1/2 Horse Grinder Big Enough?

[gp13581]

I have a brand new Cabela's 1/2 hp grinder that I have never used. I am going to start grinding some venison. Probably at most 2-3 deer per year. Am I going to be happy with a 1/2 horse or should I take it in and trade up? If so, what would you recommend as a minimum? 3/4, 1? Thanks for the input.

[eyeguy 54]

dont know why it would not work. I still use an old oster that I have had for at least 25 years. grind baby grind. biggest thing i can say is make sure to tighten the screw on piece to hold the cutting blade as tight as you can.

[leechlake]

that's what I have, it grinds as fast as I can stuff it in. Makes quick work of a lot of meat. Besides getting it tightened put the blade in the right direction, seems I have a hard time remember which way is which. The meat will tell you eventually.

[highlife4me]

If you grind the meat partially frozen it works much better too. I wouldn't go any bigger unless you plan on using it more often.

[eyeguy 54]

lol, blade to the holes... I dont care doing it partially frozen through mine. but might just be my grinder.

[Todd Caswell]

I still have the small $99.00 dollar grinder that has done probably 50 deer and alot of pork as well, but a few years ago I purchased a 3/4 horse #12 and it is the real deal, not so much on clean tallow and silver skin free venison, but makes a world of difference on pork shoulders. The small ones will do it but you have to clean them out alot more and it takes much more time. Buy what you can afford, a good 3/4 will last you a life time and then some..

[dirtking]

I also have the cabelas 3/4 and it is great. Sorry I'm not sure how the 3/4 compares to the 1/2.

[pikestabber]

I have a brand new Cabela's 1/2 hp grinder that I have never used. I am going to start grinding some venison. Probably at most 2-3 deer per year. Am I going to be happy with a 1/2 horse or should I take it in and trade up? If so, what would you recommend as a minimum? 3/4, 1? Thanks for the input.

If you are grinding 2-3 deer a year, your unit is more than sufficient. You'll find the grinder is waiting for YOU to keep up, not the reverse. Heck, you could run a small butcher operation with a 1/2 horse. No worries, save yourself that extra cash and get a vertical stuffer or some other processing toy to play with.

[gp13581]

Thank you so much. This really makes me feel better about what I have. There's nothing worse than finding out your tool is not quite big enough!

[gp13581]

Ok. I pulled out the grinder that has been in my garage for close to 10 years. New in box. Got it all washed and set up. Fired up and started feeding in meat. Literally 10 seconds in, it won't push meat through. I take apart and find the little square piece that holds the blade has snapped off! What the heck? Looks like the piece is cast iron? Anyway what could have caused that? Could sitting in garage all that time made it brittle? It was a cabelas grinder so I cleaned it up re packed it took it back to cabelas. They exchanged it for a new one. Brought that home, cleaned it and put the same meat through and it worked just fine. Glad cabelas stands behind their products.

[leechlake]

living in Rogers near Cabelas wasn't a bad break either. Did they put the store in because of your past purchase history? A Target was put in a mile from my house for that reason. Saves us $1000 in gas every year but we lose $5000 in unneeded purchase too.

[delcecchi]

Sometimes cast iron can have a casting defect or a crack from when it was made.

[Walleyehooker]

1/2 HP will work fine for what you are doing. I bought a 1 HP but that was when you could get a $100 off a $500 purchase and had some C bucks to use. The commercial types are better as you get away from the plastic parts in the cheaper ones. The cheaper ones will work to but you just cant force them like the commercial grade ones.

[eyeguy 54]

sharpened the blades at a place in st cloud last winter and just used the old grinder on some venny.  just like new !    20 dollar gamble paid off. 

[reinhard1]

I have a 3/4 and you can see what I go through every year.  That 1/2 horse will do just fine for what you do.  To make y our blade and knife last longer make sure you spray some pam on them before you grind.  Don't grind the meat without the blade and knife being lubricated, otherwise you will be going metal on metal even though it is a short period of time.  Don't force meat through there .  If you are doing a lot one time, stop the grinder and clean out the area in front of the worm by the knife and blade.  Makes a better product and is better for the performance of the grinder.  good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

thx,  pam is in the house so will have her get to work next grind.  

[LindellProStaf]

I have what is called a 1/2 hp but I have to force the meat down the throat.  My buddy has a bigger one and he said he just throws his meat in and it pulls it right on through.  Mine was a little over $100, maybe $150 tops.  

I also bought one of those foot controls.  That really works nice.  

[ThunderLund78]

I saw one of the foot control units in the store the other day, I think I'm going to put that on Santa's list this year.  I'm always paranoid about touching things with raw-meat hands, plus, it's easier to not need a free hand if you just need to power down for a few seconds to re-load the hopper, etc.