Nooo! Did I break it? :(

[subbacultcha]

I got a vitamix for Christmas and have been enjoying using it...but today, I was pureeing some prunes without added liquid and it cut out :(

I've heard of this happening to people, but I thought that was from overheating and it didn't feel really hot or anything, just warm.

Anyway I figured I'd leave it half an hour and then try again. Still not working!
Couple of hours later - still not working :confused:

And whenever I try to run it I can smell some kind of electric smell...don't know how to describe it.

Have I broken my beautiful baby? :(

[nfracer]

return it?;)

[GlimR]

I would call them...they have excellent customer service~

http://www.vitamix.com/household/contact/contact.html

[subbacultcha]

I'm in the UK and I didn't get it directly from them... I got it from totalrawfood.com... I have the warrantee though. Will it still be ok to call them even though I didn't get it directly from them?

I don't want my mum to know I broke it if I have :(

Do you reckon its worth changing the fuse?

[Revvell]

Should be fine. Try it now WITH fluid in it.

[Raw Mom]

Hope it's working now. This has happened to me. A couple of hours and it was working again. But definitely call them, if not.....they are great.

[subbacultcha]

Thanks everyone. Everyones in bed now so I can't test it now but I'll try again in the morning. Really hoping it'll be OK! If not I will give them a call tomorrow.

[subbacultcha]

It is working again! I had to flick some switch on the bottom but its fine again!

[GlimR]

That's great!! If you ever do need to ask any questions though their customer service is really good. It doesn't matter where you bought it either.

[baltochef]

"I got a vitamix for Christmas and have been enjoying using it...but today, I was pureeing some prunes without added liquid and it cut out."

subbacultcha

Greetings!!

I'm going to try to answer your questions without coming across too harshly, but I'm also going to be quite blunt; so here goes..

I've been online now perusing various raw foods forums for approximately 22 months; & the issue of damaging a brand new blender or food processor shows up almost every week, sometimes several times a week..

I grew up in a household where I was surrounded by artisans & mechanics so sometimes I have a tendency to take my knowledge of machines & their workings for granted..

So I would like to make the following points for all the members here at Alissa's, & perhaps the moderators would consider posting this information in the form of a sticky so as to let newcomers to the raw lifestyle be aware of the limitations & shortcomings of blenders & food processors (the machines that most often seem to be abused by raw foodists)..

1. All electric motors have limitations in their individual performance..Period..The electric motors in blenders & food processors that raw foodists purchase & use are designed for two distinctly different levels of stress & service..

First there are the consumer or home models that range in price from approximately $40.00 to $350.00..Second, there are the commercial models that range in price from approximately $300.00 to $3000.00 (and higher)..

Consumer model blenders are designed for intermittent use..Period..At the lower end of the consumer price scale the blenders will perform their tasks at peak electrical draw for a few minutes at a time before the electric motors begin to overheat, & ultimately fail..This might mean as little as 1-2 minutes, or as much as 10-15 minutes..Long before they fail the user should be getting audible clues that something is not right..When the pitch & tone sounds of the motor running begin to deepen, the user should immediately begin to pay close attention to the sounds of the motor..If there is the least hint of hesitation or stuttering sounds, TURN IT OFF!!.. This is a clue to stir the ingredients around with a spatula manually, & or to add liquids of some kind..By the time that the user smells that unique electric motor smell, it is too late & you have incurred permanent damage to the motor.. Whether or not the machine can still be used will be dependent upon how much damage has been incurred..But know this, if you smell that unique electrical smell when using ANY electrical appliance, then permanent damage has been done to the motor; & it will NEVER be as good as before it was damaged..This type of damage is accumulative, so one need not wreck the motor the first time that this occurs..Keep pushing an electric motor to the edge of it's performance envelope often enough, & eventually it will fail..

Commercial model blenders are designed for more or less continuous use..But the difference between a Vita-Prep 3 at the bottom of Vita-Mix's commercial line-up, & one of their $3000.00 models is more than the enclosures that the more expensive models come standard with..Whereas the Vita-Prep 3 is designed for continuous usage for an hour or so at a time before it needs to be turned off & allowed to cool; the more expensive models are designed to be used, at or near peak capacity, all day long for 8-12 hours at a time..Therefore the electric motors in the Vita-Prep 3 & the multi-thousand dollar models are QUITE different, & this is reflected in the very different prices..

There is a somewhat blurred line between the higher end consumer models & the lower end commercial models..This is even more confusing to the home raw foodist as many restaurants, caterers, & juice bars elect to purchase the high end consumer model blenders, instead of spending the sometimes exorbitant prices for the commercial models..

So someone in the market to purchase a higher quality blender for themselves will see one of these sub $500.00 blenders in a juice bar setting & say to themselves "WOW!! If it's good enough for the XYZ Juice Bar, then it will be good enough for me, & it will do everything that the cheaper blender that I got from Walmart (Costco, Target, etc.) was NOT able to do.."

