Boron Elgar wrote:
> So far in the previous thread, two mentions were made of food slicers.
> I am looking for one for home use. I do want electric, and ease of
> cleaning would be appreciated. Storage is not a problem.
>
> I had my eye on this one, but really do not know the category at all.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/bgco4
>
> Boron
Product: Waring Pro FS150 Food Slicer
Cost : Just under $100
URL :
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000ALQ8D/102-8284641-0858534?v=glance
The unit looks and operates like a miniature version of a commercial
deli-style slicer. It has the same geometry and basic components.
Since (over) using this one it has since been replaced it with a
commercial hobart slicer, about $500 USD used.
Here's a list of the Waring's good and bad points.
Good points
===========
- It works well enough, considering
The slice thickness is adjustable from 1/32 to 1/2 inch (the specs say
9/10 inch maximum but after measuring I believe that's incorrect)
With a little practice it produces slices thin enough to read a
newspaper through. This is partly due to the very solid thickness
adjustment mechanism. That part is all metal and well designed so the
feeder mechanism doesn't shift at all when slicing.
- It has a fairly small footprint
Dimension: 17-1/4 x 10-13/16 x 11-1/4
Weight: 15.15 lbs
- It's easy to clean
I've seen reviews complaining about the fact that it's hard
to clean. Whoever wrote that review has never used a commercial
meat slicer. This is much easier to clean by comparison.
- It's cheap
At under $100 it's the cheapest deli-type slicer I could find
Bad points
==========
- It's under powered
The 130 watt motor is single speed and rotates at a fairly low
RPM. Very dense material will slow the blade rotation to a crawl.
The specs recommend a maximum of 10 minutes usage at a time, but
I found that this is not a hard and fast rule. It depends on what
what you're slicing. It will slice enough meat for several
party trays at once with no problem. I've never had any overheating
of the motor, but I can easily see it happening with heavy enough
use.
- It's part plastic
The feeder assembly is almost all plastic. That doesn't present a
big problem when slicing things because it's quite sturdy, but
it does limit it's durability. Don't drop it, for instance.
- It doesn't handle large pieces
Given the fact that the blade has 6 inches of exposed surface
and the feeder assembly has 7 inches of travel, the largest
piece you can cut is around 6 inches in diameter. I get around this
by cutting the meat into smaller pieces where necessary. In other
situations this could be a real limitation, like with very large
blocks of cheese.
- It takes some getting used to
Because of it's construction and lack of power it's not as easy
and idiot proof as a commercial slicer. However, if you have any knife
skills at all you'll find yourself to producing good results
right away.
--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com
