Advice on stand mixer


 
This is probably the wrong thread to ask. LMichaels repairs Kitchenaids as far as I know and might be able to offer more insight. We've got the Kitchenaid Artisan and it's pretty good for what we use it for. I used the meat grinder attachment for sausage.
 
I used to have an Oster stand mixer waaaaaay back in the day. I burned out the motor in about 6 months. Replaced it with a Kitchen Aid, and never looked back. We (I) use it sometimes everyday, but at least 4-5 times a week. It has held up very well, and there are a TON of accessories for it, both KitchenAid and 3rd party.

I also have a KitchenAid hand held mixer, which I highly recommend.
 
Check out like BB&B or similar in the CL aisle.
I picked up a KA stand mixer for half off because it was a return, opened, because the customer didn't like the color ( white )

Tim
 
Was always partial to the big Hobart floor mixers. Just never enough bucks or floor space. Or need.

I used one at a job once. Dumped in big sacks of flour, big blocks yeast, gallons water. It made a big mass of dough.

My kitchenaid overworks dough by time it gets it everything incorporated, makes it too tough . It simply does not do as good a job as hand does. This is critical for tortillas to roll out, so i do by hand. Mixer stays in cabinet, rarely used. Too much trouble for batter, not good at dough. Yeah you can buy all kinds of gimmicks that sort of work....i used meat grinder a lot...works....slooowww.
 
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The quality of Kitchen Aid mixers went down hill once they were sold to Whirlpool along with other companies way back in the 1990s. The quality of most if not all appliances went down hill over the past two decades starting from then. At that point Kenwood was the mixer to purchase.

Fours years ago I purchased a 5 Qt Hobart mixer and never looked back. It's a giant tank I purchased my Hobart mixer for about $1000 USD four years ago (2016) refurbished from eBay and it included a bowl and a paddle beater. For about $125 more I purchased an additional bowl along with a wire whisk and a dough hook. GET A HOBART 5 QT MIXER and you'll only cry once and never NEVER look back.
 
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Hobart sold the KA brand in 1986 not the 1950's Also I work on them pretty much daily from machines going back to the 40's on up to modern ones. I fail to see much if any change in quality between the older (made by Hobart) ones and the newer (post 1986 from Whirlpool) ones. There are slight changes (most for the better) some not but nothing glaring between the old ones and new. They're still ALL built here in the US, they are all still built in a manner that they're NOT throw away appliances. I have them placed even in commercial applications with no issues at all. So not sure what you're thinking is some huge drop in quality. Now, if you're comparing a modern KA home type machine to something like the Hobart N50 you cannot. The N50 is a tank. It has a geared 3 or 4 spd transmission not electronic speed control. You cannot change speeds while the unit is running. Using a constant speed induction motor rather than an electrically controlled "universal" motor.
Anyway, even the so called "back in the day" home machines used the same type of flyball governor speed control from the mid 30's up until today with the only change being a solid state rectifier in place of a giant resistor. IMO a HUGE improvement. Allows the motor to put more torque with less power consumption and heat. And yep that was a Whirlpool change.
 
Well the feedback about ten and twenty years ago was that the newer KA's were made with plastique gears and the older stuff made with metal gearz.
 
I used to have an Oster stand mixer waaaaaay back in the day. I burned out the motor in about 6 months. Replaced it with a Kitchen Aid, and never looked back. We (I) use it sometimes everyday, but at least 4-5 times a week. It has held up very well, and there are a TON of accessories for it, both KitchenAid and 3rd party.

I also have a KitchenAid hand held mixer, which I highly recommend.
You didn't state the model number of the Oster nor the KA.
 
.........Anyway, even the so called "back in the day" home machines used the same type of flyball governor speed control from the mid 30's up until today with the only change being a solid state rectifier in place of a giant resistor. IMO a HUGE improvement. Allows the motor to put more torque with less power consumption and heat. And yep that was a Whirlpool change.
Two KA's purchased around 2001 burnt out once home from the store and the other within a week short of the warranty expiration. Lots of members at ChelTalkCafe were complaining at the time. I DON'T CARE. I got a 5qt Hobart and never looked back.
 
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We have a KitchenAid mixer and it's a workhorse. It's actually our second of the decade, but only because the red one didn't fit the wife's decor anymore, so now we have a Tiffany blue one and the oldest daughter now has the red one. Both have been worth every penny. Personally I wouldn't bother with anything that is less expensive than the KitchenAid. I can't imagine how it could ever be worth the relatively small price difference for something tried and true.
 
Well the feedback about ten and twenty years ago was that the newer KA's were made with plastique gears and the older stuff made with metal gearz.
All BS. They have used a plastic fail safe gear (think of it as a shear pin on an outboard) from the conception of the machine. I have worked on old Hobart made ones going back to the mid 30's and yep a plastic gear in there. Frankly I get tired of the trash talk of what is still an excellently made and backed product from a still American company. Yes the Hobart N50 type machine is an industrial machine and when Hobart sold Whirlpool the rights to building the KitchenAid line they did NOT sell them the rights to their industrial machines and it's wrong to compare the industrial product to a unit designed and built for HOME cooks. Kinda like comparing a Ferrari Testa Rosa to a Toyota Corolla and claiming that the Corolla is no good because it can't go 200mph. I have LOTS of Whirlpool made machines in commercial locations. I have only ONCE in this time had one require an in warranty repair. And the customer came out and admitted he had WAY WAY over loaded it and knew he caused the problem (even offering to pay for the repair) which I refused. But I have them in commercial kitchens going on 10 years now with only that one "issue" which BTW was repaired in under 30 minutes and back in service the next day. So please get off the high horse. I WORK ON these machines and they are still (in the price range and application) the absolute best you can buy. Yes the giant industrial Hobart is the big dog but not everyone wants/needs it. Or, can afford it.
 
My old flip head 5 quart has served me for almost forty years without any problems! I think it’s probably due for a tune up, sounds like a trip to Rockford might be in the cards.
 
Any time! Yeah I get so tired of the bashing people give a company when they know nothing about what is really inside the thing they're bashing. Your experience is the norm. And yep, it was made by..........................................yep, you guessed it Whirlpool.
Anyway, if not a trip you can certainly send it. If you want to send it drop me a note and I can give you instructions how to simply take the head off and send it. Much cheaper and less risky to send that way BTW. We'll see if we can give you another 40 years and have something to hand down in your family. :D
 
Again to beat a dead horse during the late 90s and early 2000s I heard lots of complaints including two from the person to whom I sold my Artisan mixer. One week short of warranty expiration the head came loose. The replacement from the vendor smoked upon startup. The unit smoked or the head came loose from owners themselves.
 
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Again to beat a dead horse during the late 90s and early 2000s I heard lots of complaints including two from the person to whom I sold my Artisan mixer. One week short of warranty expiration the head came loose. The replacement from the vendor smoked upon startup. The unit smoked or the head came loose from owners themselves.
Hey whatever. I work on them on a daily basis I probably by now have 200 of them in service I have either sold or rebuilt for people. I have over the last 13 years of doing them, had TWO failures and in BOTH cases the owners openly offered to pay for the repairs because they openly admitted abusing the machines beyond design limitations. So yeah hearsay you got online knows way better than the guy who actually works on them.
 
Hey whatever. I work on them on a daily basis I probably by now have 200 of them in service I have either sold or rebuilt for people. I have over the last 13 years of doing them, had TWO failures and in BOTH cases the owners openly offered to pay for the repairs because they openly admitted abusing the machines beyond design limitations. So yeah hearsay you got online knows way better than the guy who actually works on them.
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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