Which Vitamix model is reviewed the best?

[Mueller]

I would like to get one delivered soon along with a 9 tray dehydrator and start testing some desserts.

Any advice appreciated,

Rawk on
Mull

[Mueller]

Just checking in...had a nice hfs gs this morning.

Ok, Vitamix or other blender(someone recommended Blendtec to me) advice.

Can anyone give recommendations as to which model to get and why? I have seen some talk about needing vs not needing the dry bladed. There seem to be a couple different models out there and with a purchase like this I just want to be sure I get it right.

Ok, so monthly raw fooders, can anyone provide advice on which model I should look into?

A rawkous thanks,
Mull

[baltochef]

Mueller

Vita-Mix doesn't really have a "bad" (read lesser quality as compared to consumer models) blender in their product line..

What they do have are a line of blenders that are more or less aimed at the home consumer, & a line of blenders that are designed more for the type of everyday / all day type of stress that you would encounter in commercial environments such as restaurants, bakeries, juice bars, etc..

Whereas Vita-Mix had this commercial market pretty much to themselves for a long time, Blend Tec came along several years ago to compete with them; & now Waring is starting to want a piece of what was once a small, niche market..

It has only been in the last decade that the average restaurant has even cared about having a table-top blender in the kitchen..Until recently most restaurants only had Waring & Hamilton Beach bar blenders in the front of the house for the mixing of alcoholic drinks..

Most restaurants relied on commercial-sized stick blenders & the large & small Robot Coupe food processors to chop & pulverize food, not table-top blenders..With three big players now in the commercial blender market place (and I'm sure that more are to come), raw foodists have never had so many choices in blenders as they do currently..

Personally, I own & use the Vita-Prep 3 model from Vita-Mix..The Vita-Prep 3 comes in as the entry level commercial model in their product line-up..

I chose this model as I felt it had the best cost-to-power-to-longevity ratio of the various Vita-Mix & Blend Tec models at the time that I purchased it (April 2007)..In all fairness I will tell you that I purchased the Vita-Prep 3 after purchasing (March 2007) & returning the Blend Tec..

Initially, I did not want to spend what I eventually did for the Vita-Prep 3; so I purchased the Blend Tec through Raw Guru on the strength of their advice..Upon receiving it & using it for several weeks I came to the following conclusions.. 1) Too noisy.. 2) Lid fit too loosely & carafe seemed less substantial then the Vita-Mix carafes that I had used in restaurants that I had worked in.. 3) Too complicated of a control panel--At first I thought that the various pre-set, computer-controlled blending modes would be an asset..After using them for a while I realized that the simpler controls of the Vita-Mix suited me better, & resulted in more efficient work flow in the kitchen.. 4) Vita-Mix had more carafe & accessory options..

Now, to address your initial question as to which Vita-Mix blender is reviewed as the best..

ALL of the Vita-Mix blenders are head & shoulders above the blenders marketed for home use..Period..And they should be when they cost between 3-15 times what a consumer blender does..

However, don't think for a moment that even the strongest of this newer generation of blenders can't be trashed, because they most certainly can..I'm constantly reading posts where people complain about blenders failing..Blenders generally don't fail, HUMANS cause them to fail!!..

The key to blender longevity is to ALWAYS have sufficient liquid (water, juice, fats, etc.) in the carafe so as to allow the food to be able to move about efficiently, contact the blades, bounce off the walls of the carafe, repeating this over & over until the food is reduced to the particle size & consistency that you desire..

So do your research, purchase a Vita-Mix, Blend Tec, or Waring blender; and most importantly use it within it's capabilities..

If you don't abuse & overload a blender it will last for decades..

Finally, don't get caught up in the power wars that are going on amongst the blender manufacturers right now..My personal opinion as a chef is that 13-15 amps, properly applied by the manufacturer, is all that is needed for 99% of all home cooks..Unless you are feeding a large (read 8 or more) raw family, where everyone is raw, & the cook is REALLY pressed for time (just like in a busy restaurant); I just don't feel that there is a need for anything bigger then a 64 oz. carafe & a 15 amp motor..

Good luck & best wishes!!

Bruce

[Mueller]

Woah, I haven't taken the time to read this yet but I just wanted to say thanks!!

I am digging in now.

[Mueller]

Ok read and digested. Thanks again...

[baltochef]

Two things that I forgot to mention in the first post..

First, Vita-Mix blenders come standard with the tamper..This, IMO, is a necessary tool (NOT a luxury) to have for the raw foodist using a blender..Over the years I seldom needed to scrape down a blender carafe when preparing SAD foods..Probably less then 1% of the time..However, with raw food preparation I find myself using the tamper more then I ever did preparing SAD foods..Thus, I am partial to the Vita-Mix blenders for this reason..

