Vitamix blender with 500 speeds?

[turbokinetic]

This blender was brought in yesterday for checking out. It belonged to the owner's grandparents; and had not been used in a long time. I have to chuckle about the "500 speeds self regulating" sticker on the blender. Was afraid it might have some hideously complex motor with a centrifugal governor; or the entire base was packed with scary mid-century power electronics. 

 

Upon opening it up, the motor looks as if it is a regular series motor, with a two-speed tap on the field coil. Still trying to figure out the other 498 speeds and where the self regulation is. But otherwise, it seems to be pretty well made.  I was told (thanks Jon) that these are a repurposed router motor, which is also interesting! 

 

As for all those speeds - it seems marketing hype has been around a while! 

 

As for the problems, the bearings were dry and gummed. The top area of the blender, where the pitcher attaches, seems like it might be missing some sort of dam or collar, which would prevent fluid from flowing down around the shaft and into the motor's top bearing. May have to construct something like that so this doesn't have more bearing problems if the pitcher leaks again. 

 

Sincerely,

David

 

Note; the picture of the fully assembled blender is just an example from the Internet showing what it is, since I forgot to get a picture assembled.

 

Short video of motor test:  

 

[rp2813]

My sister bought a new Vitamix several months ago because her "vintage" Cuisinart blender with sliding scale speed control was underpowered and had trouble incorporating fresh herbs into one of her favorite sauce recipes.

 

The Vitamix didn't do much better and she said the noise level was ear-splitting (I wouldn't be surprised if it was even louder than the subject Vitamix), so she returned it.  I gave her a relatively silent '70s Osterizer Cyclo-Matic from my stash with a hefty glass carafe, 850 watts of power, fitted it with a "Fusion" blade, and she's pleased with it. 

 

While the repaired Vitamix above seems to be well made with an impressive motor, I've always been a skeptic, find them unattractive in a prototype sort of way, over-hyped and overpriced.  It's like if Kirby made blenders.  That said, I'm glad your customer chose to save it rather than toss it. I imagine the cost of repairs will be less than a new Vitamix and it will work just as well if not better.

 

[turbokinetic]

Thanks for your input in the Vitamix, Ralph.  It does seem sort of prototype-like. The manner in which the motor attaches to the base is very unusual. It's as if the motor studs weren't really long enough, requiring the manufacturer to custom-make shouldered, extended-length nuts to attach it. After hearing these used woodworking router motors, that makes sense. In a router, if the motor had significant length mounting studs at the shaft end, those would interfere with the workpiece you were trying to shape with the router. 

 

That; plus the somewhat handmade appearance of the rest of the unit definitely scream low-production numbers. I never saw the price and hype back in the day but I trust you that it was a very gimmicky thing, especially seeing the hyped "500 speeds" markings! 

 

As for the noise level, the camera volume normalization makes it seem much louder than it is in real life. The motor without the blade seems very well balanced and only makes cooling fan noise. Will do more testing once I get the proper gaskets in the bottom of the pitcher, where the blade attaches. 

 

[petek]

I have one of the original "Papa Bernards" Vitamix somewhere down in the stash and it's been a few years since I've laid hands on it. I think mine only has a few speeds not continuous. Does it say 500 speeds or is it just the 500 model. btw Bernard was apparently the very first person to make infomercials back in the 50s iirc.

 

[rp2813]

David, thanks for the info on the motor's noise level.  Like so many small appliances -- KitchenAid stand mixers come to mind -- today's versions are far noisier than their 50+ year-old predecessors. 

 

Pete, I wondered about that "500 SPEEDS" label too.  This reminds me of the "Heavy Duty" stickers that Maytag started placing on their machines in the '70s. I first thought it was likely a poor graphic design that placed the model number too close to the word "SPEEDS," but then saw an image on line with the "self regulating" claim on that same label.  This strikes me as turning a flaw into a feature, like the motor slowing under a load, divided by 500.

 

I also saw one with an identical metal carafe and base but instead of 500 up in the top corner it had Mark 20.  Why do I get the feeling that there's no difference between the two of them?   After seeing that, the gimmickry behind these machines has only been reinforced IMO, and I would be really annoyed by the mounting location of the handles on vintage carafes that have them, which require twisting the carafe while pouring.  No thanks!

 

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to updates on the restoration process, and David, I'm very tempted to send you the base for my remaining Osterizer Cyclo-Matic which seems to have a simple wiring issue that I've been unable to resolve, as well as a reliability issue with the timer that controls the automatic pulsing action.  It would be worth it to me have it functioning properly.

[this post was last edited: 4/1/2024-16:58]

 

[norgeway]

RE Vita Mix,

In the early days of Vita Mix, they bought different blenders and put their name on it, the first one was a Oster, the one you saw is a Eskimo Whiz Mix relabeled Vita Mix.