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Which is better for making ground foam? Blender or food processor?

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  • Member since
    April 2002
  • From: Frankfort, Indiana
  • 424 posts
Which is better for making ground foam? Blender or food processor?
Posted by Morpar on Saturday, November 25, 2023 2:56 PM

So yesterday I smoked my blender chopping up some leaves for scenery work. And I mean the smoke ROLLED out from under the blender! Since I need to get a replacement which seems to work better for chopping up leaves and making ground foam, a blender or a food processor? Can one or the other get materials finer than the other? 

Good Luck, Morpar

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, November 25, 2023 4:47 PM

A blender is going to be much cheaper.  A food processor can be very expensive.  You might find a blender at a yard sale for a few dollars.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by Morpar on Saturday, November 25, 2023 8:07 PM

Yeah, not very many yard sales in November in Indiana! And based upon my research today the cost is the same for either a blender or food processor at my local Wal-Mart. My question is does one work better than the other. The cutting blades are of a different design in each machine.

Good Luck, Morpar

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Saturday, November 25, 2023 8:26 PM

How about a coffee grinder?

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by TheK4Kid on Saturday, November 25, 2023 11:13 PM

I just take a small plastic bag and when I dump my Cycllone Rake I pull behind my garden tractor-mower, I put some of the very finely ground up leaves into a plastic shopping bag until I need them. I have the Cyclone Rake XL which not only sweeps my lawn free of leaves, but my neighbor is a farmer and asks us to dump the leaves in a 45 acre bean field behind my house and spread them out a little for compost for next seasons soybean planting.The impeller in the Cycloine Rake is powered by an 8.5 HP Briggs and Stratton engine .

It grinds the leaves up better than any home blenders or food processors.

Plus the Cyclone Rake makes short work of an otherwise long hand held manual raking.

What used to take 6 to 8 hours of work is now about a 30 to 35 minute job!

It sucks up every last leaf!Smile

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Posted by FRRYKid on Sunday, November 26, 2023 2:25 AM

Morpar

My question is does one work better than the other.

riogrande5761

How about a coffee grinder?

 

riogrande5761

How about a coffee grinder?

When I have made ground foam, I've used both a blender and a coffe grinder. The blender gets the foam chopped down to extra coarse size. I left that dry and then run those pieces in the coffee grinder to get it chopped down to smaller pieces. I've never been able to get it down to fine power but it's down to a size that works for most applications.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by rrebell on Sunday, November 26, 2023 6:07 AM

Thrift store coffee grinder or ask freind if they have somrthing, if you were close by I have a few of all of the above.

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Posted by NorthBrit on Sunday, November 26, 2023 6:54 AM

WOW!!!..   You guys across the pond must have 'understanding wives'.

Using kitchen equipment for model railroading?????

Brings a new flavour to the morning coffee.  Whistling

 

David

To the world you are someone.    To someone you are the world

I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought

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Posted by reasearchhound on Sunday, November 26, 2023 8:52 AM

NorthBrit

WOW!!!..   You guys across the pond must have 'understanding wives'.

Using kitchen equipment for model railroading?????

Brings a new flavour to the morning coffee.  Whistling

 

David

 

No, no, no... that IS their coffee.

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Posted by Mark B on Sunday, November 26, 2023 9:40 AM

This Margarita tastes funny....

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Posted by hardcoalcase on Sunday, November 26, 2023 12:50 PM

MisterBeasley
 A blender is going to be much cheaper.  A food processor can be very expensive.  You might find a blender at a yard sale for a few dollars.   

Got mine for two bucks... it was missing one of its rubber feet.

Jim

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Posted by Mark R. on Sunday, November 26, 2023 6:11 PM

I've made a LOT of my own ground foam. My method is rather unorthodox, but I can make boxes full in short order ....

I use a large wire wheel in my drill, and clamp my drill on the side of my workmate. I place a large box under the wire wheel. I use used seat cushions for the foam, use the whitest looking ones you can get. I then feed the foam into the spinning wire wheel which shreds off the foam into the box.

Feeding the foam lightly will produce a fine grade. The harder you feed it into the wire wheel, the coarser the pieces will be.

Keep in mind that seat cushion foam will continue to degrade over time (turn brown). Dyes will not prevent that. Rit dye, etc. may look nice when first done, but five years down the road, it WILL turn brown. 

I get a one gallon can of flat green latex paint (mixed to my color choice) and thin that at least 50:50 with water and put the whole thing in a large tub. Now continue to toss in your ground foam until it is saturated. Squeeze out handfuls and spread it out on news paper to dry. My green foam is over twently years old and still looks the same as the day I made it.

Mark.

¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ

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Posted by FRRYKid on Monday, November 27, 2023 2:13 AM

NorthBrit

WOW!!!..   You guys across the pond must have 'understanding wives'.

Using kitchen equipment for model railroading?????

Brings a new flavour to the morning coffee.  Whistling

David

In my case at least I don't drink coffee. Secondly, the equipment used for making the ground foam stays in the garage with no chance of getting mixed up.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by rrebell on Monday, November 27, 2023 6:31 AM

I can't drink coffee, makes my acid reflux flare up, can eat spicy foods but can't drink coffee, weird. I miss coffee!

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Posted by ndbprr on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 3:09 PM

The biggest factor is going to be the motor in either one.  In this case bigger is better.

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