# How Many HP To drive A Meat Grinder



## lathechips

I'm looking at rigging up a  #32 grinder.  Question is what size electric motor ?  And what RPM?
This will be thru a gear reducer and/or VFD.


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## mosparky

This is something I have put a little thought into but not much. That I know of hand crank grinders generally don't have bearings. Therefore the rpms need to be kept low. I'm thinking 60 rpm max. 30-45 better. With gear reduction, as the ratio increases so does the applied torque. Therefore the starting rpm will have a lot to do the amount of reduction and that in turn will have a lot to do with HP/torque. It might be possible to use a 1/4 hp motor @ 1750 rpm with reduction to 60 rpm.
Now the reason I thought no further than this is Gear reducers are not cheap and neither are VFD's. VFD's are generally used for 3 phase motors, again not real cheap and most are run on 220 volt or higher. I decided even if I were to use a 110v motor and use v-belt pulleys to build some exotic belt reduction system, I was going to spend more in parts alone, not counting anything for my time, to buy a pretty nice grinder (not even a cheapo Harbor Freight).
 Northern tool has a fair unit under $100 and Sausage maker has a really decent one with metal gears for $149.
 All that being said, if you still want to pursue this path, I would suggest stripping the motor and belt reduction from a drill press or use the DC motor and power supply/control system from a treadmill. Both can be found fairly cheap on buy/sell/trade sites or craigslists.


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## mosparky

Another thought to consider is what all is going to have to come apart for cleaning ?? It could be almost like building it from scratch everytime you want to use it.


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## crazymoon

My Cabelas #32 grinder has a 1.5 HP motor and grinds through anything. It takes more time to clean than to grind 10+ pounds.


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## buzzy

This is my build with 1-10 gear box  I run at 75 rpms  For what I have invested in this u could buy a quality #32  This was my fathers grinder that the motor quit working so I did the build to be able to keep using his grinder  He made a lot of sausage with it  I would say TONS  This should last me a life time  doing 6-7 deer & 2 hogs a year  I also use it to grind tomatoes for sauce


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## pops6927

I have the Cabela's 1 hp grinder, that is the minimum to power the 30 lb. mixer.  It grinds very well.  I use a separate 15 lb. stuffer from Northern Tool.


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## buzzy

Pops sounds like the right set up. Grinder for grinding. Stuffer for stuffing. Tried stuffing with grinder a few time but didn’t like the end product


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## cal1956

many time's they don't show the HP for grinder instead they give watts 
1 HP = 746 watts 
so this should give you a better idea of the what kinda power it has


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## hoity toit

lathechips said:


> I'm looking at rigging up a  #32 grinder.  Question is what size electric motor ?  And what RPM?
> This will be thru a gear reducer and/or VFD.



I have that set up and mine is 1/2 hp 1725rmp with gear reduction. Works fine. I think you could use 1/3with no problem. The gear reduction is the "key" to it all.

HT


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## cal1956

a grinder with a gear reduction will give you more power BUT its at the cost of speed


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## browneyesvictim

Man. This 3/4 hp Carnivore is all I could ask for even doing large batches. Unless I was going commercial I'm just not seeing a a need for anything more. Of course it is new and everything is sharp. I'm so surprised at some of these comments and larger HP promotions.


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## cal1956

the next grinder i plan on buying is going to be a 1 HP , they all have some degree of gear reduction 
but there are time's you just need that extra power
  a 1/3 HP  or (250 watts )  grinder is a good choice for small 
batches of 5-10 lbs 
but when you start grinding 50-150 lbs like we do you will see why you need the extra power


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## chopsaw

browneyesvictim said:


> I'm so surprised at some of these comments and larger HP promotions.


I use a #12 / 500 watt Cabelas pro series . Prep the meat into strips and par freeze . Can't feed it fast enough . 
I bet that Carnivore is a beast .


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## cal1956

500 watts would be roughly 3/4 HP and yea i would agree thats enough power for most people
 the problem we run into is even par freezing , is with the amount of meat we grind in one batch, 
the meat tends to warm somewhat before we can get it into the grinder thats why we are going to a 1 HP grinder hoping we can feed it faster


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## smokin peachey

buzzy said:


> This is my build with 1-10 gear box  I run at 75 rpms  For what I have invested in this u could buy a quality #32  This was my fathers grinder that the motor quit working so I did the build to be able to keep using his grinder  He made a lot of sausage with it  I would say TONS  This should last me a life time  doing 6-7 deer & 2 hogs a year  I also use it to grind tomatoes for sauce
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> View attachment 369150
> View attachment 369149
> View attachment 369148


Nice setup you have there. Can you share the info on where you got the gearbox and what model?
Thanks


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## hoity toit

lathechips said:


> I'm looking at rigging up a  #32 grinder.  Question is what size electric motor ?  And what RPM?
> This will be thru a gear reducer and/or VFD.


My set up is a #32 with 1/2 hr 1725 rpm hooked to right angle gear reduction output at 45 rpm.


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## smokin peachey

hoity toit said:


> My set up is a #32 with 1/2 hr 1725 rpm hooked to right angle gear reduction output at 45 rpm.
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> View attachment 428478
> View attachment 428479


Thank you


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## buzzy

smokin peachey said:


> Nice setup you have there. Can you share the info on where you got the gearbox and what model?
> Thanks


Sorry for late response. Been working. I got this gear box at work off a piece of support equipment that was going to be thrown out. Put new seals in it to make almost as good as new.


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## smokin peachey

Nice work gift you got there.


I got this off a friend tonight. Thinking of taking the pulley off and direct connecting with a lovejoy. Needs a good break cleaner clean up.


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## buzzy

Know gear ratio? Should shoot for around 75 rpm out of grinder.


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## smokin peachey

buzzy said:


> Know gear ratio?


I counted 20:1. I have a 3/4hp 1725rpm motor I was planning on using with a old enterprise #22


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## buzzy

Should shoot for around 75 rpms out of grinder. A little slow on editing last post


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## smokin peachey

buzzy said:


> Should shoot for around 75 rpms out of grinder. A little slow on editing last post


Do you think I need to slow it down?


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## buzzy

No that should get u close enough. 86.25 rpms with direct connection. Good luck!


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## smokin peachey

buzzy said:


> No that should get u close enough. 86.25 rpms with direct connection. Good luck!


 Thanks


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