Information about buying an old mixer?

15 years ago

Recently I've been thinking I need a stand mixer. I will seldom use it but I'd still like to have one for when I need it. So I've thought about buying a vintage sunbeam like off ebay but there are several models and I don't know what to get. I would like it to be able to knead dough. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I should look for in a vintage sunbeam mixmaster? I just don't know where to start but I think that buying an expensive kitchenaid for as little as I'd use it is a waste for me. I'd like to buy a new one but it just seems like everywhere I look, I see people saying the new ones are just terrible and junk.

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Comments (19)

User
15 years ago
I can't help you with a sunbeam, but if you can find a vintage Kitchenaid, one made by Hobart, go for it. I've had mine for almost 31 years and it is still going strong. If it ever breaks down I'll be looking for another one.

Ann
3katz4me
15 years ago
I have an old Sunbeam (my mom's) but can't advise as I don't do dough with mine. However I'm the same - don't need or want a big, heavy, robust KA. Sometimes I'm afraid my old Sunbeam might die. I have looked at new mixers and the non-big, heavy, robust ones are junky in comparison to the old Sunbeam. I've already been looking on ebay for a replacement and was delighted to find all kinds of them in wonderful vintage colors. I'll be interested to see if you find a good model for dough. Juicing must have been the thing back then - alot of them have juicer attachments.
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This is one of those subjects that is all about choices. For all my cooking and baking from scratch, I live quite nicely without the aid of a stand mixer taking up space, but wouldn't be without my Zojirushi Bread Machine. I'm on my second one - I wore the first one out and there are just two of us at home. I had a Sunbeam Stand Mixer I purchased for the prime reason of breadmaking because of my arthritic hands (I was in my late 20's at the time - 56 now), and it failed miserably at the task, and I rarely ever used it for mixing anything else. I hated lugging out the heavy glass bowls and the heavy machine. I don't leave any appliances setting out - I don't like clutter on my counters. All my "kitchen toys" (and I have more than most people) are stored in a tall utility cabinet designed for them. My sister gave me her Deluxe Oster Kitchen Center complete with a pasta maker and ice cream freezer and several other totally useless attachments, 10 years ago, because she never used it, and she got a Professional 600 Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, which she still never uses, but she wanted the red mixer to match her new kitchen. It's a status symbol. I used the Oster a few times and gave it back to her. The Oster also failed at breadmaking. My sister uses her Zojirushi Bread Machine for making dough, not the KA. I have an ergonomic (easy to hold and use) Black & Decker Hand-Held Mixer that works for anything I would need mixed with an electric mixer, which is mainly creaming fat and sugar together. After that, I use a (hand-held) Danish Dough Whisk for mixing cakes and quick breads. People tend to over-mix these if mixing them in stand mixers or using a hand-held mixer, and over-develop gluten. When I judge foods at County Fairs, I can tell you who uses an electric mixer on a quick bread or a cake because they are nearly always over-mixed, tough, with tunnels going through them. When it comes to making bread dough, I use what the King Arthur Test Kitchen uses for making their dough - a Zojirushi Bread Machine. It does the best job at making dough, not a stand mixer, which tends to aerate dough, and not by hand, according to their tests. I make all our breads using freshly-milled flour I mill at home from a wide variety of grains/seeds/beans; and primarily use the bread machine for all yeast/sourdough/Artisan/flatbread dough making. I bake bread every 7-10 days. The nice plus about a bread machine is that you can also bake it it, although I never bake in the bread machine. I prefer baking in the oven in the loaf amounts or shapes appropriate for our use. I've converted our favorite non-bread machine recipes to using a bread machine. I generally make a 2# size recipe (or larger, using my own recipes) and then use that amount for a 1# loaf of bread (which we use one loaf per week) and the other half of the recipe I can make into any number of things - an 8-inch square pan of dinner rolls, 6-sticky pecan rolls, hamburger or hot dog buns, or another loaf of bread for the freezer...all from the same recipe. Years ago, King Arthur had a picture in their "Baker's Catalogue" of 2 loaves of whole wheat bread in a side-by-side test. One loaf made using a stand mixer and the other loaf (using the same recipe, dough only, and baked in a loaf pan in the oven) made in the Zojirushi Bread Machine. The loaf mixed in the bread machine was at least 1-inch higher than the loaf made in a stand mixer. So there is a little more information on the subject you probably didn't have. -Grainlady
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readinglady
15 years ago
I'm no expert on vintage mixers (except to the degree that I'm "vintage" myself!) but I doubt any old Sunbeam will be good for dough. Those old mixers were mainly used for cake batters and cookies. Bread was kneaded by hand.

Carol
claire_de_luna
15 years ago
I have to agree with Carol. I'm using a 47 year old Kitchen Aid which is also still going strong, but it wasn't designed for bread dough. It will mix a nice batch of cookie dough however! Funny, I found another just like it years ago, and it's residing in my basement for the time when the other one burns up. I hesitate to replace it since I have four bowls/beaters for it, which lets me do all kinds of things like whip egg whites, make a cake or beat frosting, without having to wash the bowls or the beaters.

One nice thing about going vintage is the mixers themselves aren't so gigantic you can't put them under the upper cabinets in an old (also vintage) kitchen.

I just use my bread machine for bread dough and use the old mixer for what it was intended.
beachlily z9a
15 years ago
I have one of the 6 qt KA's that's about 6 years old. We've just purchased a nearly new Hobart N50 and the KA will go on Ebay I think. This KA has been great but I'm not excited to purchase a new one .... haven't heard good things.
User
15 years ago
Claire, I'm surprised that your kitchenaide doesn't do bread. The old hobart kitchenaids are the best. I've kneaded many a batch of bread dough in mine over the years.

