I need advice on which Kitchen Aid stand mixer to buy......

J

janet-in-nc

Well-known member
I am getting an unexpected tax refund so am finally going to treat myself. It will be lightly used but I do want to be able to make bread. I also don't want to buy another one in my lifetime. Do I get a tilt head or lift bowl? Anything else I should know? Where are the best prices or are they all about the same? Thanks so much for any help.

 
Thanks steve, I know you're a great baker. I thought about refurbished but then was nervous about

it. Would you really buy a refurbished one? Anyone have experience here?

 
I always buy the refurbished if there is a choice

The new ones are made by people slapping on parts who don't know much about how the thing works. When there is a problem with this method of assembly, a trained technician looks into the thing, checks all the systems, and makes sure the thing is working and put together correctly. Plus it's lots cheaper.

 
--And if you can get an OLDER refurbished one or get one and get it refurbished. . .

you will have a real gem. I had my inherited Kitchen Aid Mixer (tilt head) into the shop a couple of years ago and they repair guy said to hang onto it because all the drives in the new ones were being made out of plastic, not metal.

Mine is circa sometime in the 70s (harvest gold or somesuch, I think. Runs like a champ. The only thing we have had done to is is replace the speed control.

 
Plus: most of the refurbished stuff I see around here. . .

are full manufacturer warranteed, "like new."

 
I always buy refurbished when I can. Look at it this way ... it was new, something was wrong. Now

it's been fixed and you KNOW nothing's wrong. Plus, it's considerably less expensive than one "right out of the box" that may have a flaw.

Also, this leaves you some money to buy extrees. My recommendation is one of those paddles with the scrapers on 'em (around $35 bucks), they're really the best! I also have the meat grinder but there are lots of other useful pieces should you need 'em.

http://www.amazon.com/BeaterBlade-KitchenAid-Tilt-Head-Bowl-Lift-Professional/dp/B002LHGOJQ

 
I am thrilled to hear this news and will take your advice. Thank you all........more

Since the hand mixer (avocado green) I am using, and have used since 1967, is still going strong and my 20 year old cuisinart is still a prince, I should have figured this out. Thanks again. I do look for an old kitchen aid at a church rummage sale that I help set up twice a year but no luck. Lots of crock pots though.

 
One caveat: I usually buy refurbs, but not for electronic stuff like cell phones.

We just went through 3 motorola cell phones from verizon. The first one (new, out of the box) malfunctioned. The next 2 were refurbs. They didn't work right within 24 hours. We finally demanded another new one out of the box.

They claim they haven't had undue problems with this phone, but I'll never accept another refurb phone again.

Michael

 
Absolutely agree to get the tilt head...

I confiscated my Mom's lift bowl model after she stopped baking and it was such a hassle to have to lower the bowl, remove the beater and scrape down the bowl. (I did get a beater blade which worked well, but splattered egg whites and whipped cream all over my counters.) I must have had Santa really fooled this year, but I got TWO of the Kitchen Aid Anniversary mixers for Christmas. I'm loving the convenience of the tilt head and the glass mixing bowl with measurements.

 
Just checked...both are 5 qt. bowls - Mom's 300W and Anniversary model 325W

Mom's is the lift bowl version and the Anniversary model is the tilt head.

 
I do business with a large company that "subs out" its refurb work. Make sure...

...when a product is advertised as "Factory Refurbished" that the company really does have the factory refurbish it.

One company in particular sends its refurb work to sub-contractors who often work out of their homes.

I understand you are protected by a guarantee if anything goes wrong, but ask a bunch of questions before you buy so you cut down your chances of ever having to use the guarantee!

Michael

 
I recommend the largest bowl possible, and I recommend buying two bowls. When I bought mine, 17 year

ago, only the lift model had the larger bowl. I've gotten used to it.

The second bowl would be for egg whites, when making a souffle or a French-style cake, and also for multiple batches of bread dough.

 
I have the tilt head and there is a problem,

when I am kneading bread dough with it the pin that holds the tilt head on starts to slide out and I have to get a little hammer and hit the pin back into place. I was thinking of getting one with a lift head but after reading what Steve2 had to say about having to drop the beater into the bowl to remove it, I am rethinking getting the lift head.

 
I've been running into the same issue with the pin, Judy. It works itself

out whenever I use it...not just for bread dough.

 
I've been dealing with that as well and used to use a hammer to pound that sucker back in but then,

I discovered if you just push ever so slightly up on the head, you can slide that pin in with your fingers.

To counteract that pin sliding out, I just keep a hand on the head while it mixes to keep it from jogging around. This mitigates the pin issue although you'd think KA would have a better solution. You'd be wrong, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't. In fact, I'm going to look into it right now and see if they have any suggestions.

 
Mine is a refurb

I got it a couple of years ago right off the Kitchenaid site. With the refurb I was able to afford the Custom Metallic because I just wouldn't spend $500 for a new one of those. Way overpriced, but what can I say -- I wanted it.

That being said I have had a small problem with it. It leaked a small amount of black oil-y type stuff and when I called KA they said it likely was because I'd let it sit for so long w/o using. They were super nice but because it was a refurb the warranty isn't as long -- and it was already a yr out of warranty. So they said take it in for repairs but I haven't yet. Being it is just me these days I don't have the need to use it much so will wait till I need to get it repaired -- it still works fine for now.

If I had it to do over again I'd still get the refurb since I wanted the high priced finish.

Oh and I got the tilt head -- the lift is much taller and would barely fit under my cabinets (I measured). Now I think if I'd gotten that one it would look huge in my tiny kitchen.

 
MariaD, where are you taking it? I took mine once(many years ago)

to a place in Santa Rosa. but I don't know if they still are in business.

 
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