Meat Grinders, warranties and stripped gears.

[Odell]

So I just fried my waring pro grinder because a piece of bird shot went in. I try to be pretty careful but it's bound to happen with grinding ducks and geese. It happened pretty fast, just stuck and whined then quit turning. I guess it has plastic gears.

this must be a common problem with processing game, does anyone have any suggestions for the future? What kind of grinder would have a warranty that would cover this?

 

[MtnMuley]

I can't imagine how 1 pellet of birdshot could burn up even the cheapest grinder?

 

[Odell]

yep. Size 4 steel. Fried it in one second. I have never owned another grinder, what normally happens?

 

[bobhunts]

Try one from Weston. Sign up to there e-mail list. Wait until they send you a heft discount code then buy.

 

[camping1601]

My Cabelas has served me well for many years and they now come with a lifetime warranty.

 

[Bynumlife]

My Cabelas grinder broke the nut in the end of the shaft after grinding 50lbs of deer. Pretty disappointed. It was their older model and a few years old but had very little use. Ended up taking it back to Cabelas and they upgraded my model to their pro model. Guess it worked out in the end.


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[mlevimadden]

I have had to call Weston's customer service twice for my grinder. The first time was for missing plates in the original packaging, and the second was for a broken plastic gear. They were stellar to deal with both times and sent me the parts free of charge within a couple days. I plan on sticking with Weston when my current grinder wears out.

 

[Read1t48]

The Cabelas grinders have a great reputation for quality, affordability, and customer service. Just their little 1/2 horse can put out a lot of meat. Without a few guys helping, and lots or organization, you'd be hard pressed to keep up with the 3/4.

 

[wytx]

LEM and Weston make great products. We have a #22, 1 hp and use it for grinding and stuffing sausage and love it. Large ones have a reverse gear and it helps. We bought at Cabelas just after Christmas and saved about $200 bucks over the reg. price. Once you get a good grinder you will love it.

 

[Wingshooter]

I also have the Cabelas 1 hp grinder it has processed 2 elk 4 caribou and maybe 30 whitetail deer. It is a meat chewing machine and we also use it to process an occasional hog off of the farm. If it exploded on it's next use I would buy a new one the next time they had a sale.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

I had a real nice looking stainless grinder from Costco, sucked a**
My LEN is bulletproof so far.

 

[KJH]

So I just fried my waring pro grinder because a piece of bird shot went in. I try to be pretty careful but it's bound to happen with grinding ducks and geese. It happened pretty fast, just stuck and whined then quit turning. I guess it has plastic gears.

this must be a common problem with processing game, does anyone have any suggestions for the future? What kind of grinder would have a warranty that would cover this?

After several grinders down the drain due to this exact reason, I purchased a small Garrett handheld metal detector. I run it over every piece of meat before it goes into the grinder. Its amazing the pieces that have shot in them that you would not have suspected.

This is the one I have and it was a lot less than what they show as the MSRP: Garrett THD Hand-Held Metal Detector | Manufacturer

 

[nickstone]

cabelas 3/4, zero issues

 

[damxam]

This past season I put 4 elk and 3 deer through my LEM #12, have put at least 2 elk and a deer through that for the past 3 years. It's is an excellent investment and saves copious amounts of time.

 

[Rob in VT]

I have the Cabela's 1/2hp pro grinder. Have had it close to 15 years now and have put dozens of deer through it plus8-10 elk. As stated previously, even a 1/2hp grinder is hard to keep up with. It grinds as fast as you can out the meat in. At the time, I think it was $275.

 

[Tbuckus]

I don't know of any warrantee that would cover that issue. Most are defects or simple parts like a gear if it is replaceable. Cabelas is the most flexible in my opinion.
If you get a bigger grinder, it will cut thru the shot, but you'll still need to buy a new blade and plate.

As far as grinders, the bigger ones are nicer because you don't have to cut the pieces as small. All the name brands do a great job, but a #22 or larger is nice since you don't have to slice the meat as small to feed it.
I had an eBay special #12 grinder for $140 that went thru at least 5 elk, 2 bears and a handful of deer and finally bit the dust. Mainly my fault and stupidity because I was in between grinds and put the parts in the freezer to keep cool and some meat in it froze. Spun the gears.
If I was able to get an eBay special in a larger throat, I would have done it.
I would put LEM above cabelas due to little things about them, but with sales and such, you can get the cabelas cheaper