Commercial Meat Mincer and Bone Saw Buying Guide 2026: Plate Sizes, Throughput, Blade Lengths & FOB Prices
Meat preparation is the one station most buyers under-specify. A kitchen will spend USD 6,000 on a combi oven and then hang a USD 150 domestic-grade mincer next to it — and that mincer becomes the bottleneck that holds up service every single day. If your operation breaks down primals, produces its own burger patties, kebabs, sausage or keema, or handles bone-in poultry, lamb or beef, you need a mincer and a bone saw sized to your real daily volume, not to your budget line.
This guide covers how commercial meat mincers and bone saws are actually sized and specified in 2026: hub numbers, plate hole sizes, blade lengths, cutting heights, motor duty ratings, power draw and FOB price bands from Chinese manufacturing. It complements our commercial meat slicer buying guide, which covers the slicing side of the same station.
What size meat mincer do I need?
Commercial mincers are sized by a hub number — #12, #22, #32, #42, #52 — which describes the diameter of the cutting chamber and therefore the plate. The hub number, not the motor kW, is the number that governs throughput. A #22 with an oversized motor is still a #22.
| Hub size | Plate diameter | Motor | Throughput | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | 70 mm | 0.75–1.1 kW | 120–180 kg/h | Cafe, small kitchen, occasional use |
| #22 | 82 mm | 1.1–1.5 kW | 200–300 kg/h | Restaurant up to 150 covers, hotel a la carte |
| #32 | 98 mm | 2.2–3.0 kW | 400–600 kg/h | Hotel butchery, banquet kitchen, small commissary |
| #42 | 115 mm | 4.0–5.5 kW | 800–1,200 kg/h | Central kitchen, supermarket meat room |
| #52 | 130 mm | 7.5–11 kW | 1,500–2,500 kg/h | Industrial processing, sausage production |
Size on peak hour, not daily total. A hotel that minces 300 kg a day but does it all in a 90-minute prep window before service needs a #32, not a #22. Running a mincer at its ceiling for an hour is what kills gearboxes.
Plate hole size: the spec everyone forgets to order
The plate hole diameter determines the product, and most kitchens need at least two or three plates:
- 3 mm — pate, fine emulsions, second pass for fine texture
- 4.5 mm — kofta, keema, meatballs, fine sausage
- 6 mm — the workhorse: standard burger patty, most sausage
- 8 mm — coarse burger, chorizo-style, chili
- 10–12 mm — coarse sausage, first pass on tough cuts
- 16–20 mm — pre-break plate for frozen or sinewy trim before a finer second pass
The plate works as a matched pair with a four-wing knife. A blunt knife against a worn plate does not cut — it smears, which heats the meat, breaks the fat emulsion and produces grey, watery mince that will not bind into a patty. This is the single most common complaint about “bad” mincers, and it is almost always a consumables problem rather than a machine problem.
Countertop, floor-standing or refrigerated hopper?
Countertop (#12–#32) — 304 stainless or coated cast body, feed tray on top, unit sits on a work table. Simplest to clean, cheapest to ship. Check the table can take 25–60 kg plus the working load.
Floor-standing (#32–#52) — mounted on a stand or castors with a larger hopper (20–50 kg). Necessary once one person is feeding continuously, because loading a countertop unit at chest height for an hour is not sustainable.
Refrigerated-hopper and frozen-block mincers — jacketed hopper holding meat at 0–4 °C during a long run, or a heavy gearbox rated to take frozen blocks at −18 °C down to −5 °C. Frozen-block capability requires a genuinely different transmission; a standard #42 fed frozen blocks will strip its gears. Expect USD 4,500–12,000 FOB for this class.
Motor duty rating: S1 versus S3
This is the specification that separates a machine that lasts eight years from one that fails in eight months, and it is rarely printed in catalogues. S1 is continuous duty — the motor can run indefinitely at rated load. S3 25% or S3 30% is intermittent duty, meaning the motor is designed to run 15–18 minutes of every hour and rest for the remainder.
Most low-cost mincers on the market are S3. In a butchery running 40 minutes continuously, an S3 motor will trip its thermal cut-out, and repeated thermal cycling degrades the winding insulation until it fails. Ask for the duty class in writing before you order. If a supplier cannot answer, that is your answer.
What size bone saw do I need?
Bone saws are specified by blade circumference (the total loop length), which sets the wheel diameter, the maximum cutting height and the frame size. Blade width is typically 16–20 mm with 3–4 teeth per inch for bone; finer pitches clog.
| Blade length | Motor | Cutting height | Table size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,650 mm | 0.85–1.1 kW | 200 mm | 470 × 430 mm | Bench-top; poultry, small lamb cuts, fish |
| 1,880 mm | 1.1–1.5 kW | 235–240 mm | 560 × 480 mm | Restaurant and hotel butchery; lamb, pork loin |
| 2,110 mm | 1.5–2.2 kW | 280 mm | 680 × 540 mm | Supermarket meat room; beef primals |
| 2,490 mm | 2.2–3.0 kW | 320–350 mm | 780 × 600 mm | Central kitchen, frozen block, full quarters |
Measure your largest routine cut, not your largest possible cut. A frozen beef quarter needs the 2,490 mm machine; a kitchen that mostly breaks lamb saddles and pork bellies is over-buying at that size and will pay for it in floor space and blade cost.
