In the August 2007 issue of CR-they have a "short" article on their blender reviews-they really liked the VitaMix 5000 and the Blendtec Total blender.Next was Oster and Breville.Never heard of Breville.I love in the beginning of the article-shows CU needs to learn to run a blender-if the drink has ice chunks in it-you are using too much ice or not running the machine long enough.I don't know what CU has about dishwasher washable blender parts-the blade assemblies should NEVER be put into the dishwasher-good way to wash out the lubricants in the blade assemblies bearings.Since I have both Blendtec and Vitamix-the Blendtec does best at turning ice into "snow"CU rates the Braun PowerMax blender as the best buy.What do other Blender owning Applianceville members think?
CR Blender reviews
- Thread starter tolivac
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I don't own any modern blenders, so I don't have any opinion on them other than what I've seen. I have to admit, Evan's Blendtec was awesome! I have never seen any blender turn ice into "snow" before. This is definitely one to keep small children and pets (now where did that guinea pig go?) away from!
Now for vintage...nothing beats an Oster! I don't care how old it is, an Oster is the workhorse of blenders. From my beehive to my commercial Osters, they are all extremely consistent and versatile. Since they were older, I replaced all of the blade assemblies with "ice crusher" type blades (Goodman's is a great source for replacement parts). I have always hand washed the assemblies. They can make anything from cole slaw to smoothies with no problems.
I have had several vintage Vitamix's. While they are ok for milkshakes and smoothies, I found that they don't do nearly the demolition job on ice that the Osters do. I'm sure the modern ones are quite a bit more powerful and are terrific in the kitchen. So, how would you compare the Vitamix to the Blendtec?
Now for vintage...nothing beats an Oster! I don't care how old it is, an Oster is the workhorse of blenders. From my beehive to my commercial Osters, they are all extremely consistent and versatile. Since they were older, I replaced all of the blade assemblies with "ice crusher" type blades (Goodman's is a great source for replacement parts). I have always hand washed the assemblies. They can make anything from cole slaw to smoothies with no problems.
I have had several vintage Vitamix's. While they are ok for milkshakes and smoothies, I found that they don't do nearly the demolition job on ice that the Osters do. I'm sure the modern ones are quite a bit more powerful and are terrific in the kitchen. So, how would you compare the Vitamix to the Blendtec?
Surprisingly with all my blenders I don't have a Vita Mix LOL. I hesitated a few years back a flea market and it was gone when I returned to the table to grab it. The old Ronsons can make snow with their large blades and wide base, they were excellent blenders. I'm partial to the old Osters myself but I like the Warings a little better. Lord knows I have enough of each,ha.
IMHO these models, and there are numerous variations in speeds and timers but the same boxy shape, were the best of the Waring ever made.
Slightly less fancy cause it has less buttons. In the 60's and early 70's the more buttons they could cram onto an appliance the better and pricier but harder to clean and essentially worthless regarding performance. These models pop up all the time on Ebay.
I also liked the OLDER Osters-not the newer ones-the new ones have poor quality noisey motors-the older ones have better qualityand quieteffective motors-and yes the Osters can blend.however the newer VM and Blendtec machines are more powerful and have larger blades.The largest blender blades I have seen are in the Blendtec Titan-this monster has a blade almost 5" across and can spin up to 27,000RPM-I have one-it has a 20A motor.Has the NEMA 20A plug so it will fit a 20A outlet.The Titan blends any food item I have thrown in it.It also makes snow from ice cubes.Too bad Blendtec doesn't have this do some "Will-It-blend"I have not used the Ronson Blender-"Cook and Stir"sounds like a nice machine.I keep looking for them.
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Ham Beach!
I have a Hamilton Beach commercial bar blender from the '70s; it will crush ice more smoothly than any other I've ever used. Scary powerful.
I have a Hamilton Beach commercial bar blender from the '70s; it will crush ice more smoothly than any other I've ever used. Scary powerful.
Hamilton Beach Commercial blenders are excellent-I have one of the last models that was built in Washington NC before they moved.Floyd flooded out the Wash NC factory.A shame-caused a major loss of jobs here.Bought the machine from a person that used to work in the factory.It works very well.Has an Ametec motor.also has 3 blend cycles.I DON'T like HB "household" machines-seen them at stores and they are JUNK.Mostly from China.also have an HB 1gallon blender I bought years ago-Its a monster-but not as powerful as other blenders.I also have a 1 gal Waring Lab-commercial blender.Has a 15A motor.1 gallon machines are becoming less common.
I was impressed with the ice crushing ability of a friend's Cuisinart blender. I somehow got mixed up and thought it was a KA. So when I saw a KA that was under $50 at Costco after a $25 rebate, I grabbed it. It's OK but doesn't crush ice like the Cuisinart even though they appear to be very similar. I also like that some Cuisinarts come with an extra attachment that turns it into a mini food processor. I had a late model retro beehive Oster that was deafeningly loud and could't crush ice to save its life so replaced it with the KA. The KA is way quieter and does a much better job on ice than the Oster. My favorite is my 40's vintage Waring that I'm pretty sure was a bar blendor. It had its motor replaced at some time in the past, long before I found it in a thrift store some 25+ years ago, and runs beautifully and makes great smoothies. I pick up spare caraffes for it whenever I find them at a reasonable price.
kirk280980
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 172
Vita-Mix
To those who own/use the Vita-Mix, do you find that it lives up to all the hype on the company website? I'm getting dangerously close to ordering one, but part of me says that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. At £399 UKP for the basic machine, plus £99 for the additional dry container, it is rather spendy. However I don't mind paying that as long as the quality is there, and it's as versatile and efficient as claimed.
