I'm in the market for a blender and juicer. They're the only two pieces of equipment I want, but I don't want to mess around with one only to find that two years down the road it wears down or that the carafe leaks. If I'm going to pay $600 for a freaking blender, it had doggone better come with Oprah included. (Not really, I can't stand that woman.)

So, I'm looking for hard facts and experience regarding blenders and juicers. Pretending that money is no object and not a factor in choosing a top o' the line product, which blenders and juicers have consistently shown themselves to work the best and last the longest? Are there some that have wheatgrass juice attachments that are solid? Should I be researching commercial versions of these products? I just do NOT want to spend a fortune on something from a TV Infomercial and have it DIE on me in two or three years. A $600 juicer had freakin' well better outlast ME!

I love my Vitamix 5200 but as I mentioned in your other thread its not necessary. I had no problems making simple smoothies using a regular Hamilton Beach blender. I have a Waring juicer (cost me 50 or 60 dollars I believe) and it gets the job done find. If you are juicing wheat grass or making nut butters then one of the top of the line juicers like a Green Star or Champion would work but if you are just using it to make carrot juice etc then theres no need to drop major $$$ if you aren't ready to do that right now.

I started out with these inexpensive things and took my time reading reviews, researching etc before buying the more expensive equipment.



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

I would get a vita prep, and eventually when I have enough money a green star juicer. In the meantime, I have a 5200 vita mix and am going to get a wheat grass juicer on the counter. I think WY has one he can recommend. veggie

Any single-auger does a nice job juicing Wheatgrass.
I've had many over the years. The one I'm using now is
a Wheateena Green Label. Start off buying wheat berries
at any progressive Food Store. Good Luck.....WY


Here is what WY said about Wheatgrass juicers. Simple Living - with the vita mix you will totally be in business. And you don't have to spend $600!! however, I am not sure what blendtec users have to say - I know that you can get a 3hp, but it really isn't necessary IMO.

I'd get a blendtec and a double auger juicer. And a cuisinart for food processing. And one of those super duper dehydrators.

Must be nice to have $$$. I use the cheapy ones. Nothing gets wasted, the dogs get the pulp. I still spend a fortune on the actual produce part.

simpleliving

Check out my older posts on this subject..None of the higher priced blenders are "Bad"..All machines have their pluses & minuses..

Vita-Mix, Blend Tec & Waring blenders are no exception..For what it's worth, Vita-Mix has been in the high-powered blender business for over four decades..The have the best customer service, IMO..Their track record for product reliability & customer service is what the newcomers like Blend Tec are trying to emulate..

Waring & Hamilton-Beach have been around even longer then Vita-Mix, But it's only in the past 5-10 years that they have been interested in manufacturing the same class of blenders that Vita-Mix has..

If a raw foodist was ONLY interested in making green smoothies with minimal amounts of ice (or pre-crushed large ice cubes into small pieces before adding the ice to the carafe); was ALWAYS willing to add the tough ingredients, such as kale leaves, sequentially & slowly, a little at a time; was NEVER going to try & put things like avocado pits into the mixture; was NEVER going to use the blender for tough sticky mixtures such as raw candies, raw hummus, etc; did NOT require that the tiny seeds of blueberries, strawberries, & raspberries be pulverized to the point that they were indistinguishable in the smoothie; was WILLING to be content with a 48 oz. size carafe; & was ALWAYS cognizant of the need for sufficient liquid(s) in the carafe to allow a proper vortex to form; then I would recommend the following;

Go out shopping to yard sales, flea markets, thrift & secondhand stores, & pawn shops..Look for & purchase as many of the older (1950's, 1960's, 1970's) Hamilton-Beach, Waring, & Oster blenders equipped with glass carafes..These blenders were tough & long lasting..The glass carafes, especially the ones on the Oster Osterizers, were very well designed..They created outstanding vortexes (assuming proper amounts of liquids), & sticky foods slid easily out of them..Most of these blenders should cost NO more than $20.00..

For the price of my $460.00 Vita-Prep 3 I could purchase between 15-23 of these blenders..Even if you were 20 years old, you could purchase a lifetime supply of these blenders for far less than the cost of a new, high-powered Waring, Blend Tec, or Vita-Mix blender..

It is the modern day cook, raw or SAD, that is unwilling to use their blenders as I have described above; or has needs that supercede these restrictions that resulted in the manufacture of the original Vita-Mix blender, and all of the subsequent blenders similar to it..

ANY of these older blenders, assuming an electric motor in good condition, should have NO trouble making green smoothies..The three reasons that raw foodists have problems with green smoothies are as follows:

1. Insufficient liquid in the mixture to allow a proper vortex to form..Period..This is THE main reason for both blender failure, & not getting the foods in the carafe to puree..

2. Overfilling the carafe..ALL blenders, regardless of how powerful their motors are, work BEST when their carafes, regardless of the size of the carafe, are NO more than half full..Fill the carafe more than 2/3's full, & the blender is going to struggle to do it's job..

3. Trying to put ALL of the ingredients in the carafe before starting the blender..NOT adding foods sequentially, especially tough greens such as kale stems & leaves, is a primary reason for incomplete blending..

Unfortunately, all three of the above conditions are usually present together..When people come onto forums like this one complaining about their blender. there is a 99% chance that these conditions are at the root cause of their problem(s)..

Hope this helps..

Bruce

simple living

GREENSTAR is great for all and any greens i would say it is the top of the line
but it does a very POOR job on juicing more than a few pieces of fruit

so in short ; excellent for greens poor for fruits

good luck