What hand mixers do you suggest? My ancient one died yesterday...

[Phentex]

It's at least 20 years old and the motor never died. Some time over the holidays, it began to struggle. I don't even remember what I was making but the beaters became wobbly. It seems the part that holds them in place has separated from the mixer itself. After 20 years, I can't fault it for anything!

I was making a cake yesterday and already using both bowls of the stand mixer. I ended up using the immersion blender for bowl 3 but I need to replace my hand mixer for those little things that don't need the stand mixer.

Any suggestions?

[Major Nikon]

1. I like Kitchenaid when it comes to mixers

They are expensive, but they are built to last a lifetime for general home use.

[flamin lib]

5. I can echo that rec. nt

[MADem]

6. Do they make a hand mixer? I thought their schtick was those massive things that take up

half a counter!

[kentauros]

7. No, you're thinking of Hobart 60-qt mixers:

[MADem]

8. Yayzuz--that's the size of a damn Volkswagen! nt

[kentauros]

9. I remember helping clean out a mixer bowl

at a military commissary that literally was the size of a Volkwagen! I don't remember what the mixer portion looked like, only that we had to use hoses to clean the bowl, and that it must have been about seven feet in diameter (you could walk into it when it was on its side.)

[Phentex]

13. That frightens me!

I'll probably have a bad dream tonight.

[kentauros]

14. Sorry about that.

It's a standard-size mixer for small to medium-sized bakeries. I've worked with that size as well as 100-qt mixers. Those are so big that it takes two people to lift the bowl and unload a hundred pounds of dough onto the work table.

I'm just glad I don't do that kind of work anymore. Though there have been times when I've wanted the use a sheeter again:






(Don't be getting nightmares from that, now. It's the perfect tool for making puff-pastry sheets and sheets of pie dough )

[zabet]

22. I have had the pleasure

to operate one of those big rascals! With the dough hook, you can make enough dough for 20+ pizzas at a whack...depending on crust type and pizza size....count could go up or down. I just hated cleaning it after use.

Many years ago....when I was a whelp....I worked at pizza hut. They used these big boys to make their dough....it ain't frozen (or didn't used to be).

[lizerdbits]

19. I've got a Kitchen Aid 3 speed

(aside from my stand mixer). I've had it since about 2000. I remember my previous one dying (college cheapie) because when it happened it actually had smoke coming out of it!

[Phentex]

10. I like that it can stand up...

the one I had would tip if not propped just right.

Thanks.

[TheManInTheMac]

23. Yes, we have a Kitchen Aid hand mixer and stand mixer.

They're great. Made here in Ohio too.

[MADem]

2. What kind did you have before?

If you just want a hand one for small things, I'd say pretty much anything in the small appliance aisle will do. I think I have a Sunbeam from about thirty years or more back.

I wouldn't spend a bundle--maybe you can find a lightly used one at a yard sale?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. or Goodwill, etc. nt

[Phentex]

11. Basic Black & Decker...three speeds, nothing fancy...

I'm sure it was inexpensive. They just don't make things like they used to! (insert Granny waving a little cane).

[hollysmom]

3. New cheap mixers are just that - cheap.

I threw my old one away when it went from 12 to 3 speeds, Wish I kept it, the new ones have fewer speeds, but also less strength. Spend the money and get a decent one.

[Phentex]

12. The reviews agree...

seems to be hit or miss as far as reliability but I guess that's true of most things these days. I figured I'd poll the group here about features or the ability to get through cookie dough. Does it stand up? That sort of thing.

What was your old one?

[hollysmom]

16. Sunbeam, had it since I was 21 - or easily a lifetime ago.

same with the toaster, had the same one since college (retired now) and replaced it 10 years ago, several times since.

I would rather pay more and replace things less - I hate to shop.

Bought a new printer about 5 years ago, went back to my almost 20 year old printer because so much better quality and cheaper on the ink.

[kentauros]

15. I've used the whipping attachment for my inversion blender

and have wondered about similar attachments for my food processor.

I know a hand-mixer is less cleanup, but it may also cost less to just get an attachment for an existing piece of equipment. Depending on your needs, of course

[locks]

17. immersion blender sticks

I see you use your immersion blender. Recently used my daughter's and really liked it. I've used hand mixers for many years, mine's a Hamilton Beach and ok but not as powerful as stand mixers, of course. Got a Cuisinart blender stick for $30 and it seems to me they do a better job than the hand mixer, are light, can be used at the stove, and quickly cleaned. Potatoes, whipped cream, eggs, cooked fruit, and cookies much faster. Some of them have more "tools" and cost more. "Mixmaster" and Kitchen Aid appliances I've had have always lasted a long time but more money up front.

[kurtzapril4]

18. I pick them up at yard sales.

You can get them for as little as a dollar. I had an old late 70's sunbeam that I bought at a yard sale in the 80's for a dollar. It died in 2000. Then I bought an old 80's kitchenaid at a yard sale for .50. It's still going strong!

[GoCubsGo]

20. Yep. That or thrift shops is the way to go.

They are so cheaply made these days, it's not worth spending more than a buck or two. A couple of years ago, I bought a new hand mixer, Black and Decker. One day, I was inserting the beaters. I pushed a teeny, tiny bit too hard and broke the crappy plastic gears. Hunk o' junk. I don't think I used it more than a dozen times. The replacement came from the local SPCA thrift store. I paid a buck for it. It's the same quality as the one I bought new for 15 times the price.

[Tab]

21. Kitchenaid. My MIL recently saw ours and asked if it was new

I explained it was about 20 years old.

They stand the test of time.