Alternatives to KitchenAid Stand Mixer

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Thanks. If the cheapo Hamilton Beach doesn't work out I will try one of those other brands, particularly the Cuisinart. I can't even remember how old my Cuisinart Food Processor is, but it is still getting the job done every time.

My experience with Hamilton Beach has been that they can't stand up to the abuse of constant use, and they usually expire right after the warranty does.
 
I have one of their blenders that has lasted a long while, but, yeah this thing does seem like it might do just that. Still, for the price of a tankful of gas I thought I'd see.
 
Stock Pot said:
Well I still have it. Repairs are expensive, though. But I have the meat grinder attachment for it, so it is still good for that, at least.

Parts are fairly cheap and if you are a bit handy and look up some YouTube videos, fixes can sometimes be easy. But I'm also one of those people that will try to tackle a repair myself if it isn't too involved, but I understand that not everyone wants to jump into a project like that.
 
Thanks. Now I at least know how to take it apart. My problem is at the other end of the head unit, but maybe I can see a way to tighten it up once I'm in there. However, mine is from that same general era, and it is the same style, so I think I can look forward to the transmission self-destructing, as has happened to so many others. Talk about how to trash a well-respected, decades-old brand name just to save a few bucks on worm gear parts.
 
I've got one from the 50's (a lighter duty model, doesn't have a dough hook), and it still purrs like a kitten. I'm going to take it apart and re-grease it, and hopefully get more years out of it, it's kind of a show piece, but I use it now and then.

I'm thinking about buying an 80's era KA (maybe one when they were still made by Hobart) and refurbishing it.
 
Fixed It

Thanks to everyone's help here, and those Youtube videos, I was emboldened to take the Kitchenaid mixer apart and see what I could do. It turns out that the head assembly is fastened to the base by three bolts which, incredibly, they assembled without lock washers, so they had worked loose. Well, it has lock washers now and it is solid as a rock once again. btw, I had to take the motor out to get at them and that involved taking off the transmission cover so I got a look at the infamous worm gear assembly and mine looks OK- no broken teeth or anything and all the parts were well greased so I left that alone.

So now I have two mixers. I'll use the Hamilton Beach for small batches (which the Kitchenaid does not handle very well) and the Kitchenaid for everything else.
 
Grease

That was so easy I think I will change the grease in the transmission assembly, too. I just ordered a can of Kitchenaid mixer grease from Amazon. Also, according to one video I watched, the grease will start to separate and leak if a) it gets hot from working really hard, or b) the mixer is used infrequently and the grease sits. So if you have one of these things and you use it infrequently it is a good idea to turn it on every couple of weeks and let it run for a minute or two.

I bet that's true for the Hamilton Beach mixer, too, so I'm going to have to find a way to run that every couple of weeks now. The Kitchenaid will be back on bread dough work (it's a lot stronger), so it will get plenty of frequent use automatically.

I wonder if anyone makes a good synthetic food quality grease that won't separate like that.
 
Late to the mixer party...esp with a bag of lock washers sitting right here on my desk. I am just waiting for my wife to leave for long enough to install them. I ask much more from the tilt-head KA and the wobble is something I am very familiar with, to date, she is not. A couple of dissections to tighten those 3 bolts convinced me to obtain lock washers.
In other news, I have also been shopping the Ebay like a demon possessed. People pay big money for the Industrial/Commercial (not "Professional" not "Artisan" not "Heavy Duty" not "New & Improved") Hobarts. Like I have space for a 60 qt stand mixer that comes up to here when I am standing up. Not. I do want something that will handle Whole Wheat dough in prodigious amounts, sufficiently hydrated but no, not with Ice Water as that reduces the capacity significantly. Not to sound elitist but I have serious doubts that WalMart carries anything with enough OOMPH to handle the required task.
 
Stock Pot said:
That was so easy I think I will change the grease in the transmission assembly, too. I just ordered a can of Kitchenaid mixer grease from Amazon. Also, according to one video I watched, the grease will start to separate and leak if a) it gets hot from working really hard, or b) the mixer is used infrequently and the grease sits. So if you have one of these things and you use it infrequently it is a good idea to turn it on every couple of weeks and let it run for a minute or two.

I bet that's true for the Hamilton Beach mixer, too, so I'm going to have to find a way to run that every couple of weeks now. The Kitchenaid will be back on bread dough work (it's a lot stronger), so it will get plenty of frequent use automatically.

I wonder if anyone makes a good synthetic food quality grease that won't separate like that.

My vintage KA needs a grease change, and I'm going to do my 18 year old machine at the same time. While I'm doing my 18 year old ultra power I'm going to inspect the worm gear.
 
It probably should go along with the grease change. But it is not like a car engine head gasket- never gets that hot, etc., so I don't think it is necessary. If the grease is thick, the way it is supposed to be, then it should stay in there. But if I could pick up the exact gasket for a dollar or two I would definitely do that. But I don't have any leaking problems and I hope to avoid them in the future by changing the grease now.

Now I need Popsicle sticks to scrape out the old grease.
 
It probably should go along with the grease change. But it is not like a car engine head gasket- never gets that hot, etc., so I don't think it is necessary. If the grease is thick, the way it is supposed to be, then it should stay in there. But if I could pick up the exact gasket for a dollar or two I would definitely do that. But I don't have any leaking problems and I hope to avoid them in the future by changing the grease now.

Now I need Popsicle sticks to scrape out the old grease.
Cut up some credit cards.
 
Easy

The grease change was easy and only slightly messy. I found out that Kitchenaid recommends that you run it at high speed for a couple of minutes once a month to keep the grease mixed.

I am thinking more highly now that I have had a chance to take it apart and see its innards. Very easy to maintain but it does require more maintenance than I thought. Still, an hour spent changing the grease every couple of years is no big deal.
 
I wonder if anyone makes a good synthetic food quality grease that won't separate like that.
You can use Super-Lube Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease. Super Lube® is Food Grade, rated H-1 by the USDA and NSF for incidental food contact. It is an excellent Dielectric and operates over a temperature range from -45° to 450° F.
 
Those look like real nice units. I've reconciled with my Kitchenaid after watching a couple of Youtube videos that show how to take them apart. The repair was easy enough and I added lockwashers (which should have been there to bein with) so it won't happen again.
 

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