Does anyone have experience w a KA mixer flex style beater attachment?

[mariadnoca]

To try out Cherry, my bigger new to me ka mixer - that did not come with anything except the whisk attachment, the only beater I could find quickly available was a flex style beater. It was made by KitchenAid, but had the rubber flex on both sides of the beater, and if I recall some of them only have it on one side. I was surprised that when it made cookie dough, sometimes it forced it up above the beater so that I kinda had a line of dough around the top of the bowl that needed scraping down. However, I only got to try it the one time before taking cherry in for repair. Then because I wasn’t sure about it I returned it while still within the 30 day window. I’ve seen a few different styles of this type of beater, one with the flex edge only on one side and another one not made by KitchenAid, that does have the flex part on both sides, but the actual beater itself is a little bit curved, which makes me wonder if that would help keep more of the dough pushed down in the lower section of the bowl. To me, I felt like I needed to raise the beater blade higher than the mixer would allow as it seemed almost too tight to the bowl, but wasn’t sure if that was normal. The style did say it was compatible w my ka model number.

Has anyone had any experience with flex beaters? Would you buy it again or find they aren’t worth the money?

 

[judy-mass]

I bought one from KA that has the flex strip on one side. It does a pretty good job of scraping the bowl as it mixes but you need to be really careful when adding flour as it tends to blow it right back at you. Lowest speed and add flour really slowly!

 

[Marg CDN]

I did eventually buy the scraper paddle several years ago. I spent quite a bit of time adjusting the machine for best fit and was confident that I found its best fit. But, I still don't like it. Not helpful for feedback, as I just don't bother with it now. I think my belief is that if it doesn't get every square inch of the bowl scraped, including the bottom, then I have to get out a spatula anyway. And yes, there is often the ring of unmixed ingredients ringing around the top. So I prefer to just use the regular paddle and take control of it myself.

I don't add flour or sugar with the machine running because of the resulting mess. I have the plastic guard and chute for that purpose and perhaps if I had a HUGE kitchen, I would use them.

I do have the small machine though. When I decided on its purchase, I wanted the size that would be appropriate, all the time, since there were only 2 of us. I didn't make huge batches of anything. I was always happy with that decision. I'm even happier now since there is only one of us.

Now having said all of this, I'll probably get that scraper paddle out the next time I use the machine.

 

[mariadnoca]

Ha! Yes, I wasn’t sure if I’d really end up using it and wondered how others felt. I have ordered the standard breather and dough hook, though upgraded to the commercial ss version so I’d never worry about the coating. My tilt head beater ended up chipping in the long run.

I’ve been happy with my 5 quart and the only real reason for the bigger size is making Swiss meringue buttercream. It just doesn’t cool down enough with whipping like the larger model does. It takes me hours of juggling ice packs and trips to put the bowl in the freezer. Marilyn tested and confirmed it w her larger ka. Since then I’ve been on the hunt to find a used bigger model Bc the discontinued 7 qt pro is better than the new version. The old model I got has the commercial motor, that ka now charges $1k for, and I wasn’t willing to to spend that much.

i’m very anxiously awaiting the return of my new to me mixer from the repair store. I can’t blame them for how long it’s taking given the delay is KitchenAid sending them the part, but I have a whole line of recipes waiting!