Best Blender for Crushing Ice?

[rp2813]

OK guys and gals, since we have our ongoing discussion on pressure cookers going, what about drinks before dinner? I have an old 40's 1-speed Waring Blendor that I used for many years to make smoothies etc. I got tired of hearing my partner complain about the blender being inadequate/obsolete etc etc and bought a retro-style 2 speed Osterizer that turned out to be a noisy POS. Same strategy as the Presto PC, parts easily available at the hardware store, but that thing was crap. Then I thought I was doing the right thing buying a new modern looking KA blender that on its box stated "crushes ice at any speed" but I've been disappointed with its performance and hate its cumbersome touchpad. Is there a particular blender out there, old or new, that is best at crushing ice and, ideally, user-friendly? I'm thinking of going back to my old Waring as research on that blender indicates it was invented for the very purpose of crushing ice for blender drinks. What are the opinions of fellow Super readers?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Ralph

 

[launderess]

Find your self a vintage Oster "Beehive" blender. Built for the duration and will crush ice all day long. Mine is all stainless steel, with metal blades and a REAL glass jar. Today's blenders are a sad reproduction of their vintage cousins, and the later can and usually do put the newer versions in the shade. Thing is blades that were once heavy duty metal are now either plastic or cheap thin metal. Motors which used to be robust are weak. Again, my vintage Oster blender can handle the most difficult loads (for a blender) and doesn't move one inch. If things get too hot, the unit will turn itself off until the motor cools off, then reset.

In fact most vintage blenders from the 1950's or so should do a great job of crushing ice, as that was the heyday of drinks parties and cocktails afterwork, for which any hostess/housewive would need lots of ice. You can also find vintage ice crushers, small appliances that did nothing else but crush ice, agian mainly from the 1940's-1950's for use at parties.

L.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[frigilux]

Consumer Reports top-rates the Braun PowerMax MX 2050, and notes its ice-crushing abilities. Earlier versions of this model were plagued with reliability problems, but CR says they have been resolved. Oh, and the price is right at $50.

I have a dedicated ice crusher, so I don't use my blender for that purpose. Come to think of it, I can't even tell you what brand of blender I have. Don't use it too often.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The old clover leaf pitcher Warings are poor for frozen drinks. The ice cubes just kind of bobble around.

Launderess is right. Get yourself an OLD Oster 2 speed blender. The power of the motor is amazing, and the ice crusher blade is available for around $6. Even with the regular blade it will work quite well.

They sold quite well in the 50s and 60s because they were the best, and they come up on eBay every week. Nothing made today even comes close.

Ken

 

[tolivac]

If you want a blender that TRUELY crushes ice-go BLENDTEC!These beefy machines have a 3Hp 27,000 RPM motor and a special multipitch gull-wing blade in the jar.Yes the jar is tough Lexan-the motor has an ALL METAL drive shaft like the old Oserizors.Sadly--you will have to pay the price for this machine-buts its worth it.It has 5 blend cycles on the pushbuttons-and a hi-speed "pulse" button.Honestly-this machine turns ice into SNOW!!Another contender is Vita-Mix.Its expensive too-but both machines will outlast any other blenders built today.Both Blendtec and Vita-mix home machines are built and based upon their commercial models.
Caution-on many new Osterizors-their shaft is connected to the jar coupler in the motor base with a PLASTIC shaft.Their new motors use that scheme so as to prevent burning it out from a jammed blade.If you like Oster machines-go to yard sales or thrift stores-or your attic and get an older one.The new Oster machines are TRASH.The older good Osters say "Made in USA" under the base-the new ones are made in Mexico.I have a few older Oster machines in my "Blender corner" and still use them.

A Superior Blending Experience

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[SactoTeddyBear]

Re: Oster

I've got a newer {3-years old} Oster Beehive Blender, that is the Black Beehive Color Base. I got it especially for when I was on my High School 35-Year Reunion Committee and someone asked me if I had a Blender. They had a great Frozen Blender Marguarita Recipe that they wanted me to make. I made them after we had our Reunion Business done and ready to enjoy our Pot-Luck Meals and Fun-Times, playing Croquet.

