One of my 6 quart kitchenaids started making a horrible sound and wouldn't spin anymore. I am never afraid of these things, shoot, I have rebuild carburators and built multi million dollar servers, so how hard can a kitchenaid be? I took it apart and the gear assembly was completely stripped. Upon ordering the parts for it (about 50 bucks in parts...I can only image how much it would be get it repaired..probably more then a new kitchenaid) I asked the parts guy how this could happen, and if maybe these things aren't meant to be used on a daily basis. We went over how I use it and the fact that I fill the thing to the top to prevent air bubbles from forming when making buttercream and how I let it mix for about 10 minutes. He showed me in the use and care book that there are ratios of how much batter and dough you should put in your kitchenaid and this was far exceeding it. I basically pushed it too hard!! This mixer is only 3 years old, (i have another one I have had for 20 years, but its too small for the large batches of bc I make) I am going to run it less time, as it was probably causing it to get too hoat (there is a huge amount of grease on those gears and if they get too hot, the grease stops working as well and that is what stripped them)

Thought I would pass that on...

So glad for the tip - thank you. I certainly don't want to ruin mine.

Thanks for the info. How often do you make BC? I make mine about 2x a week in my 6 qt...

I have 2 KAs. One as a Christmas present from my in-laws about 16 years ago. She gave me the one that she bought about 2 years ago b/c she didn't like it or use it.

THe one that is 16 years old--never had a problem with it--just needed another one to take to the kitchen I rent. There is a DEFINITE sound difference in the two when I am making stuff. I can hear the new one slow down and occasionally if it is on low, it will almost stop.

I recently saw the professional series of the Viking mixer and was wondering about the capacity of it. Anyone have it?

Older KA's are generally better built and more reliable because the company used to be owned by Hobart. Once they sold it the quality went down drastically.

Lorismom how about getting an industrial size Hobart stand mixer? I know they still sell them. It sounds like you make far more than the KA Mixer can stand.

I was told that dust (flower, powdered sugar, cake mix, Etc) can cause a lot or wear when it get sucked into the motor, bearings, brushes & gears. Keep the speed down until you have enough liquid to keep the dust down.

Thanks for the heads up. I have a KA mixer that i got about 2 moths ago, and i a newb. so thats some good info.

I guess you could go buy a Hobart 5 Qt for $1850.00!!!! NOT - I could go thru a lot of KA's for $1850!

thanks for passing the info!

I have a KA too and love it.... I did a demo and got to use the new Viking mixer.......oooooooh was that nice. But a little out of my $$ range.

Thanks for the tip loriemoms!

And WOW is that a dream mixer or what!??!?!

hmm, interesting. i've noticed with both my 5 qt and my 6qt, that when i start the 5 qt on the lowest speed, it pauses, then i have to jiggle the lever, then it starts. on the 6, it doesn't kick into gear, so i found that if i push in on the lever, it kicks in and goes faster. no problem slowing down, though. sounds like i might be looking at 2 repairs,and all within a year! not good!

Mine broke this time last year. My granddad is one of those genius people who can take things apart and fix them-it took awhile, but he isolated a problem to a stripped gear-I literally wore the thing out! He replaced the gear and it's as good as new. That was my Christmas present from him!
Hope that info helps....

I'm on my third 6qt KA! Luckily, I bought my fist at William Sonoma, and they have a lifetime warranty on KA'ay for the first one! I took the second back to exchange it last night because it sounded very labored making upcakes, and smelled VERY hot. They exchanged it for the new 610 model instead of the 600. If you're going to invest the money in one of these, get it at WS't beat their return policy and customer service!

Don't be afraid to look for a used Hobart, they are built to last. I went through 3-4 Kitchenaid mixers when I started my business 18 years ago. My husband found a used one advertised about 15 years ago. It was already about 20 years old back then, but it was what I could afford at the time. I paid about $700 for it, it's a 12 quart and STILL runs like it is new. I had the Hobart repairman look at it once we brought it home, he did a basic service on it such as new grease, etc. Every 5 years I call them out to do a "checkup" which costs about $100. Other than that it needs nothing, it gets used to mix and make frosting for 6-8 wedding cakes per week.

Thanks for sharing that information with us. I will be very careful from now on not to overload my KA.

It's usually the gears that go and not the motor.
I have 2 and the newest one has been sitting because of the gears. Luckily I have a place to
take it. The old 6 qt is running fine. I do wipe
mine down and vaccum the vents for powder and particles. If I have to run it long I put a ice bag wrapped in a towel and sit it on the top so it stays
cool.
I work with a 20 qt hobart at work and I treat him
like he's one of the family.

Here in the northeast, we have a weekly publication sold everywhere called the WantAd. It has thousands of things for sale in abount a hundred catagories. That's where we found my mixer and my cooler. The mixer was part of an estate sale from a home baker who had passed away. Her son was selling off all of his parent's things and their home. As far as he could remember his mother had the Hobart for about 20 years. (If you have the serier # off the mixer, you can call the Hobart headquarters and they can tell you the year it was manufactured. We found my cooler, a full size two door True in the WantAd also. It was from a convenience store that a family tried to start and they went under in less than 2 years. It was too hard for them to compete with the big chain stores. They were selling off everything before their lease for the storefront was up.

I comb through all the local ads and craigs every week looking for a mixer. People have gotten too greedy, as they want to sell theirs for almost as much as they are new. I found one gal that was selling all her bakery stuff (she had closed her store) and she bought everything used, and was selling it for what she paid for it like 5 years earlier...USED. So the stuff was DOUBLE used! I see her ad run week after week. I don't get these people.