Sunbeam Mixmaster

[Suzie]

I was in Penney's yesterday and noticed a Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer with a 450 watt motor. It looked almost exactly like the KitchenAid at about half the cost. Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam and does it work as well as the KitchenAid?

Sue

[Nancym]

Here's what I would do, I'd go to google and put in the name of the thing you're interested in and "reviews". There are a lot of sites that review products now! Its helped save me from buying some stinkers.

[happygirl]

I have a Sunbeam Mixmaster and I love it! My mom has her original one (like 30 years old) and my grandma has one....so I got one when I got married. It is great!

[larry mac]

Hey Sue,

I have a Sunbeam Mixmaster, Heritage Series, Legacy Edition, in Antique White (cream, almond?). It's a beautiful mixer, and I really like it. Got it for Christmas two years ago and it has performed well for it's intended purposes. Those would be mixing cake mixes, making whipped cream, merangue, other light duties. You can not make real bread with it (a moot point now, ironically), as it will overheat and shut off, 450 watts notwithstanding. Also, when making cookies, muffins, and even some of our breads, the thicker batters "fill and climb up " the beaters, a minor nuisance. I've alleviated that problem somewhat by using the wire wisk beaters, instead of the regular beaters. BTW, the regular beaters are the same as the beaters on a hand held mixer. The wisk beaters are not the same as on the Kitchenaid.

Some pros:

~ Like you said, half the cost of the Artisan. When I bought it, I figured I wouldn't be using it all that much, and therefore couldn't justify the Kitchenaids cost (actually only one of several factors in decision).

~ The bowl rotates, making it very convenient to scrape down the sides while your mixing, you just hold the spatula in one place. Also, since the beaters are on one side only, you have plenty of room to add ingredients while it's mixing.

~ It comes with a large bowl, and a small bowl.

~ It's smaller than the Kitchenaid Artisan mixer (the comparable tilt-head model), and much smaller than the Professional Kitchenaid.

~ The speed controls are more convenient, in my opinion. I've also always liked the retro look, the jet engine look.

Now, I've never had or used the Kitchenaid. But I've done a ton of research, have friends who own one, and watch a lot of cooking shows. I'm going to take the liberty of making some comparisons, and if anyone that owns one would like to make comments, please feel free to chime in.

~ It has a paddle beater. The beater moves around the bowl in an eliptical orbit, instead of just spinning. Product doesn't get stuck in the paddle like I mentioned above (I'm guessing). I'm thinking the paddle beater would be perfect for our bread batters. Of course it has a wire wisk and a dough hook also. (edit: most cookbook recipes that specify a stand mixer say "using a paddle beater in a heavy duty mixer...")

~ It has a real gear drive. This is a mechanical transmission. First gear, second gear, etc. Lots of torque, durabilty. The Sunbeam has an electrical control, like a fan. That's why it won't go really slow (another minor nuisance), and it can bog down and overheat, no torque.

Yes it's more expensive, but you only buy a stand mixer once (unless you buy a Mixmaster and then decide to buy a Kitchenaid)!

Best regards, lm

I was in Penney's yesterday and noticed a Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer with a 450 watt motor. It looked almost exactly like the KitchenAid at about half the cost. Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam and does it work as well as the KitchenAid?

Sue

[lorka150]

like happygirl, my mum and gramma both used their sunbeams their whole life. (and still do)

[Michi8]

My mom had a sunbeam that lasted her almost 40 years. She replaced it with a Kitchenaid. I have a Kitchenaid, and prefer the design over Sunbeam (though I'm not clear on whether the Sunbeam design has changed much over those years.) I find it does a very thorough job with little to no need to scrape the bowl down, and it's powerful enough to handle any task. The one I have is the Ultra Power...not as powerful as the Artisan, but more powerful than the Classic.

Michelle

[hannahsue01]

Everybody has there favorite mixer I am sure. Like said above some mixers can not handle the breads. My grandma blew the moter out of her Oaster mixer a few months back making buns. Therefor I wanted to get a mixer for our family that would last for years to come and hopefully never need to be replaced. I did some research first and diceded to get the KitchenAid Professional 600 Stand Mixer. It has a 575 watt moter wich was the highest that I could find on any household mixer. It has all steal gears and transmission wich most don't. It also is sapossed to stop itself before it over heats or grinds any gears.....this is the biggest reason I chose this mixer being I didn't want one to burn up on me and have to buy a new one. We have had it for a few months now and love it. It is the most powerful mixer that we or anyone else who has seen it have ever encountered.....you would swear the thing is getting ready for take off when set ont he highest speed. It retailes for $500 but we were able to get it at Kohl's for $300 with sales......so far it has been worth every penny.

[Suzie]

Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam Mixmaster 400 watt stand mixer? I'm wondering if they are OK for gluten-free baking.

Thanks.

Sue

[Suzie]

Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam Mixmaster heavy duty--say 450 watt? I saw one in Penney's the other day at half the cost of a KitchenAid. Opinions?

Thanks.

Sue

[larry mac]

Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam Mixmaster heavy duty--say 450 watt? I saw one in Penney's the other day at half the cost of a KitchenAid. Opinions?

