The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

KA 325W 5 qt vs. 60 Hz 6qt?

MontBaybaker's picture
MontBaybaker

KA 325W 5 qt vs. 60 Hz 6qt?

Advising an acquaintance on which basic stand mixer to purchase.  A young family, it will be their first mixer.  He wants to do pizza dough, his wife currently hand-mixes cookies & cakes, and masa for tamales.  I told them there are many more uses.  Showed him my Ankarsrum manual and why I bought it for bread.  They don't need a high-end mixer at this time.  Maybe I'll get him into bread in the future.   I've had 2 KA bowl-lifts; my 1981 Hobart 5-qt is happily (and quietly) running fine at my daughter's.  I use it for bread dough  when I visit.  I've had happy 3 years with my Ankarsrum!

Any recommendations for the 5qt 325 watt vs. Pro Series 6 qt with 60 Hz?  I don't know how those motors compare.

I've only used bowl lift.  What are pros/cons between bowl lift & tilt head?  Thanks for your thoughts.

David R's picture
David R

"60 Hz" on the one model only means it's made to run on North American circuits, not European or Asian ones. It doesn't really say anything about the power ratings.

My advice: The watts are FAR less important than which mixer is built better and runs better. A lot of good older mixers had lower watt ratings than the newest ones do, and still ran fine. I don't see anyone anywhere today complaining about underpowered mixers - all the complaints are about reliability and quality.

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

David is on point on the 60 hz and the watts.   As to the tilt head vs bowl lift,  Americas Test Kitchen did a review of mixers and found that the tilt head had issues with the tilt mechanism after some heavy use, and the bowl lift did not.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5mBOGte5Zo   While some of the ATK testing methods are questionable, they laid out what they did before the tilt head mechanism failed.    If your friend can live with the smaller size, it has a 4 quart bowl,  a Bosh Compact is a good choice, at a very attractive price.  

plevee's picture
plevee

I hand knead most of my breads. But If I make loaf that needs really good gluten development I use my baby Bosch - it will handle 6# of challah dough and only get slightly warm. And it doesn't walk off the counter either. Highly recommended.

Patsy

OldLoaf's picture
OldLoaf

The first thing to come to mind is space.  If there is an island to work at, then either one will work.  If there are wall cabinets hung above the countertop where the mixer will be sitting, a tilt head mixer may not have enough room to tilt up properly (unless it's turned sideways).

My suggestion would be to have your friend visit a local appliance store that stocks both types.  Bring a tape measure and check both styles.  It may help narrow down the choices...

Jeff

David R's picture
David R

More about watts and mixers:

Manufacturers (not just KitchenAid, many manufacturers do this, though KA does it to the extreme) use watts as a smoke screen. They pretend that higher watts means a better machine, when it doesn't. A mixer needs enough power to easily do the job; after it has that, any extra power is wasted.

Seeing all the increasing numbers - "500 watts" "600 watts" "1500 watts!" "143,000 watts!!!" - distracts you from figuring out which mixer is actually better.

MontBaybaker's picture
MontBaybaker

Thanks everyone!  Took my info directly off the KA website.  3 years ago I'd already decided to not get a 3rd KA when #2 died.  I didn't look into the power and specifics of that brand at the time.  I'll copy all these replies and talk to him further, suggest a Bosch as it has much TFL approval, and he can research older KA's.  Happy Easter!