Stand Mixers 2002 – 2011

[AmbrosiaFood]

I'm looking for info on the Kitchenaid commercial 5 qt. model Km25gox. My 15 year old Kitchenaid 5 qt. heavy duty lift-bowl mixer recently died, and I'm looking to replace it with a model that will acommodate all the extra bowls and beaters etc. that I accumulated over the years as well as working just as well if not better than my old one.  There have been so many complaints about the newer KA models, and i definitely push my mixer with heavy use including bread doughs like stiff bagel dough, etc., so I don't want to end up with the fancy units that doesn't have the oomph for serious use. It LOOKS like the commercial 5 qt and the pro 500 are the only two available of the same basic design as my old one.  Only the commercial looks like it has the  much-touted new-style kneading arm, as well as being slightly sturdier and more powerful, so I'm inclined to go for that one.  I would prefer to buy it locally, but it seems like a specialty offering not available at the usual retailers and I think I'll have to buy it online.  Any experiences with this unit?  And does anyone know if the panoply of 5 qt. lift bowl accessories (beaters, bowls, etc.) are compatible with the commercial unit?  Thanks

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Yes, the commercial KA will work with all of your old attachments like a charm. That is the one I would choose if I did not have a Hobart N50. It also can utilize all of your old attachments and bowls, and is a lifetime purchase with plenty of durability and power.

[bethanyhoffman]

thanks for the info, ambrosiafood! It sounds like a good fit for me.

Yes, the commercial KA will work with all of your old attachments like a charm.  That is the one I would choose if I did not have a Hobart N50.  It also can utilize all of your old attachments and bowls, and is a lifetime purchase with plenty of durability and power.

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[LaMiaCucina]

I have, and I've been using them. However, it seems a few of the "ridges" are missing, so I'm going to have to contact them. Their customer service has been wonderful.

Have you bought the cookie paddles? These are pretty essential for cookie dough.

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[Tony Boulton]

I have, and I've been using them.  However, it seems a few of the "ridges" are missing, so I'm going to have to contact them.  Their customer service has been wonderful.

What do you mean exactly, when you talk about ridges?

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping up this topic to post the following link:

Manuals online?

I am not going to read through thirteen pages of posts but am sure that in the past I have seen someone looking for a Hobart mixer manual.

Scroll down to "Mixers" and select the manufacturer to see the various manuals available.

[andiesenji]

Recently posted on the forum for mixer collections was the following link to the introduction of the Kenwood Chef mixer that cooks: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/kenwood-unveils-kenwood-chef-mixer-that-cooks-185801.jsp

The price may seem a bit steep but not all that much, considering what it includes.

It will probably be a while before we see it marketed, or even an imitator, here in the US but I am pretty sure, knowing the rampant consumerism of my fellow American foodies, it will eventually arrive here.

As the poster on the WACEM forum noted, some years ago there was the Ronson Cook'n Stir blender but it really didn't work all that well. (I bought one but rarely used it.)

[LaMiaCucina]

What do you mean exactly, when you talk about ridges?

It is hard to explain, but I'll try. There are small "tines" at the bottom of the paddles where they hook onto the shaft. A few of those are broke off, but they still snap into place.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Recently posted on the forum for mixer collections was the following link to the introduction of the Kenwood Chef mixer that cooks: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/kenwood-unveils-kenwood-chef-mixer-that-cooks-185801.jsp

The price may seem a bit steep but not all that much, considering what it includes.

It will probably be a while before we see it marketed, or even an imitator, here in the US but I am pretty sure, knowing the rampant consumerism of my fellow American foodies, it will eventually arrive here.

Looks like it's aiming to compete with the Thermomix in the same price range. The Thermomix has a built-in scale, but the Kenwood looks like it may be a more powerful mixer.

[paulraphael]

The Kenwoods have a certain exotic appeal, since you can't get them here, but I've never seen anything to suggest they're superior machines. They're belt driven, full of plastic moving parts, and break down as often as any consumer mixer.

