Hand Mixers

[BakerAunt]

I have a Cuisinart 7-speed hand mixer that I bought back in 2004--then had replaced under warranty a year or so later (and yes, they still charge $20 for warranty returns, plus shipping). I noticed at the end of last week that on one of the beaters, one of the wires had disengaged from its hole. Although I pushed it back in, it keeps coming out.

I looked at the Cuisinart website but did not see my model, so I e-mailed them. They sent back the part number and told me to put it in the search box. I did, and it said, "not found." My next step was to call the customer service line. The rep. looked for it and said that the part was listed as on order, with no date as to when it would be available. I decided not to order, and I've replied to the e-mail answer to ask if it will ever be available and if they will give me a date. My fear is that they do not make it any longer, and that is why there is an indeterminate date. I will be highly irritated if I need to discard a mixer due to the lack of a beater replacement.

I should add that the e-mail said the beaters would cost $26.50, plus shipping and handling. That is nearly 1/3 of the cost of a new Kitchen Aid hand mixer on sale.

If that ends up being the case, then I plan to buy a Kitchen Aid hand mixer next time around. I note that there are a lot of sales going on. Has anyone had experience with these two brands of hand mixers? I still have a less powerful Kitchen Aid hand mixer (at the Indiana house), and it has not had the issues that this Cuisinart has had. I prefer the hand mixer for smaller jobs. With major Christmas baking on the horizon, I need it sooner rather than later.

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• This topic was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

[S_Wirth]

I have no hand mixers but want to share a place we have used for years that has parts for nearly every brand on the market. Husband always has something broken on his chainsaw and I have ordered on Sundays and had parts on Thurs. Parts came by FedEx Home.

They have shipping for $ 7.44, $ 11.45 and one other category, I think. I pulled up the page that shows all the brands they have. They even have parts for Vita Mix. I have purchased vacuum sweeper parts there and power saw parts and on and on. Their website is very handy to use and they send emails with links to the shipping details.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/brands.php

[Mike Nolan]

I second Sarah's recommendation to check out 3rd party parts depots, I've had mixed results ordering parts from KitchenAid. I ordered a new set of rubber feet for our stand mixer, they were the wrong size. (Our mixer is from 1972.) If you've got a local small appliance repair shop nearby, use them, they're an endangered species and need our support.

I had to unbury it on the counter to check it, we also have a Kitchenaid hand mixer, though as I recall it only has 3 speeds. I don't recall when anyone last used it, probably 3-4 years ago when someone was making 7-minute icing. I use my stand mixer frequently, my Bamix stick blender several times a month and beyond that I use whisks or a kitchen fork. (My favorite whisk is one that ATK gave a low score to.)

My wife gave me a hand egg beater with removable blades (easier to clean) a year ago, i think I've used it twice.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you, Sarah! I went to the website--then called to check, since my model number was not listed, and confirmed that the set of beaters for $12.54 were the correct ones. I did have to pay $7.43 for a more expedited shipping, simply because I need them quickly, but even that is reasonable given some places' shipping prices.

I'll also pass along the email site to my husband, as he has had problems finding a part for his older chain saw.

Mike, I did try the one local place back in 2005 when one of the Cuisinart beaters kept falling out. I would have preferred that to going through the warranty stuff. I asked if the place could do anything, and got an abrupt one-word answer: NO. That makes me reluctant to go back. I don't mind being told that they cannot do anything, but I do mind being told it in a way that implies I am an idiot for asking and am wasting their time being there. I don't know if they are still in business. With that approach, I'd think not.

[Italiancook]

I had luck using Amazon to find a part for my Kitchenaid stand mixer when Kitchenaid didn't have the part. Kitchenaid gave me the part number and someone on Amazon had it. I eventually received the part from Kitchenaid.

[RiversideLen]

I recently bought my first hand mixer. I have a KA stand mixer but sometimes I have felt the need for something smaller, like making a small amount of frosting, for example. So I checked Consumers Reports and found a Cuisinart for $40 was top rated and a KA for $100 was a very close second. I went on Amazon and found the Cuisinart from a 3rd party seller for about $80 and the KA also for about $80. Seems to me the main difference between the 2 mixers is that the KA comes with a number of attachments whereas the Cuisinart only came with the beaters. Well, that's really all that I wanted. But I didn't want to reward an Amazon 3rd party seller for bad behavior so I looked at Home Depot and found the Cuisinart for $40 with free shipping, so that's what I bought. Been using it a couple of times a week and so far I like it a lot.

I don't have any experience with Cuisinart customer service but did run into a small problem with a KA attachment once. KA sent a replacement part right away with no hassle.

[Joan Simpson]

I have a Kitchen Aid hand mixer and love it,very light,came with several different beaters which I use only regular ones.Has bread dough hooks I've never tried them as I don't think it's heavy duty enough for that.Mine is a 5 speed,very satisfied for light mixing as in cookies,potatoes, cakes.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks Riverside Len and Joan for your reports on hand mixers. I like my older Cuisinart (a 7-speed), so I'm glad that the beaters are available. It is more powerful than a smaller, older Kitchen Aid mixer that I keep at the Indiana house and will continue to keep as a back-up when w move there permanently. The Cuisinart came with a balloon whisk, as well as dough hooks. I had tried the dough hooks on the mixer that got replaced under warranty, and I agree with Joan: the mixer doesn't have enough power to work with dough. The model I replaced under the warranty had a beater that would not stay attached--a problem that developed over the course of less than a year. The replacement has done well.

From what people are saying, customer service might be slightly worse at Cuisinart than Kitchen Aid. One of my nephews wanted to have a Cuisinart ice cream maker repaired--he's pretty sure it's the compressor--but Cuisinart only wants to sell him a new one, so he is wary of buying any of their products.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

[luvpyrpom]

Bakeraunt, I'm glad you were able to fix your Cuisinart hand mixer. I have both the KitchenAid stand mixer and the hand mixer. I use the hand mixer if the recipe needs two things - like my chiffon cake - I use the stand mixer to whip the egg whites and the hand mixer to mix the other ingredients. I agree with Joan, too, the hand mixer is too weak for dough mixing - even thought I have the dough hooks and the balloon whisk, too.

[BakerAunt]

My new set of beaters arrived today. They seem to be a duller metal color than the ones I have, but I tried them out, and they fit, and the mixer works with them, so I am happy. Thanks again to Sarah for recommending the company.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Depending on where products are made it may be cheaper to replace them than repair them. Sad, but true.

[BakerAunt]

Fortunately for me, it was cheaper to repair. I want a "Fix-It Shop" like they have on Sesame Street!

[Mike Nolan]

I was at Target the other day, and they had 5 speed hand mixers on sale for around $31. I don't remember if they were KA or Cuisinart.

[BakerAunt]

I still saved $12, even with the shipping, and it would have been $14 if I had not wanted them to arrive more quickly. I also saved sales tax.

[RiversideLen]

We need the fix-it guy they had on the Andy Griffith Show, I can't think of that guy's name now. But if I recall, he was always tinkering with a toaster.

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