"Adam. S" wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> >
> > Adam Seychell wrote:
> >
> >>Hello, I have a question on blenders.
> >>
> >>I've destroyed 3 chepo blenders of the years during what I call normal
> >>use. The first one the motor burned out because it didn't like being
> >>use more than 5 minutes without a break,
> >
> >
> >
> > That's probably because most people don't use blenders in that way.
> > Stopping it for a minute in between short runs doesn't take time out of
> > your day and prolongs the life of even the cheapest one.
>
> I disagree, the really cheap blenders are designed for intermittent use
> only, so the manufactures use absolute minimum sized motor for the
> specified power level. i.e a very power lossy motor with thin wires that
> heat up fast. This is ok provided it doesn't get run more than 60
> seconds and given time to cool down. More expensive, heavier motors
> (with equal number of watts) will run without heating up as fast ,so
> that can be used at much higher duty cycle, or maybe even continuously.

I've had enough cheap ones when at university or cooking at other homes
etc. None of them had the motor fail under 'normal' use.

>
> >>Kurps processor/blender combo, the gears inside stripped after I
> >>accidentally pushed the wooden spoon in too far when making tomato
> >>pure.
> >
> > No blender no matter how excellent is going to survive that kind of
> > mistreatment more than once anyway.
>
> Yea, I know it was a mistake, but it only just barely touched the blade
> and it only took a small chip out of the wooden spoon. I would think a
> cup of ice cubes will put lot more stress of the components. I never put
> ice cubes in the Kuprs anyway. I think buying a combo
> blender/mixermaster was the mistake I made. A machine built for one
> purpose always performs better than "two in one" types.

Krups is normally a good brand. Perhaps the wooden spoon was the last
straw of rough handling.

>
> >
> > Not the way you use them.
> > Stick to the cheap ones.
>
> > Our lab blenders were always normal Waring models and were used day
> > after day for many years without breaking.
> > Our home blender is from Oster and is about 20 years old; I remember it
> > from my school days. Used a few times every week. Same motor, same glass
> > container. Only the blade and the rubber gasket have been replaced.
>
> Thanks for the reference to Oster, but never seen that brand in my
> country, Australia. Hamilton Beach Blenders are up their with the cheap
> end of commercial units (AU$450). The brevilles are common but having
> seen my Brevvile Classic die just from crushing ice and your comment on
> Breville not making good blenders then I'm doubtful of getting another.


Not every blender is suitable for crushing ice. You'd need to check on
that before you buy.

> Do Sunbeam make a good domestic blender ? The Sunbean Legend (their
> best) sells for AU$170 and comes with 5 year warranty on the motor.

Don't know. Never heard of the brand in the UK.

>
> > A full-size mixer might do you more good then a blender. Sounds as
> > though you are using the blender for jobs a mixer would do better.
>
> I'm mainly a blender for making dips, puree raw vegetables, soups, and
> drinks. I though that if a blender can crush ice then it will not have
> trouble with any eatable foods. What do you mean by a "mixer" ?


Not every blender can really crush ice without strain. Blenders are best
at handling liquids and soft solids (cooked veg, soft fruit).

A proper stand mixer: The Kenwood at top.

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ArgosBrowseCounts?storeId=10001&C$cip=12417&Trail= C%24cip%3D12363%3EC%24cip%3D12409%3EC%24cip%3D1241 7&categoryId=12417&langId=-1&catalogId=1751

A food processor might be a good addition to your kitchen rather than a
mixer.