Question about slicers

[73saint]

ive been looking on Craigslist for a used slicer, and have had a few get by me, but I’m getting close on a couple of used models that have caught my eye. One is a berkel and the other is a Toledo. I’d prefer the berkel but I’m getting confused about something.

When they say 10” vs 12”, I assume that’s the blade size but my concern is more tray size than anything. I want to be able to slice my bacon to the length of the slabs, and I’m unsure if that number relates to the tray size at all.

So, does the # 10 or 12 in anyway affect the tray size, or length of slice capacity?

 

[73saint]

Here is a pic of the Toledo tray. The berkel is a 10” also.

 

[73saint]

So, the 10” is the tray size. Thanks I’ve been asking this question and you are the first to answer it.

 

[73saint]

Thanks Holly!

 

[SmokinAl]

If you want to slice bacon without cutting it in half, then I would go with the 12".
But be warned they are very heavy & in most cases a pain to clean.
I only use mine once in a while, when I have a large piece of meat.
Otherwise, I use an 8" Chef's Choice.
Al

 

[LanceR]

After refurbishing and reselling a boatload of heavy duty commercial slicers my experience has been that the folks making truly commercial slicers like Hobart, Bizerba and Univex list slicers solely by blade diameter. Most are listed with a separate food capacity dimension for the width or rectangular dimensions of product versus round product.

As a general rule, and all other things being equal, the bigger the blade diameter the better.....except if you have to carry it around a lot. Or if storage space is at a premium. Bigger blades can slice taller product. Older slicers of all makes are much heavier than slicers of more modern production.

Hobart has by far the best availability of parts for older slicers but you need to be a bit careful. With any brand of older slicer you want to check parts availability by model number before buying. Some parts are simply not available (except from salvage parts shops) and some (mostly proprietary parts) that you can't shop for elsewhere, are priced high all out of proportion to what they should be.

Sometimes manufacturers food capacity ratings don't seem to make much sense. My Hobart 2912 is a recent production 12" slicer (blade diameter) and has a cutting capacity of 12" wide and 7-1/2" high. Strangely enough the newer HS series with a 13" blade is rated for a 10-3/4" x 5-3/4" rectangle or 7-1/2" round items. Go figure.....

I suspect that as the 2000 series Hobart has a pretty big footprint on a counter that the HS series are more compact and have a shorter carriage stoke. Most folks don't need to slice whole packer briskets anyway.....

You don't state what your budget is but one slicer that really merits consideration in the $500 or so range is the Hobart 2812 (a slightly different model than mine.). They are very heavy duty recent production machines, fairly common on Craigslist, parts will be available for many years and if you are patient you will find a good one for $500 or less. They are fairly easy to tune up and are fingertip effort silky smooth when tuned up. Your grandkids will be passing it down to their kids......