20-quart mixers

[RobertM]

I have a Hobart I love, but it needs to be repaired, and I can't find anyone to work on it - anyone have any suggestions?

[Beanie]

The 20 qt. Hobart mixer at work finally quite working. It's at least 20 years old and probably more. I'll be the one selecting the replacement unit.

While simply replacing a Hobart with another Hobart might be the most logical solution, new Hobarts are pretty pricey and considerably more than most other mixers.

Has anyone had experience using 20 qt. mixers from Globe, Berkel, Blakeslee, or ????  I am interested in hearing how other mixer manufacturers stack up against Hobart. The mixer will be used primarily for muffins, brownies, quick breads and an occasional cake or two, up to 4 days/week for an average of 2-4 hrs. each time depending upon production that day.

Whatever I end up buying will need to be durable, reliable and last at least another 20 years. 

TIA

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What's wrong with it? In my experience, Hobart appliances can always be repaired. Call Hobart and find the name of a repair shop in your area. Why buy a new one when Hobart is the best? The 20 qt. mixers are in such demand that it's difficult to find a used one (though this economy may have changed things.) I'm not sure that a 20 year old Hobart is even considered *old.* Maybe Andiesenji came chime in on this.

[tmriga]

If you really want to replace it, check the local auctions. I got mine for $225 at an auction held by the vo-tech school. Yes, it's 20+ years old, but it came with a bowl, paddle, hook and whip, and 4 years later, it's still working. Even if it only works for a couple more years, I got my money's worth.

Theresa

[Heartsurgeon]

you can sometimes get commercial grade kitchen equipment from Dovebid.com as well (auction site). I remember looking at some Hobart stuff at one ofthere auctions several years ago.

while i haven't bought hobart mixers from dovebid, i did go to a dovebid auction and picked up $50,000 of 1 year old office furniture for $3000!

[kalypso]

I have a Hobart I love, but it needs to be repaired, and I can't find anyone to work on it - anyone have any suggestions?

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Have you tried Hobart's repair service, it's really good. For more information visit the Hobart web site

If Hobart repair is not in your area, they will have an authorized repair service (most likely someone like GCS) that covers your region.

[kalypso]

What's wrong with it? In my experience, Hobart appliances can always be repaired. Call Hobart and find the name of a repair shop in your area. Why buy a new one when Hobart is the best? The 20 qt. mixers are in such demand that it's difficult to find a used one (though this economy may have changed things.) I'm not sure that a 20 year old Hobart is even considered *old.* Maybe Andiesenji came chime in on this.

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It's already been repaired multiple times and the last time Hobart repair came out they basically said the existing unit is at the end of it's lifespan. The facility in which the unit is located is 45 years old, there is a possibility the mixer may be original equipment. I know it's at least 20 years old but it could be up to 45 years old.

It's oozing motor oil into our batters down the attachment shaft. Unfortunately, the oozing is not visible during prep as it is covered up by the attachment. We're finding the motor oil as we're portioning batter into baking pans. (The oil is heavier than the batter so it's been sinking to the bottom of the bowl). This is a health and safety issue for us and the risk simply isn't worth it.

I'm actually not looking for a used mixer. I have the ability and resources to purchase a brand new one, I just don't want to spend $5,000 on a new Hobart if there is something comparable out there. I've had very good luck with Berkel slicers, in fact, better luck than with Hobart. Berkel mixers are almost half the price of a Hobart mixer. If their mixer as good as their slicer, it could be an option. Whatever I buy will have to last another 20-45 years, and I don't think kitchen equipment is made as well as it was 50 years ago

[Edward J]

For light duty--that is anything OTHER than breads, virtually any mixer brand is pretty good. 20 years ago, this wasn't the case, and Hobarts ruled the roost becasue they wre they best designed and built ones on the N< American.

Globe, Berkel, Blakslee are all good brands, even some of the Asian ones are pretty good these days. The main thing to look for is a factory authorized repair guy within a reasonable distance . Check each brand's website and find out who the regional rep is, and then find out who is authorized to service them.

Once this is established, pick the one with the closest service depot and the cheapest price.

Caveat: Virtually every eqpt. mnfctr, including Hobart, will void the warranty on new mixers if they have been used for bread doughs.

[chefpeon]

Caveat: Virtually every eqpt. mnfctr, including Hobart, will void the warranty on new mixers if they have been used for bread doughs.

Is this really true? Why do they include a dough hook when you buy a new mixer?

How can they expect a bakery not to mix the occasional yeast dough once in a while. What a rip off.

Don't buy a belt drive mixer! I had a Blakeslee belt drive once and that thing couldn't even carry a load of cake batter. Always make sure you get a gear drive mixer. Other than Hobart, I've had fairly good luck with the Thunderbird brand. But face it, there is no mixer out there that will last as long as a Hobart.

[Old Grumpy]

My son and I have a catering business near San Diego. And about 2 years ago we needed to get a 10 quart mixer. We priced both new and used and found a company in Texas that makes a really great mixer. The name of this company is Thunderbird food machines. They make a fine product and their service is very good. I needed a meat grinder attachment for the mixer and it was no trouble getting info from the company. I know that Hobart has a very good reputation for making good equipment! But I think that the newer equipment is not made the same as the old stuff. Thunderbird's wed site is www.thunderbirdfm.com check out the stuff don't think you will be disappointed. Of course there is always E-Bay but the shipping cost can be very high. Good luck with your search.

[Edward J]

Thunderbirds have gained susbstantially in quality and durability in the last 10 years. Pretty sure they aren't made in Texas or even in the U.S. for that matter. Like I said, for a 20 qt this is a pretty good deal

Hobart mixers haven't changed much in the last 30 years. That is to say the quality is top notch, they don't cut corners. That being said I don't care for thier version of safety cages that must be on all new machines. Almost every other mnfctr has a superior method of opening/closing the safety cage to scrape down the bowl, or to clean the cage.

The industry standard on most mixers is the #10 attachment hub, with the most popular attachments being the meat grinder, then the slicer shredder, the power dicer, and vegetable mill. There are many version of the generic meat grinder available and should be interchangeable with every machine.

Dough hooks can be used for other doughs, like puff pastry and the like. The hardest doughs on the mixer are pizza and bagel dough, and it is these doughs that the mnfctr wishes to void. The volume, or amount of dough produced in a 20 qt is not very much, and for even a small pizza operation, making mulitple batches of pizza dough in a 20 qt, on a daily basis for a few mnths would kill the mixer.

[kalypso]

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

In the end I'll be going with a 20 qt. Hobart to replace the old one and an 8 qt. Globe for smaller batch items. My equipment guy wouldn't even quote me on a 20 qt. Berkel or Blakeslee. Said he'd had too many other clients that had tried them and had had nothing but problems.

The Thunderbird sounded intriguing, but since the 20 qt mixer is going into a college kitchen and will need to last another 40 years, Hobart's reliability and durability won out.

Thanks again

[HKDave]

Thunderbirds have gained susbstantially in quality and durability in the last 10 years.  Pretty sure they aren't made in Texas or even in the U.S. for that matter.  Like I said,  for a 20 qt this is a pretty good deal

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The industry standard on most mixers is the #10 attachment hub, with the most popular attachments being the meat grinder, then the slicer shredder, the power dicer, and vegetable mill.  There are many version of the generic meat grinder available and should be interchangeable with every machine.

Thunderbird is a Canadian company that has 2 factories in China.

The industry standard for attachments (and common attachment parts, like grinder plates and blades) isn't perfect. A couple of times in the last year I've had to fit attachments with different brands of mixers, and each time filing was required to make it work. But in the end they all were made to work, sort-of.