Would you buy an "old Champion"?

[Soose]

There's one on Craigslist for $40. I saw it for sale a year ago for more money, and decided to pass and look for a new one, then got sidetracked. So someone bought it, but has relisted it. She doesn't really use it anymore and is moving so wants to let it go; says it works fine. She doesn't have a manual. She's going to give me a model number tomorrow.

I'm thinking these juicers are old tanks, and that I can always get parts for an old Champion if it turns out it doesn't have all the parts I want for my needs? I'm just not sure what those parts (screens, etc.) are. It's supposed to have several screen sizes, right? Would these parts cost too much, so I should just wait for a new juicer?

I may end up buying something else (that is easier or quicker to clean or has a larger feed tube) but this would tide me over during our juice fast until I can make up my mind and order one. I could have this Champion this weekend which would help a lot.

(I need something more than our old centrifugal. I usually send the pulp twice through it. And have been warned the juice has to be drunk immediately. It would be helpful to be able to store juice. )

Thanks for any advice! :)

[DebB]

We've got a Champion and we bought it in the early 80s! Still runs just fine and has never given us a moment's grief.

I comes with just 1 screen and 1 'blank' (a solid piece of plastic shaped like the screen). The blank is used if you want to homogenize something, say, frozen bananas. Then they'll come out like soft serve ice cream.

I went ahead and ordered a new cutter (it's what spins with rows of sharp teeth) for $32 in all the years we've used it.

Honestly - you can probably find the manual online on Champion's site.

Here's a link to replacement parts (http://www.championjuicer.com/index.php?cPath=21) on Champion's site. I would recommend the juicer having the following parts shown on this page:

blank
body
cutter
funnel (would be nice, but not necessary)
screen
screen holder
tamper

I think you probably can't go wrong for $40! Mine is so old the tamper is wooden...

I'd like to get a different style juicer, one that will juice wheat grass. But, I would never get rid of my Champion! I'd keep it for banana (or any other kind of fruit) ice cream if nothing else. *Ü*

[Soose]

Thanks very much, DebB. So helpful! Thanks for taking the time -- exactly what I needed. I'll be able to add in the cost of anything missing. :) Hooray!

(After I posted, I did see Aleesha's comparison with the Greenstar, comparing them. Very helpful, Aleesha!)

I'm going to do this -- can't go wrong, they say it works. Will help me out for right now while juice fasting. And I can see whether I like it. I hope to visit a friend with a Greenstar this summer and will try hers out. If I can wait that long! :)

Night, all!

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'd totally buy it! it'll be worth every penny and MORE.

glad my review assisted ya!

[DebB]

You're welcome Soose ~ If you do decide to get it, we can post tips. Like how to juice greens. Many think you cannot juice greens with the Champion, but I don't have a problem!

Best wishes! *Ü*

[DebB]

Hi Soose ~ I see in your thread on juicing frozen fruit that you have a BlendTec! Just tossing this in for what it's worth. I juice using my Champion, but I also 'juice' using our BlendTec. I use them each equally - just depends if I'm in a rush or not.

If I'm in a hurry, I use the BlendTec and then strain it all. Just wanted you to know in case you decide to pass on the Champion. *Ü*

[Soose]

Thanks, Deb and Aleesha... going to go see the Champion asap and if it's in decent shape, will buy it. It'll let me get my feet wet with this type juicer. I'm rather excited! :)

The Blendtec is so easy. The point of a juice fast though is no pulp at all, right? With the berries yesterday, I was wondering though if it wouldn't grind all the fiber up so finely that it would all just liquidize and strain through. I mean that I wouldn't be able to strain it at all?? Does that make sense? Particularly yesterday, coming off a water fast, I didn't want to let the pulp into the equation.

Is there any way less messy to strain than with a bag? Do ya'll have a press?

BTW, I can use wheatgrass in my Blendtec, I just clip off 1" or shorter pieces, right into the green smoothies, and it seems to handle them just fine. But again, the fiber would be in there, and I'm not sure it would strain out after it's liquidized.

[DebB]

I can't help you with the juice fast info, I've never been on a juice fast...

I use our BT all the time to juice. I just find it easier and faster.
I do juice my wheat grass in the BT as well - right now it's my only option. The Champion won't juice WG, so I cut my WG and then cut it into 1/3-1/4s and add water and a couple ice cubes and process it in batches in the BT and then strain through a bag. I've never gotten any pulp with the WG. Then I portion out the WG juice and freeze.

No, I don't have a press - I just use the bag and squeeze it into a large rimmed bowl.

