Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I received my STX MEGAFORCE 3000W WITH "COWL AIR INDUCTION COOLING SYSTEM" - 3000 WATT" 3.4 HP meat grinder yesterday. It arrived right on time and in perfect condition. I bought this grinder to make my own raw dog food and knew I needed one rugged enough to chew through chicken bones. I considered the STX 1800 WATT" 2.4 HP model since it has such glowing reviews, but this one was only a few dollars more and had more 'ponies under the hood' so I sprung for the newer model. I also liked the idea of the cowl air induction cooling system this model has as I plan on using this machine for many years to come and the cooling system should keep this one running optimally for the long haul. I have to tell you, I am not disappointed! I had it put together and grinding twenty pounds of chicken wings within a matter of minutes after pulling it out of the box. I hand washed all the parts that would touch the food and began grinding. What I noticed right off the bat was that this machine is quiet for such a powerful grinder. I fully expected it to be much, much louder, but was pleasantly surprised. The chicken wings were about half frozen (which is recommended for optimum grinding) and still had the skin on and this machine ground them up easy as pie. Once or twice on a particularly thick bone it hesitated for about a second, then ground it up quickly and thoroughly. It did all twenty pounds without missing a beat - in fact, I had a hard time keeping up with the machine! It was grinding them that fast and easy. So here are my pros: Priced amazingly well for a machine that can do all this one can do The machine is well built and sturdy but not overly heavy or cumbersome It's much quieter than expected It grinds through chicken bones, skin and gristle like a hot knife through butter Not once did it bog down or clog up on me through 20 pounds of large chicken wings Grinds quickly and efficiently Very easy to put together, take apart, and clean up Lots of extra parts for grinding and sausage making And okay, there have to be a few cons, right? But I don't have many and none would stop me from buying this machine again! First, the instructions you get with this machine are terrible. It's one page folded in half (which is okay, BUT . . .) it's written in teeny tiny print that looks like a copy of a copy of a copy - it's that hard to read. (Even with a magnifying glass I couldn't make out some of the instructions.) The saving grace of this 'con' is that this machine is pretty easy to figure out. But still this has been the same 'con' I've seen over and over again on the review page for the 1800 watt version of this machine by the same company and it's time for the problem to be addressed and corrected. My only other con is that none of the parts are dishwasher safe. You MUST hand wash all the parts that touch the food. Now this isn't a huge con for me, I never did mind hand washing and it goes very quickly when you're done grinding, but I do like the sterilizing effect of the dishwasher, so having this as an option would have been fabulous. So to sum up, if you're looking for a powerful, easy-to-use, well-made, excellently priced meat grinder, you can't go wrong with this one. I highly recommend this machine! Update** Okay, I just left this review yesterday, but I had to come back today to add that just a couple of hours ago I put about ten pounds of more than half frozen chicken legs (drumsticks) through the grinder. I have to admit, I wondered before I put them through if I shouldn't let them thaw more, but WOW! No problem at all for this grinder. It ground them up easily and thoroughly. Then I put about five pounds of boneless chicken breasts through that weren't frozen at all, just cold from the fridge. Again, no problem whatsoever even though it is recommended you use partially frozen for best results. This machine didn't care a wit! lol When I was done, I put a few whole carrots through to push out all the meat (plus, since this is for my dog, I like the idea of a little bit of veggies in her meat), and of course the STX ground them up beautifully. If you're looking for a great grinder at a fabulous price, go press "buy now"!