Ann
arkansas girl
Original Author
15 years ago
Yeah I agree with Ann T on that because that's one of the big issues with the new KAs is they just aren't cutting it with the heavy things(like dough) and are burning up. I'm thinking that the old KAs are well capable of kneading dough. Maybe keep the batches small. I've checked out the old Hobart KAs and they aren't cheap! Over a $100 plus pretty big shipping. Of course that's still way cheaper than a new KA!
teresa_nc7
15 years ago
FWIW, my KA is labeled Ultra Power and is a model from the 1980's. I make bread in mine just about every week and I've been selling my bread at a Saturday farmers' market for the past two seasons, May to November. So, the KA does get a workout - we're talking 100% whole wheat bread.

My opinion, if you want a vintage Sunbeam for mixing cookie dough, cakes, whatever - get one, but don't expect it to mix bread dough. I've never seen the double dough hooks that were as strong as the single hook on my KA. If you don't want to make bread by hand (which I think you should learn to do first to get the whole experience) then get a used bread machine at a thrift store. You might not want to set aside the kitchen counter space for a bread machine, so think twice.

Teresa
claire_de_luna
15 years ago
Ann, your model is positively modern compared to mine! Here's what mine looks like. It's much smaller, there's no dough hook and it's really OLD. That's the beater, the grinder and I also have the ice cream freezer that would attach to the place where the grinder goes. I have two glass bowls and two stainless bowls, none of which have handles. (circa 1963/64) It's still working well, but tends to blow smoke on the lower settings, so I make sure to run it at the mid-range or above. It's exactly like the one in my mom's kitchen while I was growing up, so I'm sentimental.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Aid 3C model
readinglady
15 years ago
My old Kitchenaid is a K45. Before getting the breadmaker I made many a batch of bread in it. The only limit seemed to be the capacity of the bowl. The only breads I made by hand were the old 4-loaf country recipes.

Carol
readinglady
15 years ago
I should have mentioned if it's an old KitchenAid-Hobart (the best vintage choice for bread) you'll probably pay about as much for an old one on ebay as a new Kitchenaid.

For bread alone you might have better luck checking thrift stores for a breadmaker. They show up quite frequently dirt-cheap and are excellent for mixing dough. (You don't have to bake in them.)

Carol
sheilajoyce_gw
15 years ago
My large Kitchenaid mixer with the stationary head kneads dough. It is 36 years old and still going strong, but it certainly is one heavy sucker!
coconut_nj
15 years ago
I've had my old Hobart Kitchenaid for 30 years and it was old when I got it from a commercial situation. Apparently that model was made between 1944 and 1962, which sounds about right. I found one on Ebay that only has 2 days left to bid on it and it's only $43 now. No saying how high it will go I guess but might be worth checking out. Shipping for me would be about $16 for the cheap shipping rate, so that's great shipping on such a heavy machine.. lol. The seller has a great satisfaction rating.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vintage Hobart Kitchenaid
murphy_zone7
15 years ago
Arkansas girl, you said "Recently I've been thinking I need a stand mixer. I will seldom use it but I'd still like to have one for when I need it." That was my exact thought several years ago when I bought my kitchenaid. I too couldn't justify spending so much on an appliance I would rarely use. (it is just me and I have backed off on cooking so much :) ) While I can't speak of sunbeam mixers this is what I did.
I went to Amazon found a re-furbished Artisan for I think a couple hundred dollars, there was a sale going on, and I applied for the amazon credit card which knocked off some $$$ can't remember how much.....bottom line I paid about $100 for my mixer and it does all I ask it to do. Never had a moments problem with it. My suggestion is to look up re-furbished mixers and see what they have to offer. Both at the Amazon and Kitchen-aid sites. My mixer came with a 6 month warranty instead of the 1 year offered on new mixers. It came with the usual attachments flat beater, whisk, and dough hook as well as SS bowl with handle. I am lusting after the new glass bowl but that is another thread for another day. LOL
As you said, I seldom use it but when I need a mixer it is really nice to know I have one!! And an excellent mixer too!
Just a thought.
Murphy
arkansas girl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks coconut for that link, I'll keep an eye on it. I'd still have to buy some beaters but they seem pretty plentiful on ebay! I've seen most of the old ones are selling for well over $100 that I've tracked! :(

I have been looking and looking at flea markets and thrift shops and there is just NOTHING! The only mixers I've seen are some worn out old off brand junk and they are still wanting like $30 for them!
Teresa_MN
15 years ago
Coconut - I viewed the used KA you are thinking of getting. It looks like it only has the one beater. Do you know if other KA attachements are compatible with it OR are you only planning on using it for cakes, etc.?
arkansas girl
Original Author
15 years ago
Not coconut but I'm under the impression that the attachments fit all KA mixers. They are interchangable. Am I right...anyone know?
readinglady
15 years ago
The attachments on the head do fit basically all KitchenAids (there may be some mixers out there I'm not aware of) so my old meat grinder and shredder do fit my old KitchenAid and my new one. But my colander strainer fits only my K45.

You might want to visit the KitchenAid mixer forum and post a question regarding beaters for that model before you bid. KitchenAid employees as well as owners post, so you'll likely get an answer.

The Kitchenaid forum has just moved to Facebook, so hopefully you're signed up for access. Sadly, I don't find it as useful as the original forum on their site but go to the discussions tab and you can post your question.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenAid Forum on Facebook
a2gemini
13 years ago
About a year ago, I bought a KA Ultra Power on Craig's List for $75. Yesterday, an old friend gave me her mother's KA 3C.
Which would you keep?
Both only have one bowl and one beater
Thanks

Information about buying an old mixer?

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