Tar54 said:
For mixing a 25 lb batch do you prefer the LEM 50 over the Kitchener?
Before I answer, after a little bit of research, it appears that they may have rebranded the Kitchener Mixers as Guide Gear, but I am not 100% sure of this. What I can tell you is that Northern Tool and Equipment (where I bought my Kitchener 4.2 gallon mixer) no longer carries the Kitchener brand and now carries what appears to be the same mixer made by Guide Gear. Here is a link to the Guide Gear version on Amazon and Northern Tool as well as the LEM model on Amazon:
Guide Gear model on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Gear-Stainless-Gallon-Capacity/dp/B00NZ9O4DM
Guide Gear model at Northern Tool - http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680778_200680778
LEM model on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/LEM-Products-Stainless-Steel-Manual/dp/B000SQCAJA
OK, on to your question.
In my opinion, the answer to your question really boils down to how big of a mixer to use for a 25lb batch instead of which brand to use.
For mixing a 25lb batch, I would highly recommend a 50lb mixer no matter whether it be a LEM, Weston, Cabelas, Guide Gear, or any other brand.
It looks like LEM has released a 25lb mixer, that I have not seen in person yet. But, based on the inability of their 50lb mixer to adequately mix 50lbs of meat, my guess is that the 25lb mixer would not be able to mix 25lbs of meat either. I typically mix 25lb batches in my LEM 50lb mixer just because that the amount of meat that most of my seasoning mixes are made for, but have done as much as 35lbs successfully. I would say that the max that I would feel comfortable trying with my LEM 50lb mixer would be 35-40lbs.
Technically, you "may" be able to fit 17lbs of meat in a 17lb mixer and 50lbs of meat in a 50lb mixer. But, in my experience, you will not be able to adequately mix the full tub capacity of the meat in the mixer and get the protein extraction that you need when you max out your mixer.
The companies like LEM and Weston who market their mixers by the pound is a bit deceiving because the weight of your meat can vary widely based on your meat block and the amount of water in your mix. The more accurate measurement would be to measure by the gallon size of the mixer tub like the Guide Gear mixer uses. When I did my comparison of the Kitchener (I "believe", but not sure is now called Guide Gear), I concluded that both the 17lb Kitchener and the LEM 20lb mixers both had a tub size of 4.2 gallons. So, how LEM is squeezing an extra 3lbs out of their identically sized/designed mixer is beyond me.
This all being said, you could use a 4.2 gallon (17-20lbs depending on who you ask) mixer and divide your 25lb batch into two 12.5lb batches. For these 4.2 Gallon mixers, the max that I would feel comfortable mixing would be 12.5-15lbs.
Lastly, let's talk a little about the differences between the 17lb-20lb versus the 50lb mixers.
No matter what brand you are looking at, I have found that the 50lb and the new LEM 25lb mixer for that matter are of a higher quality build than their little brothers. They are just made out of thicker steel and better components because they are moving a lot more pounds of meat. If the prices were all the same, I would probably get a LEM just for the name recognition and how long that they have been around. But, I would be hard-pressed to tell you what makes the LEM 20lb mixer any better than the Kitchener 17lb mixer that I bought. I was able to get my Kitchener mixer on sale at Northern Tool and Equipment for $90.00 which was $50.00 cheaper than the $140.00 LEM mixer and as long as the Guide Gear version is of the same quality as the Kitchener model, I would still go with the Kitchener/Guide Gear today. Northern Tool, frequently puts this mixer on sale and also has deals where they give you $20 off of a $100.00 purchase. So, depending on what kind of sale you can find, you may be able to get a Guide Gear version for a pretty good price too. If the best you can find is the current price of $119.00 for the Guide Gear vs $136.57 for the LEM, I might spring for the LEM still. But, that is just me.
As I stated in the review of the Kitchener model,
DO NOT buy a Chard version of this 4.2-gallon mixer as it is crap compared to the LEM/Kitchener/Cabelas brand mixers. It had much thinner metal on the tub and the mixer paddles and the overall fit/finish was garbage.
Great information!
