September 11, 2011 - 11:13am
Hobart Kitchenaid Mixer
So as someone who has been recently looking through all the stand mixers out there, I am entirely unhappy with everything I've seen. It seems apparent that there are no reasonably priced mixers that can reliably do the job anymore for even a home breadmaker. I have been talking to people in the baking business who have all raved about how their kitchenaids have lasted for 20+ years!!! But then ofcourse I realise that these are really Hobart kitchenaids and not the cheap foreign piece of.... current ones. I'm wondering if its even in the realm of possibility to acquire one of these old hobarts? That would be awesome.... and unlikely. Hopefully someone has some insight.
Share
It is possible and likely. I see them appear on Ebay fairly regularly and sell in the $100+ range. These are solid capable machines but they are not miracle workers and they have their limitations. My Hobart made K5SS is a wonderful all around kitchen mixer that I use regularly. Dough wise, it can handle about 1600 grams of bread dough but I would hesitate to go much beyond that. Without abuse, I imagine that this appliance will last a long long time. With abuse it will, like any other abused appliance, die an early death.
There are a great many appliances out there that have seen very little use over the years. This is the sort of mixer that I found five or six years ago on Ebay. It came to me looking like it may have been used two or three times in its 20+ years of existence. Patience can likely lead you to such a mixer.
Jeff
Use all the search words you can think of regarding your question and then read, read, read. You'll get lots of good and bad advice, learn lots about why new KA's aren't as good as the older ones, and other stuff that'll help you make your decisions. You'll even find people who've stopped using machines! Amazing! I, myself, use a 30 year old KA and an Electrolux DLX that I purchased, barely used, from an estate sale on Ebay. Great price for it. Good luck.