The Delonghi and Cuisinart and Viking mixers are basically repackaged Kenwood designs. I don't think any of these outperform the humble KA.

[Tony Boulton]

What do you mean exactly, when you talk about ridges?

It is hard to explain, but I'll try. There are small "tines" at the bottom of the paddles where they hook onto the shaft. A few of those are broke off, but they still snap into place.

You need the metal housing that replaces the plastic one supplied with the machine. It now comes as pretty much standard with the cookie paddles. If you care to contact me I would be glad to supply.

[dougal]

Recently posted on the forum for mixer collections was the following link to the introduction of the Kenwood Chef mixer that cooks: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/kenwood-unveils-kenwood-chef-mixer-that-cooks-185801.jsp

The price may seem a bit steep but not all that much, considering what it includes.

It will probably be a while before we see it marketed, or even an imitator, here in the US but I am pretty sure, knowing the rampant consumerism of my fellow American foodies, it will eventually arrive here.

Looks like it's aiming to compete with the Thermomix in the same price range. The Thermomix has a built-in scale, but the Kenwood looks like it may be a more powerful mixer.

In a French mail order catalogue (from www.cusinstore.com) I came across an advert for the MyCook Taurus.

It weighs, processes and cooks. All for €900

http://www.mycook.es/kitchen-robot/index.php

[dougal]

The Kenwoods have a certain exotic appeal, since you can't get them here, but I've never seen anything to suggest they're superior machines. They're belt driven, full of plastic moving parts, and break down as often as any consumer mixer.

In the UK, the KitchenAids are the imported, expensive exotica.

The basic "Classic K45SS" that is under $200 on Amazon USA is over $450 on Amazon UK.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KitchenAid-K45SS-Classic-Stand-Mixer/dp/B000744SZW/

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-K45SS-Classic-250-Watt-2-Quart/dp/B00004SGFW/

Whereas the basic Kenwood Chef is around the $200 mark.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-Classic-KM336-Kitchen-Machine/dp/B000Q7ZCFK/

The question of 'superiority' is hard to divorce from consideration of price.

Belt driven? On the Kenwood Chef and Major (big chef), the 'liquidiser' (blender, high speed) outlet/interface is driven directly from the end of the motor shaft.

And there is indeed a belt between that shaft and the gearbox that takes the drive to the front of the machine, where the planetary beater and slow speed outlets are found. However, some versions do have all-metal gearboxes - these are noisier but transmit the power better.

The Kenwoods may not be foolproof (there's always a big enough fool) but they don't fail so predictably when kneading dough, as does that plastic gear in the modern KitchenAid planetary mechanism. Many Chefs have worked happily for twenty or more years. Eventually the motor brushes will wear out. And the capacitors in the speed control circuitry tend to die of old age at about 30 years. But hey, these are cheap parts. And the availability of 3rd party-rebuilt motor/electronic modules for less than like $55 means that they are economically repairable.

Support networks count towards superiority.

There's also the matter of that high speed outlet that the KitchenAid lacks. Apart from the blender, there are 'continuous' juicers and 'continuous' slicer/shredders that take advantage of that same outlet.

Then there's Kenwood's embracing the flexible beater concept. One is included with many models. KitchenAid make you go to a third party.

I'm also impressed by Kenwood's recent offering of several 'high end' attachments - and somewhat awed by their prices. One example is the metal pasta extruder that has available a selection of bronze dies. But the prices start around $150 (in the UK) for the basic attachment ... But these attachments will fit a 30 year old machine...

I see the high end, best-of-breed attachments and this newly announced Cooking Chef as being a clear statement of branding intent - the Chef is looking to reclaim its throne. Perhaps the bottom end Chefs will be culled to open the way for the new Prospero in the mid-market.

Neither the Kenwoods nor KitchenAids approach the Electrolux DLX as a dough mixer or meat grinder.

The Kenwood tries but its not quite as good a food processor as the Magimix 5200XL.

But as a versatile stand mixer, its pretty damn good.

And in the UK, way better than the KitchenAid that you'd get for the same money.

