The Vent and Rant Thread

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

Hope my brother can fix it by welding the two pieces. I don’t want so replace a perfectly good machine only because of the hook.

A METAL dough hook broke!? That should be replaced by the manufacturer, two weeks out of warranty or not....unless you were making some dough made of lava and molten steel?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

How is it that the appliances manufacturers can make their products so they brake just after the warranty expires.

This weekend I was making bread and the hook from my standing mixer broke, had to finish the bread by hand.

I went in search of the invoice for the warranty and it had just expired 2 weeks before. Then went online to buy a replacement and they are out of stock, since apparently every accessory for that machine is out of stock it doesn’t look this is only temporary. Hope my brother can fix it by welding the two pieces. I don’t want so replace a perfectly good machine only because of the hook.

Holy mother of bread! What were you making? A metal dough hook, that comes with a stand mixer? Really????

Surely they have replacement parts for that? Addon bits and pieces, like KitchenAid does?

Hitch

[4691mls]

Maybe the mixer parts are yet another covid-induced supply chain shortage

[CRussel]

I've been making bread in KitchenAid stand mixers for >40 years. At least once a week. I'm still on the original mixer, and the original dough hook. Bowls have been replaced, but a dough hook??? Seriously??

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Maybe the mixer parts are yet another covid-induced supply chain shortage

I tried to buy some capris a few weeks from Lee dot com, and their entire site was showing delayed shipping of up to 8 weeks. It's better now, but still showing a week minimum before they can ship anything.

Hubby's work is dealing with long delays in parts shipping, weeks to months for a lot of stuff. Stuff coming from overseas is very backed up.

[tempest@de]

I was making sweet bread for breakfast, the same recipe I’ve made numerous times.

This mixer is 3 years old and I’ve used it a lot. I expected that when it finally dies it be because of the motor, like my last one, not the hook, It looks to be made of aluminum, maybe some kind of alloy, I’m waiting for my brother to try to fix it but he told me it will take some time because he’s busy.

The manufacturer has a web page for accessories and replacements, I’ve used them before to buy another bowl and the pasta accessory, but it says that it is out of stock.

I think I’ll send them an email to see if it is temporary or not.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I've been making bread in KitchenAid stand mixers for >40 years. At least once a week. I'm still on the original mixer, and the original dough hook. Bowls have been replaced, but a dough hook??? Seriously??

Ditto. KA stuff has, for the duration of my old bod's life, been reliable. I haven't managed to kill it yet, which is...remarkable.

Hitch

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

I was making sweet bread for breakfast, the same recipe I’ve made numerous times.

Eek...sweet bread...for a minute I thought you meant sweetbread!

The manufacturer has a web page for accessories and replacements, I’ve used them before to buy another bowl and the pasta accessory, but it says that it is out of stock.

I think I’ll send them an email to see if it is temporary or not.

That break looks like it might be some kind of pot metal, a cheap zinc alloy casting, but I'd be surprised if any reputable manufacturer used that for a dough hook. Weird.
Did you check eBay and Amazon for replacements?
I mean, even if the manufacturer is aghast that it broke and wants to replace it, if they don't have any, they don't have any. What brand is it?

ApK

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Ditto. KA stuff has, for the duration of my old bod's life, been reliable. I haven't managed to kill it yet, which is...remarkable.

Hitch

Yup. I kind of wish I could get a nice shiny new one in one of the cool colours they have now, but it simply will NOT break.

OTOH, the Cuisinart food processor is threatening to die after a mere 30 years. Which I would NOT like, given that the newer ones are all plastic parts and this one has all metal in the important areas.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yup. I kind of wish I could get a nice shiny new one in one of the cool colours they have now, but it simply will NOT break.

OTOH, the Cuisinart food processor is threatening to die after a mere 30 years. Which I would NOT like, given that the newer ones are all plastic parts and this one has all metal in the important areas.

And, OMG, have you PRICED good food processors lately? (If such a thing even exists...)

Worse, have you looked at the quality? Yick. They are overpriced and the quality is utter crap. It's all made offshoe somewhere, all plastic and yup, I would expect their tools and bits and bobs would break in fact.

I know this because I have a very old Cuisinart, that's small capacity. We bought it when we resided in a smallish apartment and the cursed thing will NOT DIE. I really need a larger-capacity one (for which, BTW, I have zero space, I should add), but I can't rationalize to myself buying a new one when The Ancient One remains undying.

I also have a meat slicer quite literally from the 50's, (inherited from hubby's Grandmother), an electric waffle iron from the 1940's (not kidding) which Hubby uses and refuses to use a new one; The KA stand mixer (Odin Bless it). My InstaPot--love at first use. And all the usual Kitchen detritus, gizmos and gadgets. (sigh). But a proper Food processor? Gods forfend.

