Bosch Mixer

[texasflute]

Anyone have any opinions about the Bosch Universal Mixer? My big Kenwood KM800 (7qt) has become non-functional, much to my chagrin. It was working fine on Tuesday when I turned it off, and when I turned it on Saturday....nothing . I'd like to get it fixed, if I could find a service place that fixes them that actually answers the phone, but haven't been so lucky as of yet. I have the smaller 5qt. Kenwood, but I need the larger capacity for bread and cake making. The Bosch is only 5qt, but seems bigger than my 5 qt. Kenwood. I'd prefer another Kenwood, but I can't find one locally (not to mention all US Kenwood stuff goes through DeLonghi, and I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about DeLonghi). The local Bosch dealer has let me use a Bosch for a week. I like it, but prefer my big behemoth Kenwood to put it honestly.

[texasflute]

I've not had much luck getting the big Kenwood repaired. I need to send it cross country to have someone look at it. I'm still planning to do that, but I'm not in a hurry. Yesterday I bought an Electrolux/Magic Mill DLX mixer. I chose that one over the Bosch because of the larger capacity. The local food co-op owner loaned me a DLX to try out for a week. It is VERY different, but once I figured out how to use the thing, I loved it. I did buy a demonstrator model from the co-op, so the price was quite good. Now I'm back to baking!

[Suzanne]

Are you absolutely positive the Kenwood has died? Have you checked the plug? the circuit breaker? Is there a reset button on the machine?

[texasflute]

No, this Kenwood doesn't have a reset button (although the owner's manual says it does, and I have a 5qt Kenwood with a reset-I know where it should be). I've disassembled the mixer trying to find a hidden reset, but there isn't one. It is not the plug, circuit, etc. I was using this mixer on a Tuesday, and it was working fine when I turned it off. I plugged it up on Saturday, and that baby was dead! I frantically looked for the reset, shook the plug, cord wires, etc. I plugged it into another plug in the kitchen, nothing. It is dead. I took it into the appliance repair place locally. They called and said they couldn't fix it. I asked what was wrong with it, and they said they didn't even open it up. They can't get parts. But he assured me he plugged it in to see if it worked, at which point I leaned across the counter and told them that when I dropped it off, I told the person where to get the schematics for the mixer, where to get illustrated instructions for disassembling it and replacing the thermal overload circuit (which is what I think is the problem), and if they couldn't get the parts to let me know, because I most assuredly knew where to get them if they existed (I'd order them directly from Kenwood in England). I then told the guy I would NOT have brought it in if it worked! He proceeded to tell me how all appliances were throw-aways nowadays. I started to make a comment about the two dozen dead kitchenaids sitting in the floor behind the counter, but didn't, then I told him I did not pay what I paid for that mixer to throw it away 3.5 years after I bought it. He then said he would work on it if I would get the parts, and I picked up the mixer and told him, no, thank you. I'll ship that thing off to Timbuktu before I take it back there. I may just pack the thing in a suitcase and haul it to England when I go next time and have it repaired over there. I know the Kenwood people in England are infinitely more helpful than the bunch at DeLonghi.

The bit about can't get parts is bunk! That mixer is the same as the DeLonghi, the Hamilton Beach Commerical and the Viking mixers. I used the Viking disassembly instructions, and I can assure you that it is the VERY same mixer on the inside, except the Viking mixer is now 1000W I believe, but the circuit boards and all the other parts are identical. Viking has all the repair instructions online, along with parts info, so I KNOW there are parts for this mixer. All I need is to have the blue wire (thermal overload device) on the circuit board replaced. I can fix a lot of things, but I don't mess with soldering wires onto circuit boards, or I would have already fixed it myself.