Safety and hygiene features that should not be optional
- Blade guard and adjustable upper guide that drops to just above the cut, leaving minimum blade exposed
- Emergency stop and a no-volt release so the saw cannot restart itself after a power cut
- Meat pusher and end plate supplied with the machine, not sold separately
- Blade tension release — leaving a blade tensioned overnight shortens its life and stresses the wheels
- Fully removable table, guides, scrapers and blade for daily washdown; a saw that cannot be stripped in under three minutes will not be cleaned properly
- Door interlock that cuts power when the wheel housing is opened
For a meat room the whole station should be specified together — saw, mincer, work tables, sinks and a chilled holding point. Our equipment dimensions guide gives the footprints you need for the layout, and the meat room in a supermarket commissary is covered in our central kitchen planning guide.
Power and installation
Anything up to a #22 mincer or a 1,650 mm saw runs single-phase 220–240 V. From #32 and 1,880 mm upward, three-phase 380–415 V is normal and is what you should specify — single-phase motors above 2.2 kW draw high starting current, run hotter and cost more to replace.
Wet-area equipment in a meat room should be at least IPX3, and IPX5 if it will be hosed down. Confirm the frequency for your country before the order is built: a 50 Hz motor supplied to a 60 Hz market such as Saudi Arabia or the Philippines will run about 20% faster, which changes both the cutting speed and the load on the gearbox. We build to the destination voltage, frequency and plug configuration as part of the order rather than as a modification, so the nameplate matches the site supply on arrival.
FOB price bands, 2026
| Machine | FOB China (USD) |
|---|---|
| #12 countertop mincer | 130–260 |
| #22 countertop mincer | 180–380 |
| #32 bench or floor mincer | 420–850 |
| #42 floor-standing mincer | 1,100–2,200 |
| #52 industrial mincer | 2,400–4,800 |
| Refrigerated-hopper / frozen-block mincer | 4,500–12,000 |
| Bone saw 1,650 mm bench-top | 240–420 |
| Bone saw 1,880 mm floor | 380–700 |
| Bone saw 2,110 mm floor | 600–1,100 |
| Bone saw 2,490 mm heavy-duty | 1,000–1,900 |
| Meat tenderizer / cuber | 320–780 |
| Spare plate + knife set | 18–65 per set |
| Spare saw blades (pack of 5) | 35–90 |
Prices are indicative FOB South China for 2026 and move with stainless and motor costs. A complete hotel meat station — #32 mincer, 1,880 mm saw, tenderizer, two work tables, a sink and a wall shelf — typically lands in the USD 3,200–6,500 FOB range.
Bowl cutters and continuous-feed processors sit adjacent to this station and are covered separately in our commercial food processor buying guide.
What to specify when you order
- Hub size and blade length, chosen from peak-hour throughput and your largest routine cut
- Plate set — list every hole size you need; do not assume a 6 mm plate is included
- Motor duty class — request S1 continuous for any butchery application
- Voltage, frequency, phases and plug type for the destination
- Body material — 304 stainless for washdown areas; confirm whether the cutting chamber is stainless or coated cast iron
- Certification marks required at your port, covered in our certifications guide
- Spare parts package shipped with the machine
That last point matters more here than on almost any other equipment. Plates, knives and saw blades are consumables, and a machine waiting three weeks for a USD 30 plate is a machine that is not producing. We ship a spare plate-and-knife set and a five-pack of blades with every mincer and saw as standard, backed by a two-year written warranty on the motor and gearbox and a named source for restocking. Non-standard hopper heights, table sizes and stand configurations are made to your approved drawing at no tooling charge, and production runs 25–45 days ex-factory rather than the 60–90 days typical when buying through a trading intermediary.
When you are comparing suppliers, the meat room is a good test of whether you are dealing with a manufacturer or a reseller: ask for the gearbox duty class and the plate steel grade. For a vetted starting list, see our guide to the top commercial kitchen equipment manufacturers in China.
Frequently asked questions
What size meat mincer do I need for a restaurant?
For most restaurants up to about 150 covers, a #22 mincer at 200–300 kg/h is sufficient. Move to a #32 (400–600 kg/h) if you break down primals in-house, run a burger-led menu, or compress all mincing into a short prep window before service. Size on peak-hour demand rather than daily total.
Can a commercial meat mincer grind frozen meat?
Only if it is built for it. A standard mincer can handle meat tempered to about −2 °C, but feeding solid frozen blocks at −18 °C into a normal #32 or #42 will strip the gearbox and is not covered by warranty. Frozen-block mincers use a heavier transmission and a pre-breaker plate, and cost USD 4,500–12,000 FOB.
What blade length bone saw should I buy?
Match the blade loop length to your largest routine cut. A 1,650 mm saw (200 mm cutting height) suits poultry and small lamb cuts; 1,880 mm (235–240 mm) covers most hotel and restaurant butchery; 2,110 mm (280 mm) handles beef primals in a supermarket meat room; and 2,490 mm (320–350 mm) is for frozen blocks and full quarters.
How often should mincer plates and knives be replaced?
In continuous commercial use, plan on resharpening or replacing the plate-and-knife pair every 3–6 months, and always replace them as a matched set. The warning sign is smeared, grey, watery mince that will not bind — that is a blunt cutting set, not a failing motor.
Do commercial mincers and bone saws come with CE certification?
They should. CE marking with a Declaration of Conformity is standard for export to Europe, the Gulf and most of Africa, and machinery-directive guarding requirements apply specifically to bone saws. Confirm which national mark your port requires — SASO for Saudi Arabia, SONCAP for Nigeria, EAC for the EAEU — and request the technical file with the shipment.
Getting a specification and price
Send us your peak-hour meat volume, the cuts you handle and your site voltage, and we will come back with a sized mincer and saw pairing, the plate sets you actually need, and an FOB price. Our export team is ready to support your project — WhatsApp +86 158 1364 3427.