| |  | Brand: K-TEC, Inc
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
 A blender with a lawnmower motor? May 29, 2008
Cyphron (Bay Area, CA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am a smoothie person who drinks at least one smoothie a day. I got tired of spending ten minutes a day making smoothie with one of the cheap blenders, so I decided to buy a more high powered blender.
The Breville 550 was my first choice for its reasonable price/power and great looks. Unfortunately, my first smoothie was a disaster. I filled the smoothie 2/3 with fruits and ice, and I stood there pushing the smoothie button three consecutive times to no avail. Then I smelled something burning and figured it was the motor. After spending 10 minutes getting the thing to make smoothie, the result was no better than my old cheap Cuisinart blender. Apparently, 610 watts is just not enough if you want to make thick, smooth smoothie.
I promptly returned the Breville. I then went on a mission to research for a real blender. Apparently, when it comes down to power and industrial strength blenders, it comes down to either a Vita-Mix or a Blendtec. A Costco near me had a demo for Blendtec so I decided to buy one there to try out.
Wow! Now this is a blender! This thing sucked the fruits and ice down into its vortex amazingly well. With the "Whole Fruits" button, I had great smoothie in 50 seconds or less. I usually just hit the button and go the bathroom. By the time I get back, I got instant smoothie! I've tried the the ice crush button and this mode literally makes snow; not just crushed ice, but snow!
There is a con though. Without a tamper, sometimes the fruits do get stuck and doesn't go down. When that happens, I take the jar out and shakes it a couple times and blend again. It works every time. It's an extra step, but it sure beats standing there and holding a tamper to push the fruits down for entire blending time. Many reviewers here claim that they wished they had a tamper, but I think it may be due to their preference and how they've always done it with their Vita-mix. It isn't wrong, but there are more than one way to skin a cat, and for me, shaking it is much easier than using a tamper.
It's also very easy to clean. Instead of disassembling the jar like the Breville and other blenders in its class, I just put a dash of detergent, fill it 1/3 with water, and pulse it for 5 secs. I then wash it out further with water, no dishwasher needed.
Since I bought this at Costco, I got a full 7 year warranty. It's a lot of money, but since there are no alternatives at a cheaper price, it does make my decision easier. Considering the Breville blender probably would've smoked and blown within 6 months of the abuse I'd subject it to, a $400 blender that lasts a minimum of 7 years is not a bad deal. So far after a week of use, I've blended a total of 38 times (the LCD displays the # of uses on its front.). I think I may just keep it.
Pros: It blends virtually anything!
Lots of power. Doesn't smoke when it gets stuck.
Easy to clean.
It doesn't require you to stand there with a tamper.
Great warranty.
Makes amazing smoothies and margaritas and mixed drinks.
Cons: Occasionally requires a good shake to loosen things up.
Expensive.
Loud. (although with a 3HP motor, it's actually quiet compared
to my lawnmower. LOL)
Have to buy it at Costco for the 7 year warranty.
Makes Smoothies With Ease May 13, 2008
Gabriel Billings (Eugene, OR)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
The last two blenders we've owned, a KitchenAid and a Braun, have both broken. They each used some form of plastic-like transmission devices to get the power from the motor to the carafe, and with both, teeth started breaking off during blending, usually while making things with frozen fruit.
I'd read many reviews of this blender, as well as watching the food-oriented videos, along with the comedic 'Will It Blend' videos on the manufacturer's site. While frightfully expensive, it seemed as though the Total Blender could deliver. I ordered one for my wife as an anniversary present. (Romantic, eh?)
This blender works as advertised. We use it primarily to make smoothies, which we each do almost every day. Usually we start by filling the carafe up about halfway with a handful or two of spinach along with maybe 8 oz. of water, and then pulse for a few seconds. This turns into a little more than a cup of soupy green goo. If you don't liquefy the spinach first, it's volume-eating leafy form will take up too much space in the jar and you won't be able to add as much fruit. So after the spinach, I just open the fridge and start dumping things in. A typical mix would be something like half a cup of yogurt, a cup or two of frozen fruit and a banana. In about 20 seconds you've got a perfectly blended drink containing most of day's supply of fruits and veggies. Even if you're bad and end up eating like crap the rest of the day, at least you got a good start.
