380 of 385 people found the following review helpful
Has Stood the Test of Time!,
November 20, 2005 This review is from: Waring MBB518 Professional Quality Food & Beverage Blender, Stainless Steel (Kitchen)
I bought it based on other reviews, after our previous blender broke. We use it to make smoothies with frozen fruit. Our last blender was a Black & Decker from Target for . Both the B&D and the Waring have glass bowls and stainless steel bases. But the B&D has a larger capacity and a heavier, larger base. The Waring is 300 watts and the cheaper B&D is rated at 500 watts. The next surprise was reading the instructions for the Waring. There is no mention of putting the container bowl in a dishwasher; instead one is supposed to 1) brush out with soapy water, 2) run for 2 minutes with more soapy water, 3) rinse for another 2 minutes, and finally 4) dry with a towel. Next surprise: according to the instructions, the blender should never be operated without holding one's hand on the top. There's a reason for this: the blender tends to "walk" around the countertop (something the B&D, with its larger base, never did). Fortunately, with a full load the Waring stays in place. We decided to ignore the instructions and place the blender bowl in the dishwasher. But the metal fitting under the glass bowl (looks like aluminum) seems to be reacting to the dishwasher detergent by breaking out in white dots. We're hopeful that this metal fitting will be a lot stronger than the plastic screw-on fitting on the B&D, which cracked after 9 months' daily use. Bottom line: the B&D's weak point is its plastic, screw-off base for the impeller. If the Waring with its metal, non-removable impeller fitting stands the test of time it will have been worth the higher price.
UPDATE ON APRIL 1, 2006: The Waring has worked flawlessly in daily use for over four months now. I would give it 4 stars now instead of 3 (but Amazon won't let me change the rating).
FURTHER UPDATE ON JANUARY 2007: It keeps plugging along, making daily smoothies without complaint. The bowl has survived hundreds of cycles in the dishwasher without problem. I'd change my rating to 5 stars if Amazon provided a way to do it.
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER: Now I know why they don't want you to use a dishwasher. Over time the dishwasher scrubs out the lubrication on the blade shaft. Ours starting binding. Fortunately I had the tools to remove the shaft and lubricate it. Now it's working fine again, but now we are careful just to rinse it with a brush and hot water and keep it out of the dishwasher.
NOVEMBER 2008 Update: Three years of nearly daily use now, and no further problems. (Where does the time go?)
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389 of 401 people found the following review helpful
The Original Is Still The Best!,
January 1, 2001 This review is from: Waring MBB518 Professional Quality Food & Beverage Blender, Stainless Steel (Kitchen)
I've owned a dozen blenders over the past 30 years. They all had their advantages and disadvantages, as does this one. When I tote up the pro's and con's, Waring still stands on top for me.
My first blender was an Osterizer in the early seventies when I was in college. It was a good machine for drink blending, but was frustrating for foods. If you look closely at the Oster container, the blades sit in an area recessed from the main container. No problem for liquids, but semisolid things such as peanut butter will jam down in there. I found that I constantly had to use a spatula to help dressings, dips, etc. blend.
When the Kitchen Aid blender was first introduced, I bought one. It was a real disappointment from the start. No matter how much I ran items, they never got uniformly smooth! I can remember running canned tomatoes, for instance, for several minutes and still they did not puree evenly. I kept it for about 6 months and gave it to one of my employees.
Roughly 10 years ago I bought my first Waring, a one-speed bar blender. Finally I had a blender that did all I wanted! I think that the trademark cloverleaf Waring design is more than hype. It truly does pull food and heavy mixtures into the blades better than competing designs. If you look at the heavy Waring glass container with its nonremovable blades, you'll see that the bottom of the container is flat and the blades stand up above the bottom. I think this is why it works so well. Incidentally, I've found no problem whatsoever in not being able to take the blades out. Because of the design, a drop of d/w liquid and hot water cleans out the bottom in a second or two. However, the limitation with this machine for kitchen use was its lack of a low speed.
I bought a Cuisinart blender, then recently introduced, as I love my DLC-X food processor. Big mistake. The blender was made in China and was mostly plastic, frame and all. I burned it up making dips one New Year's Eve. Not for heavy duty use.
I bought the Waring kitchen model, like this one but with a different design of container with removable blades. I liked the machine but it didn't blend as well as my bar blender. Again, this seemed apparent due to the different container design. I returned it after three weeks.
Finally, I bought a two speed Waring laboratory model with timer, basically the same machine as shown here with a little different front. It has the original style container, a heavy duty motor, and has worked flawlessly for several years. I purchased the stainless steel container as an accessory, but still use the glass one most of the time. As any blender enthusiast will tell you, you only really need a low and a high speed, all the rest is window dressing.
The Waring is not only classic retro design, but its simple cylindrical base affords excellent ventilation for the motor. It also makes cleanup from spills and overflows much simpler than more elaborate models. Incidentally, you can find the heavy glass containers all the time for a buck or two at local flea markets; order new blades and lid for a fraction of the purchase price of a new set!
This is a classic kitchen design that will remain in style for many, many more years to come.
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