I need serious workhorse of a mixer for home use to make bread.

-------- STORY of my OLD mixer
At least six years ago, I purchased a KSM100 mixer. I loved that
thing. Many people recommended it because they said the newer
Kitchenaid mixers had a hard plastic gear, but the Kenmore's still had
a steel gear and could take heavier doughs better. I found one on
sale, and loved it.

I used it to run a little side-business out of my home baking bread.
I worked second shift, but I would get up at the crack of dawn, and
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a year, that mixer churned out
anywhere from three up to nine batches of dough (was just over a two
pound loaf in each batch). The bread business died off, but I still
used the mixer for home use constantly.

Sadly, two Christmases ago, my mixer gave up the ghost. I've been a
lost (baker)man ever since.
---------- END STORY

For Easter this year, I borrowed my mother-in-law's Kitchenaid to make
our traditional bread. I forgot how much I missed the smell of yeast
and flour in the air, but I could tell that her mixer was struggling
with my batch size. It didn't have the umph of my old KSM for sure.

Our income tax returns came in over the weekend, and a mixer is my
"gift to me". Not having seen what's on the market, I want to know
what I should go out to buy. I know wattage is important (the 600w of
the KSM was often put up against the 525w of available Kitchenaids of
the day), as well as bowl capacity, speed settings, etc. At this
point, I am even considering hitting the local restaurant supply store
and snagging a decent table top Hobart (yeah, I'm that crazy about my
bread mixer).

Help appreciated in advance.

In article
>,
"Anthony Cuttitta, Den 1 Leader" > wrote:

> At this
> point, I am even considering hitting the local restaurant supply store
> and snagging a decent table top Hobart (yeah, I'm that crazy about my
> bread mixer).

I'm thinking a restaurant grade Hobart is going to outlast you, so if
you can afford it, I say go for it. But also, check eBay and
Craigslist. I've seen used restaurant gear on both, and used will save
you a bit. Also, a vintage, steel geared KA might be there in great
shape for a better price, as well as your Kenmore of days gone by.

jt

On Apr 20, 1:49*am, jt august > wrote:
> I'm thinking a restaurant grade Hobart is going to outlast you, so if
> you can afford it, I say go for it. *But also, check eBay and
> Craigslist. *I've seen used restaurant gear on both, and used will save
> you a bit. *Also, a vintage, steel geared KA might be there in great
> shape for a better price, as well as your Kenmore of days gone by.
>
> jt

Any idea of a resource / listing of the models that are those steel-
geared KA's?

"jt august" > wrote in message
...
> In article
> >,
> "Anthony Cuttitta, Den 1 Leader" > wrote:
>
>> At this
>> point, I am even considering hitting the local restaurant supply store
>> and snagging a decent table top Hobart (yeah, I'm that crazy about my
>> bread mixer).
>
> I'm thinking a restaurant grade Hobart is going to outlast you, so if
> you can afford it, I say go for it. But also, check eBay and
> Craigslist. I've seen used restaurant gear on both, and used will save
> you a bit. Also, a vintage, steel geared KA might be there in great
> shape for a better price, as well as your Kenmore of days gone by.

Also, see if you can get a lead on restaurant equipment auctions in your
area. Restaurants go in and out of business all the time. They usually sell
off their equipment at 10 to 40 cents on the dollar.

With the economy the way it is these auctions happen more often than usual.

Jon

"Anthony Cuttitta, Den 1 Leader" > wrote in
message
...
On Apr 20, 1:49 am, jt august > wrote:
> I'm thinking a restaurant grade Hobart is going to outlast you, so
> if
> you can afford it, I say go for it. But also, check eBay and
> Craigslist. I've seen used restaurant gear on both, and used will
> save
> you a bit. Also, a vintage, steel geared KA might be there in great
> shape for a better price, as well as your Kenmore of days gone by.
>
> jt

Any idea of a resource / listing of the models that are those steel-
geared KA's?

The new KA Pro 600 or what ever they are called with the corkscrew
dough hook are said to have steel gears. They are sure noisy so I bet
they do. I think there are some deals floating around on them at this
time.

On Apr 20, 11:37*pm, "Del Cecchi" >
wrote:
> "Anthony Cuttitta, Den 1 Leader" > wrote in
> ...
> On Apr 20, 1:49 am, jt august > wrote:
>
> > I'm thinking a restaurant grade Hobart is going to outlast you, so
> > if
> > you can afford it, I say go for it. But also, check eBay and
> > Craigslist. I've seen used restaurant gear on both, and used will
> > save
> > you a bit. Also, a vintage, steel geared KA might be there in great
> > shape for a better price, as well as your Kenmore of days gone by.
>
> > jt
>
> Any idea of a resource / listing of the models that are those steel-
> geared KA's?
>
> The new KA Pro 600 or what ever they are called with the corkscrew
> dough hook are said to have steel gears. *They are sure noisy so I bet
> they do. *I think there are some deals floating around on them at this
> time.

"They are sure noisy so I bet they do."

Ha! My old KSM sounded like a backup generator when I had it cranked
up to full tilt for kneading. Noise is nothing to me.

Thanks for the input everyone!

In article >,
"Del Cecchi" > wrote:

> Any idea of a resource / listing of the models that are those steel-
> geared KA's?

I tried and found nothing. But from what I read, it seems the cheaper
models use plastic, and the high end use steel.

jt

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:21:09 GMT, jt august > wrote:

>> Any idea of a resource / listing of the models that are those steel-
>> geared KA's?
>
>I tried and found nothing. But from what I read, it seems the cheaper
>models use plastic, and the high end use steel.

Sorry, don't know where you read that, but it's incorrect.

From the KitchenAid Web site:

"You are correct that current Professional Series Mixers have ALL metal gears.
The models that are based on KA’s "New Platform" are the Professional 600,
Professional 5 Plus, Professional HD found at Warehouse Clubs, Accolade, and
Commercial Five Series. The easiest way to ID these mixers is by the fact that
they do not have motor brush covers on the side of the case and the fact that
all the motors are rated at 400-575 watts. The discontinued Professional 6 and
Epicurean mixers fall into this category as well."

"Let me say that all of the mixers have metal gears. The ones listed (above)
have ALL metal gears. The others have all metal gears EXCEPT ONE. That gear is
not metal as a design feature. If the load on the mixer is too great, this gear
fails so that the motor doesn't burn out or worse. The new ones with all metal
gears have an electronic device designed to shut the mixer down if the motor
overheats.

KA (Vern) has said that the "Plastic" gear design has been around since the
first KA mixers and we all know that many of these mixers are still around and
running strong."

-- Larry

In article >,
wrote:

> Sorry, don't know where you read that, but it's incorrect.

I pieced it together by reading multiple items on the net talking about
plastic gears and metal gears, and the Ultra and the Classic kept coming
up with plastic, with top of the lines being touted as all metal.
Logical reasoning lead me to my conclusion.

jt