I do keep my eye on Craig's List as I would like to find a juicer that will handle WG. I'm actually considering the L'Equip on John Kohler's site because it will juice WG and it will extract oil from flaxseeds, etc. to have fresh cold pressed oils... We spend $14 per 12 ounce bottle of Barlean's flax oil and between my husband and I, we go through that pretty fast. But he said as a single auger juicer, it's just "okay". We're thinkin' about it... *Ü*

[michigan roman]

i bought a new commercial model last year and didnt like it because it made soft things like tomato and pineappla a frothy mess

it leaked where the shute attatches to the main motor body

and it was difficult placing and removing the cutting head onto the main body

it spins fast as near a centrifuga;l one does , it dont spin slow

ide rather use blendtec to blend then strain the pulp thru a fine metal strainer or paint filter bag

though if 40 aint much to you i hear it does hard things like carrots good and makes other things good . i just wouldnt be picturing it as a dream machine .
though yes its a massive heavy duty great made g.e. motor thatll usually last decades , its just that the cutter / head design is flawed and makes it a froth machine for soft things

ive had a few juicers and am done with them til someone makes an very heavy duty manual press type that just crushes / squeezes the juice out with no foaming / frothing action

so its the boys vs the girls in this juicer debate :D

[Soose]

Well, I picked up the Champion today. It's fairly old -- the plastic is fairly dark tan. That's okay. It does not have the blank, just one screen. In fact it was just all assembled as you'd use it. It does have the wide funnel which is very much easier to use than my centrifugal. Plus, I think larger diameter carrots will fit in it, also good!

We juiced a good number of whole carrots first. It's very easy to just funnel the pulp back through a second time. I like that! (Had to take my old centrifugal apart to empty it.)

Then we decided to try some of the pulp I'd been saving (been freezing it in batches for now to make recipes). It got a lot of juice out of that. But I think too much old pulp in one go was overheating it. And the juice was coming out warm.

The body was still warm when we brought it in from the car, so I don't know if I've heated it up but it's even warmer now. So we thought we'd let it cool off.

This thing is a TANK. Oh, and lots quieter! It does take up more space but is definitely in another class than the old consumer juicer I had. (Though I'd buy that one again if I was new, and especially if I could easily and affordably buy the metal screens. It's been a very good piece of equipment -- for its class.)

Thanks all for the advice! :)

[lovenlife]

Good deal. I had an older one then my friends found a brand new one that was older (that had never been used).

These machines are top dawg and they will run forever! Oldie but a goodie. I love mine!

[Soose]

I'm getting happy that it is so easy to CLEAN. I thought the centrifugal was relatively easy to clean, but cleaning the pulp out was not easy. I would have to measure both in time to see but I was afraid the Champion would not be easy to clean and I'm so glad I got this to try.

The motor gets hot after awhile and the pulp and juice is getting hot after awhile. My dh came home (and is talented in such things) and started talking about maybe something is shorted out or something else... I was too busy to pay attention to details but I expect on a slow weekend or night he might take it apart and give it a tuneup and checkout. :)

[DebB]

Perhaps it's because I've had the Champ. for so long - but I find cleaning quick and easy. I use a bristled dish brush and 1-2-3, it's all done and draining.

Oh - I know you don't have a manual, so here's a tip. Put oil on the motor shaft before putting the cutting blade on. We do this every time we reassemble the unit. You can put a little olive oil on your finger and rub it all over the motor shaft.

Alright - if the unit is getting warm (and it does, I'm always laying my hand on it while juicing to see if it's getting warm), I stop the juicer and clean it quickly. It can get 'congested' with pulp in there and this causes heating up.

If I'm juicing something like celery or parsley -- I will cut it into roughly 2" pieces before juicing since parsley stalks and celery string will wrap around the cutting blade. This eliminates that problem.

I'd recommend checking into seeing if they have a manual you can read on their site. There are probably other tips that I'm just not remembering at the moment.

Be sure and toss some bananas in the freezer to make banana ice cream! *Ü*

[Soose]

Thanks, DebB, for the hints. :) The shaft does need cleaning, it's a little gunky, I just couldn't lay my hands on the cleaner, and did not know what oil to use -- olive is good! :)

I avoided celery yesterday until I knew how to do it since I remembered about it wrapping up -- I'll try some cut today!

I did see some pulp building up and cleared it out a little, and a little sucking noise, but nothing to be of concern.

I'm realizing now it's actually only cream color -- the dark tan is partly from juicing carrots staining the plastic, lol.

I do need to find a manual and a blank. I'm going to keep my eye out for a newer one, too. Might get lucky, then can pass this on to someone who needs one.

This was a good purchase. I'm happy to be able to learn this way. :)

[DebB]

Hi Soose ~ I'm not trying to keep droning on about this, but you mentioned getting a new one... you may not need a new one - really!

I wonder if there are Champion juicer videos on YT that you could watch to see that perhaps yours is working just fine?

Or you could call the company and tell them you bought it used - maybe they can help you out with how it's supposed to operate, answer any questions, etc.. because it may be operating just fine.

Eh - just typin' out loud... *Ü*

[Soose]

Really, you're not droning Deb, thanks for all the hints and help! What would I do without you? :) I certainly will look at youtube and find a manual. Just prioritizing here, 'til I get the right time. Busy!

It seems to be working fine, really, and will keep us going a while or indefinitely. <G> We're stopping it before we allow it to get hot.

It is slower than my centrifugal so we're producing less juice. That surprised me! But it's a lot less hassle to me. And we aren't drinking that much right now anyway, relatively speaking. (We're also making green smoothies and having fasted, we are not consuming that much so demand is down.)

Yes, someone will have to convince me I NEED another or will benefit enough to get another. Meanwhile, we'll see if it should be refurbished and if it's worth doing that. I suspect my dh will take it apart when he gets time. :)