Corey123
Washing Up
The Onyx Black Artisan is supposed to also have an all-metal tranny, according to the info on the box that it comes in.
Stand Up Mixers.... which should I buy?
- Thread starter DietitianInTraining
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Corey123,
The info I posted was from KA brochure# KPA126 (listed as a 2007 release), the best thing is to check directly with KA. According to this brochure, the Artisan is made in 22 different colors and none have All Steel Gears. I guess Engineering is not talking to Marketing at Kitchen Aid, and I'd venture to say that if the Onyx Black has All Steel Gears, all Artisan probably do. It would be a production nightmare to coordinate a specific trasmission with a single color out of 22.
Going back to the original topic of this discussion, an additional advantage of the lift-bowl mixer is that can be stored and used in a counter under a cabinet. I have little countertop space, and this is an important factor for me.
The info I posted was from KA brochure# KPA126 (listed as a 2007 release), the best thing is to check directly with KA. According to this brochure, the Artisan is made in 22 different colors and none have All Steel Gears. I guess Engineering is not talking to Marketing at Kitchen Aid, and I'd venture to say that if the Onyx Black has All Steel Gears, all Artisan probably do. It would be a production nightmare to coordinate a specific trasmission with a single color out of 22.
Going back to the original topic of this discussion, an additional advantage of the lift-bowl mixer is that can be stored and used in a counter under a cabinet. I have little countertop space, and this is an important factor for me.
Last edited:
Corey123
Washing Up
It's on the box. I read that info on the boxes at Macy's.
Corey123,
I was at Kohl's today and remembered your comment about KA mixers. When checking the Artisan boxes, all of them read: "All metal construction and direct-drive transmission".
I checked also the Pro 600 series and Pro 5 plus boxes, they read "All steel gears direct-drive transmission".
When I read the Artisan box, I concluded that all the mixer parts are made out of steel. But when I read the Pro series boxes, I realized KA is very creative with their advertisement. The and on the Artisan sentence makes a significant difference since all KA mixers have direct-drive transmission but only a few models all steel gears direct-drive transmission.
The way the Artisan box has been written is misleading.
I was at Kohl's today and remembered your comment about KA mixers. When checking the Artisan boxes, all of them read: "All metal construction and direct-drive transmission".
I checked also the Pro 600 series and Pro 5 plus boxes, they read "All steel gears direct-drive transmission".
When I read the Artisan box, I concluded that all the mixer parts are made out of steel. But when I read the Pro series boxes, I realized KA is very creative with their advertisement. The and on the Artisan sentence makes a significant difference since all KA mixers have direct-drive transmission but only a few models all steel gears direct-drive transmission.
The way the Artisan box has been written is misleading.
Misleading for sure, and sneaky! Thanks for pointing that out!
Corey123
Washing Up
Unles they made a mistake, which they might have, and i read it plain as day, it says on the box containing the black one - ALL-METAL TRANSMISSION.
It showed a cut-away on the box with all metal gears.
Last edited:
I have both the Sunbeam Mix Master (with powered bowl) and a KA Pro 5 Plus.
The Sunbeam is a great mixer. Easy to load, easy to scrape the bowls, and it mixes pretty well. Beaters are a bit of a pain to clean. I have used the Sunbeam to make numerous batches of batters and cookies. Tried making bread with it's dough hooks once ... No. Great value for the $65? $70? it cost me new.
The Kitchen Aid is something else entirely. It's a messy beast to use, scraping the bottom of the bowl of sticky batter (think cream cheese) part way through a mix is a royal PITB. And the beater is no sweetheart to keep cleared either (think cream cheese). Overall the Sunbeam is much easier to use or mayhaps it's just that I grew up with a Beam.
But,
The Sunbeam seems to entrain air into what ever is being mixed. Not bad if that's what you want to do. And the Sunbeams beaters seem to be harsher on the materials being mixed than the KAs.
And the Sunbeam does not do bread doughs.
Bread ... I spent years kneading my bread, I figured it wouldn't be the same if I didn't labor over and sweat into it. I don't know how many loaves of bread I have made with the KA, Numerous loaves, and I still get giddy watching the spiral hook do it's work. Sadly the bread does not seemed tio have suffered from being kneaded by a machine.
One thing I don't particularly like about kneading bread in the KA is the amount of flexing of the bowl and lift arms. I don't think the dough is too stiff, ?
A neat thing about the soft start, if the switch is ON when the mixer is plugged in the motor does not start. The switch has to be switched off then turned to a run position for the motor to turn.
Ah yeah, the gears ... when I first got the Pro 5 the gears sounded rough and as though a gear had a burr. The more I run the mixer the smoother the mixer operates.
Best part of this mixer is I got it for $225 new from Sears.
The Sunbeam is a great mixer. Easy to load, easy to scrape the bowls, and it mixes pretty well. Beaters are a bit of a pain to clean. I have used the Sunbeam to make numerous batches of batters and cookies. Tried making bread with it's dough hooks once ... No. Great value for the $65? $70? it cost me new.
The Kitchen Aid is something else entirely. It's a messy beast to use, scraping the bottom of the bowl of sticky batter (think cream cheese) part way through a mix is a royal PITB. And the beater is no sweetheart to keep cleared either (think cream cheese). Overall the Sunbeam is much easier to use or mayhaps it's just that I grew up with a Beam.
But,
The Sunbeam seems to entrain air into what ever is being mixed. Not bad if that's what you want to do. And the Sunbeams beaters seem to be harsher on the materials being mixed than the KAs.
And the Sunbeam does not do bread doughs.
Bread ... I spent years kneading my bread, I figured it wouldn't be the same if I didn't labor over and sweat into it. I don't know how many loaves of bread I have made with the KA, Numerous loaves, and I still get giddy watching the spiral hook do it's work. Sadly the bread does not seemed tio have suffered from being kneaded by a machine.
One thing I don't particularly like about kneading bread in the KA is the amount of flexing of the bowl and lift arms. I don't think the dough is too stiff, ?
A neat thing about the soft start, if the switch is ON when the mixer is plugged in the motor does not start. The switch has to be switched off then turned to a run position for the motor to turn.
Ah yeah, the gears ... when I first got the Pro 5 the gears sounded rough and as though a gear had a burr. The more I run the mixer the smoother the mixer operates.
Best part of this mixer is I got it for $225 new from Sears.
" And the Sunbeam does not do bread doughs."
I don't think this is accurate. My new top-of-the-line Sunbeam Heritage has 450 watts, more than the KA Artisan, and comes with a dough hook. I'm not a bread maker, but I would imagine that although it might not rival the KA big daddy mixer, it probably does a decent job.
I too have the Sunbeam Heritage 450 watt with power driven bowl.
Your right, it will do bread just not a whole lot of it at once.
Wife made bread with it once and it came out ok.
The one time I made bread with the Sunbeam I had to lay my hand on the outside of the bowl to keep the bowl locked into the powered base. Without my hand preloading the bowl the bowl rattled, it banged, the bowl flopped around and looked and sounded like it was going to get launched across the kitchen.
And it didn't seem as though the main motor was having an easy time.
Overall I have to say I got the impression I was making the machine do something against it's natural abilities.
Keep in mind, I like the Sunbeam. I grew up with one (without the powered bowl of course), I know the Sunbeam is a great mixer. I just think it is not well suited for kneading doughs.
Of course you could have a completely different experience.