Over on the RAW & Living Foods Community Support Forum, a number of people are purchasing the new Waring blender, & then purchasing a Vita-Mix carafe w/tamper to use on the Waring..The new Waring has slightly more power then does the Vita-Prep 3 (on paper)..However, many of the real world experiences of these testers seem to come to the conclusion that the Vita-Prep 3 is at the very least holding it's own, & sometimes surpassing the performance of the Waring..The people purchasing the Waring and adding the Vita-Mix carafe are, IMO, chasing the elusive "MOST POWERFUL, BEST BLENDER" pie-in-the-sky illusion that really does not exist..Add to the fact that the combined purchase price of the Waring with the Vita-Mix carafe & tamper easily excedes the price of the Vita-Prep 3, & I can come to no other conclusion then to purchase the Vita-Prep 3 in the first place!!..

Second,with current electric motor technology;the more powerful a blender is the more noise it is going to generate..This is a fact of physics & cannot be changed..There are some very quiet & powerful electric motors being manufactured, but their cost is prohibitive for appliances like blenders..There is a reason that the blenders in busy restaurants & juice bars are in enclosures..These blenders are even more powerful then the average Vita-Mix & are thus VERY noisy..The operators would suffer permanent hearing damage in very short order if the blenders were run w/o the enclosures..

So decide just how powerful your blender needs to be & take into account the decibel level that it produces before purchase..

Bruce

[rawstrength]

I am thinking of buying a dry container for my vita-mix as right now I only have a wet container.
Does anyone have a dry container? Is it worth the $150 price tag just for the container? Does it really do a better job of blending nuts, grains and seeds? Thanks in advance for the input!

[baltochef]

rawstrength

I don't have one, but virtually all the posts I have read say to save your money..

I believe that Vita-Mix originally designed & marketed the dry container for those people trying to avoid purchasing a grain mill..

Since the majority of raw foodists seem to desire to reduce & or eliminate grains from their diets; a dry container for a blender, especially at $150.00 doesn't seem to be a wise purchase..

If grains were going to play an important part in my, or my families diet, then I would put the $150.00 that a dry container would cost towards the purchase of a dedicated grain mill..

For small quantities of grains the majority of us here on the forum resort to a spice grinder..You can grind close to 1/2 cup in a spice grinder, so even if a recipe calls for several cups of a ground grain, you can accomplish the task quicker & with less cleanup in the spice grinder then in a dry carafe on the blender..The blender will usually need to be scraped down in order to pulverize grains into flour-like consistency..I just shake the spice grinder & tap the lid sharply several times while it's running, & this serves to move the ingredients around for even grinding..

Bruce

[Blissed]

I have the Vita-mix, and while it's a head above most other blenders, there is a challenge with getting all of the stuff out of it after the blend.

Another, comparable blender that many raw foodist use, is the K-Tec HP3 - this blender has a wider base and opening, making it easier to get the blended stuff out, with similar power to the Vita-mix. Recommend checking this one out to before you decide.

[baltochef]

Blissed

The K-Tec HP3 , also commonly called the Blend Tec, are the same machine.

While I returned the one I purchased & got the Vita-Prep 3, as I stated above, you are correct in that foods do come out of the Blend Tec carafe somewhat easier then the same foods do from the Vita-Mix carafes..

The best blender carafe for food removal that I have ever used are the glass ones that Oster used on the Osterizer models..Even sticky foods just seem to glide out of this carafe..

It is for that reason that I have not gotten rid of the 45 year old Oster Osterizer that has been in our family for decades..For small jobs I pull it out of the cupboard under the butcher block table upon which I have the Vita-Prep 3..

In an ideal world someone would produce a glass carafe for the Vita-Mix line of blenders manufactured from tempered glass reinforced with wire mesh..Then we raw foodists would have the smoothness of a glass carafe with the strength of polycarbonate plastic..

Since this is unlikely to happen, we just will have to make do with what the manufacturers give us..

Bruce

[Conscious Midwife]

I forgot about OSter, yes they are awesom .

Vitamix has just come out with a new model the 5200

different container material plus it is QUIETER, oh and a half dozen other features

definately on my must have list:)

[Springfairy]

Hi,

Philips also came out with a neat blender which I used at a friend's place. It's excellent for smoothies, it has a potmeter function, a pulse, a smoothie and an ice button and the carafe is glass (I have issues with polycarbonate carafes). I'm considering buying that model (about GBP 50) instead of the Vitamix, however, I have no experience with making nut cheeses and other heavy duty foods in it and my friend only uses it for smoothies.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Aluminium-Chrome-Black-Liquidiser/dp/B0007XHGHK

Any ideas?