Vitamix or not?

[Jax]

If you've read or heard about the Vita-Mix and wonder what all the fuss is about here's a link to their site Vita-Mix (https://www.vitamix.co.uk/) with a video demonstration so you can see what it is capable of ;)

The UK phone number is 0845 8684566 and Ireland is 0766 709854 both on local rates.

They are pricey, which is why I had to wait ages and blow up my food mixer before I could get one :o but we were really lucky as we got a really good deal the BBC Good Food Show, so when you have saved up enough make sure you check out the shows they are attending and try and get a really good deal..................it makes your food taste even better then!!!

[Tranmererovers]

They usually have them on demo in Costco twice a year and one of the demonstrators said that Costco had the best retail price - worth checking out if you are a member

[haverawcake]

If you can't afford a Vitamix a great option is the Rhino Blender which is also 1500 watts like the Vitamix. My Rhino is just as powerful as my friend's Vitamix and I can make all of the raw food recipes I want it in. It is a commercial blender from the UK with a 3 year warranty. You can get a black or white one for £255 or a Chrome for £280.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I though I would mention that as a business I obvioulsy use the Vita prep a little more than perhaps the average raw fooder.
In 18 months it has
Suffered a failed trip switch - needed sending back
wild electricial shorting - needed sending back
Caught fire - needed sending back
Failed variable speed switch - needed sending back cost to me £185.00
2nd failed Variable speed switch - needed sending back no cost

I had a demo for a Robot Coupe Blixer, very impressed cost £1000

but my prep cost £500 they are now £565+ add to this the £185 fixing cost and £10 each time I returned it
I have paid out £725 if it continues like this I will soon reach the £1000

I rest my case

choose wisely after 1 year you are liable for any repairs to the Prep and it is costly ......:mad:

[amydolem]

Has anyone any experience with the Blendtec? A lot of raw foodists in America now seem to favour the Blendtec blender with the new bigger jug with the 4" blade. This however won't come to the UK market until later this year.

[Della]

:pSo not sure if I've posted this in the right place but I'm a newbie so please bear with....

I am thinking of saving up the pennies and getting a vitamix can anyone give me any advice, recommendations etc

I've been drooling over the website for months and months conjuring up the images in my head of how quickly I could rustle up delish menus and raw treats but not sure if (and its a BIG IF) I get one, will I get the £400.00 odd monies worth, I usually have a green smoothie for breakfast (banana, spinach, maca, mesquite, coconut water) and superfrapachino mid morning which I pack and take to work with me (black coffee, mesquite, banana, vanilla) so I know I would use it, just is it really worth the £400.00??? I can't really afford to pay for a name so any help would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance :p

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

No, not for the daily smoothie...
I use one in a proffessional manner
it has broken many times, including catching fire
it is VERY expensive for parts
and despite assurances from the Vita mix stand at the recent Bristol Vegan fare that my experiences are unusual they have an appalling customer service and in my experience do not honour the products guarantee, if you don't buy direct from them.

[Jax]

Ha ha however for me who uses it for a daily smoothie and various raw concoctions but nowhere near as much as Karen does............I find it amazing and was very very happy at the Vegan Fayre when they gave me a new tamper there and then - now I know they say life time guarantee but I destroyed mine myself it wasn't any fault of theirs, so I really wasn't expecting that service!

[Della]

Thanks Jax and Karen for your replies, so 50-50 up to now then haha. I would use it for more than a daily smoothie I have already made quite a few deserts etc but have heard that they make fab raw soups which my current blender can't quite get to grips with!!

By the way for lunch today mandolined raw beetroot and carrot which is scrummy but I am having trouble typing because I'm waaaay too clever to use the guard!!!!! yes raw beets, carrots and finger tops yummy yummy

[Jax]

Hm an interesting mix for lunch there Della http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

I found my Vitamix absolutely invaluable through this last winter for making warm raw soups, fantastic and sooooo quick :peace: I'm obssessed with their thai one http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon11.gif

To be fair though, I have only ever had the Vitamix so I can't compare it to anything else............however some other members have and you maaaaay find that info useful, so I'm going to merge you into that thread then anyone who comes along with a similar quandry to yours in the future may find it helpful too http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Della]

My magimix (which I love and have had for about 11 years!) is great for doing my raw donut holes but for soups and nut pasts doesn't get it creamy/broken down enough, I'm going to go for it and focus on getting a Vita. I've seen some good links here from Funky Raw Food and Have Raw Cake so I'll be sure to keep you updated and maybe throw in a couple of shots of my "creations" when I do

[Jax]

Cool, and definitely give some feedback, that would be great ;)

Oh look out for Vitamix at food shows, that's how I got mine and you get a slightly better deal too :)

[Jax]

Mine actually cut out this weekend while I was making Ani Phyo's hazelnut gelato.............to be fair as ever, I didn't follow the recipe http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon11.gif AND it was a really hot day so may've over heated due to that. It just needed to cool down and was okay after that.

