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Buying a Meat Grinder; ended up w/a Lem Big Bite
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gonefishin View Drop Down
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    Posted: 31 July 2015 at 12:32
   Hello All!

  I'd like to hear any advice/experience on meat grinders that may fit my budget.  Perviously I had been using the kitchenaid grinder/stuffer attachment.  I have to say that I'm not thrilled with the job it does as a grinder or a stuffer.  Because of this I'll normally use my brothers grinder and stuffer.  Because he recently purchased a larger stuffer...I got his old one.  But I still need a grinder.

   I am on a budget and I'd like advice on your experience with certain grinders.  I would like to keep the price under $220.  Looking at LEM, they have the Mighty Bite #8 grinder.  This grinder isn't built as nice as the Big Bite Grinder line...but it seems like it's still quite adequate.  I'm looking for something that I don't need to upgrade and something that will grind meat without getting hung up on every piece of senew or heat the fat up too much while grinding...because of getting clogged up.  

    Another grinder I'm looking at is the Big Bite #5.  The thing that worries me here isn't the motor or the build...but the #5 size.  I can't afford #12 LEM big bite...or even the #8 Big Bite.  But I worry the #5 would be too small.  Because of this, would I be better off with the #8 Mighty Bite?

  thanks in advance,
  Dan
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    Just got off the phone with LEM asking between these two units and she didn't hesitate recommending the #5 Big Bite over the #8 Mighty Bite.  They've currently got some refurbished units, which carry 30 day money back and 2 year warranty...I'm leaning toward the #5 Big Bite at this point.

  Dan
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Points: 372 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote drinks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 August 2015 at 09:17
I got a #5, Amazon damaged box from warehouse, $180 with free shipping, it is plenty fast enough for me.
Also, much more quiet than the other ones I have had.
I am not surprised you are not happy with the Kitchenaid grinder, the one time I tried to use a friend's, I was ready to take a hammer to it.

A cheap plastic thing that was WAY overpriced!
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   thanks for sharing, drinks.  I would say that I'm leaning toward the LEM #5, but I'm going to hold off on purchasing until I can check one out in person.
 

   thanks,
 Dan
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    Went and looked at a LEM Big Bite...they look, and feel, like nice machines.  I ended up ordering a slightly discounted #8.

   Thanks for the advice Drinks!
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Happy grinding!
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Points: 372 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote drinks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 August 2015 at 11:56
Dan, have you read the reviews from owners that have been posted on Amazon.com?
You may have second thoughts, you did say the person you talked to at LEM did try to steer you to the #5.
The owner reviews on Amazon.com were not nice to the machine.
The principal complaint was about the plastic gears.
The #5 I have is as fast as or faster than the Turboforce 3000 that had a bastard size head and did not gum up with fibers and connective tissue, the 3 other grinders I have had all did.
I tried using a grinder as a stuffer, made my sausage look like store bought hot dogs, I shall never do that again.
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    Hi drinks...thanks for the thoughts.


   I initially ordered the TF 3000.  There is a large amount of reviews for the TF3000 and it's got a 4.5 star rating, very good reviews over all.  

   After your comments, I started to scrutinize the reviews a little deeper...looking at the negative reviews.  The majority of the negative reviews seemed to be from real home sausage makers.  The good reviews were mainly from people grinding pet food.

   Upon looking deeper into the TF3000 I decided to return in for a refund without opening it.  I should have given more thought to my purchase and headed the advice of some others to purchase another machine.

    I had done further review upon grinders and was looking into the LEM #5, as you had mentioned.  

  I called LEM to ask between the LEM Big Bite #5 and the LEM Mighty Bite #8.  The service rep didn't hesitate to recommend the LEM Big Bite #5 over the LEM Mighty Bite #8.

   I went to a local farm and fleet to look at the build quality of the Big Bite #5.  They didn't have any floor models but a worker opened the box for me.  The main unit was sealed in Styrofoam, but the grinding part of the machine was exposed.  It appeared to be built nicely...good and heavy duty.  

   LEM had the Big Bite #5 and the Big Bite #8 (not Mighty Bite) on reduced pricing, with full warranty.  I ended up contemplating the price difference of the Big Bite #5 and the Big Bite #8 and asked myself if in three years I would be effected by the difference in price difference.  I then posed the question, to myself, if I would wish I had bought the larger Big Bite #8 over the Big Bite #5.

   I chose to buy the LEM Big Bite #8 .  Essentially, I go the slightly bigger brother to your machine.  I do have a dedicated sausage stuffer...which I believe is large benefit over using a grinder as a stuffer.

    Thanks a ton for your feedback, drinks...please don't hesitate to offer anything else on this subject or any other.  *cheers*

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/lem-8-electric-grinder/butcher-meat-grinders
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Points: 372 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote drinks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 August 2015 at 22:08
I misunderstood, I thought you ordered the $100 LEM cheapie, the reviews on it are not very good, at least not by the frequent users.
The one you ordered is a very good one, the only problem with the LEM good grinders is the weight, they can get to be a real handful if they have to be put away after each use.
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   Here it is...the thing is a monster!  At least for smaller home use machines...I couldn't imagine getting one of the #22 or #32...heck, even the #12 has to be huge!
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Yep, grunt, groan and wish for a permanent location for the power unit.
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This will be rather long, to those thinking about a grinder.
The ads touting the big watts are hype.
An electrical horse power is 746 watts, most electric motors are 80% efficient, or less.
The big watt claims are made on the locked rotor watts, more than about 1/2 second at locked rotor WILL burn out the motor.
The running watts are about 20% of the locked rotor watts.
So, 3000 watts actually amounts to 600 to 700 watts, deduct the efficiency and the useable power is about 500+ watts, or 3/4 hp.
In addition to the actual useable power, consider the grinder head size.
The smaller it is, the less power it requires, so the LEM #5 does well with a real 250 watts, the #8 requires less than 300 actual running watts, and so on up the head size.
There is no free lunch, plastic gears are cheap, but do not last, a head needs a certain amount of power to operate it, a motor must be able to provide enough power to operate the head without over heating.
Check the reviews, watch out for shill's posts, if possible, talk to an actual owner who uses it for the same purposes you intend.
Be careful and then happy grinding!
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              Nice advice, drinks...thanks!
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Used the grinder the other day on 5lbs of Chuck roast. No trimming at all, to the roast, this grinder had no problem at all. Beautiful ground meat, cut and not smeared and pushed through the grinder holes at all.

A dedicated grinder, it turns out, is just as nice as a dedicated stuffer. Before buying a Kitchen Aid attachment, to grind and/or stuff, I'd definitely look into getting a stand alone grinder...such as the LEM Big Bite #8 that I bought...or the Big Bite #5 that Drinks has.  

 The Northern Tool grinders work nice too.  No, they don't have the build quality of the LEM Big Bite grinders...but they are less expensive. They still do a nice job grinding the meat...especially when comparing it directly to the Kitchen Aid grinder attachment.  
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Do not expect to have any parts service when buying from Northern.
At least ,that has been my experience.
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