Another broken KA mixer

[petebert]

This was a Pro 600 that I used for about a year and 2 months. Lady on the phone said they may still replace it, I need to fax my receipt in. I think its pretty lame they dont expect a $300+ mixer last more then a year. She explained to me how delicate they are and shouldn't be ran for more then 5 minutes at a time. She also explained to me that KA mixers are magical, if a recipe says to mix something for say 6 minutes you only have to mix it for 2 in a KA.

[Jackie Tran]

  laughing at what the customer rep told you.  Sorry about your KA.  I hope they repkace or repair it.

Invest in a fork mixer.  They won't break down on you.

[dmcavanagh]

petebert- I know you probably don't want to hear this, but my Kitchen Aid is about 28 years old and still works as good as the day I bought it. They don't make them like that any more, most Ka's are now made with plastic gears and parts that are engineered to fail if overused. The company will tell you that a gear will fail to protect the motor, or some such nonsense. Have heard all the horror stories. Consider a different mixer rather then spending money to fix yours, you'll be better off in the long run.

[petebert]

No problem with hearing that, I heard the old ones were great. Hobart stilled owned the name when your mixer was made.

[hb2474]

dmcavanah is absolutely correct. The new KA's are junk. I read all the horror stories and went with buying a old KA on ebay made by hobart and fixed it up. Opened it up and replaced the old gear oil which was almost like clay with new gear oil and replaced the power cord. There's a KA forum that teaches how to fix them up.  overall price was 150.00. Go with old instead of new when going with KA.

[kross]

Not all of the new KA mixers have plastic gears.  The Professional series (NOT the Pro series) and Commercial series mixers have all steel gears.  They start at around $300 on Amazon.

[petebert]

I think mine was a professional, I'll have to check later. The receipt I faxed in says stand mixer prof 600 blk but the model number is for the store not KA.

Good news though, KA is mailing me a new one.

[mayersob]

I bought the pro 600 right from KA website delivered for $270.00 because it was a discontinued color. They replaced it with a black one after 2wks because I complained that the bowl holder arm was moving too much during kneading. Now 3 months later they are sending me another one because the entire head assembly was moving left & right during kneading a 59% hydration bagel dough. It seems that the 600 pro struggles with stiff doughs. I would like to get the bosch, especially after reading all the good reviews here. I saw it online today for $359.00 free shipping no tax. Maybe I could sell my new pro600 on EBAY for what I paid $270.00

[wheelman]

I can't kill my KA!  i have a 15 year old mixer that has a lot of play in the hinge so i figured it was about done.  i had several attachments so I went with a professional 600 to replace it.  i was using the old one the other day for a small batch of bread dough and it walked itself off the counter.  it was slapping the dough on the floor.  i put the dislodged back cover back in place and it seems fine  I hope the floor was clean!  i think i'm going to trade the 600 for a bosch now, but the old one stays. 

[steel_baker]

After trying a few batches of dough with my neighbor's pro 600 and having it keep shutting itself off, I bought the Bosch Universal Plus. Glad I did. It'll take anything you can throw at it. My dough always comes out great.

steel_baker

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I have a KA that is 22 years old but still working (this is not a Hobart made one but is still MADE in the USA, not "Assembled in the USA", like some of the newer ones are marked).  However, I noticed the motor was straining with a heavier dough.  Due to the way it sounded, I'm sure it would have given up in time and I didn't want to ruin it. 

I was very fortunate that my mom (who is 88 years old and who I care for on a daily basis) volunteered to buy me a new Hobart N50. This isn't an option for everyone (way too expensive)--I know I wouldn't have purchased it without some help--but if you can find a good used one, it might be something to think about. 

Just be very careful if you find one on eBay.   The first one I bought on eBay was disaster but eBay Buyer Protection took care of it as it was SIGNIFICANTLY misrepresented.  I think the best thing to do is look for a seller that has a lot of good feedback.  The seller I purchased this bad one from had all good feedback, but very little of it.  The new one I ordered from Globe Equipment, a reputable restaurant supply.  By the way, I highly recommend Globe Equipment to buy from, as these people are EXTREMELY helpful.

There are also Globe brand commercial 5 and 8 quart mixers (good sizes for the home) out there that are MUCH less expensive than the Hobart, but I just read on another forum that a buyer was so dissatisfied with it that he sent it back.  He said it jumped around the counter with heavier dough and the motor heated up quickly.  I can't find too much information on Globe but this was the second time I read that the motor got hot.  To me, that is the first sign that it is apt to fail.

Good luck!    Genie

[petebert]

I have a pretty awesome restaurant supply store in my area that has used Hobart mixers but all the ones I've seen so far seem a little bulky for my kitchen.

[msgenie516]

I have a pretty awesome restaurant supply store in my area that has used Hobart mixers but all the ones I've seen so far seem a little bulky for my kitchen.

