If the machine is sooo great, versatile, etc., then why do you need two carafes?

banana who Wrote:
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> ......why do you need two carafes?
One has Dry Blades if you want to make flour or crush ice. The other carafe has Wet Blades for Green Smoothies or other blending.....WY

Thanks. So you are saying that I would not be able to crush ice in the wet carafe?

banana who Wrote:
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> Thanks. So you are saying that I would not be able
> to crush ice in the wet carafe?
You can, but I've read that it dulls the blades.....WY

I opted to not get the dry blade, I think my (wet) blade is dull now though. Have been adding some ice at the end of my blends for a colder drink, 3-4 quite large ice cubes too, not distilled either. I have got to get around to remedying that. The features that make the Vitamix carafe stand out is the lid and the plunger which really do help if you want to be able to blend at slower speeds, maybe sharper blades than the competition, and the fact that you can replace individual parts rather than shelling out for an entire new carafe, that's about sums it up I believe. After that it's a contest of longevity.

My thinking is you don't need the dry blade, until you do. Ideally health wise you would not be blending up a whole lot of ice w/ smoothies, as for the grains, if you really are planning on doing that a lot then yes perhaps the dry carafe is worth considering.

Thanks, Adam...I think I'm gonna get the Oster Beehive for now...LOL- it's 600 watts and has ice-crushing capabilities. If even the Holy Grail Vitamix can have dull blades, then I might as well get something way less expensive, at least for now

BW, good choice. Can't go wrong with an Oster. As I said on another thread, I have an Oster in my office at work for making a smoothie.

Paul

Sure, let me know how the Oster works out for you, hope you are satisfied with the purchase. I love my Vitamix don't get me wrong. Considering what I put in my blender I think it serves me well. My experience with immersion blenders w/ prep attatchment and an older Oster model is what prompted me to get a Vitamix.

Regardless, a high speed blender is a high speed blender. BTW I believe the ice and flax seeds to be the reason for why my blades are dull. Be warned, lots of ice is going to dull your blades very quickly. Marketing is perfectly content if you want to dull your blades early and order new ones.

I figured out how to keep my blends cooler by blending at lower to medium speed for awhile before going up to high and just adding ice cubes one at a time intermittently during my blend. It helps if you keep some fruits in the fridge (some fruits/greens etc don't do well in the fridge so you gotta be selective). You can even put your carafe in the fridge or freezer for a bit before blending. I'm a perpetual experimenter so I don't have a tried and true routine yet. Happy trails w/ your new blender! =).

pborst Wrote:
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> BW, good choice. Can't go wrong with an Oster.
> As I said on another thread, I have an Oster in my
> office at work for making a smoothie.
>
> Paul

Hey Paul

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond the other day just seeing what they had. Blew me away! Stuff piled high to the ceilings! I had never stepped in the place and it's been there for years. They had this Oster that was 500 watts (not beehive shape; just square). What impressed me was that the base was very substantial (and only cost $39.95!). Metal but not that fake metal that is really metallic paint or something. My last blender had a plastic base and even that worked decently. Didn't get all the lumps out of frozen fruit, but I never let it run too long either. On Amazon the Beehive model is around $80 and 600 watts instead of 500. Do you think the extra 100 watts makes much difference? Also, it has just a flip switch instead of several buttons. I kind of like that, too. I never got why you need all these settings when they don't seem to make much difference anyway.

Adam--I don't really use ice. Really, why do it? When I wanna make a frozen smoothie I freeze the fruit. That way it's not too diluted with extra water. I think I could even make slushy stuff in my Omega 8006 with the blank screen so there's always that option. And no blades to dull

When I make a smoothie with frozen fruit I add some warm water. I don't love cold foods, your body has to heat it up to body temp which seems like extra work, energy expenditure. I like room temp food and drink personally. And I don't run a smoothie for long enough for it to start heating up either, that seems like too much blending to me. Everything is getting oxidized if you over blend I would imagine.

coco Wrote:
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> When I make a smoothie with frozen fruit I add
> some warm water.
I'm curious as to what Water you use, and how you heat it.....WY

Filtered heated to warm in a kettle.