Thanks.

Sue

Hi Sue,

Since nobody else is commenting on this topic right now, I think I'll throw some more thoughts out there (please see my first post above). Maybe we can spur some further debate from the Kitchenaid and Mixmaster users.

I'm of the opinion that too often people put way too much emphasis on "watts". I believe there are much more important factors to consider. Lets talk about bread making. Real bread making requires a strong, tough mixer (if, that is, your going to use the mixer to knead the dough in lieu of hand kneading). You need watts, sure. But you also need torque. The way to get usable torque is to have gear drive, like a kitchenaid has. Mixmasters don't have gear drive, they have electronic speed control. That's one big reason they are less expensive. Even if you had more watts, without an effective means to control and deliver those watts to the beaters, your starting out at a disadvantage.

I have a mixmaster, a really nice one. I like it a lot. It does not have gear drive, nor will it make real bread. Of course, that is not a requirement now that we don't eat real bread, is it? Makes great whipped cream, meringues, and cakes. It has some serious design flaws that make it less than perfect for making anything thicker than cake batters. Generally, I would say that cookies, muffins, and even gluten free bread "dough" are thicker than cake batters. I make all three a lot, and the Mixmaster manages ok. Here's where the "less than perfect" part comes in. The beaters just seem to suck for these dense products. As soon as I add enough ingredients to make the batters thick, it gets stuck inside the beaters and then starts climbing up the beaters. I have to stop mixing and redistribute the product a couple times to ensure thorough mixing, or keep it from actually getting up on the motor body. Also, the recipes for normal (wheat) cookies, muffins, pancakes etc. say not to overmix or you'll end up with tough product. The gluten-free recipes more often say to mix 4-5 minutes. So I'm using the mixer more where before, I might just mix quickly by hand.

Here's the part where I can only speculate, but I'm guessing that the paddle beater on a Kitchenaid is designed to eliminate this problem. Add the gear drive and the eliptical orbit design, and you've probably got a far superior machine. I think it's probably fairly obvious, but frankly, I'm starting to get a little frustated with mine. It was fine before with only the occasional use, but the last month I've used it 3 times a week or more and am not as happy with it as I once was.

I'm starting to wonder if my mother's has lasted for 40 years because she hardly ever used it! (that's a joke, maybe, ha ha)

best regards, lm

[Michi8]

Here's the part where I can only speculate, but I'm guessing that the paddle beater on a Kitchenaid is designed to eliminate this problem. Add the gear drive and the eliptical orbit design, and you've probably got a far superior machine. I think it's probably fairly obvious, but frankly, I'm starting to get a little frustated with mine. It was fine before with only the occasional use, but the last month I've used it 3 times a week or more and am not as happy with it as I once was.

I'm starting to wonder if my mother's has lasted for 40 years because she hardly ever used it! (that's a joke, maybe, ha ha)

best regards, lm

The single paddle makes a big difference. Very sturdy, doesn't get too mucked up (the batter/dough stays in the bowl, rather than climbing the paddle) and is very easy to scrape off. Now the paddle does have its limits. With Sunbeam's beaters, you can mix and whip with them, which the paddle doesn't do, but with the Kitchenaid you also get a wire wisk attachment and a dough hook. All three tools do a good job.

Michelle

[tiffjake]

I was in Penney's yesterday and noticed a Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer with a 450 watt motor. It looked almost exactly like the KitchenAid at about half the cost. Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam and does it work as well as the KitchenAid?

Sue

I had one, got it at Walmart. Hated it. Took it back. I don't cook much, maybe that was my problem. I found it harder to use than hand mixers. Messier too.

[happygirl]

In general, stand mixers and hand mixers are used for different things (although, some things you could use either).

[Michi8]

In general, stand mixers and hand mixers are used for different things (although, some things you could use either).

A stand mixer can be used for anything a hand mixer will do, but it doesn't work the other way 'round. Of course, you could always choose to mix everything by hand instead, and forgo buying a mixer of any sort.

Michelle

[Suzie]

Thanks everyone for all your help. Looks like the KitchenAid is the mixer I would need. Now to try to justify spending that kind of money.

I was in Penney's yesterday and noticed a Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer with a 450 watt motor. It looked almost exactly like the KitchenAid at about half the cost. Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam and does it work as well as the KitchenAid?

Sue

[Michi8]

Thanks everyone for all your help. Looks like the KitchenAid is the mixer I would need. Now to try to justify spending that kind of money.

(Suzie @ Jan 12 2007, 01:09 PM)

I was in Penney's yesterday and noticed a Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer with a 450 watt motor. It looked almost exactly like the KitchenAid at about half the cost. Does anyone out there have a Sunbeam and does it work as well as the KitchenAid?

Sue

Does that mean you just answered your own question? LOL!

Michelle

Edit: Okay, scratch my response...I miss-read what you wrote (thought you were buying the Sunbeam in response to your post about seeing one for sale cheaper than a Kitchenaid...I thought it was funny!) After re-reading, I see your choosing the Kitchenaid. Good choice! Of course, do some shopping around for the best price. Check with Kitchenaid too...sometimes they have bonus deals for buying their products.