You are SO LUCKY to have access to a variety of used Hobart mixers!  The N50 is the smallest one they make, with the bowl having only a 5 quart capacity.  If you find one, it does LOOK bulky but I don't think the footprint is larger than the bigger KitchenAid.  If it is, the difference is negligible.  The bulky look is really because of the much larger motor.  I personally would go to the store and check it out!     Genie

[holorim]

I was very fortunate that my mom (who is 88 years old and who I care for on a daily basis) volunteered to buy me a new Hobart N50. This isn't an option for everyone (way too expensive)--I know I wouldn't have purchased it without some help--but if you can find a good used one, it might be something to think about. 

Just be very careful if you find one on eBay.   The first one I bought on eBay was disaster but eBay Buyer Protection took care of it as it was SIGNIFICANTLY misrepresented.

Hi Genie,
Sorry for your unfortunate experience with a secondhand N50
This machine is "virtually indestructible", but only if it has been serviced periodically ... and of course this is also true for a new one.
Although the servicing is very important for the transmission (which needs to be well greased), we can notice that many existing N50's are running totally neglected In a such way, wear out and failure are inevitable !
Anybody skilled enough on mechanics may service himself his N50, otherwise it's needed to call Hobart but their job will be expensive.

The good new is that a damaged N50 can be repaired in most cases, proving that this machine has been well-engineered and is still well-made 

[msgenie516]

Hi Holorim,

How often would the N50 need servicing?  I wasn't aware of that as my KitchenAid K5SS is 22 years old (still running fine, it seems) and it's never been serviced.  My husband is mechanically inclined (he fixes cars and we used to have a service station) so I think he could probably do it, depending on what's involved.  Please advise.  Thanks!     Genie

[holorim]

Hi Genie,
According to the manufacturer, the N50 should be serviced twice a year. But this depends of the job the N50 does : using a N50 for whipping eggs will be less wearing than kneading heavy dough ; in the same way, a N50 used few times a week will require less attention that a N50 used relentlessly (as this machine is for professional use, and is build to run severals hours a day).

In practical terms, you have to remove periodically the drip cup and then clean it with the internal gear(in order to prevent a start of corrosion at this place).
You also have to check for 4 points of lubrication :
- the internal gear and its satellite pinion (this requires the removing of the planetary)
- the 2 slideways for the bowl support
- the rear rotor bearing (this requires the removing of the end cover ; this bearing is lubricated with oil via a wick)

Then, you have to replace all the grease inside the transmission gear when this grease is out of date (according to the requirements given by the supplier of the grease). This is the most difficult task, which requires the complete opening of the mixer the dismantling of all the gearing.

Finally, you also have to watch for the gearing clearance each time the N50 is powered on : each unusual noise may indicate that some adjustments of the gearing are disturbed and need to be rightly set again (this occurs especially if the N50 is used intensively)

[msgenie516]

Hi Genie,
According to the manufacturer, the N50 should be serviced twice a year. But this depends of the job the N50 does : using a N50 for whipping eggs will be less wearing than kneading heavy dough ; in the same way, a N50 used few times a week will require less attention that a N50 used relentlessly (as this machine is for professional use, and is build to run severals hours a day).

In practical terms, you have to remove periodically the drip cup and then clean it with the internal gear(in order to prevent a start of corrosion at this place).
You also have to check for 4 points of lubrication :
- the internal gear and its satellite pinion (this requires the removing of the planetary)
- the 2 slideways for the bowl support
- the rear rotor bearing (this requires the removing of the end cover ; this bearing is lubricated with oil via a wick)

Then, you have to replace all the grease inside the transmission gear when this grease is out of date (according to the requirements given by the supplier of the grease). This is the most difficult task, which requires the complete opening of the mixer the dismantling of all the gearing.

Finally, you also have to watch for the gearing clearance each time the N50 is powered on : each unusual noise may indicate that some adjustments of the gearing are disturbed and need to be rightly set again (this occurs especially if the N50 is used intensively)

Hi again!

Thanks for the instructions!  I will print them and save them with my mixer papers. 

Even if I used it for an average of 10 minutes a day, that would be A LOT.  The most I make bread is once or twice a week and pizza maybe once a week plus the occasional cake (but if the cake is not a heavy batter, I would probably use the KitchenAid--just trying to run it once in a while to keep it going--seems like if you don't use something, it is more likely to go bad from just sitting there).  I also plan on using the KitchenAid for whipped cream, meringues and mashed potatoes once in while.  I also sometimes take out my little KitchenAid hand mixer for some of these smaller tasks--I try to spread the load around so everything lasts me.  It's only myself, my husband, and my mother here and I don't normally bake for anyone else.  The only other time I would use the N50 is for making cookies, which I don't do that often, mostly around the holidays.

So I'm thinking I probably can stretch out the maintenance to less than once a year, unless the grease expires before that. I have no idea how long the grease is supposed to last but Hobart builds these units as they are ordered, so at least I know it will be new when I get it.    Genie

P.S.  Fortunately, we have a Hobart service center the most 10 miles from here (actually, probably less), so I could always bring it there if I get desperate!  Have no idea what that will cost, though.