Needed: Blender recommendation

Alex,

I have had the Osterizer Classic chrome (I think it's called
the "beehive) blender for the past couple of years and love
it. It was rather a pleasant surprise to find out what a
blender could do when I got it since my previous one was (in
retrospec) a piece of [censored]. It doesn't have a bunch of
speeds, just the low/pulse and high but I have not found
that to be a limitation. I mostly use it for smoothies and
it works great with frozen strawberries as long as there is
some liquid in there. The only complaint I have is that it
is loud enough to wake the dead but I take that to be a sign
that it's got a serious motor.

What is it you're going to be blending?

LauraJ

"Alex Rast" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

After some years doing without, I've decided that I really
do need a blender. Now, I'm looking for what model to buy.
I already know basically what I'm looking for.

What I would like recommendations for is: which blender
with a tapered, glass jar and a pulse setting is the most
powerful, and sturdily built,

out

Quoted message said:

there?

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those,

I'd

Quoted message said:

like to find a powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor
would be a 1-hp commercial unit and the entire base made
of metal, with heavy-duty

hardware

Quoted message said:

and no loose attachments or anything flimsy. One thing I'd
like to see, although I don't know if it's available, is a
continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have
to have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.
--
Alex Rast [email hidden] (remove d., .7,
not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

[blenders]

Smart and Final (a local cross between a warehouse and
wholesale store) has the real commercial ones. They're
mostly bar blenders and iirc above $100. If you are going
to make a hundred blended drinks a night that might be the
way to go.

for most uses though, i'd say get whatever Oster goes on
sale this weekend (for $20-30).

... and of course if you want a "display blender" you can
get a viking:

chefsresource.comviking blender.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

(Alex Rast) writes:

After some years doing without, I've decided that I really
do need a blender. Now, I'm looking for what model to buy.
I already know basically what I'm looking for.

What I would like recommendations for is: which blender
with a tapered, glass jar and a pulse setting is the most
powerful, and sturdily built, out there?

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those, I'd like to find a
powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor would be a 1-hp
commercial unit and the entire base made of metal, with heavy-
duty hardware and no loose attachments or anything flimsy.
One thing I'd like to see, although I don't know if it's
available, is a continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have to
have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.

evinrude.comevinrude.comOpen ↗

---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =--- ---= Move
UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without
tribulation." Sheldon ````````````

[email hidden] (Alex Rast) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those, I'd like to find a
powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor would be a 1-hp
commercial unit and the entire base made of metal, with
heavy-duty hardware and no loose attachments or anything
flimsy. One thing I'd like to see, although I don't know
if it's available, is a continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have
to have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.

I don't know about hp or flimsiness, but my Krups from about
eight years ago has a speed dial. The model I have is no
longer made, but it works well enough for me. The buttons
stick (there are four buttons: on, off, pulse, and power
burst) so that's no good.

Greg Zywicki

Alex Rast said:

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out.

Not sure what you mean by "pulse". If you mean a spring-loaded-to-
off switch, this one's out. If you can handle actually
returning the on switch to the off position, this will meet
your needs.

<waringproducts.comcgiOpen ↗
/lab/waringLab.pl5?ID=5duJzIhs&action=displayFrames&index=1-
Liter

Quoted message said:

i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch

As you can see, this model provides such a feature.

Waring makes many blenders, from cheap-o plastic models to
heavy duty commercial and laboratory models. I've tried a
lot of blenders over the years. Most are junk (including
Waring's cheap-o's). But, I've come back to Waring and their
classic beehive base/cloverleaf jar design. They're solid,
reliable, and they mix better than anyone else's.

nb
--
Be considerate of others and trim your posts. Thank you.

Buy a "cheapie"

After a few weeks, the novelty'll wear off, and it'll spend
the rest of its life in the closet.

On Mon, 24 May 2004 09:09:40 -0000,

(Alex Rast) said:

After some years doing without, I've decided that I really
do need a blender. Now, I'm looking for what model to buy.
I already know basically what I'm looking for.

What I would like recommendations for is: which blender
with a tapered, glass jar and a pulse setting is the most
powerful, and sturdily built, out there?

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those, I'd like to find a
powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor would be a 1-hp
commercial unit and the entire base made of metal, with heavy-
duty hardware and no loose attachments or anything flimsy.
One thing I'd like to see, although I don't know if it's
available, is a continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have to
have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.

<rj

Alex Rast said:

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those, I'd like to find a
powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor would be a 1-hp
commercial unit and the entire base made of metal, with
heavy-duty hardware and no loose attachments or anything
flimsy. One thing I'd like to see, although I don't know
if it's available, is a continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have
to have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.

Pretty much everything but a variable speed control in this
model: abestkitchen.commargaritaOpen ↗
madness.html

Someone else suggested Waring's web site. Probably worth
looking at for more in their model line.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

[email hidden] (Alex Rast) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

After some years doing without, I've decided that I really
do need a blender. Now, I'm looking for what model to buy.
I already know basically what I'm looking for.

