Citrus Juicers Electric

[Katie Meadow]

We have started drinking a lot of orange juice in the morning. In addition, marmalade season is around the corner, and we make several batches to last the year every January thru March, depending upon when the Sevilles make their appearance in Northern CA. We do have a small and funky and quite ancient little plastic electric thing that really isn't adequate any more. My husband, who does almost all the squeezing, was quietly complaining about it the other day, and I'm thinking he's hinting at a gift. Fine with me. There's no indication he's growing tired of marmalade. I think it's a lifelong love affair.

 

Some juicers come with two alternate juicing cones, all of them plastic. I don't think I need that, since we don't juice grapefruits, mainly oranges. If I am juicing one or two lemons or a lime I simply use a wooden reamer and I'm happy with that.

 

Does anyone have recommendations?  I don't need to keep the juicer on the counter and have room to store it. Size is not the priority. I would say the priority is stainless steel parts over plastic, a strong motor and no tendency to wobble or travel. Any juicers advertised with suction feet make me nervous; they must be subject to creep. The highest rated expensive juicer is the Breville, with the arm, and it costs close to $200. There does not seem to be anything heavy duty and reliable in a midrange price. I'm not totally opposed to spending the money on the Breville, but if anyone has suggestions for better value I'm open to it. Reviews on Amazon and other sites vary wildly. The Smeg is attractive, but not much more affordable. We have a Smeg toaster, and it's mostly arm candy, although it works as well as most toasters, which of course isn't saying a lot. 

[lindag]

I have this Breville that I purchased 10 years ago.

i also have this much smaller Braun  which is no longer made.

The Breville has a big footprint and is difficult to store but if it’s used every day that shouldn’t be an issue.

iThe Braun is a nice size and works very well for a few lemons and limes but wouldn’t be useful for anything much bigger.

In summer when I just lots of citrus I keep the little  Braun handy.

The Breville I stored away due to its sheer bulk.  
I think the big Breville, which is very efficient would work really well for lots of oranges....it’s made to last.

[blue_dolphin]

I recommend the juicer I have but it does not meet your criteria for stainless steel parts and could well be what you currently have. 

 

I purchased this $45 Tribest Citristar juicer, perhaps based on recommendations here, in 2012 (edited to add that @andiesenji mentioned it in this post in 2011.)  It looks very similar to the Braun that @lindag mentioned above.  It is still going strong.  It does not have suction feet, nor does it travel.  If it dies, I think I would purchase another of the same rather than splash out on a $200 machine.  Mine lives in a cupboard under the counter.  It's light and easy to pull out and it works so much better than a manual squeezer that I get it out whenever I need juice from more than one or two pieces of fruit. I use it for all citrus - oranges, lemons, limes and with the larger cone, grapefruits. 

 

Previously, I had this $15.99 Black & Decker model.  It lasted about 3 years before it died.  It was atrociously noisy. I would not repurchase that one. 

Edited December 11, 2019 by blue_dolphin (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@Katie Meadow why electric?  I juice at least one or two (two tonight) citrus fruits a day and what lives on my counter is a Hamilton Beach 932 Commercial Citrus Juicer.  Hamilton Beach has been making these since the 1930's, still sells spare parts, plus I've never had to change the batteries.

 

The 932 juicing cone is stainless steel and the opposing surface is heavy chrome plated zinc.  The base is coated cast iron.  The collecting funnel is plastic but that does not bother me.

 

[Katie Meadow]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

@Katie Meadow why electric?  I juice at least one or two (two tonight) citrus fruits a day and what lives on my counter is a Hamilton Beach 932 Commercial Citrus Juicer.  Hamilton Beach has been making these since the 1930's, still sells spare parts, plus I've never had to change the batteries.

 

The 932 juicing cone is stainless steel and the opposing surface is heavy chrome plated zinc.  The base is coated cast iron.  The collecting funnel is plastic but that does not bother me.

 

For daily juicing of four oranges that would be fine, but when we make marmalade we juice 5 lbs per batch, and we do five or six batches over approx two months. Now I'm confused, though. The Hamilton Beach 932 commercial juicer you refer to is a manual appliance, so no batteries are required. It's a lovely object and enviably solid, I will say. It costs the same as the electric Breville all stainless steel model--$199. Unless I am missing something, which is always possible.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

For daily juicing of four oranges that would be fine, but when we make marmalade we juice 5 lbs per batch, and we do five or six batches over approx two months. Now I'm confused, though. The Hamilton Beach 932 commercial juicer you refer to is a manual appliance, so no batteries are required. It's a lovely object and enviably solid, I will say. It costs the same as the electric Breville all stainless steel model--$199. Unless I am missing something, which is always possible.

 

Sorry* for my attempt at humor.  The 932 is indeed a manual appliance.  I think you would find it laughs at five pounds of citrus.

 

*not really.

 

[Katie Meadow]

14 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Sorry* for my attempt at humor.  The 932 is indeed a manual appliance.  I think you would find it laughs at five pounds of citrus.

 

*not really.

 

Okay, that was me, missing something. Other than  slipping on a banana peel or chopping off a finger (and I admit that every time I see you have contributed to that "Never Again" thread my, I stomach turns) I shouldn't ever worry that you are off your game!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This thread may help:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/149279-commercial-grade-manual-citrus-presses/?tab=comments#comment-2143045

 

 

[andiesenji]

I have arthritis in my hands and my right shoulder so I stopped using juicers that require force years ago.

I have used electric juicers since.  I had one, that was more expensive with a METAL REAMER that did not work as well as the plastic reamers - it was not as "sharp" as the plastic reamers.

They have all worked just fine for me. Most have a "standard" sized plastic reamer and do a fine job, start reaming with pressure and reverse if there is a slight shift one way or another.  The plastic reamers become less "sharp" with repeated heavy use and I do a lot of juicing of lemons for some things that I prepare regularly.

For me they last about 4 years, maybe 5 and they are cheap enough that I can toss them and order another without agonizing about it.

 

Currently I have a Black & Decker - I think the last one was also a Black & Decker, before than I had another INEXPENSIVE one,  I think this one cost about $15.00 and the next one will be about the same.  I did have one that was 10.99 one of Amazon's "gold box" specials, made by Aroma, that lasted longer than any of the others.

 

 

[Terrakion]

I bought a Breville JE98XL and I'm so happy I got it. I've been making my green juice in a regular mixer and oh my... I have been missing out! This changes the texture of the juice completely and even gives it a better flavor. I put a few strawberries and a banana for my girlfriend to drink and she loved it! (to be honest, she doesn't like everything that I give) 

The build quality is pretty solid with no small parts prone to running away. Its very easy to take apart (less than a minute) for cleaning and reassemble. Its not all stainless steel or metal like some of its more expensive cousins, but the heavy grade polymer feels... well, heavy grade. The base feels stable, and I've never had an issue chasing it around the counter when its doing its thing.

P.S. I took the first reviewer I've found, and there it is an "editor's choice"  

[btbyrd]

I use the juicer attachment for KitchenAid stand mixers. It's relatively inexpensive, does a good job, and is small and easy to store (if you don't count the mixer!). The only issue I have with it is that the strainer basket clogs somewhat quickly. If I'm doing a large batch, I just remove it and strain the juice separately. I do that anyway if I'm going for pulp-free juice, so it's not a big imposition. It has 4.4/5 stars with almost 2000 reviews; other people seem to like it too.