Anyone here bought a 'newGena' Power Blender?

[Arky]

Hi, I've seen this product advertised in a number of places recently and would very much like to hear the experiences of anyone who has taken the plunge and bought one. How does it REALLY compare to the Vitamix or K-Tec, for example? I know what the adverts say, but I'd really like to know what some end-users say! :)

Cheers.

J.

[Arky]

[BUMP] - has NOBODY bought one?! lol Well, I guess I'll have to wait a while, then :)


J.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I have never heard of it. Do you have a photo or link to post?

[Arky]

Sorry for the delay - been quite some time since I stopped by the forums.

Here is a link for the NewGena blender:

ethicaljuicers.co.uk/blender_newgena.php

They are also available on eBay.co.uk


J.

[tvillemom]

Sorry, I've never heard of it either.....btw, Arky, did you used to go on Marilu.com? Someone there used to have the same screen name.
Wendi

[lavendarJ]

Arky
Keep me posted and let me know if how it works if you decide to buy one. For years, I used the standard juiceman one and then I got tired of always having to cut everything up so small to fit in the chute. I then was captivated by the powerjuicer infomercial a few years ago (2003) and I purchased the power juicer because of the wide chute. It is very conveinient as far as being able to juice quickly. It is less nosier but not as quiet at it was portrayed on tv. I do notice one think with this one. It still produces a significant amount of pulp (which is something that they practically swore it wouldn't do on the infomercial. I am going to check out the website you posted...

[Rob]

Hi Arky

Well I've just taken the plunge and bought a NewGena power blender,I'll post later with my review when I've had a few days to try it out.

Rob.

[Arky]

Great, Rob, please do report back on your impressions of the NewGena (incidentally, have you ever used a VitaMix? i.e. do you have a convenient frame of reference to compare the NewGena with? Either way, I am still very interested to hear what you make of the NewGena). Thanks.


LavendarJ, when you say your blender produces a significant amount of pulp, do you mean that the blender fails to completely homogenise produce, or do you mean something else?


tvillemom, no, I've never posted on the website you mention.


All the best,

J.

[Arky]

Well, I couldn't wait, so I've gone ahead and bought a NewGena, here in the UK :)

Will let you all know what I think of it once I've received it and had a chance to experiment with it a bit.

A bit more info (sadly, it's in Korean!):

http://www.newpower21.co.kr/html/main4_21.htm

http://www.newpower21.co.kr/index1.html

Note that the 'Ice Tank' is a cheaper, simplified, version of the 'Deluxe', lacking, as it does, the timer switch option.

The 'Westernised' 'NewGena' branded item, sold here in the UK, is apparently the same machine as the Deluxe.


J.

[Arky]

Well, having had the NewGena for a few days now, I thought I'd post my first impressions:

Surprisingly quiet for such a powerful machine - obviously, it still makes a fair bit of noise, but it's way, way quieter than my previous blender, a Braun MX2050 PowerMax.

Wonderfully powerful - in a word, the NewGena is Majestic :)

Wonderfully controllable - seriously, I am still amazed at just how controllable this unit is - I expected the variable speed control to kick in at about 5000RPM at it's lowest setting, but it's more like 700rpm! This means that you really CAN, for certain tasks, start the blender with the lid off without spilling so much as a single drop, and without splurting half your ingredients (if it's a small batch) over the sides at the top of the jug before they ever get blended (this is INFURIATING if you own a cheaper, less-controllable blender).

SOLID STEEL drive train - yup, it's metal ALL THE WAY from the motor shaft to the tips of the blades, not a plastic drive-train item in sight :) :) :)

Nice voluminous 2 litre polycarbonate jug with ball-raced stainless blade assembly.

All in all, I am really impressed with the NewGena - it's a class-act and should not be viewed as a cheap copy of the Vitamix or K-Tec. As a matter of fact, it clearly demonstrates that, although the VitaMix and K-tec may well be wonderful machines, they are woefully over-priced by comparison.

My only minor quibble (and it IS a minor one) is that it might have been nice to have had a slightly more aggressive blade design, to draw the ingredients in even more. Having said that, one needn't actually be concerned about this because the blades, while of sober design, DO draw produce in more than adequately and are certainly up to the job of long term anihilation of solid ingredients!

Enthusiastically recommended! :)


J.

[river]

this is a bit of an oldy....

But just wondered how you had been getting on with this blender, or anyone else for that matter. I've just seen it advertised in the UK and it looks like a good package to be honest.

I would appreciate any comments, River.

[pollitt]

My Dad purchased this machine, one for him and one for myself and both in Black from a company in the UK. After only a few weeks, the retailer emailed us to say that they had experienced numerous problems with the Newgena and they were discontinuing it and should we want to return it they would give us a full refund. They also mentioned that Vita-Mix had filed some lawsuit as the patent on their machine had been breached by Newgena.

To be honest, initially we simply ignored the email as we had not experienced any problems that they had mentioned but about a month later the motor on my machine suddenly produced black smoke and gave up.