My Oster Beehive Blender works great at Crushing Ice and blending the Marguarita's, they were sure great Tasting, after all that hard work.

Peace and Fun Times, with an Oster Beehive Blender, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[rp2813]

Steve, that is exactly the retro beehive blender that I bought and I always ended up with a couple of stubborn big chunks of ice no matter how long I ran that thing. It was also deafeningly loud and the KA I currently have does go about its business very quietly in comparison.

Let me clarify that I don't use the blender to just crush ice cubes. There are Ice-O-Mats for that purpose. What I'm trying to do is make a smoothie that's actually smooth, and most of the time there are ice cubes thrown into the mix. Looks like all responses so far point to a vintage beehive blender as the best. Since Oster's design hasn't changed much re: the blades their blenders use, I don't know why my retro beehive had such a problem crushing all of the ice. Maybe because it had a round glass pitcher instead of a square one? Maybe because I wasn't using a blade that's specifically designed for crushing ice? I'm hesitant to go back to Oster but I do like the idea of easy parts at the hardware store and a drive design that hasn't changed from the original so older pitchers can be used on a newer machine and vice versa. That's why I bought my retro model. I'll get flack at home if I pick up an old one off eBay or whatever so really am inquiring here about a modern day replacement that won't result in hearing loss. My old 40's Waring has a very strong motor and did a good job quietly, I do think it might have been a bar blender originally, but I just got tired of hearing my partner complain about it, and I do like the larger capacity of modern blenders so don't have a problem buying something new if it's going to do the job.

 

[mixedup]

retro oster

I have the 2 speed retro beehive oster, about 2 years old. It is a vast improvement from my old blender that had about 14 usless speeds. Yes its a noisy beast, but it makes perfect pina coladas. No ice chunks left at all, so I'm not sure why yours isn't doing the trick.

 

[mixfinder]

To Crush or Blend

Crushing ice, without liquid is a deafening and arduous task. It quickly breaks the weld on blades and shears the drive cogs on most blenders. If you are doing this with a vintage machine, replacement parts are seldom available. To blend ice into liquid drinks to form smoothies, any machine will work. The question becomes one of noise and speed. Kitchenaid is FAR AND AWAY the quietest blender ever made, hands down, no discussion. It is also one of the slowest, especially in small amounts. I just turn it on and walk away until it is done. Oster has been the most efficient blender, for years. The Waring, cloverleaf design in the newer PRO models is a good blender, but ear piercingly loud. If you want crushed ice, buy it and store it in your freezer. If you want blended drinks, any blender will work. The cheaper ones quit sooner and are often more loud. If you really want a blender you can abuse, buy a Vita Mix, it is the industry standard in smoothie shops and it has a reversing motor if the blades are jammed. However, a Vita Mix is overkill as a daily driver.
Check Amazon Friday Specials or Kitchenaid.com and click on the closeout link, to find super values. Avoid Cuisinart. The black rubber drive wheel shears in a heartbeat. Cuisinart has the nasiest customer service center of any appiance manufacturer on earth.
Kelly

 

[mixfinder]

Quality

Buy a blender with a heavily weighted base, thick glass vessel and heavy, tough blades that will stand up to the test of time.
Kelly

 

[mixfinder]

Where the rubber hits the road

The torque will all be applied to the blade drive. Look for lack of excessive plastic, small gear couplers or anything that looks flimsy. In the Kitchenaid, a metal bar fits across the drive gear and there is no way it can slip or strip. The whitened look to the drive bar is from running it through the dishwasher at least 300 times so far.
Kelly

 

[petek]

What goes wrong with the Osters ice crushing abilities is that the jar has that small neck at the bottom where you screw on the base and blades, big ice cubes don't always get down there to be pulverized. I find the clover leaf Warings much better. The models from the 60's are definitely quieter and more powerful than later years. Most had 800 to 1100 watt motors, not they're all touting their powerful 600 watt or less motors.

