Kitchenaid Mixer


 
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elmo

TVWBB Fan
I have been seeing these Kitchenaid stand mixers on cooking shows and have been wanting one for a while.

Today, I looked on the net and saw that there is a rebate on the 6 quart ones and Amazon has great price on these.

I will be calling Kitchenaid on monday to ask for advice and info on the different mixer types they have.

I think i might be getting one soon
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Anyone has a 6 quart one and how do you like it?

elmo
 
Elmo:

Visit the thread listed below. It's posts have been made by those with much much experience in using KA mixers. You won't be disappointed with the information provided.

Mixers

IMHO the mixer you want is the kind where the bowl is lifted up to the beater by a lifting fork; what isn't wanted is a mixer with the tilt-back head.
 
JRPFwff:
Read the thread whose url I posted. Since KA was bought from Whirlpool (I think) in the past few years, their quality has improved immensely. like way back in the old days.
 
I don't know about the quality of Whirlpool KA's, and don't need to find out. After being badly burned once, KitchenAid will never get another chance from me.

We bought a $100 Hamilton Beach and it has been bullet-proof. Does everything the old KA did, without breaking.

I heard that KA quality went downhill after Hobart stopped making them. Its easy to gain a bad reputation and hard to lose it.
 
Pfeff:

I feel your pain especially after having been repeatedly burned by Volkswagen all during the 70's and 80's. KA's, once built with plastic gears/transmissions, broke easily during the Whirlpool days but now the gears and the other important stress-bearing parts are built using metal.

If I ever got another mixer, it'd be a used Hobart 5 quart mixer (NOT KA!!!) weighing at least 50-60 pounds - for around $500 at ebay. Real professional kitchens and bakeries use them without problems whatsoever. In a professional setting like the renowned French Laundry of Napa Valley, the typical KA (according to Richard Keller the master chef) lasts around a year or two before they're worn enough to warrant replacement with new units.
 
We've got a "heavy-duty" model, that is about 14 years old.
(The type with the fixed / non-tilting power head - bowl held on two "arms")

It's been used a lot, and I think that the speed control is starting to go.

It has one of the older, electro-mechanical type speed controls.

Anybody out there know what the odds are of being able to convert it to solid-state speed control? I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron / wiring. Upgrading the control would cost a lot less than a new unit - but then again, after 14 years, it really doesn't owe us much.....
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ron G.:
We've got a "heavy-duty" model, that is about 14 years old.
(The type with the fixed / non-tilting power head - bowl held on two "arms")

It's been used a lot, and I think that the speed control is starting to go.

It has one of the older, electro-mechanical type speed controls. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's the same one we had, about the same vintage, too. Don't let it break.
 
Why not take it to a reputable appliance repair place (and I hear that KQ does a great job in the repair department). And no, I am not affiliated with KA in any way, shape or form.
 
We had one for over twenty years, an old yellow one, wife HAD to have it... used it a few times... big, strong, heavy duty, could've use it for an anchor...
she sold it on CL for 75bucks
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have you looked at a bosch? KA has a 575 watt motor and the bosch has 800. the bosch has the motor in the base making it very easy to add ingredients with nothing overhead. its a little wider footprint than the KA but fits under the cabinets. comes with a plastic bowl but a stainless is available. for bread and pizza dough its fantastic

bosch vs kitchenaid
 
thanks guys for sharing your thoughts on this.

So far, i am still leaning towards the Kitchen Aid 600 series mixer.

I wont be using so much that i would worry about it lasting. It will be light use and it should last a while, hopefully.

So far, all other Kitchen Aid products i got, i am very pleased with them. I lately got a cast iron pot made by them and it is very nice.

I will continue reading some more and compare them to other mixers. I will take a closer look at the other brands.

elmo
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tjkoko:
Pfeff:

I feel your pain especially after having been repeatedly burned by Volkswagen all during the 70's and 80's. KA's, once built with plastic gears/transmissions, broke easily during the Whirlpool days but now the gears and the other important stress-bearing parts are built using metal.

If I ever got another mixer, it'd be a used Hobart 5 quart mixer (NOT KA!!!) weighing at least 50-60 pounds - for around $500 at ebay. Real professional kitchens and bakeries use them without problems whatsoever. In a professional setting like the renowned French Laundry of Napa Valley, the typical KA (according to Richard Keller the master chef) lasts around a year or two before they're worn enough to warrant replacement with new units. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I love to get the best quality stuff but at $200 0 for a new one, the Hobart mixer is too expensive for me.

Checked on ebay and did not find any good price used ones.

On the other hand, it looks like a great and professional mixer though. Wow, 50 - 60 lbs, that is a lot.

elmo
 
I concur with liking Hobart. I have used the 100-qt mixer in a restaurant years ago.

I purchased a KA mixer about 15 years ago. It has worked like a charm. Absolutely no issues with it. It was before the Artisan line. Those tilt.

Interestingly, when I purchased the mixer, I also purchased the meat grinder attachment. I am not certain I ever used it. If I did, it was more than a decade ago. Anyhow, I decided I wanted to grind some meat recently. I dug out the attachment only to find that I was missing the ring. Somewhere in the back of my head I think we may have found it once and said, "What is this?" and tossed it. I contacted KA to see if I could buy a replacement. The girl got the model # from me and said she would ship it to me free of charge.

I was quite impressed with that customer service.
 
Elmo:

Over the past several years I've seen the used 5 qt Hobarts sell at ebay for anywhere between $400-$600 on up.
 
Elmo,

We have the older model with the 2 arms that hold the bowl and raise it up and down. I dont know what we would do without ours. We do alot of baking around christmas (25+ pound cakes, cookies, even use it to mix up cheese for cheese balls). We have had it over 10 years with no issues.
 
We own an Artisan and I also used to sell them. By far this is the best KitcheAid for the money. They have regular sales that include free attachments or rebates.
 
We have a 325 watt Proline with the lift, not tilt head, and bought got it after 1991, but not really sure when. Having read that Whirlpool acquired KA in February of 1986, I'm wondering how one might tell, without disassembling a unit, which gears it has, metal or plastic/nylon. Anyone know?

TIA,

Bill
 
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