"Ron" <menoldre@adelphia.net> wrote:
>Goto www.ebay.com click on SEARCH, click on BY USERID and type in
>KITCHENAID. That is their factory refurbished sales outlet. I bought the
>BIG one for about $220 including shipping.
Good advice.
>Over Christmas I went to a cookie baking party and used a smaller
>Kitchenaid (the ones that the head tilts up) and it kept bouncing though
>the thick dough. Something the big one doesn't do since the bowl raises
>and lowers instead of the head tilting up.
I have a KitchenAid 45SS that I've had since the dawn of recorded
history. The head doesn't bounce up and down on thick dough - if you
remember to use the head lock on the right side of the mixer.
As to the original question about needing to buy a big KitchenAid to keep
it from burning out, there is a LOT of discussion about KitchenAid mixers
in the different food forums on the net. I bought mine in the late 1970's,
and it's been a workhorse for me. Even though it has a "small" 250 watt
motor. I make pasta, knead bread, grind grain and more. I had it
overhauled once because I wasn't sure if it was still a happy mixer. They
lubed it and told me it was fine.
Lots of people confuse power and quality. My 250 watt motor has run for
years. I hear that more modern high wattage units burn out under the
load. It ain't the size of the motor, it's the build quality that is the
key issue here. A well made larger motor will let you do more work, and do
it for longer. But if it's not well made, it won't be a real advantage.
Many people feel that since Hobart sold KitchenAid to Whirlpool the quality
has been dropping. I hope that's not true, but it could well be.
As a result, many people are looking at Kenwood, Bosch and other brands of
mixers.
Despite really liking my KitchenAid, if I had to purchase a mixer today, I
think I'd really do some in-depth research before spending my money.
Mike
--
Mike Avery MAvery@mail.otherwhen.com