I know there seem to be two types of KitchenAid mixers ... one with Bowl-lift and one where the mixer is hinged. What do you find the easiest. Where do you keep your kitchenaid, on the counter, or in a cabinet?

Thanks,
ElleC

I keep mine on the counter. They have a cover you can buy. I have the tilt head mixer which works fine, although I am looking into to getting the bowl lift type.

I have the Ultra Power Ktchen Aid with the hinged top, it's and it takes care of all my present needs although I saw a model recently with more power and a bigger bowl, but I cna't justify upgrading at this point. I love my kitchen aid, not only to use as a mixer but you can buy different attachments for it like the grater, the meat grinder, a ice shaver.....there's probably more. I keep mine out on a counter since I don't havemuch cabinet space that isn't already in use.

i have the bowl lift mixer, and its what i'm used to, My mother has the hinged one and i don't care for that one as much. I find it abit more awkward but that may just be because i'm used to the other one.

Oh and i store my mixer right on my counter. It's one of the few things i allow to set out on it.

what is the hinged kitched aid and the bowl lift??

i have a kitchen aid,, but not sure which one lol..
its the Artesian one???

Mine is hinged, but I think I wish I'd gotten the bowl lift, it does look like it is easier to deal with.
When you get your Kitchenaid, you will want to leave it on your counter, it is heavy, too heavy to be moving it around very much. Janice

I have a hinged-top also. It's great! A little trick I learned from Emeril is to keep the attachment (blade, beater--I can't think of what it's called) spinning as you lift it and it will throw the icing/batter off into the bowl. Lift slowly though or it will end up on the walls.

I get mine at Christmas.... I will have to touch and feel to see which.... hubby isnt really excited about getting one...but he said I deserved whatever I wanted and I could get just that as long as I wait until Christmas, because of our move. He has already put a hold on the bucks so I can get it!

I have heard that the bowl lift ones are difficult to add ingredients into...but I don't know...

I have a 5qt Artisan 325watt (tilting), and I couldn't be happier...and besides it looks so good out on my counter.

I posted a ton of questions on Wilton about what was the best Kitchen Aid because I was planning to get my first one. Many people loved what they had but couldn't give much advise about the other tyes of KA's because they never used a different type. Well I'm in the same boat, I got my first KA the end of last year. It's the 6qt. The 6qt only comes with the bowl lift. My only problem with my mixer is the diffeculty in adding ingredients. I hate covering the outside of my mixer in powdered sugar when I add it to my icings! BUT I don't know if the hinged KA owners run into problems with the way their KA is set up. The best advise I can give to you is that whatever you do, go with the Kitchen Aid! Hopes this helps. Have a great day.
Amy

P.S. I leave my KA on the counter because it's too heavy to always move from a cabinet. I just move it out to my work area when I need it and then back to the corner of my work counter when I'm done. I cover it too.

Is there a pouring shield available for the bowl-lift ones? I have a 5-qt hinged model and I also have a plastic pouring shield that is fabulous....

The bowl lift does come with a pouring shield and can use all the attachments. You can look at them here.

http://www.kitchenaid.com/catalog/category.jsp?categoryId=310#156

If you buy your KA from eBay or secondhand elsewhere you probably didn't get the pouring shield and may not have known about it (I didn't!). I recently did find this out and got one and I highly recommend it! You can get it online on eBay or other sites. Just do a search for "Pouring Shield Kitchen-Aid Mixer" and you will find it. It is about$8- for this plastic thing, but saves a lot of mess when adding ingredients to the bowl-lift type of mixer and you don't get confectioner's sugar flying through the air.

~AngelWendy

I know that it might be different for the bowl lifts, but the pouring shield for the tilt mixer (Artisan) is worthless. The powdered sugar still flies everywhere (even more so because you think you are safe)...the pouring shield on the bowl lift mixers do look different, but I at least wanted to toss in my pennies on that one. My pouring shield is in my retired appliance cabinet, replaced by a damp dishtowel.



Mixee

Yes, my pouring shield is on the bowl-lift kind. I keep thinking having a hinge top one would be better. What are the drawbacks of the hinge-top? I'm curious because may be replacing mine soon. Thanks!

~AngelWendy

The only bad thing that I've heard about hinged tops is that a) the pouring shield doesn't work well b) mechanically it isn't a good idea to be lifting and straining moving parts and cords and c) they have less power.

I have the bowl lift and love it but I would think it would be easier to add ingredients into the tilt head. I love my pouring shield though.

Suzanne M.

It was my brother-in-law (an electronics engineer) who told me not to get the tilt head because he thought it would wear out sooner than a bowl lift because of the strain on the neck of the machine...but has anyone heard of a Kitchen Aid wearing out? I haven't.

As far as KitchenAids wearing out?

Mine is 11 years old and still going strong

My mother's is more than 25 years old and still going strong.

