L.E.M meat grinder?

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we are looking at L.E.M meat grinders ,

i purchased a house hold type several years ago for 70 dollars , second time i used it , the bushing fell apart , i have used the small grinder on the kitchen aid mixer before and since , it is slow going , takes hours to grind all my deer

i have been looking at bigger grinders for years , kicking myself for wasting 70 dollars on that last one

the wife is giving the go ahead on purchasing a new meat grinder.

I have settled on a brand , and am going back and forth between 2 models

the LEM big bite #8 .35hp or the LEM big bite #12 .75hp the difference in price is 100 or so dollars

4-5 deer has been average for the past several years , now we are talking about cutting our own pig also , and my oldest it 2 years from hunting with more kids hunting each year after that.

can anyone give me some input , does anyone here have either or something similar ?

[Themoose]

I don't have those, but upgraded from the small kitchen type to one from Cabela's... 1HP that I got on sale.. has forward, reverse and is very heavy... grinds up deer in nothing flat! It has a #22 head and I also use it to stuff sausage/snack sticks... I would recommend getting a foot switch for what ever grinder you use... seems like my hands are always busy or messy... the foot switch is great add on.

The Moose

[475/480]

I have the 1 HP grinder from Cabelas. I am sure it is a LEM model with Cabelas name on it. Parts are interchangleble.
Works great and grinds meat easily. I also have the sausage attachment that i have not used yet. I only grind deer burger and hog for now.

Sean

[Mooseman]

After using a slow home kitchen grinder , we bought a 1 hp Cabelas meat grinder when they went on sale. It is a Fantastic grinder and spits out burger as fast as you load the chunks of meat and suet in it. We also purchased the add on cuber attachment and jerky attachment and they work faster than you can feed it.
Horsepower is the key to grinding meat.

Rich

[Lee]

Ya gets what ya pays for. Google meat grinders. You will find comments on what ones work, and what ones break. Bottom line? Ya gets what ya pays for.

That said, LEM is a quality place. I've dealt with them in the past, no problems. But IF they sell a cheap meat grinder...it will be a CHEAP meat grinder.

Bottom line. Spend the bucks now. Period.

Sausage Maker also sells them. Google and you might find more sales....

[Lloyd Smale]

I too have one of the 1hp cabelas units. Its a good grider but when i do summer sauasge id sure like a bigger neck and the big bit auger. Its a real pain to shove the meat though for the second grind. I dont know how they rate there hp on these things. My dad has one of the .35 units and it seems every bit as powerful as my 1hp unit. that been said if i was buying a new one today it would be that .75 big bite #12 unit. Hopefully mine will **** out so i can justify buying a new one ;)

[Fishman]

As others have said, the hp will not limit you, but the neck size will. I have the Cabelas 1 hp and I'm pretty sure it isn't a lem. I really like it, and it can grind a deer into hamburger in less than ten minutes. I did have to buy a medium grind plate though as what the provided was too coarse and too fine. I've done a couple dozen deer and 3-4 hogs with no incident.

The lems have a great reputation too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. I would ge the largest neck possible to reduce time cutting up and stuffing into the grinder. I thought I had bought a ridiculously large and expensive tool, and it was, but it has paid for itself and now I will use it until I die and my kids will use it too.

[woody1]

IMO you won't be happy with the #8. Get the bigger throat and more HP of the #12 and be happy.

From LEM:
The hole size in the head of the grinder, (the area where the meat is put in to be ground) on the #5 is 1 5/8”, #8, #12 have a 2” opening, #22, #32 have a 2 ¼” opening.
Regards, Woody

[rr2241tx]

I have the LEM big bite #12 .75hp and am happy. We normally grind 6 or 8 48 quart ice chests of meat at a time when the sausage bug bites. If you're going to go on that scale or bigger it is worth getting the meat mixer too, it doesn't get nearly as obnoxious as teenage boys.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

thanks everyone the #12 big bite is ordered , got the foot pedal also.

[Bigscot]

My co-worker researched grinders last year and found the ones from Cabela's rated the best. He has ground a lot of venison with no problem. If I were getting one, Cablela's is the one I would go with. Get one as big as you can afford for your needs.

Bigscot