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The Very Loved, Very Old Mixer

My old Kitchen Aid is groaning. It’s been groaning. When we still lived in Texas, Vince said “What is wrong with that mixer?” I don’t know. I’m not a mixer repair girl! He said “How old is that thing?” I told him . . I think I got it in 1991. He looked at it and said “It must need new motor brushes” so he ordered new motor brushes and put them on. That helped some but it still groaned so he ordered food grade packing grease but never used it. The other day he started looking at instructions for replacing the packing grease and I’m not sure how he felt about it but to me, it sounded super scary . . like my mixer could possible never get put back together again with all the taking apart that had to happen so I asked him to wait.

This morning, Vince said “I hope you’re ready to get down another mixer because that one sounds bad!” I told him . . I do not like my other mixers! I just want this one to work. I’m sure he wanted to say “Stop acting like a 2 year old and accept the fact that your mixer is almost gone!” but, probably sensing that there will be tears when that mixer no longer works, he said . . why don’t you start looking for a mixer you will like?” The 2 year old in me wanted to say “This is the ONLY mixer I’ll ever love!” but I said “OK!”

Maybe my 2 year old self has just taken over my thinking but I’m not sure there’s a mixer out there that compares to the old Hobart made Kitchen Aid mixers.

Whether I can get another one or not, life goes on; cooking and baking goes on but this is one tool I will always miss if it cannot be repaired.

I have other mixers (of course I do!). I have a Bosch Universal Plus which I would love to love.

I love it for kneading bread. I love the food processor that fits on top. I love that a really powerful blender fits on the column in the back. For anything like cookie dough, cake batter, frosting . . no! It does not do a good job at all. So, at best, it’s my go to mixer for kneading bread down when I’ve ground the flour myself. That takes a long kneading process and it’s probably not something I would have done in the Kitchen Aid when it was new . . surely not now.

Back in 2017, we found this mixer on sale. Vince said “Here’s a good mixer!” It was half price and we were trying to buy a small house in Chad’s town so we’d have a house in Texas and a house in MO. The house deal never happened but I did rent the apartment there and used that mixer a few times and nope . . not for me.

Vince got on Ebay and found two old Kitchen Aids – one in California and one in Florida. He ordered them both. One of them looks almost new. Both of them look way better than mine does so I’m hoping at least one of them will last as long as I do!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Living Traditions Homestead on YouTube has an awesome tutorial on replacing the grease. E did mine and everyone else’s we know that has one. They all run like new. I don’t think you can wear these things out. He said it was a simple project.

    • Well, you know me. I have one. E didn’t change the grease in my mixer so technically, that statement is not correct! 🙂

      I found the video and sent it to Vince. We’ll see what happen.

  2. My parents gave me a Bosch mixer and grinder for Christmas in 1976. I sent it back to Bosch in 1986 or so for repair, because it was sounding bad. Only $100 repair! Probably the motor brushes. I’m still using it, but not as much now. My oldest child found a Bosch at a thrift store years ago, and is still using it. I sure hope one of the Kitchen Aid mixers satisfies you!

    • I wish I loved my Bosch. It’s great for huge loads of dough but not much else, in my opinion. Which Bosch do you have?

  3. My Kitchen Aid is also groaning. AND it’s only 5 years old–it was one of the cheaper models and it shows. My Kitchen Aid in Montana is one of the professional series and is about 25 years old–it too doesn’t work as well as it used to. Maybe I should get Mike started on repacking the grease???

    • Checked the motor brushes too. I used to have to change them often in my first old longarm and that made such a difference.

  4. .. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I won off of The Pioneer Woman’s website a while back. I only use it occasionally, but I did bookmark the re-grease video, just in case. I was not expecting to see the huge glob of grease , but once the guy showed the replacement grease glob, it made sense. And, I did not know there was a food grade grease available.

    I was also interested in the iron pan hanger set-up he had in the background. It makes sense if there are some pans you use all of the time. I hope Vince can repair your mixer and you’ll have two spare ones !!!

    • I don’t have a single place in my kitchen where I can hang something like that on the wall, plus I have drywall everywhere. The sun room is right off the breakfast room and if I had my way, I’d hang cast iron on the wall with no windows – it’s all cedar but that’s not the look Vince wants in there.

  5. Interesting. My Mother has the one that she got after she married. My goodness that was 70 years ago. She did get a new one at some point and that is out on the counter and the older one taking up cupboard space. I never had one untile a good friend offered me the one her daughter did not want. I jumpted on that and have it. All are Kitchen Aid mixers and work so nicly.

  6. I love my old kitchen aid and hope I never have to replace it. It is avocado green, so that gives you some idea of how old it is!

    • I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an avocado green one but so nice that you still have it.

    • I think Vince knew I was sad enough thinking my mixer might be going out to pasture that he was afraid he might see tears and he will do most anything to avoid that scene.

  8. I’ve got an old Hobart KA, too. I’ve had it forever. It was my Mom’s. It’s also extra sentimental because one of the metal tabs on the bowl broke off so my Dad we.ded it back on. I smile every time I see it.

    • How nice to have that! Don’t you love having things like that – every time you see them, it brings back great memories!

  9. Judy’s non spend year. Solved – get Vince to buy for you.Wonder if that will apply when she needs some linen or threads. LOL

    • My no buy was only for cross stitching. Don’t even think I’ll do without something I use as much as I use my mixer.

  10. I hope one of the “new” KitchenAids works for you. You (Vince, that is) really could have repacked the grease. When we moved, my KA was put on its side in a box, and grease leaked out. After trying several appliance repair places that only worked on large appliances, we bit the bullet and did it ourselves. John is not very handy, and easily frustrated, but we did it! (He was scared about all the disassembly, too.) The very last think was quite difficult (to line up), but my KA is fine, now.

    Do you still have the mixer you bought for the little house? Will you resell one of the ordered ones, after deciding which you like best?

    • I have no idea what we will do with two extra mixers. I did order more grease for the original mixer as “we” cannot find the first grease we ordered. We may end up with a second house at some point (or we may not but Vince still wants a place on a lake) so one thing for sure . . we’ll have a mixer. Yes, I do still have the Cuisinart I bought for the little house.

      When we had two houses in Kentucky, a neighbor’s son passed away and she had a garage sale with all his stuff and she had the exact same Kitchen Aid mixer I had and she had it for sale for $10 so I bought it and used it at the little house in KY but when we moved, I gave it back to her because her mixer wasn’t working so well. Vince keeps saying . . you should have kept that one . . but I’m sure she was happy to have it back.

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