Question re newer Hamilton Beach mixer

[retropia]

A seller not too far away is advertising this Hamilton Beach mixer for $35; says it is "brand new." Are these any good? I thought it might be fun to play with, but won't bother if the consensus is to stay away from it. The only task I'd probably use it for is to cream sugar and butter together when making cookies.

 

[mattl]

Kelly is the best to answer this, but I recall having a discussion on this unit and it seems the consensus was positive.  For $35 give it a try and report back...

 

[westie2]

This is their newer mixer here is a link to the HB web page for it.

 

 

6 Speed Stand Mixer

Use the Hamilton Beach 63325 6-Speed Stand Mixer for powerful 300-watt mixing action at an excellent price point.

www.hamiltonbeach.com

 

[gfm8959]

Bowl Capacity

Looks like a decent mixer but the bowl capacity is only 3.5 qts which seems small for a "professional" type mixer. I think their Eclectrics model w/ 4.5 qt capacity and good reviews might be a better choice.

 

[mattl]

Hmm. I think it might be this model, with 4.5qt. capacity.  The link above has a square base, this one has a rounded front.

http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/all-stand-mixers-eclectrics-sterling-all-metal-stand-mixer-63220.html

 

[petek]

I haven`t seen that newer model yet. The Eclectics model has been around for quite number of years now and at one time I bought one new at Walmart for around $90. The body was plastic and it struggled a little and seemed to twist when making bread dough so I returned it. Then I found out they also had it with an all metal body which cost more but since I`d already bought my Bosch I didnt bother trying the metal one. CR gave it (the Eclectic) a thumbs up. It was iirc also sold as the GE something or other, not sure if they still do.

 

[tolivac]

for the price of the HB Sterling metal Electrics mixer--you could buy a KA one.

 

[retropia]

The seller hasn't responded to my email, so it's probably already sold. In any event, I found out the one I was looking at is called the Hamilton Beach ChefMix 60690, and was maybe introduced around 13 years ago; I found a review dating to 1999. It has 290 watts and comes with 4 qt and 2 qt stainless steel bowls, 2 beaters and 2 dough hooks. It sounds like it is a medium-duty mixer, which probably would be all I need.

The new HB mixer that Charles linked to is model 63325 for $99. It appears to be their current middle-range mixer, plastic body, 300 watts, single 3.5 qt bowl, single rotating flat beater and also comes with a whisk and dough hook. It has a 1-year warranty.

The TOL consumer-grade HB mixer is their Eclectrics line, as others have mentioned above. It is $200 for the white model, with diecast body, 400 watts, single 4.5 qt bowl, flat beater, whisk and hook, and a 3-year warranty. I've seen plastic-bodied used Eclectrics for sale on Craigslist, but the new ones are all metal.

For around $200 you can also get a Kitchenaid Classics mixer, but the HB Eclectrics seems to be comparable to the Kitchenaid Artisan, which is $300.

Kelly could give us the lowdown, but I seem to remember him not being crazy about any of the current Kitchenaid offerings. In any event, anything costing more than $50 takes it out of the "play" range for me and becomes more of an investment, which is what a good stand mixer should be, I suppose. I'll keep looking, and thanks for the suggestions.

 

[brant_ix]

Sears Kenmore Mixer

Before Sears introduced their new line of Elite Appliances in the past 2 or 3 years or so, HB was making this mixer for Sears.

Here's a link on the Sears Forum. Apparently it rates pretty well at 3.8 out of 5 Stars from 5 Reviewers. And the 2 Star was apparently due to the user losing the manual.

I know it's a bit late at this point but hope that helps.

Loading…

www.mysears.com

 

[mixfinder]

Counter Craft

HB made the full line of mixers for Sears from the late 60's on. For a short run HB made a hold over unit for both themselves and Sears that was on the Birtman platform but it got poor reveiws for no power. There was the classic Sears best with the thumb screw to hold the conjoined beaters in and the smaller stand mixer with the long boxy look and speed slide along the side of the unit under the handle. None of them were great performers and Sears put the mixer on a plastic base, not metal so it wasn't real stable. I have extra Sunbeams if its a stand mixer you're looking for. If you specifically want a HB look for a model K or older that still has the oil ports on the side opposite the juicer and on the back by the handle. They are quieter, more reliable and have stronger gearing. The later models had problems jumping the gears and the beaters hitting and the drive slots in the spindle moving so that the beaters could no longer be inserted. Here's an example of the old Birtman from the mid 50's. The one HB made in the early 70's was on a round body with a slide that followed the snout and also ejected the beaters if you pushed it past off reminiscent of of the old Triple Whip.

 

[petek]

Here's one of my Kenmores

 

[petek]

Here's the more typical HB looking Sears . Got the geared dough hook and booklet with it as well. I'm not quite sure what the metal thing is though? Do you know Kelly?

 

[mixfinder]

Metal Thing

When using the dough hook the bowl has to be clamped to give it stability and keep it from moving. Note that it also has a 1 quart and 3 quart mixing bowls so capacity is slightly reduced. You're amazing Pete, you have everything. I am loving the Braun you sent, there's nothing like it for making bread dough. I have made over 2,000 rolls, 4 Epiphany cakes and I've lost count of sweet rolls not to mention using the whisk as a regular mixer. It is nothing short of amazing.

 

[petek]

So that's what it's for..not that I'm going to be using it for kneading. I just wasn't sure if it was part of the machine or was just sitting in the bowl misplaced when I bought the thing. There's no mention of the dough hook in the booklet or any other optional attachments.

 

[lamin8or]

Petek,

Do you want to sell the dough hook and bracket?
Thanks,
Len