Yeah, yeah...it's not the Vitamix and that's the best yada yada...Anywho, got any personal experience with relatively powerful blenders that are pretty cheap? My last one was a Hamilton Beach number and I wouldn't mind getting another, but I would prefer something a tad more powerful. It would leave lumps of frozen fruit sometimes when I'd make smoothies...

I would guess the one with the highest watt rating would be the best choice - if you can believe the manufacturer's numbers...



We had a couple of Oster's in the past that were fairly powerful...

I would actually first check out getting a used vitamix -- I purchased mine from ebay years ago -- one of those stainless steel babies from way back -- and it still works great! I've had Waring, Kitchenaide, Cuisinart and Oster blenders over the course of 30 years, and none compare -- all either burned out, didn't blend well, or were glass carafes that cost quite a bit to replace. Good luck.

Welcome, Livegreen! Thanks for the input...We were batting this back and forth the other week and someone mentioned that those older Vitamixes were harder to clean. Have you found this to be true at all? I also am wondering about eBay: I have never used it before! I tend to go with Amazon, but obviously it's a great deal and everything. So any thoughts on its trustworthiness would be helpful.

You know, it's true that an older vitamix at that price would out perform a new blender at the same price. I used that old stainless kind and it was POWERFUL! It was the sort with the built in spigot, that I imagine would be hard to clean so I didn't use it, just poured from the top as usual. It was a snap to clean it, just rinse and go. If needed you could put a drop of dish soap into some warm water in the carafe and run it for a couple of minutes, that gets things pretty sparkling!

Coco, have you ever used Ebay? I set up a Paypal account for something else and so I could use that if need be (when I have enough money for a blender, LOL).

I've never sold anything on Ebay but have friends with a bookshop on there. I have bought a thing or two, not much though. I am looking for a nada chair now, I might try Ebay for that.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, yeah...it's not the Vitamix and that's the
> best yada yada...Anywho, got any personal
> experience with relatively powerful blenders that
> are pretty cheap? My last one was a Hamilton Beach
> number and I wouldn't mind getting another, but I
> would prefer something a tad more powerful. It
> would leave lumps of frozen fruit sometimes when
> I'd make smoothies...

At your price point BW, I'd take the KitchenAid KSB560 based on one analysis [www.consumersearch.com]. Looks like a pretty consistent performer for around $68 on Amazon including free shipping. I had hoped to recommend the Omega B2100, the 1 HP budget blender from Omega. But at $119.95 it's over $50 more expensive than the KitchenAid. And to be frank, the few reviews there are on Discountjuicers aren't that favorable to the B2100.

Note that there was a Consumer Report article on blenders last year in June 2010. In that article the Oster BCBG08 at $40 came out as the best value. To see more, go to your local library and see if they carry Consumer Reports.


Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2011 10:48PM by pborst.

Thanks, Paul! I didn't see your post until today. I keep forgetting about Consumer Reports. My issue is that I have owned Osters and my last one was a Hamilton Beach. Very good and under $40 but the problem is that frozen fruit would often come out with some lumps. So I am looking for something just a bit more powerful and still less money that the Lexus of the blending world!

Hey BW! Try the Kitchen Aid. It's tops in the first analysis in my prior post. And I really really hate this video. It's poor beyond belief. The popular mechanics aid can't even say "'V-eye-a-mix" correctly. But the one thing that this video does is show the superiority of the Kitchen Aid blender at the low end of the price scale. And no , it still isn't better than a blendtec or a vitamix but.... that wasn't your question. so here goes. [www.youtube.com]. Best. Sounds like there might be a Kitchenaid in your future.

Paul