[ainswirth2]

Hi.

I'm just starting with raw foods and will be buying a blender soon.

I've looked online and it seems Vitamix and Blendtec blenders are popular with raw foodists.

They seem quite expensive though, and I was wondering if there are cheaper blenders that can do the job of liquidising raw vegetables?

I've seen a Philips Robust blender for around £250 (link below).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-HR2181-00-Collection-Blender/dp/B002KCES2C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1283613268&sr=8-1

If anyone has experience of using this blender (or knows someone who has), it'd be very helpful before parting with my money to know if it's good enough for a raw food diet?

Any other suggestions would also be appreciated.

Many thanks,

David

[Raw Rob]

Interesting, I've not seen that blender before. It is 850 watts which is the same as the Vitamix.

In the past I've had a cheap Philips Cucina blender for about £30 because it had a great nut mill attachment, it was a great blender and lasted many year and I used to recommend it to everyone.

The nut mill eventually wore out (although the blender part lives on with my mum now) so we got a new Philips blender, the closest we could find to the previous one, and I've got to say it was c**p. The nut mill was nowhere near as good as the previous one, and the blender had a serious design flaw in that small bits of food, especially powders, got trapped at the bottom below the blade and didn't get blended in. So, I wouldn't currently recommend Philips blenders.

My advice - get a Vitamix. If you can't afford a Vitamix now, buy yourself a cheap blender (£20 to £30) for now and make do until you can afford a Vitamix. They are expensive but they are very well built and last a long time.

Although I've just read the product description again and noticed that it has a glass jug, which is a great plus (if you can manage not to break it), so maybe you should be the one to buy it and report back to the rest of us...

Rob

(Full disclosure: Funky Raw is a Vitamix affiliate. But the information is based on my personal use of a Vitamix for over 5 years.)

[Jax]

Hi David and welcome to Raw in UK

Sorry to move your first post :o but we have a thread looking at whether to get a Vitamix or not, that may help a little with your thoughts, and in turn your post may help someobody else in the future http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

I'm a mega fan of Vita-mix btw (I don't have any affiliation) but in turn I haven't tried anything else apart from the ones that come attached to a food processor.

[ainswirth2]

Raw Rob,

Thanks for your reply.

I too have had both good experiences (eg DVD player) and bad (headphones) with Philips stuff, though as Amazon reviews often show, one person's dream product is someone else's nightmare.

Think I'd prefer the big control switches that the Vitamix has to the touch screen buttons of the Blendtec but, unlike the Vitamix, the Blendtec comes with a BPA-free jug, and for that reason I think I'd be more likely to get a Blendtec (this is why the only thing stopping me getting that Philips Robust blender is not knowing if it's powerful enough for a raw food diet). Another good thing about the Philips is that it has a 5-year product guarantee and 15-year guarantee on the motor.

Seems nobody has any Blendtecs in stock at the moment so I'll wait til someone has before parting with any money. Hopefully in the meantime someone out there will us know about this Philips!

Thanks again,

David

[ainswirth2]

Jax

Thanks for the welcome.

No worries about moving my post - I did read that thread you mention but hoped I'd get more responses by starting a new one!

Seems there are many fans of the Vitamix, and I like the look and sound of everything about it - except (as I mentioned in my reply to Raw Rob) the lack of a glass or BPA-free jug (seems they're available in the US but not over here).

Regards,

David

[Jax]

Seems there are many fans of the Vitamix, and I like the look and sound of everything about it - except (as I mentioned in my reply to Raw Rob) the lack of a glass or BPA-free jug (seems they're available in the US but not over here).

Have you contacted Vita-mix UK at all to see if they might be able to get hold of one for you, after all it can't cost them much more to put a glass or BPA-free jug in a shipment they will already be getting??

[ainswirth2]

Have you contacted Vita-mix UK at all to see if they might be able to get hold of one for you, after all it can't cost them much more to put a glass or BPA-free jug in a shipment they will already be getting??

I hadn't til today! Left message on their answering machine so see what comes of that. Though having read a bit more it seems this BPA stuff isn't so bad after all:

http://www.bisphenol-a.org/human/polyplastics.html

I'm leaning towards the Vitamix now!

[Jax]

OOO well let us know how you get on with them ;);)

[ainswirth2]

OOO well let us know how you get on with them ;);)

Will do.

In meantime, in case anyone who reads this thread at any point is interested in the Philips Robust blender, here's the email reply I got from Philips about it:

Indeed you can blend raw green vegetables in the Robust blender!

As the name of the range suggests, the blender motors are very strong and resilient, so it can cope with a range of foods from soft to hard.

You just need to ensure that foods are cut into manageable pieces so the blades can catch them.

