Would Buy Again
Pros:
A convenient, sturdy mixer for basic breadmaking and desserts. A household tool.
Cons:
Does not perform everything it is advertised it will do. NO MEAT GRINDING!
The Bottom Line:
Buy it if you want a durable kitchen tool. Refurbished, it's well worth the money.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Our Experience:
We’ve had two 6 qt. Kitchen Aid stand mixers... both refurbished. The first lasted for one year. We made bread, cookies, icings, and lots of wonderful things with it. We also used the grinder attachment to grind beef into hamburger (our real reason for purchasing the mixer). That’s where the problem began and ended.
One day while grinding beef, the mixer overheated and stopped. We tried to restart it like the manual suggested, but to no avail. It still wouldn’t start the next morning. Curious, we opened the mixer to look at the motor. There was gooey, putrefied blood all up in the head near the circuit board. Obviously, the blood had short-circuited the motor causing a shutdown.
Our manual stated that a refurbished mixer is given a 6-month limited warranty. However, after telling the Kitchen Aid phone representative what had happened, she gave us a full year warranty and had another mixer shipped directly to our door. Later we received a call-tag for the broken mixer.
We don’t grind meat with our new mixer and never will. We use it for bread and desserts and it works quite well. We’ve found this new mixer to be much quieter than the previous one... a definite plus.
Sadly, the 6 qt. mixer is not capable of performing all that it is advertised it will do. However, it IS a great tool for breads and desserts. We recommend it to any family who wants to make delicious breads and desserts for their family.
Product Details:
The 6 qt. Kitchen Aid stand mixer has 6 speeds ( stir, 2, 4, 6, 8, & 10). We use speeds no. 4, 2, & stir for bread making. Speeds no. 6 & 8 we use for cake batters & etc. And speed no. 10 is used for whipping butter and cream.
The mixer comes with a wire whisk, aluminum paddle, and aluminum dough hook. We use the paddle the most and the dough hook second most (for kneading bread dough). The only times we ever use the wire whisk is to stir dry ingredients together (like flour, salt, and baking soda), oh-h, and once for the final whipping of a New York style cheesecake.
Other reviewers have complained about the aluminum beaters, but we find them quite capable of performing the required tasks. It is true that the beaters have to be lowered into the mixture before it can be removed. Also the bowl cannot be removed unless the beater has first been removed. This doesn’t bother us. Our reason for buying the 6 qt. mixer was for it’s power, the other is a minor inconvenience.
The 6 qt. stand mixer works best at mixing large amounts and batches. It is not convenient and really doesn’t do well at mixing small amounts and batches. For small amounts one has to constantly scrape the sides of the bowl.
Many “extra” attachments are available for this mixer. We’ve used the grinder, shredder, and pasta maker. These “extra” attachments are overstated and over-advertised and really not worth the cost. This machine is designed for dough's and such, but not for grinding, shredding, and pasta making. Those tasks overload the machine.
