[DaveB]

Well, I finally stripped the plastic gears on my 4.5 qt. mixer. Does anyone know where to get replacement gears or have the thing repaired?

[kokopuffs]

Do yourself a favor. Get yourself a new mixer made either by DeLonghi or Viking. Metal gears, there.

Otherwise go to ebay and get the Hobart 5 quart industrial mixer with a 3-speed transmission. Retail it sells for around $1200-2000 but you can pick up a good one at ebay for around $500.

[mikescookin]

If you don't want to replace it, try this site for service and parts

http://www.kitchenaid.com/custserv/service.jsp

[ChefOliver]

"Retail it sells for around $1200-2000 but you can pick up a good one at ebay for around $500."

Ebay? Wowwa, your speaking of the same price.... Shipping? You gotta love it.

[kokopuffs]

That Hobart mixer weighs a good 50 or 60 lbs. But at that price the high cost of shipping is worth it. If my Kenwood ever takes a dump, I myself will move up to Hobart as well.

[Jock]

IMHO the Hobart 5qt is not worth the money!! We tried them at CCA and they failed at the same rate as the KA mixers at 1/3 the price. And that's the commercial application. For home use, I would still recommend the KA 5qt. I have the school's KA mixers repaired at an average cost of about $120 each and that's to replace the gears. Check the yellow pages under Restaurant Equipment - Repair and Service.

Jock

[kokopuffs]

That's the first negative I've ever heard about Hobart.

[AmbrosiaFood]

Originally Posted by Jock

IMHO the Hobart 5qt is not worth the money!! We tried them at CCA and they failed at the same rate as the KA mixers at 1/3 the price. And that's the commercial application. For home use, I would still recommend the KA 5qt. I have the school's KA mixers repaired at an average cost of about $120 each and that's to replace the gears. Check the yellow pages under Restaurant Equipment - Repair and Service.

Jock

I own one of the first run of Hobart 5 qt mixers -- manufactured in 1947. It has not given me an ounce of trouble.

[Jock]

I'm not saying that the Hobart 5qt isn't a good machine in a residential application. I'm just saying it isn't worth the extra you pay over the cost of a KA mixer.

Hobart is the undisputed king of food mixers and that's why I started to buy the 5 quart for the school instead of KA. Within 2 weeks the first Hobart failed. When the service tech came to fix it I was incenced and I said to him, "I spent $1,200 for the Hobart name and quality and the damned thing didn't last any longer than a KA at 1/3 the price. Why am I spending all that money?" His response was, "I don't know. Why are you?"

I'd be willing to bet too that the materials and manufacturing processes today are very different from those in 1947.

Jock

[AmbrosiaFood]

Originally Posted by Jock

I'm not saying that the Hobart 5qt isn't a good machine in a residential application. I'm just saying it isn't worth the extra you pay over the cost of a KA mixer.

Hobart is the undisputed king of food mixers and that's why I started to buy the 5 quart for the school instead of KA. Within 2 weeks the first Hobart failed. When the service tech came to fix it I was incenced and I said to him, "I spent $1,200 for the Hobart name and quality and the damned thing didn't last any longer than a KA at 1/3 the price. Why am I spending all that money?" His response was, "I don't know. Why are you?"

I'd be willing to bet too that the materials and manufacturing processes today are very different from those in 1947.

Jock

My mixer was used for it's first 50 years in a commercial kitchen before I took it home. Yes, it was serviced every two years by Hobart, to ensure it kept running well, but it had no breakdowns while in use. After hard usage for 50 years, I retired it when I myself retired and now it is used in my home kitchen.

The only difference (I know of) between it and the new Hobart mixers is my mixer has a removable fuse on the back of the machine.

The Hobart shop did tell me, they felt my 1947 N-50 was probably a better machine than the new ones.

But that being said, the new Hobart N-50 mixers are still the best 5 quart mixers out there in my opinion. What I have observed in restaurants, hospitals, institutions, and other commercial kitchen; and what I read on internet cooking forums, support what I am saying.

Is it possible you were unfortunate enough to get your hands on a bad couple of mixers?