My sister's "semi-wore" out last year after 18 years of HEAVY usage (every day, including making bread/pasta with the dough hook 2-3 times/week and quite a few catering jobs). But I think that she may have "helped" it wear out a bit as well, as she was told by her husband that she could not upgrade to the professional version while hers still worked <grin>. Hers still technically worked, but it was getting noisy. My father bought her the professional one for Christmas and she gave hers to my younger brother.

We all had the largest tilt-head one (the KM90)

oh - and I LOVE my pouring shield....but only ever really use it for adding dry items, so I do have a little "stickage", but never much

Thanks everyone for the info. I think I am asking for a KitchenAid Professional Series 6 (to get the bigger bowl) with bowl-lift for Christmas. Since it's around $400, I can't justify going out and buying it. I know sometimes Kohl's has 1/2 off (thanksgiving time) that includes KA, so I'll see if they carry that model.

Guess I'm in the minority right now, I am just using a Sunbeam stand mixer (I asked for a KA when I got married 10 years ago ... and this is what my MIL got me).

Happy Baking!

Yup they do- http://www.kohls.com/products/product_page_vanilla1.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=32973123&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=164539097&bmUID=1114638210157
(I should know, I work for them )

I was just given the Kitchen Aid Professional 600 series, 575 watts, bowl lift mixer by my boss and another co-worker. They purchsed it on Ebay and it came to right around $300. I received the pouring shields and 3 mixing hooks, it also came with a rebate for a free attachment, either the ice cream or pasta maker.

I previously used a cheapie stand mixer from Wally World ($30.00) and that worked well, but I have been getting a few orders for cakes lately and my boss is retired food service, and felt that I needed something alot better than what I had

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my mixer, i've only had it for a week but it's truly AMAZING!!!! I have used the pouring shields when I am making my buttercream frosting and so far I haven't encountered any messes.

Stephanie W.

I also have the Kitchen Aid Professional 600 seires with the bowl lift and 3 mixing hooks. I love it. I have had mine for a year now and I love the 6 qt mixing bowl. I would highly reccomend it. Also if you can get extra mixing bowl, that comes in really handy.

Thena

I guess it is a toss up. The tilt head KA is easier to add ingredients, but has a lower wattage. I have noticed my KA straining while mixing heavy batches of dough. An easy trick while adding the dry ingredients is to sift them onto a piece of parchment or was paper and fold the sides in, then just lift and pour into the bowl mess free!

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to add a comment about buying your KA from Kohl's. I bought the Pro 600 from there. They were on sale + an additional 15% off because of the early bird specials + 15% coupon if you put it on your Kohl's charge which came out to be about $268 (before tax). This was my early Christmas present from mom, and no interest was charged because she turned around and made a payment. After looking around, I know we got a great deal and I love it!

Now mom just gets cakes at her request!!

have been looking at some ka's my ? is do you have to remove the mixer attachment to remove the bowl on the lift type....seems that it doesnt lift through enough range to clear the attachment without tilting the bowl and possibly spilling...if so I think the tilting head would be my choice..as far as moving partsI think that the quality of the ka would adress this issue so that it would not be a problem the only thing moving in that joint would be the wires and with enough clearance would be no prob

I have the ultra power tilt head (4.5 qt bowl). I love it, but if I were doing it over, I'd get a larger bowl. I like the tilt head, but have never used the bowl lift, so I can't compare the two. I didn't vote, but highly recommend kitchenaid!

When we redesigned our kitchen, I got one of the fancy cabinets with the swing-up mixer stands inside, and it's nice, but when I leave the mixer on it and use the mixer, it sways from side to side and makes me nervous, so I lift the mixer to the countertop to use it. Also, using it while on the shelf requires leaving the cabinet doors open, and it's just not as convenient to use as I thought it would be, LOL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mixaleena

My pouring shield is in my retired appliance cabinet, replaced by a damp dishtowel.



Mixee

I don't use the pouring shield much, because it's awkward to assemble and get on/off the bowl, but I'd love to know more about the damp dishtowel method!

Thanks!
Laura.

Here's another vote for the KA Pro600. I love mine. (3 hooks, 2 bowls)

I have them both and the PRO600 is better. I still use my Artisan for Royal Icing and some cake mixing.

I keep mine out on the counter.

I have a bowl-lift KA, I keep it on the counter under a cover. I love the bowl lift leave it on when I lower the bowl so I can fling the batter / icing off of the paddle without flinging into my face or walls and there is usually less scraping of the paddle. The pouring shield is hit or miss on its usefulness for me. I think I actually have the wrong size it seems large on my bowl. The best trick I have found I got from this website when adding powdery ingredients take a damp kitchen town and drape it over the mixer it keeps the dust down and there is usually less cleaning in the kitchen when I am done baking.