Hitch

[CRussel]

This one is still solid, though I'm seeing the first signs of issues. One it's third bowl, I think, but hey -- it still works and it hasn't broken yet. And yeah, I've seen what's out there. Utter crap unless you want to buy a commercial Robot Coupe for >$1100 USD.

InstaPot? Got one, it's now buried in the back of the cabinet somewhere. No use for it. But a hot water dispenser, oh yeah. And a Breville Ice Cream Maker, yup. Oh, meat slicer? I splurged several years ago -- a belt drive, 10", PS-10, semi-commercial model. Used every single day. And an electric meat grinder. And a sausage stuffer, of course. And finally, a sous vide immersion heater. (How did we ever cook before sous vide???)

However, the pimped out Bradley smoker lives outside in it's very own shed.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Hitch

And, OMG, have you PRICED good food processors lately? (If such a thing even exists...)

Worse, have you looked at the quality? Yick. They are overpriced and the quality is utter crap. It's all made offshoe somewhere, all plastic and yup, I would expect their tools and bits and bobs would break in fact.

I know this because I have a very old Cuisinart, that's small capacity. We bought it when we resided in a smallish apartment and the cursed thing will NOT DIE. I really need a larger-capacity one (for which, BTW, I have zero space, I should add), but I can't rationalize to myself buying a new one when The Ancient One remains undying.

I also have a meat slicer quite literally from the 50's, (inherited from hubby's Grandmother), an electric waffle iron from the 1940's (not kidding) which Hubby uses and refuses to use a new one; The KA stand mixer (Odin Bless it). My InstaPot--love at first use. And all the usual Kitchen detritus, gizmos and gadgets. (sigh). But a proper Food processor? Gods forfend.

Hitch

Yeah, any newer ones you bought probably would not be worth it.

I bought a new top loading washing machine in about 2005. Approximately ten years later the lid switch broke (cheap plastic part that lets the machine know the lid is closed so the motor will run). It cost over $100 to pay a repairman to fix it. He said the quality of newer machines was worse and it was definitely worth fixing the old one. It's still going strong. It's not computerized and doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles, but it does have variable water levels and a good variety of wash cycles. I just hope lid switches will still be available next time it needs one!

[ApK]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And finally, a sous vide immersion heater. (How did we ever cook before sous vide???)

This.

BTW, it's Instant Pot, not InstaPot. Unless y'all mean some other thing than what I think you do.
(And our Instant Pot is still one of our most used gadgets. Just had one of my favorite Instant Pot dishes, Coq au Vin, for dinner last night...and left overs for lunch today.)

As for food processors, we got a Kitchen Aid (with the dicing attachment!) from QVC in 2016, and it's holding up well, though I must say it does NOT get frequent heavy use. Way to much trouble to drag out/clean/put away for small jobs, and we have a BlendTec blender that can stand in some of the time.
I can't imagine it lasting for decades.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

This.

BTW, it's Instant Pot, not InstaPot. Unless y'all mean some other thing than what I think you do.
(And our Instant Pot is still one of our most used gadgets. Just had one of my favorite Instant Pot dishes, Coq au Vin, for dinner last night...and left overs for lunch today.)

You're absolutely right about the Instant Pot. I had two things rattling around in my noggin at once--the Instant Pot and my InstaHot (instant hot water) and kablammo! The famous InstaPot! Not only is it a pressure cooker, but it has an instant-hot-water function, too! Get it for ONLY $49.99 or 4 easy payments of only $14.99 each! Direct to you from Roooonco! :-)

As for food processors, we got a Kitchen Aid (with the dicing attachment!) from QVC in 2016, and it's holding up well, though I must say it does NOT get frequent heavy use. Way to much trouble to drag out/clean/put away for small jobs, and we have a BlendTec blender that can stand in some of the time.
I can't imagine it lasting for decades.

I haven't tried a KA processor. I confess that on that front, I've been thinking Cuisinart, to this day, but I'm quite sure that there are others out there just as good, something like Breville, perhaps. Of course, at this rate, this freaking one I have now will outlive me. Just my luck. And Odin forfend that I buy something before I actually need it and can rationalize it. Cheap old Bat that I am.

Hitch

[ApK]

We really wanted one of those instant hot water dispensers built in when we redid our kitchen. We ordered it, told the contractor about it, had the box sitting here for month during the remodel.
He kept saying "no problem, no problem." Then it came time to install it and it was like he had no idea what we were talking about, and had a list of reasons why it could not be installed.
So we returned it, and use our Sunbeam Hot Shot instead for quick single servings. At the time, that was the only notable snag in the kitchen plans, so we called ourselves lucky and moved on. (the problems with the cracked counter and floors would happen later....).Oh, and talk about not making appliances like they used to! The Hot Shot my mom got in the '80s was still in daily use up to when we sold the house in 2018. We've gone through three of the new ones in the last 5 or six years and It feels like this one's going to break every time we use it, the plastic is so cheap.