February 5, 2010 - 8:03pm
Bosch UM3 - Should I Buy It? Many Questions...
I have an opportunity to buy a Bosch Machine, not sure how old it is. The Model is UM3, Serial # LR49392. Cost is $85.00.
The casing is a little yellowish, the bowl is a plastic one, but all the parts seem to be in good working order. It has a blender attachment for the side. It is not very quiet in motion.
Some questions:
1) Can you lock out the blender side when using the mixer?
2) How old is it?
3) Are the parts interchangable?
4) Will it last a long time?
5) Are there parts for it that are no longer available?
6) Is it good for cakes / muffins too?
7) Is the food processor attachment any good?
8) Can you get a grain flaker or mill for it?
9) Should I get it?
Thanks for all opinions!
Celeste.
Share
and I still use it for all my enriched breads, and extremely wet doughs (ciabatta, foccacia, pugliese and the like). It has made hundreds, and perhaps a thousand loaves or more of dough over the years. The mainstay implements are the dough hook and the whisks. We also have the blender attachment, but rarely use it. We have the slicer/grater attachment and it has not been used for years. The dough hook gets regular duty, and the whisks come out for cookies.
We paid about $400 for ours 25 years ago, and nothing has ever broken on it. We still have the original plastic dough bowl, and it has yellowed just a bit, but works just fine.
On ours, you cannot lock out the blender drive, but there is a plastic cover for it that prevents accidental entanglement. I can't tell you how old the one you are looking at is, but it is newer than mine. The UM3 (Universal Mixer) line is a more recent line. When I looked, I could still get parts for mine from Pleasant Hill Grain, so I would guess you could get parts for this later model as well.
The weakness of my mixer is that it is not good for small batches. It does not do well on less than about 650 gm of dough. It is a monster on large batches though. I've made 9+ pounds of whole wheat bread from home-milled hard red winter wheat, many times. Mine also only has two speeds (and a "pulse") but only the low speed is suitable for dough, so for bread, it is a one speed mixer.
If it were me I would also skip the mill idea and search for a stand-alone mill, but others may have a different view. There might be a mill attachment for this mixer, but having a stand-alone mill, I don't think I would ever be happy with an attachment.
If the one you are looking at is in as good condition as you describe, I would buy it for my son or daugher as a gift based on my experience with mine. I don't need it for myself because mine is still going strong. All in all, at $85 in good shape, I would jump on it if it were me.
Good luck with your decision, whatever you decide.
OldWoodenSpoon
Absolutely buy it! Mine is a 1968 model UM3 which I bought off Ebay. Runs like a top. There should a safety cover that goes over the blender port when you are using the mixer port.
if you get attachments, ensure you get them for the UM3 as most of the pieces for the newer UM4 will NOT fit.
I have the blender, the grinder attachment, the continuoous grater and the other grater that fits over the post in the bowl.
I used the grinder just yesterday to grind up some stale loaves to use as bread crumbs. Worked nicely.
If anyone has some of the polycarbonate tubes for the grinder attachment and wants to get rid of them, please let me know.
My Bosch is used about 4 times a week to make dough, most recipes are about 6 cups of flour.
If you buy it, and you should, and you ever need service, there is a small mom and pop operation in Wichita Kansas that I have found to be very good.
Bob