Upgrading the meat grinder

3/4 hp cabelas here. Very happy with it. If I could do it again id go weston or LEM just for the accessories. make sure you use the Meateater discount, its substantial with Weston. The ice pack for the neck of the grinder on cabelas is a really nice feature though. Save yourself about 30 bucks and goto harbor freight and buy the foot pedal. Cabelas wants like 40 bucks as i recall. Ridiculous.
 
I saw the cabelas carnivore go up against a commercial hobart last year. We ground about 1500 lbs of deer and pork. Side by side the hobart was slightly faster but both very fast. The carnivore heated up a lot more then the hobart but no issues with either and the carnivore is a fraction of the cost
 
Hah! Sorry i just remembered something.
A friend of mine in Indiana had an old hand crank job & bought an electric motor kit for it. Got himself mixed up & got the drive pulleys the wrong way around (big one on the motor, small on the grinder spindle)
He told me he figured out the mistake when meat started hitting the back wall of his garage, 8' past his bowl.
 
I've been using the 3/4 hp. Carnivore from Cabela's. Plenty of power and speed for me. I was told by some folks with older equipment to not go under 1 hp. This one seems to perform similar to other manufacturers 1 hp. models. The ice pack for the neck and the large feed tray are very nice on these models as well.
 
I also have a cheap grinder and will be looking to upgrade this season if successful however my main issue does not seem to be power but more of it clogging. It seems if you do not get ever spec of silver skin or ligament off the meat that it will clog up pretty quick. Do larger machines have this clogging issue as well? Meat from shoulders or other areas are impossible to clean perfectly and it would be nice to just grind it.
 
I also have a cheap grinder and will be looking to upgrade this season if successful however my main issue does not seem to be power but more of it clogging. It seems if you do not get ever spec of silver skin or ligament off the meat that it will clog up pretty quick. Do larger machines have this clogging issue as well? Meat from shoulders or other areas are impossible to clean perfectly and it would be nice to just grind it.

Is your blade on backwards?
 
I also have a cheap grinder and will be looking to upgrade this season if successful however my main issue does not seem to be power but more of it clogging. It seems if you do not get ever spec of silver skin or ligament off the meat that it will clog up pretty quick. Do larger machines have this clogging issue as well? Meat from shoulders or other areas are impossible to clean perfectly and it would be nice to just grind it.

i had similar issue and got some relief by oiling the auger and chute with olive oil, then putting them in the freezer for a bit. i also partially freeze the meat and trim what i can of the connective tissues. all that said, i still wan't a LEM 12 or 22 for the amount of meat i grind.
 
1HP Cabelas here. I have done 30+ deer, 5 elk, and several antelope with it. It is still like brand new.
 
I bought a LEM #8 with the foot pedal switch last year for around $250shipped. I do occasional grinding and this grinder is the perfect match.
 
I have a Cabela's Carnivore 1HP #22 and I love it.it plows though whatever I feed it. Whomever said it above was right, the ice pack collar works great.

Worst part of grinders is cleaning them. A piece of bread seems to help a little bit.

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