On Line equipment vendor

Take a look at restaurant supply - Google Search

I've always had good service and pricing from Central Restaurant.

Central Restaurant Products - Restaurant Equipment, Restaurant Supply

My apologies for the google link.

I've had good luck with BigTray and REX, otherwise I use local restaurant suppliers and my contacts with the health inspectors, they always know where the "good deals" are popping up.

Maybe in the States the on-line vendors are better.

I don't mind using on-line vendors for simple stuff like molds, forms and non-mechanical/non-electric equipment, but a decent 12" meat slicer is a bit more complicated.

Do the vendors offer warranty work or repair work? If so, who gets dinged for the transportation, and do they offer a replacement service when a meat slicer neeeds more than a day in the shop?

Just some things to think about....

A little late, but allow me to chime in:

I <3 Bigtray.

In the last year, probably $30-$40 grand I've spent through their company. Good people, good prices, better than good customer service.
Their staff is educated; even the random people who answer their phones know more about refrigeration than I do. Had a problem with a new ware-washer that was giving me problems, wasn't their problem to deal with, but called them and they were willing to go to bat for us with Jackson.

I don't work for them, and they will never know who I am by me posting this. < disclaimer

I haven't had any problems with Centralrestaurantsupply dot com, but the other just seems more personal and a lot closer (freight from them is cheaper vs. $$$ midwest?).

I've bought minor kitchen items from "e-this" and "e-that" sites, but I don't trust them.
Got screwed on an ice cream machine. /shakes fist

I almost always forget to check, guess we're all guilty :P
Check Out a Business or Charity - U.S. BBB

...and sorry, but shouldn't this be in the equipment forum?

Well, if it gets moved there, I'd like to note that the Globe model that I purchased 2 years ago for $3200(?) still works like a charm. The dial was junk from the get go; have you worked with one that was accurate?
Spent extra $ for a teflon blade. Probably didn't need to. Work load is about 150-200lbs a week. The guard plate isn't as tight as it was when it was purchased. Makes some noise unless you position it just right.
Nothing major. Good machine. Would buy again.

I've bought some small stuff through Restaurant Equipment World, Restaurant Equipment World - LARGEST restaurant equipment / food service supplies site, and their satellite sites like "Blender World."



BDL

consider your service

one thing i would recommend considering before you order the slicer is who is going to service it if something does go wrong.

I always ask my vendors if they know of anyone who is selling whatever it is I want before I buy new. Also check Grafeauctions.com. They handle auctions all over the U.S. They have listings of upcoming auctions on their website. I don't know where you are located, but a quick check on their site showed two grocery store auctions coming up, one in NV and one in NC. Both have meat cutting equipment. I have seen Hobart and Berkel automatic deli slicers go for as little as $250 at these auctions. Not much ever goes wrong with a slicer other than the blade needing sharpening or a motor needing brushes.

:rolleyes: Buy a Hobart, They cost more but, worth it. I've had mine for over 30 years.
Stay away from the cheap imports, they are made cheap to sell cheap .
I have a Hobart Mixer that's over 70 years old and it's just as good as the new ones.
You will never have any trouble with service or parts. Although I have never needed any.:thumb:

Duck -- Don't know how I missed it since it's the first sentence, but I did. You're looking for a meat slicer. Now I get it.

As I said before, I've dealt with other branches of the parent company for this and that, have found them quick and reliable. They went above and beyond in some way when I bought a blender from them a few years ago; but for the life of me can't remember what it was they actually did.

Whether you buy from them or not, you'll find the site of some interest. At the least it will give you some idea of what fairly competitive prices are on a range of the better brands' models.

So, at long last, just returned from performing before ths crowned heads of Europe, and brought to you at great expense to the management; without further ado, I give you the talented and lovely: Slicer World - Slicers and restaurant equipment

BDL

sounds about right, unfortunately.
You bought a good machine. Let me know if the dial is accurate after a couple weeks. I'm sincerely interested.
The reason why I chose a Globe over a Hobart was because I got to see the Globe in action at a food show. I doubt one significantly out-performs the other.
Well, you could always ask one of their reps who don't return calls. /sigh
Good luck and happy slicing.
and btw, wasn't trying to be a jerk about the thread headers.
Mostly I come here for equipment/ordering help, that's why I said something.

and BDL: ouch! that link hurt my eyes! They need to hire a graphics designer or something... which means they are probably only interested in selling fine equipment...
hmmmmm.

check centralresaurantsupply then if you haven't. they're good for a ballpark figure, I've found.
And you can always haggle shipping with them.
Thought you said you purchased already, but I'm need to go to bed now...
der......
;)
good night!

Berkel and Hobart are bomb-proof. Smaller Berkels are made in Italy as well.

With used, most of the damage is done on the chasis (lubricating with veg-oil--a big no-no) on the depth setting, (plopping down a hunk of ham and forcing the dial) on the motor (trying to "speed slice" through a 5" square hunk of aged cheddar, and on the blade gaurds and housings (You don't know the amount of damage a slice of tomato can do , I've seen it eat through 1/4 of cast aluminum in a week).

Re-builds are fine, but you have to have a decent servicer in your area

For any commercial application NEVER get anything smaller than a 12" blade or it'll just wimp out when you want to slice through cheese. NEVER get a slicer that doesn't have the built-in sharpening attachment, short, 10 second bursts of sharpening should be done once a week.

Butcher block?

I think "Boos" has bought out "Michigan Maple", I may be incorrect, as I frequently am, but was told this by some people in the field a while back.

Those suckers are expensive. Lovely to work with, but expensive, and the temptation for any dip-wad to "Go Kamikazee" with a knife and start chopping and hacking on the poor block is very strong. I've known a few mild-mannered waiters doing this in the wee hours of the morning before I caught them.

Those suckers are expensive, and if you do wrangle one, do yourself a $100 favour:

Make a nylon cutting board top for it.

It simple, you get a cutting board about 2" wider and longer than the top, and screw on a 1" strip along the edges so it can sit on the block without shifting.

If you're handy with tools, nylon cutting boards can be cut with regular woodworking tools and you use s/s screw found at any Home Despot or similair to screw on the strips

Reasons for doing so:

1) You can toss the nylon top into the d/w
2) You prevent deep scarring on the block and "kamikazee" attacks
3) No need to sanitize the wood top eveery shift, all meat cutting is done on the nylon top. Sure, you keep the wood top clean, but you're not wide eyed at 3 am in the morning on your day off wondering if the new guy who just boned out 20 banquet turkeys and gave the block a quick wipe with his sleeve, assuring others that "The near magical bacteria killing properties of wood will render any errant turkey juice harmless"....

Don't get me wrong. A block is a wonderfull hunk of wood. It's solid--unlike any wobbly cheap-azz s/s prep table, and you can break down a side of pork on it without any movement.

"Old school" sanitizing was mainly to sprinkle kosher salt on it overnight, which would draw out any moisture. Regular bleach or sanitizer doesn't hurt neither. There are scrapers avaialable for it as well, but these remove wood and within a few years the block will have a distinct "hollow" to it. Here in Vancouver every Chinese butcher has one, and I swear a 5 yr old kid can curl up and sleep in the hollows of some of those blocks....