You can tell if your KA is a Hobart because the name Hobart is on the bottom of the base.

I think that it was in the late 1980's that Hobart stopped making the KA.

Ann

It doesn't appear you have a Hobart-made mixer:
(From http://www.answers.com/topic/kitchenaid-4396712)

"The name KitchenAid was first introduced as a brand name for an electric stand mixer developed by the Hobart Manufacturing Company in 1919. In the early 1900s Hobart had begun producing the first electrically driven machines for grinding food items, including coffee beans, peanuts, and hamburger. In 1915 the company's subsidiary, Troy Metal Products, introduced the first model of an electric mixer. Designed to mix large quantities quickly, the appliance featured "planetary action," in which an individually rotating beater traveled in one direction around the inside of a mixing bowl. Allegedly, when Hobart executives brought the first mixers home for testing, one executive's wife remarked, "I don't care what you call it, but I know it's the best kitchen aid I ever had." KitchenAid was subsequently adopted as the mixer's trademark...

...During the 1980s the company underwent several changes. In an effort to broaden its product line, it acquired a major manufacturer of built-in cooking equipment, the Chambers Corporation of Oxford, Mississippi. KitchenAid subsequently introduced a line of ovens and stovetops. By 1985 the company was one of the most successful manufacturers of home appliances, while Hobart had become one of the foremost producers of appliances for use in commercial kitchens.

That year the company was approached by the Whirlpool Corporation , a leading manufacturer of home appliances interested in acquiring KitchenAid, and a deal was soon negotiated whereby Whirlpool would pay &Dollar;150 million for KitchenAid while Emerson Electric Company would purchase KitchenAid's dishwasher and trash compactor operations. However, an antitrust suit filed by appliance manufacturers White Consolidated Industries and Magic Chef delayed the acquisitions for a year. The two companies alleged that Whirlpool's arrangement with Emerson would give them an unfair amount of power in the market, allowing them to take away a substantial amount of business from White and Magic Chef. After an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, the suit proved unsuccessful, and in February 1986 KitchenAid was acquired by the Whirlpool Corporation."

Lori

Thanks Ann and Lori.
Durn. I had kinda hoped as this one works so good.
I've never had the problems other people seem to have with their mixers. Mine has a lift, btw.

Ann, I made your praline cheesecake w/sauce and it was a big hit. The caramel sauce in particular was especially liked by several family members and me, of course. I made it a few hours ahead and then reheated it right before serving. I poured it on the cheesecake (which didn't look as good as yours) and it had the chicken Kiev effect when I cut into it at the table. Nearly everyone gasped.

I had made the sides a bit too high and the cake sunk- which I filled with caramel. I used a rimmed cake plate.

On another note, I didn't use a bain marie because last time my foil leaked and made the crust soggy. So, I placed a 8" square pan of water in the oven next to the cake...it didn't work. I had several cracks.
Now I know!
Thank you!

Hobart sold the small appliances to Dart & Kraft in 1980 and Whirlpool bought it from Dart & Kraft in 1986. (AFAIK Hobart still makes the commercial units used in bakeries and the like.) I don't know at what point they changed the design significantly (going to plastic gears and such), but as of about 1980 it's not made by Hobart though they could have still made it the same way for a while. The band around the head of the mixer should also say Hobart on a true Hobart-made unit.

Interestingly the initial unit sold weighed 70 pounds and was sold door-to-door by women. How'd you like to grunt a 70# mixer and knock on doors for a living?

I haven't verified it but rumor has it that some of the more expensive lines have gone back to metal gearing. Many people use a KitchenAid as marquee value and don't use it in a heavy duty fashion so they'll last a long time for many. Some use theirs so heavy, and I know people who have burned them out and have gone to other brands.

Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenAid

The Professional 600 is back to all metal gears and has been for a few years. I'm not sure about all of the other models.

I bought my KA on Dec. 20, 1981 and it is a Hobart... and I use it a couple times a week, and more in summer when I need it to makes tomato sauce and juice, etc... It hs been a regular workhorse in our home. I do tons of canning and processing of foods, bread making etc.. so it gets quite a work out. This machine has only been in the shop one time and it was my fault. When we moved here and built our first home here, I didn't use it for about a year...and when I did it made a very strange sound..so off to Nashville I went with it... All that was wrong was that the oil on it;s innards had settled down to the bottom and so the gears didn't have the necessary oil to keep them from grinding together.. the repair guy said that in times of non use of a week or more... just turn the machine on for 2 or 3 minutes and let the oil work through those gears and it should last a life time..

Carolyn

Bumblebeez: I use an oven bag inside a wrap of aluminum foil. No leaks!

Mine's from the mid-eighties and it's a Hobart.

Looks like Dart & Kraft did buy Hobart in 1980, but it was just a parent company and Hobart still used the Hobart name until 1986 when Dart and Kraft unmerged.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-06-20/business/8602140084_1_kraft-stock-john-m-richman-tupperware

Whirlpool bought Hobart's Kitchenaid line shortly afterwards and changed their marketing scheme.

Chief among their reasons were that they thought Americans did not want commercial mixers, they wanted shiny multi-speed gadgets. 'Commercial equipment in general is not intended to look good in the kitchen; it is intended to work reliably for many years in the commercial environment. Americans won't pay for durability and lack of features over looks.' So to them there was no way for a commercial equipment manufacturer to make money on a "prosumer" mixer line.

Timeline for Hobart Kitchenaid Mixers
http://leoladysw.blogspot.ca/2012/02/introduction-and-timeline.html

We bought our KA stand mixer in 1978/79. We had to have the motor rebuilt about 2 years after we got it because DH was making all WW bread and burned out the motor. They use to have repair shops for appliances back then. We got it fixed and it has worked fine with no problems since then. I don't use it for bread anymore and haven't since the 80's when I got my first bread machine. I need to use it more to keep the oil circulating. DH took it apart and found out that the oil settles on the bottom so it can have a smell when you start it up if you don't use it often. Someone said you should just run it a couple of minutes each week to keep it well oiled.

Just FYI, here is a old thread about Kitchen Aid mixers vs other mixers.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: what would you do if your stand mixer broke?