[LaMiaCucina]

You need the metal housing that replaces the plastic one supplied with the machine. It now comes as pretty much standard with the cookie paddles. If you care to contact me I would be glad to supply.

Thanks, Tony, I appreciate your kindness, but my paddles did come with the metal housing. I am returning my base for repair, as the blender compartment also is acting up. It has had a "plastic wire" smell for a while, and I hoped it was just because it was new. It wasn't. When mixing certain cookie batters, you could hear the gears slipping.

All-in-all, I would say that if someone is only making cakes and light batter cookies, perhaps the KA would suffice. However, for heavy users, I've yet to find anything that is as good as the old Hobart-made KA machines, or even a Hobart machine itself. (I also own an old Hobart C100 that I took out of "retirement" to complete a recent cookie-baking extravaganza for a family wedding.)

It also takes a lot of getting used to the Bosch's bowl design. Coming from using a KA with an open bowl, and going into using a Bosch with the center core, it is a frustrating learning curve when it comes to scraping it down.

I've not given up yet on the Bosch, but I am a saddened since I took quite a while to research and decide on the purchase.

[CKatCook]

Help! I am hoping someone has an answer for me. I have a 4 1/2 qt. classic KA the tilt back top, the bowl screws on to the bottom. What I have noticed in the last couple weeks is that the top head "jerks" from side to side when trying to do ANY type of dough. When I take the bowl and dough off the mixer, and just let the pattle run with out it mixing anything it does not do this. When I put the empty bowl in place, with the pattle attachment on what I noticed was the the pattle was hitting the "lump" that is in the center bottom of the bowl causing the mixer to jerk and click very loudly. It did the same thing with the dough hook. It never did this before even with the most heavy duty mixing jobs. Before I fork over the cash for repairs I was wondering if anyone would have a clue as to what caused this and how I might be able to fix it?

[baroness]

There is a way to adjust the height of the mixer paddle to the bowl; it's explained in the KA manuals. Sounds like yours is too low.

[Richard Kilgore]

I also suspect it's the adjustment. If you don't have your manual handy, I think you should be able to access one on the KA site.

[CKatCook]

Thank you! I went and looked at the manual on the internet and yes, there is screw that is on the backside of the part of the motor that tilts, in the middle facing the bowl that you can tighten and untighten to adjust the height of the paddle. I turned in counter clockwise as suggested and *boom* it was fixed!

Thanks again! Saved me a big headache with the holidays coming and all...

[Kerry Beal]

Thank you! I went and looked at the manual on the internet and yes, there is screw that is on the backside of the part of the motor that tilts, in the middle facing the bowl that you can tighten and untighten to adjust the height of the paddle. I turned in counter clockwise as suggested and *boom* it was fixed!

Thanks again! Saved me a big headache with the holidays coming and all...

Just be careful you don't totally unscrew that little screw - Patris and I spent several hours trying to get the little sucker out of the inside of the mixer base.

[pastryelf]

I just spent a good half hour going through old threads about various issues with the Kitchenaid stand mixers and their possible replacements. Apologise if this is truly old ground for anyone, but the last post in those threads was last fall. May I ask what the current thinking is on these damn things? I have a pro 6 bought in 2004 which did what they all seem to do: die a painful death, last christmas day, due to (I assume) the stripping of the gear. Here in Maine I have been unable to find anyone who will even consider fixing the damn thing. While I feel that 6 years is a complete rip off for what I had planned to be my last mixer purchase (snort!) I am coming up on my biggest baking season and think I may have to bite the bullet and replace the bugger.

So the question is what should I buy (what would you buy) today? I bake mostly cookies, some cakes, some candy, limited bread. Don't think I need a really big deal machine but don't want to buy another something that will die in 6 years.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance,

frustrated baker

[Tri2Cook]

I don't know what the cool toy for home mixers is right now. I know several people who swear by Cuisinart. I'm still using my ~12 year old 5 qt. Kitchenaid at home. I don't use it for heavy doughs very often, I enjoy working bread dough by hand, but I use it frequently for cakes, cookies, icings, marshmallows, meringues, etc. and it's still going strong. Obviously your experience wasn't the same so good luck with whatever you go with.

