun to clean, but none of them are and it's not that difficult anyway, especially if I'm only using it once a week or so and taking care of everything at once. The built in sharpener is a must, and I'd pick up some food grade lube as well (don't use WD40!).

 

[mendozer]

Good feedback! Due to size I'll be carrying this from my shed I didn't realize they were that heavy.
Another person has a globe c12 for 500 bucks. That's quite a bit cheaper than new 1400 and it's still produced

 

[baboy]

I use a re branded 10" kws and i have found that my friends old 12" Hobart is far superior in slicing meat and cheese. In my opinion it is also much easier to clean up. you can't slice a whole pork belly with a 10" slicer, you need to trim the sides or you will not get the entire belly across the blade. The Hobart is much heavier and I am glad it stays in the meat processing part of the Barn and no need to move it. When I find a good price on a used Hobart I will bounce on it and sell the other one.

 

[mendozer]

Well the hobart guy's not getting back to me and the glove C12 appears to be gone. There is a Sirman slicer on there, from what I've found an italian model. My family runs a food equipment company and their advice was no imports for reason of parts availability. They service Hobart and Globe at their business.
But I also found a Vollrath 40950 that I can get for 500 too. Not as beefy and their website says no to cheese, but let's be honest. I'm not slicing cheese for 3 hours for a deli, I'd slice like 20 slices for the fridge and even my crappy home unit can slice some cheese.

How much do watts matter? I've noticed that even the commerical units sometimes the low end models have 185 watts or 225 watts. Some cheap ones run 320 and 420. Is it because they have a smoother operation so the motors need less oomph? I have no idea how to compare these. They all look the same in the same price category in terms of the frame and parts.

 

[mendozer]

When I see the Vollrath at 500 bucks on local ad, 950 retail and it's 288 watts and I see KWD at 320 watts for 384 new, I have to think something's gotta give. I understand parts are always better for machines like this, but isn't the main thing the motor and maybe blade quality? But the cheaper unit has a stronger motor, crazy!

 

[pc farmer]

1612 here. Love it, but its on its own table and we dont move it.

 

[mendozer]

I had a line on two globe cg12s for 400 bucks out of state, one required repair which is fine bc my family runs a foodservice repair in that state. But someone beat me to it. Now I'm looking at a globe c12 here for 500 (c12 still made cg12 discontinued) or the new vollrath now dropped to 350. V has 300 watts, globe 345. Vs website says no for cheese but globe says it's fine. 240 seems to be the bare minimum for cheese reasonably. Hobarts are out of the question now since I'm not hauling 100lbs of metal from the shed to the kitchen every time I wanna slice meat. 40-50 lbs is easy. Vollrath seems a bit new to the scene but it's got that fancy new appeal, and the nonstick back plate too. Between these two, what are y'all thoughts? My family's company services Hobart and globe so I know their answer

 

[mendozer]

I move fast apparently. I JUST now saw a globe G12 listed on ebay (must have happened late last night). The G series has 1/2 HP motor vs the 1/3. Rates for 4 hours of meat 2 hours cheese, much higher than 1 hour meat and "limited" cheese for the C12. It was only 30 bucks more (plus sales tax, boo) but seems like a no brainer, especially for the 30 day return policy. So I'm going to try that out.

 

[LanceR]

Good luck.