Meat grinder issues

[kksmokehouse]

Hi. I’m hoping I can get some help or tips here. I live in Malaysia and make my own sausages here for my family and other expat friends, previously using an LEM hand grinder but recently I upgraded to a 1/2HP electric one, made in Taiwan. Living in Malaysia means I have pretty limited options when it comes to purchasing certain products, most of which I have to import (some of which my bro helps me with as he lives in the US and gets from places like meatgistics, then sends to me… a meat grinder however, was a bit too big and heavy for that). The new grinder I got was recommended to me but surprisingly comes with no user manual (weird) and has a bearing inside the throat which is impossible to keep clean. I’ve attached some photos of the inside of the grinder throat showing the bearing. I’ve only used it about 4 times and have done my best at keeping the bearing clean but when I got it out to use it just now I gave it a smell and it’s not good. The issue is that every time you grind meat, blood/juice gets inside the bearing and you can’t open it to clean it properly, it remains inside. When I started to turn the bearing with my finger just now I could see some greasy stuff coming out of it, stinky and not hygienic. I can’t find anything online about similar grinder set ups in the US so any helpful tips or tricks would be very much appreciated! Cheers!!

   
https://cf.shopee.com.my/file/131c0458de0332a5b6b028ce9c1e849e

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse unfortunately only 1 out of your 5 photos loaded. Usually means you photo size is too large. I believe they can be no larger than 2MB. There is a way to resize them but not sure how to explain it. Maybe screenshot, crop and save?

[kksmokehouse]

[kksmokehouse]

twilliams thank you

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse yes that is quite the different set up. Not sure what engineering was thinking on that one. Even though that is supposed to be a sealed bearing surely i wouldnt think it would keep out liquid. Im not sure on what advice to give you that would be food safe afterwards. Is that bearing able to be pulled out or do you think it was pressed in? There might be some holes on the back side of where the bearing is where you could use a punch and tap it out lightly with a small hammer for cleaning purposes

[kksmokehouse]

twilliams pictured here is the side that connects to the electric motor. I would say the bearing was pressed in. I’ve tried to get it out but am worried about putting too much pressure on the inner ring as I don’t want to break it. I wonder if I might be able to just remove the bearing all together and use the grinder without it?.

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse without that bearing your auger would not be aligned and would bounce around inside the housing creating premature wear and/or damage on your plates and knives. Yes trying to get it out may result in damage if it is tightly pressed. However what are our options at this point? Do you currently feel safe running meat through it now? How could we soak it and scrub it efficiently with what food safe cleaner? Do we go ahead and try to gently hammer out the bearing and if damage occurs order a new bearing and get it shipped to you for replacement? I will try to research some things as well. Lets tag Austin and Jonathon to see if they have ideas. They may know of a proper cleaner or ideas.

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse is there a brand and model on that grinder?

[johnsbrewhouse]

The bearing is sealed and can be replaced. There should be a number on the bearing seal, the black part. There is also a bushing behind the bearing which I find odd. You could find a local machine shop which I’m sure they have in Malaysia that could turn a replacement bushing for the bearing out of bronze or Oilite bronze

[glen]

Is the grinder new? may be a defective bearing
Johnsbrewhouse bronze bearing idea is good if you can access a machine shop.

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse so it looks like your grinder is made just like or is a Tasin TA 102 AL. I have not seen any evidence in replacement parts for a steel sealed ball bearing however did show some plastic ones but i can not find a parts diagram that shows either at the moment. Stay tuned

[twilliams]

kksmokehouse

[Jonathon]

Austin this is a great example of what you have built here, meat processors from the other side of the world trying to help each other out, pretty freaking great!

[johnsbrewhouse]

twilliams facebook.com/doptrading/photos/pcb.105902424518065/105901634518144/ manual for the machine. You can’t buy any part for the grinder housing, it comes as an assembly. I went through a bunch on sites, nobody breaks it down.

[kksmokehouse]

twilliams the grinder is actually an Orimas TBS-200 but it does look just like the taisin grinder pictured. I’ve seen this same model under a few different brand names here, I think all made in the same factory but just sold by different distributors who put there own badge on it.

[kksmokehouse]

johnsbrewhouse the bearing number is 620srs which is clearly available online for replacements. I’m no bearing expert but I would’ve thought that even if it’s a sealed bearing, that seal is never going to be very good and I’ll always have contamination issues from one batch to the next unless I change the bearing each time.

[kksmokehouse]

twilliams mine didn’t come with that large plastic washer/bush. Just a small one that sits between the auger and the bearing as pictured here

 

[kksmokehouse]

This post is deleted!

[johnsbrewhouse]

kksmokehouse sealed bearings are usually pretty good about holding their seal. The automotive industry has been using them for years in wet locations and under light pressure. I would not think there would be a problem in the grinder unless moisture intruded into the bearing. I would hope they were packed with a food grade lubricant as well, which it does not appear to be. That would be my concern as well if the seal were to fail. I really would just continue to use it as is and maybe use some food safe grease between the auger and bearing on every use to create a barrier. Then I would check the bearing after you do your clean up for seal break down and see if the bearing is getting rough from moisture intrusion

[kksmokehouse]

twilliams sorry, struggling to get these photos up.