LEM #5 Vs #8 Vs #12 Vs #22 – Which Big Bite Meat Grinder Is Better?

Stainless Steel meat grinders from LEM products are reputed for their quality. In this article, I am going to compare LEM #5 vs #8, LEM #8 vs #12, and LEM #12 vs #22 meat grinders. After the read, you will learn the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of these pairs of residential grade meat grinders. I hope that it will be a great help in your decision-making.

LEM’s #5, #8, #12 and #22 are residential-grade premium meat grinders. All are good for any home meat grinding project. However, there are a few differences between these that I am going to discuss in the next sections.

Comparison: LEM #8 Vs #12

This is the pair of meat grinders that people find themselves in confusion to compare most often. Both of the meat grinders are premium and residential grade. However, they have some differences. I am going to compare all of their features to understand the dissimilarities. Before going further, let’s see the table of comparison.

Table of comparison – #8 and #12

Features that are similar – #8 and #12

LEM #8 and #12 both of these meat grinders are premium residential meat grinders from LEM’s big bite series. #12 has a bigger feed tube and therefore, it has a relatively higher capacity. They have some features that are common to all of the meat grinders of this big bite series.

Build material

Both of these meat grinders have premium build material. They are made of stainless steel. Therefore, they are easy to clean. They have higher longevity compared to aluminum alloy-made meat grinders.

Number of accessories

Both of the meat grinders have an equal number of free accessories. They come with three different-sized stainless steel grinding plates and a knife. You will also get three different-sized stuffing tubes and a meat stomper.

Motor Gear

Both of the meat grinders have metal gears instead of ordinary plastic-made gears. The motor of both of them has in-built grease to give reduced noise.

Other than all of these, as both of them are from the big bite series, they have higher performance when dealing with larger pieces of meats.

Features that are different – #8 and #12

Motor capacity

LEM #12 has a motor with higher power and capacity. The rated power of the motor of this unit is 550W where the counterpart has a motor with 250W rated power. The horsepower of these two meat grinders is 0.5 HP and 0.75 HP consecutively. Higher motor power ensures sturdy performance and ease of operation while dealing with a large amount of meat in a single batch.

Grinding speed

LEM #12 can grind at a speed of 11 lbs per minute vs 7 lbs per minute of its counterpart. Both of the speed is good enough for a residential kitchen. However, the #12 model is was faster than the #8 model as expected. Therefore, if grinding speed is your priority, then #12 is better for you.

Size, dimension, and weight

The size of the machine, weight, and dimension of the #12 model is higher than the counterpart as you see from the table of comparison.

LEM #8 or #12 – Which one to buy?

If sturdiness and grinding speed are your priority, then you can spend a few dollars more to buy LEM Big Bite #12. It is way faster and heavier than the #8 model. But the #8 model is also good for regular residential use. If you are a hunter, need to grind venison meat too often or need to grind bones, then I would recommend the #12 model.

LEM Big Bite #12 Stainless Steel Electric Meat Grinder

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Comparison: LEM #5 vs #8

Comparison at a glance

Feature differences of LEM #5 and #8

What are the important features of a meat grinder? Motor power, grinding speed, alloy quality that has been used to produce the body, accessories that you get for free, and so on. Let’s discover the side-by-side comparison between these two meat grinders of LEM in this section.

Motor power

LEM #8 has a motor with higher wattage of 250W where LEM #5 has a motor with 180W rated power. The subsequent motor horsepower of these units is 0.5HP and 0.35HP consecutively. Higher motor power means higher sturdiness. Therefore, if you like a stronger machine, then LEM #8 is preferred.

Weight and dimension – LEM #5 meat grinder is better for a smaller and compact kitchen. The width, length, and height of this unit are 9.25, 16.5, and 14 consecutively. The other one has a dimension of 9.25, 18, and 16. The weight of these two premium meat grinders is around 32 and 38 pounds consecutively. Therefore, the #5 variant is comparatively lighter and compact.

Accessories

The number of accessories that you will get from these two LEM meat grinders is the same. You will get a meat stomper, a few pieces of sausage stuffer, and stainless-steel grinding plates of 3 different sizes. The overall quality and quantity of the accessories are just above average than the competitors.

Grinding speed

Both of the meat grinders have a similar grinding speed that is suitable for any residential kitchen. However, the #8 version will have a little more maximum speed than the other. But I think it is not a dealbreaker.

Size

LEM #5 meat grinder has a smaller feed tube than the #8 version. Therefore, it needs smaller pieces of input meat. If you want to be a little more casual, then #8 will be a better choice.

LEM #5 or #8 – which one is better?

You have got the basic idea from the above discussion. Both are the smaller version of the renowned Big Bite series. Both are similar in size, power, and capacity. The difference is subtle. However, if you want better performance, higher capacity, higher speed, then LEM #8 is a better option. But if you want a comparatively lighter and compact meat grinder with a better piece, then go with #5.

Advantages of LEM #8

• It has a more powerful motor. Therefore, it is more suitable for heavy-duty operations.
• LEM #8 has a higher horsepower rating.
• The gears are made of metal. Therefore, it produces less noise.
• LEM #8 has a larger throat. Therefore, it is capable of taking larger chunks of meat.
• The maximum grinding speed of this unit is higher than the counterpart.

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Advantages of LEM #5

• It is cheaper than the counterpart.
• LEM #5 is comparatively lightweight.
• It is relatively compact. Therefore, it is more suitable for a small kitchen.
• LEM #5 has also metal gear like the counterpart.

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Comparison: LEM #12 Vs #22

Now, let’s find out the differences between another pair of LEM Big Bite meat grinders. A side-by-side table of comparison will make our job easier.

Table of comparison

LEM #12 or #22?

From the table of the comparison above, it is clear that the #22 model is a bit faster in terms of grinding speed. The motor capacity enhances a bit as well. But what about the addition of value compared to the additional money you have to spend on it? I would say the value for money does not increase that much for #22 compared to the #12 model. Therefore, if you are even a heavy residential user, grind deer meat or grind bones for pet food, the #12 model is a better choice.

LEM Big Bite #22 Stainless Steel Electric Meat Grinder

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Bottom line

I think now you have a comprehensive idea about LEM Big Bite #5 and #8 meat grinders from the above comparison. Both meat grinders are quite similar with a little difference. LEM has other bigger models in the Big Bite series such as LEM #12 or LEM #22. Therefore, I would recommend you to explore other models as well if you have enough budget. Otherwise, I would recommend #8 over #5. You will not invest in the meat grinder too often. For this reason, it will not be wise to skimp the spending and being deprived of some additional features. But if you are living in a small family, then I would say #5 will not be a bad deal as well.