Just joined the site.  I have recently killed my kitchen aid mixer.  Walked away from it with too much dough in it.  Well when I came back, the kitchen was full of smoke and the mixer was d-e-a-d.  So I have been looking around for new ones.  Almost bought a Bosch after borrowing a friend's then read about the Globe 5qt and thought that sounded good.   So in true American overkill I came across a deal I couldn't pass up.  I happened upon an old Hobart a200t, 20 qt mixer- for FREE.  So I took it. It works.  Have to get a bread hook but figure I will use this space as a diary of sorts and see how it goes.  Really just writing to myself since I came across this space but if anyone has suggestions, I welcome them.  I've been a 5qt baker for a while and have many questions but will dive into this new situation with my usual ignorance.  I seem to like learning the hard way.  

Is anyone here familiar with older hobart mixers?  I was recently given one and have used it for the first time this morning.  As a test, I made a double batch of sourdough which is rather small for a 20 qt mixer but too large for my 300W K45 stand mixer.  The 20 qt mixer kneaded the dough in far less time than my K45... it passed the a windowpane test after 8 min of kneading while my K45 usually takes 13-15 min.  I did observe a few noises while mixing that I captured on a video.  While not in the video, I also observed the clutch to slip once and the rotation speed increased momentarily.  It is an old mixer that has sat idle for quite a few years.  Is there anything I can do (grease/oil) to refresh it a little?  I have the user/operator manual with the exploded parts list from hobart but I've never disassembled and re-greased one myself.

I've taken in a stray.  I was more-or-less given a large hobart A200 20 qt mixer this afternoon... I found it for sale online, went to look at it and the guy just wanted it gone.  Apparently, he'd been trying to sell for 8 weeks and it needed to go before they move at the end of the month.  It is way too large for my needs--- I was secretly hoping it was a 5 or 10qt model when I saw it listed as "industrial mixer" and with a blurry thumbnail photo.  I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it now that I have it at home.  It is used, dusty from garage storage, the wisk is missing a few wires, and has been re-painted rather poorly. But mechanically, it works perfectly.  My current thoughts are that I could clean it up a bit and resell it or I could donate it to a local soup kitchen.  Any other ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.