Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Still confused on the model differences. QVC has one called a 'Vitamix Creations II' for only $399 ("ONLY" $399... for a blender. Sigh. What am I saying!??! Still better than $600...). Is this one a legit Vitamix? I'm less concerned with the jar size (this one is only 48 oz.), but want to be sure that the motor/blades/important stuff is the real deal. Anyone know if this baby Vitamix is worth it? Of course on the other hand if I'm going t spend $399 is is better to just go all the way to get the real deal for another $200? Thoughts? This is the link: http://www.qvc.com/Vitamix-Creations-II ... Offers-_-2

I never figured out the differences between all of the different versions. It looks like this one is on their official Vitamix web page at about $50 more with a few less extras. They also have a 5 year warrenty on both sites, were the other blenders have a 7 year one. I would think the blade, etc. has the same quality, but I didn't look into it that deeply. I think you can compare the styles on the Vitamix site.

That's the one I got (no thermos though!) and I really like it, but I am not super adventurous or anything. Just a lot of smoothies, mostly.

Check out this trick to remove froth/foam: http://joyofblending.com/how-to-remove- ... rothiness/

The only difference about the Creations II is the length of the warranty and the pitcher volume. If you're curious about sorting out all of the different Vitamix model names, check this out: http://joyofblending.com/which-vitamix-to-buy/

Joy of Blending - thanks!!!

Joy of Blending - I was just about to post your link to understanding the different models, just to find you did so already. Thank you for writing this post - it's very useful!

FYI, I'm not a Costco member but checked out the store last week, and they had the 5200S at $375. The Costco website lists it at $500, so I imagine this was a sale...?

BTW, is it just me, or did Vitamix remove the installment plan info from their website...? I can't seem to find it any longer.

Vitamix still has their installment plan, though they don't make it that easy to find on their website. Here it is:
https://secure.vitamix.com/3-payment-plan.aspx

I have, in my life, bought 2 cars for less than this vitamix!

I am reading this thread coveting a vitamix, hoping to find suggestions for alternative (ie cheaper) brands but nobody is raving about anything but vitamix. My issue is also about how big it is, my NY kitchen has no space.

I just got my vitamix last week and it's offically my favorite thing. I named him Wendell, as I fee like he should be part of my family. I can't stop making green smoothies in it. My bf and I also made the avocado tortilla soup thats in the recipe book that it comes with and I highly recommend it

Yes - and a bag of chips.

Controversial, I know, but if I were buying again, I'd get a Blendtec, not a Vitamix.

PSA: do not try to use your machines to blend metal utensils.

Why?

Ha! Damn, there goes my plans for tonight. From my own experience, also avoid blending plastic utensils. Unless you like a fine plastic grit in your smoothie. Lard, that was a loud morning.

At least with plastic, you live to blend another day.

I've got friends who have Blendtecs (raw food chefs etc), who prefer it, and after seeing theirs - I just feel it works a lot better, the shape is better (for blending, pouring, cleaning), and it's just a preference. I also don't like using the tamper, and it pushed through the plastic the other day and blended into my smoothie. It also peas me off a bit that Vitamix stole so much of their stuff from Blendtec - they ended up having to pay a $1M settlement (or similar) that Blendtec then put towards giving their existing customers new jars... Wish I knew before I bought!

i once left the little translucent plastic center cap thing inside the canister, and absentmindedly blended it for a few seconds.

Yep, and I was the recipient of one of those blender jars! I thought it was pretty cool of them to do that.

Does anyone know if the blendtec does dry seed grinding (like flax) and nut butters? Sadly, there's not a single Vitamix model that would fit in the height space I have allotted.

I would also need to ditch my food processor to make room for a high tech blender. Comments above suggest people are using both appliances. What can't the fancy blender do that a food processor can?

Also for those outside the USA thinking about the heating element (independent of motor/blade heat), I believe the Thermomix does that (similar to the Cuisinart linked above). Thermomix would seem to be ideal for my size and interests but it's not sold in the US. My Australian sister-in-law has one and loves it.

You can get 32 and 48 ounce jars for the Vitamix.

Food processor blades are shaped differently and are better at chopping, etc. if you only ever use your food processor for things like hummus or sauce or puréed, I don't suppose you would need both, but cleaning hummus out of a Vitamix jar isn't all that much fun.

It does take up space; I'd stash it somewhere. It's actually not that heavy to move around, but it is bulky and tall. If we do keep it on the counter, the jar is still kept somewhere else.

I would definitely be stashing it somewhere, but the "somewhere" has a height restriction of 15". With Vitamix I'd have to keep the base separate from either jar I believe. I definitely wouldn't have room then for my 20 year old food processor, which I basically think of as "hummus maker" that occasionally does pesto or other purees. The blendtec might just squeeze into the height space with jar in place.

I have a mini chopper attachment for my hand blender, so I could still chop onions that way, which is easier than dragging out the food processor anyway. I do most of my chopping with a knife.

Also, could I toss my juicer? If making smoothies, do people throw all their fruit in there or does it need extra liquid like juice? My juicer is an extractor type and it's rare the day I would make juice and then get out another device to make it into a smoothie. Sorry for all these naive questions!

I throw a little water in my smoothies to get it pourable. Maybe 1/2 cup. I never thrown juice in, the thing is full of fruit/veg as it is.

thanks, I usually do anything to avoid a heavy sell job, but I troubled myself finally to watch some of those infomercial type videos so I'm starting to get the basic idea. Still on the fence regarding the overall cost/benefit analysis!