Speaking of the dry container, is this worth having or something one could easily do without? I usually bake a couple of loaves a week, so would be interested to hear whether the Vita-Mix actually kneads dough sufficiently or if it's easier to just do it all by hand.
Thanks!
Kirk
To those who own/use the Vita-Mix, do you find that it lives up to all the hype on the company website? I'm getting dangerously close to ordering one, but part of me says that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. At £399 UKP for the basic machine, plus £99 for the additional dry container, it is rather spendy. However I don't mind paying that as long as the quality is there, and it's as versatile and efficient as claimed.
Speaking of the dry container, is this worth having or something one could easily do without? I usually bake a couple of loaves a week, so would be interested to hear whether the Vita-Mix actually kneads dough sufficiently or if it's easier to just do it all by hand.
Thanks!
Kirk
I know people who have them and looks like they're still as well made and pricey as ever. I just think they're a little overpriced if only for the fact are you really going to use it enough to warrant the eshorbitant cost. If I was to choose between a Vita Mix and say a Bosch Universal or Concept mixer I'd go for the Bosch mixer because not much out there can beat it for kneading large batches of bread dough easily, cutting thru thick cookie dough or whipping as little as as one egg white into a meringue
The Vita Mix is great for folks who aren't bakers or grind grain.I you can get the Wheat berries and use a lot-a seperate grinder would be better than the Vita-mix.The Vita-Mix can only knead small amounts of dough at a time-and it does strain the motor.A mixer with the dough hook would be better than the vita mix.I have three basic machines.The Vita mix anda mixer and a food processor.Some jobs the processor and the mixer do better.I primarily use the Vita mix for blending jobs.wheat berries in this area to grind for flour are rare or expensive.You have to get the ones for "Human Feed grade" consumption-not animal feed grade.the animal grade is very common.Animal grades have additives that can be harmful for people to eat.other than the baking the Vita-Mix can do most of the 'blender" type jobs and better than most other blenders.
bobbins
Active member
I bought a Kitchen Aid last year and made frozen fruit smoothies every morning, however the rubber coupler "tits" started to break off....and eventually I had to replace the coupler. The motor is very powerful!!!...I noticed the newer KA have different type of coupler (reminds me of the agitator and shaft connection)...I have to confess, nothing can beat the Osterizer Blender!!!
Bob
Bob
I have an older model KA blender and it sits in the corner unused-the most useless blender I have.Its blunt edged blades just "bump" things around instead of processing it.Yes the machine has a good strong motor but poor jar and blade design.KA should forget blenders and stick to mixers.I haven't tried the newer design KA blenders.Will take Vita-mix or Blendtec over KA for blenders anytime.The rubber couplers in KA blenders are a problem.the Oster blenders defintely beat the KA ones and at a LOWER price!The couplers in Blendtec machines are machined into the motor shaft-much like the Oster machines.the Vita-mix ones are some sort of composite plastic with a metal insert for the coupler-they are pretty tough-have replaced one on my oldest 5000 model blender-after 7 years of use.The coupler costs less then $20 from Vita-mix and takes 10 min to install.Commercial vita mixes have an extra motor coupler provided when you get the machine.I have a few commercial VM blenders I bought about 3yrs ago-still going strong.The couplers await in the kitchen drawer-there in case one of my machines needs one.The coupler kit even includes the allen wrench needed to install it.A caution on some new Oster machines-the Metal "coupler" is connected to the motor with a breakaway plastic shaft-designed to break incase of overload-the older Oster machines were like the Blendtec-the coupler was machined into the motor shaft-hence why so many older Osters are still blendin'.
kirk280980
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 172
Pete, Rex -
Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. Although this appliance is easily purchased over here, finding someone who actually has one and can share their experiences with it is a different matter.
Point taken with regard to the VM's kneading capabilities, I had my suspicions that it might not be the best tool for the job and this has confirmed it. As a straightforward blender it sounds much more promising (everything else I've tried has been a major disappointment in one way or another), so that's what I'll base my decision on.
Of course, it's nowhere near as attractive as the hefty Warings pictured above, but I guess you can't have everything!
Kirk
Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. Although this appliance is easily purchased over here, finding someone who actually has one and can share their experiences with it is a different matter.
Point taken with regard to the VM's kneading capabilities, I had my suspicions that it might not be the best tool for the job and this has confirmed it. As a straightforward blender it sounds much more promising (everything else I've tried has been a major disappointment in one way or another), so that's what I'll base my decision on.
Of course, it's nowhere near as attractive as the hefty Warings pictured above, but I guess you can't have everything!
Kirk
