Hobart n50
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
I've recently been looking at getting a stand mixer and was very close to buying a commercial Kitchenaid mixer. Here in the UK we have a 6.9l version which sells for £600-£800 ($850-$1150) depending on the model.
Just before I pulled the trigger I decided to do a bit more research and I stumbled upon the 5 qt Hobart n50 mixer that seems to be highly regarded, but then I saw the price tag...
I managed to find a used one in "as new" condition, and they were asking £800, but after a bit of haggling I managed to drop that down to £600 with a 12 month warranty from the seller.
Now, considering that I'll be using the mixer for a small family of 4 and only plan to occasionally use it for pizza/bread dough, would I be better off going for the Hobart or one of the new Kitchenaid 6.9l commercial mixers?
I would just like a few opinions before I make my final decision.
The N50 has a physical 3 speed transmission with a single speed motor that's designed to run well at one speed.
The Kitchenaid has a transmission with a single speed and relies on varying the motor speed for different speeds.
From a purely mechanical point of view I'd go with the N50, as each gear only does one thing, but does it well. The Kitchenaid, although I'd expect the commercial version is better than the domestic ones, is still a domestic machine.
Having said that it's hard to say exactly what condition the N50 is in internally. If it's close hearing the N50 run would help narrow down your options.
Also. The search function in the upper right corner is an excellent source for info.
Unfortunately, the seller isn't nearby so I won't be able to inspect it before purchase, but it is described as being in "as new" condition, fully refurbished and serviced. They are also including a 12 months warranty with it for added peace of mind.
The more I read about it the more I'm swaying towards the Hobart.
I'd be wairy of buying sight unseen. Another user on this forum had issues with a N50 in "as new" condition.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19895/be-very-careful-when-buying-hobart-n50-or-other-used-mixer-or-equipment-ebay
Then get a Kenwood?
OK, They're not made in the UK anymore, but what is...
For that sort of money, then this:
https://www.kenwoodchefrestore.co.uk/shop/Kenwood-Chef-Mixer-Major/Kenwood-Chef-Mixer/kenwood-chef-kmc010-mixer-titanium
would be my choice. I have the Chef Major Premier - which is the same size as that but a cheaper case and smaller motor. (and half the price) but it's been working well in my little bakehouse helping with the smaller loads of bread dough, cakes, Italian meringue, etc. I use it 3-4 times a week.
I did get (from that site) the spiral dough hook with mine - which is really for the titanium which has a bigger motor and better gearbox (according to the chaps on that site when I emailed them) but so-far it's worked just fine.
-Gordon
Maybe I should take this back a step. What are you planning on making in a mixer/in what volume? Can you define occasionally for bread and pizza/voumes of each?
From having rebuilt my A200 Hobart (20quart mixer) I like the way they do things from a design perspective, but I still have a Kitchenaid that I pull out for smaller things (cheesecake batter, meringue, Etc.)
Unless I was only making a single loaf of bread at a time I wouldn't really want to mix it in my Kitchenaid (It's sounded slightly different ever since I mixed a double batch of English muffin dough in it)
I've gotten much more milage out of an inexpensive bread machine for only mixing dough and I don't worry about stripping gears, etc.
If your dough mixing could be accomplished by a bread machine and you're just doing whipping and the like in a stand mixer than maybe something like what Drogon suggested would be an option.
It's kinda hard to suggest a "best" option as everyone's needs are a little different.
The bakery I used to work at had a 30qt mixer for bread and batters, but they had a commercial Kitchenaid that had been there a long time that was only used for specialty single cake orders. Different tools for different jobs.
https://my.hobartcorp.com/resourcecenter/ProductDocumentation/F7533.pdf
^the official capacity chart from Hobart for the N50
Thank you all for your replies.
In the Uk, the commercial Kitchenaid and the top of the range Kenwood (KMM023) cost around the £600 ($850) mark. If the Hobart is in fact in "as new" condition, would it be a better purchase to the other two top of the range mixers at the same price point?
I'll be using it mainly for general mixing, but may ocassionlly (few times a month) use it for mixing small batches of dough.
So for that type of usage, which of the three would be the recommended buy?
Personally I'd almost always go for new than 2nd hand. I do have a 2nd hand Hobart A200 though, but is older than me and really could do with an overhaul, but for now it's fine and the price was right - its limit is about 6Kg of dough though. (I have a spiral mixer that can take 18Kg for when I need it)
I use my cheap Kenwood occasionally (that's 2-3 times a week for me) to mix small-medium batches of bread dough. Tomorrow it will mix up 4 batches of cake mix (for 2 9" tins and 2 8" tins) and a 2Kg batch of my empanada pastry.
I got it initially because it was cheap and my wife was fed-up with me using her K-Mix, so it was a bit of an impulse buy and it was cheap (£199) because I think its now discontinued. If I'd actually bothered to do some research, I'd probably have gotten the Titanium version rather than the cheaper "premier", but so-far it's been fine.
-Gordon
Ended up taking a punt on the Hobart, and on initial inspection everything runs perfectly, and the body looks new. The motor runs quietly with a low hum. All in all, I am really pleased.