You can just fill it up, yes, and switch it on. As with any blender, you may need to agitate the contents or add some liquid in case the blades don’t pick everything up at once.

Not sure of exact noise levels (we don’t have data on this to my knowledge), but nothing out of the ordinary when compared to other household blenders.

If buying from Philips.com, and as listed on the shop site, there is a money back guarantee if product is returned within 28 days.

[Jax]

Brilliant, thanks for that info ainswirth2 ;)

[ainswirth2]

OOO well let us know how you get on with them ;);)

Got email reply from Vitamix:

Thank you for your email. At this time we do not have the BPA free container available but the information below should ease your mind on your purchase.

The "information below" was just a long sales pitch for the 5000 and the TNC.

Got the Philips the other day but think I'll be sending it back - despite sounding like a Boeing 737 during takeoff it doesn't seem able to make nice green smoothies.

[Jax]

Aw well at least we all know now, but not particularly helpful of them!

- despite sounding like a Boeing 737 during takeoff
Sorry...............but had to laugh at that bit :575: I've never seen or heard one before so I'll be taking your word for it that it would be like living at Gatwick http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ainswirth2]

Sorry...............but had to laugh at that bit :575: I've never seen or heard one before so I'll be taking your word for it that it would be like living at Gatwick http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Honestly, I know blenders aren't quiet, but that thing was very loud.

I'm so indecisive - now torn between Vitamix and Magimix (which seems quiet and comes with something called a Blendermix attachment which apparently makes it work like a blender). I'll prob end up buying them both!

[Jax]

Oh dear http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Is the Magimix blender bit really powerful then??

[Mark F]

Hi folks,

I have a one-year-old second hand Vitamix 5000 (and a Dry Container) in excellent condition for sale. I have it advertised it on a classifieds site:

http://www.classifieds.co.uk/ShowAd.aspx?AdID=171116

Not sure if it's okay to link to other websites on here, but it just saves me having to repeat all the info. If this is a problem, let me know and I can repost here.

If you're interested or have any questions, please email me: flazaldo@yahoo.co.uk

Cheers
Mark

[Jax]

No that's fine Mark http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ainswirth2]

Oh dear http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Is the Magimix blender bit really powerful then??

From the looks/sound of the following it's just a piece of plastic that pushes stuff down onto the blades!

(scroll down a bit)

http://www.juiceland.co.uk/item--Magimix-5200-Food-Processor-White--MM5200W.html

But even without it, the Magimix seems able to do decent enough green smoothies (whereas the Philips just threw stuff up the sides all the time):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ghE3Wm6yP0

That Powermill blender looks like a cheaper alternative to the Vitamix:

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=powermill%20blender&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf

[Jax]

From the looks/sound of the following it's just a piece of plastic that pushes stuff down onto the blades!

(scroll down a bit)Ah, does seem to have a powerful motor though AND a 12yr guarantee.


But even without it, the Magimix seems able to do decent enough green smoothies (whereas the Philips just threw stuff up the sides all the time):
That's quite a good review because you can see the difference in the 2 smoothies, I guess if you are okay with a lumpier smoothie the Magimix is okay, it's good that it's part of the Robot Coup manufacturers, should be a quality product. And I would also say that it's sometimes easier to get your food out of a processer compared to getting it out of the tall jug on some models.

That Powermill blender looks like a cheaper alternative to the Vitamix:
Never seen that one, but looks as though they are modelling themselves on the Vita Mix lol. Only 950 and 2 yr guarantee though, whereas Vita Mix is lifetime.

[ainswirth2]

That's quite a good review because you can see the difference in the 2 smoothies, I guess if you are okay with a lumpier smoothie the Magimix is okay, it's good that it's part of the Robot Coup manufacturers, should be a quality product. And I would also say that it's sometimes easier to get your food out of a processer compared to getting it out of the tall jug on some models.

Yeah I was wondering if maybe a lumpier smoothie might be better for digestion in a way because it would force you to chew? Anyway gonna get the Magimix first and see how that goes - it seems quite versatile so hopefully will get plenty of use out of it one way or another.

[Jax]

I can understand that thinking ;)

Good luck with your purchase and don't forget to let us know how it goes, at any stage.

[Mark F]

The website I've got my Vitamix up for sale on has just been upgraded, so the new link to see the ad is here:

http://www.classifieds.co.uk/uk/household/kitchens/food_+_drink/7149805/vitamix-5000/view

Please email me if you're interested: flazaldo@yahoo.co.uk

Cheers
Mark

[ainswirth2]

I can understand that thinking ;)

Good luck with your purchase and don't forget to let us know how it goes, at any stage.

Will do. And thanks for the replies (this is by far the most helpful UK raw food website I've found!)

[Jax]

Will do. And thanks for the replies (this is by far the most helpful UK raw food website I've found!)
Oh wow, thanks for saying that...........they are a lovely bunch of people on here :peace: