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trouble with kitchenaid classic plus mixer

charlesss's picture
charlesss

trouble with kitchenaid classic plus mixer

hi, im new heree. :)

im having trouble with my KA classic plus stand mixer, i noticed that it really got hot the first time a made a single loaf of bread, 70% hydration, aproxx 600grams of dough. 

so i tested it and run it with no load for 15 mins, and it still got significantly warm (can touch but not comfy)

what could be the problem? please help thank you :(

RoundhayBaker's picture
RoundhayBaker

...because the KA Classic is relatively underpowered and has to work really hard to knead dough. You probably know this already, but the manual does state that dough should not be kneaded at a higher setting than 2. Many people skip reading the manual and end up with a machine that won't mix. Or do anything at all.

Being such an ancient design, the KA engineers' solution to customers overworking the motor was to use a nylon worm gear which, as the motor overheats, softens then strips away its cog teeth, bringing everything to an abrupt halt. A neat idea in the pre-electronic era but these days there are many superior machine with electronic overheating cutoffs and much larger motors. It's annoying that other designs from the same period, for example the Ankarsrum Assistent, have moved with the times but KA has stuck stubbornly with design features that should have been upgraded.

It might be worth using your KA just to mix the dough then switch to kneading by hand, or using the less taxing stretch-and-fold technique. If you're unfamiliar with S+F, a quick search on this site will turn up lots of posts and demos. It's my principle method of developing gluten.

flormont's picture
flormont

Hello,
@charlesss : maybe your mixer doesn't have any trouble ... its motor will heat up when a tough kneading is running, but a "scorching" temperature for a human hand (about 60°C) can be supported without any problem by any motor having a good insulation class. I do not encourage you to overload your KA, but just to be reassured about an electric motor which is having its nominal working temperature. According to this reflection, just follow the maximum capacity and maximum kneading time written in the user manual, and all should be fine.

@RoundhayBaker : everyone who has repaired/refurbished some KA knows that all mechanical and electric parts of the Classic model are common with both Artisan and HeavyDuty/K5 lines. There is not any difference about these models about their potential torque (this is not true for the later models which own a totally new motor&gearbox).
By the way, I wasn't able myself to confirm that the nylon gear is intented to break when something is going wrong on the mechanics. This assertion can be read in many forum and several spare parts shops, but nothing in the official documentation ...and this look to be an aberration since there are so many good ways to protect a mechanical transmission, like using belts (which can slip or break is case of anormal resistance), putting bimetal safety switches within the motor windings (which will power off if the motor comes dangerously too hot), or using a special calibrated pin (which will rip off if it has to transmit an exessive torque). This last solution is the one used for the Hobart N50 : the planetary pin may break, and then can be replaced very quickly without having to dismantle the whole transmission ... simple and logical ! In any finely designed transmission, the part devoted to play the "fuse" should always be the one which wears out, is standard and cheap to replace, and which a very good accessibility !
My guess is that this KA helical gear is made of nylon because this is the cheapest way to produce it ; having it in metal would require costly machining steps, and the use of specific metal which have a low friction rating against the end of the rotor ; like the brass which is used for the same gears mounted inside the big Hobart mixers...

Regards

 

 

RoundhayBaker's picture
RoundhayBaker

...nylon gear. There is no other way to stop over-loading of the motor. I approached them after replacing worm gears on half-a-dozen KA Classics. The problem is the under-powered motor (unlike other models) which means it does not handle stiff doughs very well.