[dougal]

... I have a pro 6 bought in 2004 which did what they all seem to do: die a painful death, last christmas day, due to (I assume) the stripping of the gear. Here in Maine I have been unable to find anyone who will even consider fixing the damn thing. ...

I thought that 'Customer service' (in the USA) was supposed to be one important reason for their popularity.

Would it be an idea to contact Kitchenaid and get them to provide details of service agents local to you?

/This from the owner of an old Kenwood Major (practical) and an even older Electrolux DLX (seemingly unburstable)/

Edited September 9, 2010 by dougal (log)

[David A. Goldfarb]

For a few years I had a Professional 5 quart KitchenAid ("Professional" in that era meant it had a cutoff switch that killed the motor before it overheated, as opposed to "Commercial" which referred to the NSF rated 5-quart model, which also had that feature) with something like a 350 watt motor that I picked up second hand from a friend who had it for several years and decided she didn't use it often enough to justify the counter space, and it was okay, but it started making noises I didn't like, and wasn't great at handling tasks like heavy sausage grinding, so I sold it and bought a factory refurbished "Heavy Duty" 5 quart KitchenAid that I've been very happy with. The smaller one probably had plastic gears, and the "Heavy Duty" models have metal gears and a 475 watt motor with 10 real speeds and "slow start," which prevents the famous KitchenAid "flour shower" that you sometimes get, even when starting on a low speed. You can pick these things up for $200--

http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/product_detail.asp?HDR=outlet&T1=KTA+RKG25H0XWH

Generally, KitchenAid mixers of recent vintage that have the spiral dough hook, instead of the older style G-shaped dough hook, have metal gearing. Older mixers from when KitchenAid was owned by Hobart have metal gearing as well as the G-shaped dough hook.

KitchenAid warns against using a spiral dough hook, incidentally, on a mixer that didn't come with one.

[IndyRob]

I may have posted this in one of the other threads, but long ago my wife wanted a KitchenAid mixer. I shopped around and found a Kenwood (which I think is no longer available in the U.S.). It had all the features, add-ons, more power and was about half the price. I don't think she was impressed. But as it turned out I became the primary user anyway.

Eventually we remodeled our kitchen with a lot of stainless steel and black appliances. The white plastic Kenwood went into a cupboard while a sleek black KitchenAid took its place.

But now the Kenwood is back and stands proudly, if perhaps wastefully, beside the KitchenAid. In retrospect it was superior in every practical way but one. It has a plastic bowl. Plastic bowls can absorb fat which could kill your egg white whipping efforts. However, I also found that plastic bowls (whether by the same fat absorption, I'm not sure) can be a real boon with bread doughs.

Dried bread dough can develop a death grip on stainless steel. In the plastic bowl I can leave dough residue to dry completely and it flakes effortlessly off. Pretty much a wipe down is all that is needed.

So, I don't know if such an option exists today, but I think it would be worth finding out if interchangeable bowls are an option.

[vice]

Dried bread dough can develop a death grip on stainless steel.

A brief soak and it should rub right off.

[jk1002]

To be honest I find these discussions quite confusing.

There is hundreds sometimes thousand good reviews for these mixer on Amazon. I know that Kitchenaid is for some just a design touch in their kitchen so it might be that these guys are just not using theirs.

I think it is important that you post what you actually want to do with it.

I bought a refurbished white Kitchenaid Artisanal 5Qt just now (170$, free shipping through a coupon). I will make small batches of bread (1 or 2lbs flour) or cookies. I don't expect that thing to fail.

When it comes to power rating, I don't think that matters that much. What should matter is what sort of dough quantities it can handle and specifically what type of dough. Kitchenaid gives a little bit away in their spec, but not enough in my opinion. I mean, mine is rated for 4 1/2 loaves of bread. To me this is not very specific, on the other hand they say 7lbs of mashed potatoes which one can obviously can use as an indication.

Maybe they have more info in their booklet, that I haven't read yet.