What I would like recommendations for is: which blender
with a tapered, glass jar and a pulse setting is the most
powerful, and sturdily built, out there?

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out. Among those, I'd like to find a
powerful, rugged model. Ideally the motor would be a 1-hp
commercial unit and the entire base made of metal, with
heavy-duty hardware and no loose attachments or anything
flimsy. One thing I'd like to see, although I don't know
if it's available, is a continuously variable speed,
i.e. a knob for speed control instead of either a speed
switch or a bunch of buttons. The unit doesn't have
to have massive capacity, and I'm open either to
commercial or consumer blenders. Price is not a
consideration.

I like the KitchenAid blenders, though not everybody
does. These are
1/2 horsepower 5-speed-and-pulse home, not commercial,
units, but they are heavy metal-body units that stay at
home quite well.

If you must have a commercial unit, Waring Commercial and
Hamilton Beach Commercial have many to choose from. Some of
their models have pulse, but these are generally not the high-
power (1 HP is a lot of power for a blender) models.

Basically, in the blender market, there are blenders with
lots of power and capacity and there are blenders with lots
of bells and whistles such as pulse and continuously
variable speed. The two categories have little overlap.

--
Chris Green

I love my Kitchen Aid. Meets all m y needs.

at Mon, 24 May 2004 15:38:25 GMT in <RFosc.109791$xw3.6308622@attbi_s04>,
[email hidden] (notbob) wrote :

Quoted message said:

Alex Rast said:

Consider the tapered glass jar and pulse as constraints -
i.e. any blender not possessing these characteristics is
automatically out.

Not sure what you mean by "pulse". If you mean a spring-loaded-to-
off switch, this one's out. If you can handle actually
returning the on switch to the off position, this will meet
your needs.

<waringproducts.comcgiOpen ↗
bin/waring/lab/waringLab.pl5?ID=5duJzI <hs&action=displayFrames&index=1-
Liter

The LB10G is indeed very close to what I'm looking for. It's
not the most powerful (0.4 HP), though, and as you say it
doesn't really have a pulse feature. The reason you want the
full pulse feature is when you need a very quick burst,
where the time taken to actuate the switch comes into play.
This is typically the case in the initial stages of stiff
items that need some early break-up to get things moving
without burning out the motor. Price on this one is about
$550 - a bit steep considering what you get below:

The 7011HG *does* appear (at least from the picture) to have
a pulse feature. It advertises an "extra-heavy-duty motor",
which I found out to be .7 HP (not on Waring's site). This
one may be closer, at least if the pulse is indeed true. The
price is around $350, suggesting you are paying a heavy
markup for the variable-speed feature on the LB10G, or
simply the fact that the LB10G is being marketed as a "Lab"
blender makes it a smaller-volume (thus higher-price) unit.
$350 seems pretty reasonable.

Interestingly, at least on the Web, you find both models
primarily in laboratory supply stores.

As to Waring Margarita Madness, Hamilton Beach Commercial,
and Vita-Mix, the motor specifications are impressive but
the containers are polycarbonate. Thus they're automatically
out. Usually the choices in the commercial units are either
polycarbonate or stainless steel, which makes sense because
in that environment, you want something that can withstand
some abuse, particularly impacts. Glass, of course, is
notorious for not being particularly impact-resistant.
*Very* high-strength borosilicate glass might do it (i.e.
top-grade Pyrex), but in the commercial sector, I wonder if
there'd be much of a market.

The KitchenAid blenders suffer from vertical-side glass
container design. In fact, a lot of the high-end consumer
blenders seem to have this fault. Why do they do that? An
untapered container doesn't force the food towards the blade
very well, so you have unblended stuff sitting almost
motionless round the edges while a bunch of very-well-
liquefied food spins in the center.

So far, then, I'm leaning towards the Waring 7011HG. Thanks
to everyone for your suggestions thus far.

--
Alex Rast [email hidden] (remove d., .7,
not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Quoted message said:

Alex Rast wrote:

I need a blender.

I have an ancient Osterizer, c. 1960; heavy and powerful,
lotsa speeds, glass jar, 800w [consumption] motor... always
remember, motor wattage has little to do with power
output... wattage is a measure of electric *consumed* not
power produced.

I bought my brother a blender for a gift last x-mas, a
Kitchen Aid Ultra. I've not actually seen it as he lives in
Florida but he says he loves it, says it works great, is
powerful, is relatively quiet, and looks really nice. I
bought him the more expensive model with the nickle housing
($150), don't know if it's still available but I'm sure the
other various colored ones ($100) are exactly the same.

Of course sky's the limit how much you can spend on a
blender (an Evinrude can easily top 10 Gs), or try the Vita-
Mix at nearly $400, but I doubt it's really so much better
to warrant its outrageous cost. I suppose which one to get
mostly depends on what you intend to do with it and how
often... for most folks a blender one can find at garage
sales for under $10 will suffice.

Go here: chefscatalog.comiphraseOpen ↗
results.jhtml?_requestid=840

---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =--- ---= Move
UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without
tribulation." Sheldon ````````````