It is very loud, as others have mentioned, but I don't know how it could do what it does and still be quiet. It's got a big motor under that hood. The other slight annoyance is that they say it's only top rack dishwasher safe, but obviously there are no dishwashers with a top rack big enough to hold anything that big. They did say it was because of the heating element, so maybe if you use a no-heat dry cycle it'd be ok. I tend to use the blend-soap-and-water cleaning method, and then scrub by hand every few days.
All around this is a great product, and if you're looking for a serious blender it will satisfy your needs.
Awesome blender! April 28, 2008
M. Heydt (Pasadena, CA, USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Just spent the weekend researching and debating between this blender and the Vitamix. Saw that a Costco near me was doing a Blendtec roadshow, so I went check it out. I saw a whole fruit smoothie, tortilla soup and ice cream made with the thing and tasted it all. It worked like a dream and everything tasted great--even the soup was steaming hot coming out (the water was not steaming out going in). With Roadshow, they also extend the warranty to 7 years, plus they normally give a lifetime warranty on the blade, etc. Plus clean up is a snap-- a cup of warm water and a drop of soap. Run it on pulse for a count of 5 and rinse and wipe. Plus extremely ease to wipe out vs. Vitamix.
My old blender was a Cusinart, and it couldn't handle dates, honey, yacon syrup, nuts, etc. in smoothie. They ended up at the bottom below the blades junked up. This blender handles them all, plus things like a whole carrot, no problem. This blender is the bomb, and not any louder than my old Cusinart. My cats didn't even seem to care about the sound after the first time hearing it.
 Did Not Like Certain Design Issues April 7, 2008
terryoregon (Beaverton, OR USA)
46 out of 60 found this review helpful
I ordered this blender and then returned it. Replaced it with a Vitamix 5200, which I am very happy with.
I should state up front, that the reasons I didn't like this blender are not reasons that will bother others. There are obviously people who love their Blendtecs and aren't at all bothered by the things I mention here. None the less, here are the two things that caused me to return mine.
(1) I absolutely detest the way this blender sloshes everything up and down inside the container like a washing machine. This splashes everything up against the sides and lid. Better make sure your lid is on securely, or liquid will come flying out the sides creating a mess. Liquid will also come out the vent hole on the top of the lid, which forced me to cover it. I tend to blend my smoothies in the evening and place them in the fridge overnight for a morning drink. Because the Blendtec sloshes everything up and down, the liquid has hardened overnight on the sides and lid, making clean up a more difficult chore. This sloshing action appears to be caused by the design of the blades (NOT the motor speeding up and down), to make sure your ingredients don't get stuck at the bottom. But that's just not a big enough problem when I blend, to live with this washing machine action. The Vitamix does not do this by design, it only happens if you try, by cranking up the speed way too fast.
(2) On hindsight, the programmed buttons seemed like a good idea. In actual practice it was very annoying to me. The preprogrammed buttons just don't give me a sense of control like the Vitamix. The Blendtec has a couple of buttons to adjust the speed gradually, but I find that annoying to keep pressing buttons to slow down and speed up the blending process. The Vitamix 5200 has a simple dial you turn quickly to adjust speed. I especially like the ultra SLOW speed the Vitamix can start with. I ALWAYS start at the ultra slow speed on the Vitamix to see what my ingredients will do, then gradually speed things up as I see is necessary. Again, I have total control with the Vitamix.
To repeat, these issues may not mean anything to you - and if not - you will be happy with your Blendtec.
 Will it blend? Most of the time. April 6, 2008
BeemerBike Girl (New England)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
After having watched pretty much every video on the Blendtec website for "Will It Blend?", I had to get myself one of these blenders. No, I don't plan on blending bic lighters or a tiki torch, all I want it for is to make some really good smoothies and some frozen cocktails now and then. And it will do that pretty well - definitely better than any other blender I've ever owned, but it certainly isn't invincible. You really do have to get the proportions of liquid to solids correct, otherwise it will do what every other blender does and you'll need to stop it and give it a good shake to get the ingredients down near the blades.
It is a champ at pulverizing things into an incredible smoothness - instead of getting a smoothie one time (because I had used too much frozen fruit and not enough liquid), I ended up with something resembling Diary Queen ice cream. Not my intended result, but tasty nonetheless.
I don't think the noise of this blender is any worse than my old Cuisinart, and its blue lighted display looks nice on the counter near my Keurig coffee maker. I don't think this blender is worth the price, though.
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