 

[rp2813]

Kelly, I have your same KA blender in black. I agree with you that it's very quiet and it appears to be well made. This blender was 50% cheaper at Costco than in the stores when I bought it. Now I know why. I was at a high end cooking store yesterday and see that KA has completely changed their design. And the new ones have an ice crushing setting. But now instead of that metal drive bar, they have a round plastic driver that fits onto a plastic piece on top of the base. To me it looked like it would be easy to strip the "gears" on this new drive mechanism. I'm glad I have the older model now as it seems much more heavy duty overall than any of the other brands I've checked out, but I do dislike the cumbersome control pad.

I'll repeat again that I don't load up this machine with just ice and expect it to crush it. I'm only asking it to produce a smoothie or blended cocktail without any ice chunks remaining, and that seems to be too much to ask. I have a frig that will dispense crushed ice. But I feel that a blender that claims it will crush ice at any speed should do what it says, and feel that I should be able to put the crescent-shaped "cubes" in that thing and it should pulverize them, but alas, it always seems to have a couple of straggler chunks that remain. Maybe as you have stated, I'm not giving it enough time. I like the substantial qualities of this KA blender and want to give it a chance as I think it could provide many years of service, but so far I'm not buying the claim that it will crush ice at ANY speed (I've tried them all) as stated proudly on the box it came in.

 

[maytagbear]

Give it an assist?

I like to have smoothies out more than I like to make them at home, but once in a while, I will make one at home.

My current blender is a Hecho en Mexico Oster, and I haven't had any problems with it, so far. Yes, I don't use it a lot.

However, I give any blender an assist with ice.

Clean kitchen linen towel. 3-4 ice cubes. Cutlet bat. (or rubber faced mallet.)

Place ice cubes on clean kitchen linen towel (ice would stick to terry cloth). Fold towel over cubes. Apply cutlet bat or rubber mallet with force.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rp2813]

Yeah MB, it appears the best solution to my problem is to use crushed ice instead of cubes. As long as I have a fridge that dispenses it, I guess that's what I'll do, but I still feel like blenders have been around long enough to have mastered this ability by now. At least with my KA blender I'm not going deaf in the process.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Does anyone have any experience with the Oster Icer ice crusher attachment?
(see link)

Ken

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[mixfinder]

Ice Crsher

The ice crusher works well, but can freeze and clog in continous use. Any blender does a better job of pureeing on a lower speed. Start the blender on high to mix and then reduce the speed, until you don't hear anymore clunks of ice. Listen to the professional machines. They start fast, go slow and finish with a quick burst.
Kelly

 

[tolivac]

Ken:I have a similar ice crusher attachment that goes to a Waring blender-I haven't tried it.Maybe I should get it out and try to make mounds of crushed ice.
For my soothie and other needs-I use my blenders twice or more per day-I have both Vita-mix and Blendtec machines.Love 'em-some of these are the commercial models-they both have sound hoods that cover the container-yes,most blenders sound like a chain saw in the kitchen-these covers make it where you can talk to someone while your frozen fruit-ice smoothie is mixing.And no Ice or fruit chunks.Vita mix no longer has the reversable blades-this was discontinued upon the introduction of the 5000 series machines-which are used today.the 4000 was the last reversable blade machine.Have these as well-you have to develop a "technique" in "forward-reverse" with these to mix properly.The newer machines-Vita Mix-"Blending stations"Max Performance" have automated cycles that you put the preloaded container in the sound hood on the motor bas-close the hood,and press one of the cycle buttons.Most Smoothie bars use these.also Blendtec-has similar machines-Love mine-the best smoothies ever-and they mix so well in most smoothies-you don't need to add sugar!the drive coupler on new Vita-mixes is heavy plastic and steel-I have only had one wear out on a 5000 after over seven years of use-And takes only minutes to replace.the blendtec couplers are machined into the motor shaft-they guarantee them for the LIFE of the machine!I am not affilaited with either of those companies-both just make an EXCELLENT product!Best blenders out there-but expensive and worth it.At this point if I wanted crushed ice for other things-just get it from the "ice jet" in the fridge.

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