Just brought a Kitchen Aid Hobart K5SS

This is a tough one to advise you on.

KitchenAid changed the spacing of the pins the bowl attaches to at some point. Please ACCURATELY measure the spacing of these pins FROM CENTER TO CENTER and post the measurement here. The attachments don't worry me so much as the bowl.

Will you be using this mixer for bread dough?

I did some checking. The bowl-pin spacing I would expect to see is one of two values: either 8 13/16" or 9". It remains a mystery for the ages why KitchenAid changed this.

I just replaced my K5SS (5 qt) with a 600 series (6 qt) about a month ago.  Didn't want to do it as I've had many, many years with the K5SS and loved it.  But after replacing the gears 3 times I finally burned out the motor (I had it smoking in the kitchen and carried it out to the driveway as I thought it might catch fire).  I just couldn't justify the repairs this time.

I had 2 bowls for the K5SS and kept them hoping they would fit the 600 series.  They don't; they're about 1/4" smaller on the K5SS.  The paddle and whip attachments are just a bit smaller on the K5SS too, however I had been using a spiral bread hook (for the 600 series) in place of the C-hook that comes with the K5SS for many years.

I've been helped by these folks.  And they were very nice, to boot.

http://www.onesharpstore.com/page/page/1566532.htm

You say "about" 1/4 inch smaller. 13/16 is "about" 1/4 inch. Is it possible that your old K5SS bowls have the 8 13/16" post spacing? You don't have the mixer any more so you can't measure it.

You replaced the K5SS gears three times and it finally went up in smoke. I have to question whether it was being overloaded. Any motor will give out if you try to operate it with too much of a load.

This document gives some illumination

http://www.kitchenaidparts.co.uk/pid/609

Apparently there is a European bowl support as well.

I asked the O.P. to measure because if he orders the standard American part, the K5SB, it may or may not fit his mixer depending on the spacing of the bowl pins.

I think a lot of premature mixer deaths are not caused by them being "cheap Chinese junk" but by users overloading them. The motor bogs down, the RPMs slow down, the motor sounds like it's laboring, yet people don't have a clue and rev it up to a higher speed! That might work on a Hobart N50 where there is one motor speed and you're actually shifting gears.

The k5-a bowl will fit the k5ss. In fact it will fit any of the K5 lift series. That is not to say the newer bowls will fit, but the one linked will fit.

The part number for the bowl on the K5SS is 4162116. The part number for the K5-A is 240340. If you look for replacement parts the "Part Number 240340 (AP4951725) replaces 4162161, 4162116, 1706546, AH3488353, EA3488353, PS3488353."

I think the only difference is that the one for the K5-A is brushed stainless vs polished stainless. You can even still find them on Amazon, but the price is higher than the e-bay link you provided and doesn't come with the extras.

The k5-a bowl will fit the k5ss. In fact it will fit any of the K5 lift series.

Not necessarily. I made this clear in previous posts. The bowl-pin spacing was changed at some point on some models including the K5SS, so it's important that he measure. I have a K5A and a K5SS and the bowls are definitely not interchangeable.

It surprised the heck out of me when my K5SS arrived and I discovered that the K5A bowl wouldn't fit it. Just 3/16" difference in the spacing of the bowl pins. I don't want the O.P. to order a K5SB only to find that it doesn't fit. Even if he bought it from amazon.com and they let him return it, it would still be a lot of needless bother.

I magnified your new photo and it's kind of hard to tell. A standard replacement bowl may fit. Just be sure you can return it if it doesn't.

The KitchenAid part number is K5SB.

https://www.google.com/search?q=kitchenaid+k5sb&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

http://www.mendingshed.com/mixingbowls.html

http://www.mendingshed.com/5quartbowl.html

The K5ASB has a polished exterior. The K5SB has a plain stainless steel exterior.

The differences between the K5A and K5SS are internal. The K5SS came out in 1978 and had a major redesign of the electronics that control the motor.

I can't pin down an exact date, but the K5SS was manufactured until just a few years ago. In 2014 you can still get parts for the K5SS but not the K5A. I bought a K5A in the summer of last year but some time later discovered that parts are no longer available for it. If it were to fail I would not have a functioning mixer, so I got a K5SS, the one with the odd-size bowl and 8 13/16" bowl-pin spacing.

The K5A is my workhorse and still runs great. I have a spiral dough hook for it and just love it. You're not supposed to use a spiral dough hook on a K5A or K5SS but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=5347.0

There are videos on YouTube and web pages that show you how to lube your KA mixer. I did my K5A last year using food-grade Teflon (PTFE) grease, highly recommended: http://www.mcmaster.com/#ptfe-grease/=uojsgi

Whirlpool acquired the KitchenAid division of Hobart in 1986. I imagine mixers made after the acquisition no longer had the Hobart badge.

Congratulations!

What model and vintage is the red one?

I predict here and now that the new one will conk out before your K5SS does. The new Whirlpool mixers have cast, rather than machined, gears. That's why I'm clinging to my K5A and K5SS. If both of them became unrepairable I would probably spring for a Hobart N50.

Why was I seeing a red mixer before and now see a green one?

Does it have a 9" bowl-pin spacing?

How many mixers do you have now?

What are you going to do with six KA mixers?

A fleet of mixers.