WRONG, and also right--The Vita-Mix 4000 & 5000 series, the K-Tec Blend Tec, the Waring XTreme (all consumer blenders), & even the Vita-Prep 3 (bottom of the line commercial blender) are all great blenders..

Any one of these machines should be capable of accomplishing any raw food prep task without failure, assuming that the blender is not defective..

ALL blenders or food processors depend on one key thing in order for them to blend or process..That key factor is the movement of the ingredients within the blender's carafe, or the food processor's bowl..Let me state that again, as it cannot be stated too often, or too emphatically..The ingredients in a blender or food processor must move about the carafe or bowl in order for the machine to blend or process..Without movement of the ingredients within the carafe or bowl, one of two things will occur; neither of them good for the machine..First, the ingredients will pile up around the sides of the carafe or bowl, resulting in the blades of the blender spinning freely..Blenders (and food processors) are NOT designed to run without a load applied to the blades, & doing so will eventually lead to failure..Not right away, but eventually..Second, if the ingredients cover the blades, & are of thick or sticky consistency without sufficient liquids to facilitate movement; then the electric motor's peak capacity will be reached & the motor will begin to fail..

2. Not only do all electric motor appliances have limitations, but these limitations are most problematic when the appliance is first turned on!!..

It is a little understood fact of electric motor technology that the motor is using near it's rated amperage when it is turned on from a cold start..This only occurs for a few micro seconds, but if the carafe or bowl contains ingredients that create more inertia then the motor is designed to overcome, amperage wise, then it will start to fail immediately..This is due to the motor needing to overcome the inertia of the motor itself, whatever is attached to it's shaft, & whatever is in, on, or against the machine it is installed in..As regards to blenders & food processors being used by raw foodists, if too much thick, stringy, frozen, or sticky ingredients are put into the carafe or bowl before it is turned on then this is a recipe for electric motor failure; immediate & or accumulative..

subbacultcha, this is why your brand new Vita-Mix failed..And make no mistake about things, fail it did!!..The fact that the automatic safety overload override switch tripped, in all likelihood saved you from total disaster, but you have damaged the motor..It is not the same as before the switch tripped..Things are not as bad as if there had not been a switch to trip, but minor permanent damage has been sustained..Causing the switch to trip in the future will only lead to permanent blender failure..This is something that you must take into consideration as you use your Vita-Mix in the future..

There must be sufficient liquid ingredients in the carafe or bowl in order to facilitate easy movement of the ingredients, otherwise the blender or food processor cannot properly perform it's job..

As raw foodists we are constantly pushing the envelope as regards to the performance of consumer blenders & food processors..We do so because the raw foods that we wish to create that mimic similar SAD foods require much less in the way of liquid ingredients then do their SAD food counterparts..With dehydration as the primary means to create these foods, we wish to start out with a much drier mixture..Unfortunately, this means that we are subjecting our consumer electric appliances to the stress levels that professional chefs subject their commercial grade appliances..

Unless a user wishes to regularly replace their expensive consumer model blenders & food processors, then I suggest that you pay close attention to the amount of liquids that your recipes call for..Also, STOP the motor of any electrical appliance at the very first sign of strain or overload..Stir the ingredients around with a spatula & add more liquids..All you are doing, besides saving your appliance, is extending the time needed for the raw food to spend in the dehydrator..For those foods NOT being dehydrated, the texture can be manipulated in other ways, primarily by processing drier ingredients by themselves & folding them into the wetter mixture..

Finally, don't assume because a recipe is written down on paper in a book, or published online on a website; that it is correct in all aspects..If your food processor or blender is struggling to accomplish what is written in a recipe, then stop & ask yourself "How can I do this without ruining my machine??"..Try & figure out a way to do things differently then what the author has written..I cannot tell you how many times I have started a recipe that I got out of a book only to realize that the ingredients did not make sense; or that the procedures were incorrect..Recipes should ONLY be guidelines..The greatest attribute that any cook can hope to develop is to be able to read a recipe & decide for yourself what will work for YOU considering your budget, your tools on hand, the ingredients available for purchase locally, your knowledge, & your abilities..

Moderator--Feel free to edit this if you want to use it in a sticky..

Bruce

[subbacultcha]

Thanks for the help and advice, I'll make sure to be more careful in future. I thought they'd be ok because they were those ready-to-eat partially rehydrated ones but I guess I was being a bit ambitious!

There was no juttering of the motor and it wasn't overheating so it completely threw me when it just cut out...

Thankfully the motor doesn't seem to be too damaged as I made a smoothie this morning and it seemed to work as well as it did before. Like you said though, I might not notice it now but it will accumulate - so I guess I have to be really careful in future!

Thanks again for the guidance!

[rawgreenyogini]

WOW Baltochef!!

Thanks for that clarification!

Very helpful and I have saved the info.