I contacted my Dad at first as he had the receipt for the blenders and asked him was his machine okay. He said he had been using it daily with no problems so I called the retailer. They offered to collect the machine back and refund me but to be honest, me and my Dad had done a lot of research on blenders and I couldnt justify spending £399 on a VitaMix and as the Newgena cost £200 each, I thought I would give it another chance.

The guy I spoke to said they were no longer selling them but admitted they still had a number of machines at their warehouse which hadnt been collected back from Newgena yet. I talked him into sending me a replacement although he was reluctant to do so and he advised should anything go wrong with this machine we would have to contact Newgena directly as they probably wouldnt have the stock to replace again.

To my suprise, I received a nice Chrome one this time. After only a couple of weeks, the Chrome started to flake off the machine. I dint contact them this time as I'm sure I would have got the response "We told you so". About a month later, sadly the motor gave up again in a puff of smoke. All I used to do in it was smoothies so I wasnt exerting the machine and my Dad was grinding seeds etc in his.

I contacted them again for the contact details of Newgena and they advised their stock still hadnt been collected and they would collect it back. This time I got a firm NO when I mentioned a replacement and they collected the blender back and refunded my money. They did give a 20% discount off a VitaMix which I begrudgingly accepted but I have been a happy owner ever since with no problems whatsoever.

Unfortunately, after about 6 months from purchase my Dads blender also gave up. He contacted the chap again who again advised they still had all the blenders at their warehouse and were having trouble getting them returned to Newgena. They contacted Newgena on our behalf and suprisingly come back to us with the response that we should take it to a recycling centre and they refunded the money in full.

My Dad took a 20% discount from them on a Waring HGB25E as he had spoken to someone since buying his Newgena who said they were better than VitaMix. To be honest, its a brilliant machine with a steel jug and seems just as powerful as a VitaMix. Its only let down for me is that it doesnt have a variable speed but has a 2 speed motor but my Dad doesnt seem to mind and he really likes it.

In conclusion, 3 blenders in 6 months went faulty and one with flaky paint and this is totally unacceptable. The guy I spoke to listed more problems than we had experienced including blade and jug problems. He admitted he was the buyer of the Newgena for his company and had learned a valuable lesson about buying cheap products and wouldnt be doing so in the future. He did mention that their sample Newgena machine was still going strong but he suspected that the motor was in fact a Vita-Mix one that had been put in. All in all he said at that point only 2 machines were still with customers out of the many they had sold.

The retailer acted responsibly with our problems so we have no gripe with them but the reliability of the Newgena was shocking. The reason I am writing this is I was looking for a dry jug for my Vita-Mix and come across the Newgena on a website and couldnt believe they were selling them again and a link to this forum took me here. They also advertise the Vita-Mix blender and have a link on their website leading to a forum discussing the Vita-Mix being a toxic blender which seems a tad hypocritical seeing they sell the Newgena which also has a polycarbonate jug.

All in all, avoid like the plague.

Robert

[Arky]

I must say, I'm very, very, surprised to hear of your bad experiences with the NewGena blenders, Robert. Mine is still going strong after 2 years of solid use. Perhaps this is a QC issue and I got lucky. I used to own a Matstone juicer which was, frankly, very much below par, despite all the wonderous reviews from other users at the time. If I'm not mistaken, both the NewGena blender and the Matstone/Samson juicer were made in Korea.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with NewGena, all I can say is that I have been very happy with mine and would buy one again.


J.



Related thread (which, I dare say, you've probably already read ;) ):

http://tinyurl.com/2uplop

[pollitt]

To be honest I have no experience of juicers and I hadnt read the other thread but thanks for pointing me that way, I have read it all now.

I have dug out the receipt from the company I bought the Newgena and the VitaMix from and they are called Juiceland and the guys name we dealt with is John.

I have emailed him with this link, maybe he would like to shed some light on what really went on. I know both me and my Dad thought this guy knew hell of a lot about blenders and he put us straight on quite a few things we had read online about blenders.

I noticed reading in the thread you posted here that people talk about the Vita-Mix being 1500 watts in the UK. Juiceland pointed out at the time that it is in fact 750/800 watts due to something to do with a different voltage in the UK than the USA (mine also says 750/800 on the back of the machine). He also advised against buying a USA version due to lack of warranty in the UK and a a transformer being needed which usually didnt work. He went on to describe how to convert wattage to horsepower - I realised when listening to him that maybe I should have paid more attention at science in school.

Anyway, I hope he responds because I know he said they sold a lot of Newgenas in the short space of time they had them and he reckoned they also sold about 500 Vita-Mix blenders a year.

Thanks

Robert

Note to John: If you read this, sorry if I have got you into trouble mentioning these things!

[Arky]

I know this is really random, resurrecting a thread for a product which no longer exists in the UK marketplace, but I was happily using my Newgena blender earlier today, and, more than 7 years since I purchased it, and more than 5 years since Pollit (Robert) posted the above extremely negative remarks about it, it's still going strong for me (BPA container notwithstanding ;-) It reminded me of this thread's negative conclusion and I just felt inclined to redress the balance. I did have to resolder a ceramic resistor inside, but other than that, it's been an absolute champ.

I also note that 'Robert' only posted twice on RFT, and both times were in this thread. That's a curious statistic...

Anyway, please excuse my obsolete musings! :-)