Advice on stand mixer


 
tjkoko said:
In the past twenty years you seem to have had THE BEST experience with late model KAs compared to what I've experienced and read. And that's fine. You're a tru KA afficianado. Cool. ++++++1
Best,
-T
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Lol. Seems like you are fishing for the answer you want to hear rather than just information. I think I would go with the info from someone that works on them for a living. Oh, and youb seem to have your mind made up, which is fine, but don't pretend you are looking for info when you are clearly looking for backing for the narrative you already have in your head.

If you are convinced, then leave the KitchenAid mixers for the rest of us. Lol.
 
MikeLucky said:
Lol. Seems like you are fishing for the answer you want to hear rather than just information. I think I would go with the info from someone that works on them for a living. Oh, and youb seem to have your mind made up, which is fine, but don't pretend you are looking for info when you are clearly looking for backing for the narrative you already have in your head.

If you are convinced, then leave the KitchenAid mixers for the rest of us. Lol.
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Hey leave the personal remarks out of this discussion.
 
OK. Opinions have been clearly stated by several folks in this thread. Let's give others a chance to express their point of view. Further bickering will be deleted.

Thanks,
Chris
 
We got a pre-86 model about 10 years ago on eBay. Paid something like 50 bucks for it. I just needed a good cleaning and some lubrication. The thing is a beast.

From a electrical design standpoint, the new electronics and motor are more efficient, but more complex and less resilient. They also will have trouble providing sufficient power for maximum torque without having issues with heat dissipation, which will further reduce their lifespan. They complicated the system by an order of magnitude and introduced more failure points than I’m comfortable with.

I’m not saying the new units are trash by any stretch, but they have more potential failure points than the old and have electronics that reduce reliability. Everything is a trade off though.
 
Honestly I see FAR more power per watt used and way fewer failure issues on the newer than the older resistor type ones. The amount of heat generated by that huge resistor causes burnout especially with users who slug around with lots of dough and don't get the full amount of cooling with the fan blowing over them. I have seen more than a few of those up in smoke. I also have gotten them in with the paint around the back of the motor housing fully discolored from heat. Also a resistor on it's own sucks up tons of wattage that the motor could be using. So the models with SS (K45SS, K5SS, etc) are far more efficient in power output per watt, WAY less heat produced, and overall better reliability. Really the only thing the old ones have going for them is they run VERY quiet. The reason is power is supplied in a more continuous manner as opposed to being pulsed DC which makes the motors make a little more noise. But I will trade a little noise for the better performance. I honestly do find it odd how people think the old stuff is so much better. Actually the only reason they did speed control on the old ones that way was so the machines could run on a wider voltage range. They could run on DC voltage as well. And could run on a low of about 80 volts up to 140 volts or so. That's because Hobart built them to use on farms before electrification. They used wind generators which put out wide range of DC. But once electrification came the same machines could use AC power.
So while they run VERY hot, and VERY inefficiently they can use much wider voltage ranges and even work on DC power.
 
I understand that you have a fair amount of anecdotal experience with these things, and that can be valuable. However, peak amperage available through a rectifier depends on circuit design and the quality and limits of the silicon parts. A resistor is just a curly piece of wire that gets hot. When resistors fail, they open the circuit. The motor is safe and you simply replace the resistor.

My opinion about why they went to this new design is two-fold: One, they wanted to be able to say the new models were more modern and energy efficient, and two, they wanted to use a less expensive motor. Copper prices were much higher in the late 80s than they were when the machine was designed and you don't need the same beefy motor when you're running on rectified DC. I don't really subscribe to the idea that this is some kind of planned obsolescence conspiracy, because failures in either case are probably rare as your experience suggests. If they wanted them to burn out and not last they would have under-sized the new motor so that it would burn out after a few hundred hours. Clearly they didn't do that.
 
Nothing you put here makes any sense to how they really work. The newer models really are more powerful per amp and WAY more efficient because they're not wasting all that energy being used up creating heat. It's creating work. I have quite a bit of test equipment to prove it as part of my testing also involves running them up on a watt meter. The new units don't pull anywhere near what the old units did in a no load condition. That indicates just how much power is being wasted as heat. I have also seen my fair share of those huge resistors fail and going up in smoke. They also have a much higher motor failure rate than the new ones. Heck I have 4 of them here I use as parts machines barbecues the motor windings failed and drew excess power causing the resistor to get so hot the ceramic coating on the wires began melting. I have never seen a motor failure on the solid state versions and in all the years of working on them only 3 rectifier failures 2 of which were caused by the owner(s) not knowing what they were doing, watching a YouTube video and figured they were experts. Actually 5 of the machines I recently fixed had failures due to the owners thinking they could "fix" them. BTW I love those. Because they finally give up, buy a new machine and sell the old one as parts. Most recently got a beautiful 5 qt K5SS the owner tried to "fix" and it didn't run. I won't say what was wrong but it didn't need a single part and I went through it and doubled my $$$$
Actually I love the fact people think the old stuff is so superior also. I make extra $$$ on that too. I am more than happy to exploit false beliefs :D
Bottom line there are some VERY VERY minor differences between the Hobart built units and the Whirlpool ones. The biggest of which is the casting between the motor and transmission portion of the upper housing is about .020 thicker and the main gears were made of machined steel rather than sintered metal. I've yet to see one fail though as the gear train is so heavy and over built it doesn't matter. And the fictional "plastic" gears. THat is another funny one. They've had a single plastic fail safe gear since Hobart cam out with the design in the mid 30's. Today it's made out of nylon but back then it was made from a different plastic called "Bakelite".
Anyway it all makes me chuckle. Like I indicated in a prior post. For the $$$ there is no better more durable and usable product out there. Not all things KA are that way though. I hate their food processors. I bought one and despised it. I now have 2 Cuisinart units (a full size heavy duty and a small mini prep pro IIRC). Both are outstanding products. The little mini prep is actually powerful enough to make hamburger
Anyway got a machine to work on. You can choose to believe what you want. I'm done with it. I will just close with one thing. 95% of all the failures I see are caused by the awful lube KA uses in the machines. Why they do I don't know.
 
