dependable mixers??

[Ziptie]

So, in less than four years I have now ruined another Kitchen Aid professional mixer. The first one is still downstairs in pieces for DH to fix. Sigh. I am thinking of trying to find someone local to fix it depending on the cost.

Question is what is everyone else using for a mixer? Is there something better I should be looking for? I do use and use the appliances we have.

For example the blendtec blender I am on my third jar and I still have two more years under the warranty(I even stopped trying to make peanut butter in it in hopes it would last longer). I am so tired of appliances always breaking down.

[Ozarks Tom]

I ordered the new main gear for our Kitchen Aid mixer online, and it took about 10 minutes to replace it. Make sure to grease it well, the factory hadn't greased the gear that came in it. That was 2 years ago and it's still going strong.

[soulsurvivor]

This is an old they don't make them like they used to story. In 1978 we were given a handheld Hamilton Beach mixer as a wedding gift. It was used almost daily in some type of meal prep up through the 80s and in the early 1990s I had it for sale in my yard sale because it was so heavy to hold and use and I had a newer lightweight mixer to replace it.

The lady that bought it first wanted to plug it in and make certain it still worked and after that as she was paying for it she started gushing about how happy she was to finally find her dream mixer. I thought she was nuts but she said that this particular mixer wouldn't ever need replacing due to how sturdy it was and she was a professional cake/caterer that should know.

And so zoom to a few years ago and I saw her again in the grocery and had to ask her about the mixer. She was still using that mixer daily in the making of her cakes and couldn't be happier. I was happy for her and sad for me as I hadn't realized what a good thing I had.

[Sumatra]

I've got to agree with soulsurvivor on this. The best kitchen appliances come from thrift stores and yard sales! Every year I comb them for useable appliances. Vintage machines are almost always dependable, by the very fact they're still around. The easily broken ones were culled out years ago. Almost all appliances in my kitchen are over a decade old usually 2, from the blender to the freezer.

[gilberte]

What are you using them for? We've had our Kitchen Aid for 19 years now with nary a problem. It's used almost daily to grind meat, make pies, cakes, bead, etc.

[danarutan]

The old Kitchen Aids are much better. I have went through 2 of the newer ones now so this last time I switched to a Cuisinart. It has worked well for me without any problems so far. The only thing I don't like about it is I don't think the meat grinder attachment works quite as well as the Kitchen aid one, but I only use that attachment every once in a while if I only have 1-2 lbs to grind, for big jobs I have a 1hp meat grinder.

[Ziptie]

Originally Posted by gilberte

What are you using them for? We've had our Kitchen Aid for 19 years now with nary a problem. It's used almost daily to grind meat, make pies, cakes, bead, etc.

I use it about 2-3 times a day to make just cake,cookies,bread, etc. The hardest thing I use it for is making marshmallows.

[moonwolf]

I got a kitchen aid 450 watt now 9 years old.
Has worked very well and still operates like new.

[NEfarmgirl]

If it is newer they have plastic gears which is the most likely part that fails. You can buy metal gears to replace the plastic ones. I have two Kitchen Aid mixers and the oldest is 15 years old, the newest is 9 years old. Both have been used a lot; I used to decorate cakes and both are going strong. The older one does need new gears because it slips while I am using it, but it still works fine otherwise. They don't make things the way they used to and quality is poor on almost every appliance anymore. If you can find one at an estate sale or thrift store try to buy it.

[gjhinesjr]

If you want what the kitchen aid mixer copied, and is supposed to be. The end all is the Hobart N50. Brand new retails for ~$2500, but craigslist and ebay can have them for significantly cheaper. Hobart supplies commercial equipment.

Start doing your research and you'll find out the history. As someone said, KA uses plastic gears and lesser motors.

Hobart themselves actually put together an "enthusiasts" website under a pseudonym where they would sell customized (as in custom refurbished and painted) A200 mixers. Which are a series bigger than the N50 and total beast from what I read. That's the one I would probably get. I've seen older ones for $800 or less. Most need a few parts and paint. They say it'll mix huge batches of bagel dough (which aparently is about as tough as dough gets) no problem.

[AmericanStand]

I wonder if some power ratings better than others.

[Belfrybat]

I have a Sunbeam Mixmaster that is still going strong after 24+ years. It doesn't have all the attachments like a Kitchen Aid, but it mixes and kneads bread, which is all I want. For several years I used it daily, but now only 2 - 3 times a week.

My Moulinex La Machine food processor takes the prize for the longest lived appliance used several times a week. I purchased it in 1978. 37 years ago, and it is still going strong.

[gibbsgirl]

I use a cheap little old food processor for shredding and chopping.

A cheap old hand held mixer for whisking.

Both bought used for less than $5 bucks each.

For doughs and batters I bought a "Danish dough whisk" from amazon for I think less than $10 bucks.

It's absolutely amazing.

Never bought another mixer again, and have been okay with meeting our mixer needs with those

Those became my go to is after we were going to have to replace my second kitchen aid mixer some years back.

I wish I had gotten the one my mom had when I was a kid. I really do think the quality has changed.

But j guess that's like so many other things. Our Mobil and disposable society is killing the old ways of-- you buy one house, one stove, one fridge, one (fill in the blank), and it was reasonable to except those things to last the lifetime of your marriage/life.

I find it remarkable that when I finally had enough of it some years back and bought a stove/oven from the 50/60s and a fridge from the 20/30s, they both ended up being total workhorses and the most reliable appliances we've had so far! They also put everything else we've bought like them to shame with their efficiency, and we used to buy the more energy star efficient appliances.

My wringer washers are the same way too.

And all of f those were dirt cheap compared to new modern appliances.

[sugarspinner]

I have a KitchenAid mixer that seems to be holding up just fine but just seems to "labor" more than I would like on heavy doughs. Like someone above mentioned, I had a Hamilton Beach mixer back about 50 years ago. It was wonderful. It was handy to pour into, worked through whatever stiff dough I was making, had the control lever where it was handy, just all the things I liked. It wore out and I replaced with an Oster (hated it), a series of hand-held mixers (not enough power) and finally the KA. Hamilton Beach had it all over any of the others. Don't know if they're still made or not but if they are, they probably are made in C____, of inferior materials.

[slingshot]

Maybe we got lucky.....

I have a kitchen aid that's about 4 years old and works great.

I use it a lot, especially the grinder attachment, haven't had an issue yet.

Hope it holds up

[Gretchen Ann]

I've used a Bosch mixer for 20 years. No problems.

We bought one for our daughter when she married 4 years ago. Her attachments are plastic, mine are metal. She doesn't bake as often as I do but she hasn't had any problems with it.

[Robotron]

If looking at the Hobart line, the A200 is a twenty quart mixer. It's a bit big for home use but the do have the A120 which is a twelve quart unit. The kitchen aid line was sold off some years ago, I think Westinghouse bought it. Through the years the design changed according to what was available. For years it was brass gears but during WW2 they changed to fibre gears due the brass shortage. Be careful with the grease as Hobart is very specific in the use. Besides being a food safe grease it also must be compatible with the material. Yes I was trained by Hobart for the "grey line" as they called it. Drove a service truck for a few years.

[haypoint]

A friend's Kitchen Aide was used to kneed bread and the juicer attachment. The gears inside wore out. A few years ago, I ordered the gears and replaced them, not a big repair. Still going strong.

[sheila57]

I have a Kitchen Aide mixer that is 26 years old and has been used almost daily since the day I got it. I use it a lot to make bread and I have not had a problem.

[Irish Pixie]

I have a KitchenAid artisan that is at least 8 years old. It doesn't see as much use as when the kids were home but it still works great.