tjkoko said:
You didn't state the model number of the Oster nor the KA.
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I didn't state the model of the Oster, because I wouldn't have any idea. It was years ago and it's in the trash heap somewhere south of Salt Lake City. The KA was a Costco bundle purchase. It's a Professional Series 6 quart lift stand. If you want the specific model number I can get that once I'm home.
 
I am an aficionado as well. I have one in each home and they get lots of use whenever I'm in any of them. My current oldest is only about 10 years old (I've periodically given them away) and it, the ones in the other homes, and ALL those I've given away are still performing well. I use them for all kinds of doughs. I totally disagree that the dough one is mixing will be overworked before it's blended well. If that is happening it's the fault of the cook not knowing how to use the machine and/or not knowing the proper order of mixing the ingredients.
 
to the OP. The Kitchenaids are definitely worth the price. I've used their mixers since when they were made by Hobart, a brand I trusted after using them for years in restaurants. So back to the Kitchenads: As I said I go way back with them about 55 years. In that 55 years I have owned two, the only two stand mixers I have ever owned (unless you count the sunbeam which was my Mothers. I believe the first one (Hobart Made) lasted me 20 years, it hit the crapper in 1987. I replaced it with another (now owned by whirlpool) and it is still in use today. So I tend to purchase Kitchenaid whenever it is a choice. I have a Kitchenaid Food Processor and dishwasher as well. So far, never a problem.
 
LMichaels said:
Me too! If someone has legitimate need of my service or a question I'm available.
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Larry @LMichaels Thanks for your offer of assistance. I’m venturing into making breads that need to be kneaded by a mixer. Also, my arthritis makes it difficult to knead dough for a length of time. I’d appreciate any recommendations you can offer.
Thank you,
Jeff
 
I just picked up a nice machine that could work for you. It's called the Professional 600. Anyway I am going to be rebuilding it soon. It's a medium gray metallic. (Dark Pewter). Very nice cosmetic condition. The machine had a lubrication breakdown and had a gear failure. Person looked on YouTube (mistake) and thought he could fix it. Of course he could not. Anyway I can get started on it sooner if you have an interest. Odds are shipping included I can get it to you for right around $200. I do modifications to them to make them way more durable than from the factory. Otherwise if you truly prefer to go new then I would recommend this https://www.kitchenaid.com/countert...7-quart-bowl-lift-stand-mixer.ksm7586pca.html They have a different design motor and gear train and are quite sturdy.
 
LMichaels said:
I just picked up a nice machine that could work for you. It's called the Professional 600. Anyway I am going to be rebuilding it soon. It's a medium gray metallic. (Dark Pewter). Very nice cosmetic condition. The machine had a lubrication breakdown and had a gear failure. Person looked on YouTube (mistake) and thought he could fix it. Of course he could not. Anyway I can get started on it sooner if you have an interest. Odds are shipping included I can get it to you for right around $200. I do modifications to them to make them way more durable than from the factory. Otherwise if you truly prefer to go new then I would recommend this https://www.kitchenaid.com/countert...7-quart-bowl-lift-stand-mixer.ksm7586pca.html They have a different design motor and gear train and are quite sturdy.
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Thanks Larry.
I’ll take it.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
Yours.
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Ahh ok. that is outstanding. Go ahead and hit up my web site www.themixerdoc.com and all my contact info is there. I'll start getting everything together for it. I have to bring the planetary over to my friend's house for the machine work (modification) next week. So I am hoping that I should have all the other parts necessary in stock and have the unit built, sterilized and boxed by next weekend. I will shoot off and send photos to you prior to final commitment on your part and if happy I will invoice and ship.
 
LMichaels said:
Ahh ok. that is outstanding. Go ahead and hit up my web site www.themixerdoc.com and all my contact info is there. I'll start getting everything together for it. I have to bring the planetary over to my friend's house for the machine work (modification) next week. So I am hoping that I should have all the other parts necessary in stock and have the unit built, sterilized and boxed by next weekend. I will shoot off and send photos to you prior to final commitment on your part and if happy I will invoice and ship.
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Sounds good!
 
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