Disappointed in my new Nutri Ninja
As I mentioned on another thread, I found pieces of hard plastic in the first drink I made in the Nutri Ninja. I looked through some Amazon reviews, and found a couple of references to the same thing. One reviewer said not to worry--it happens only with the first drink. How reassuring!
Since I bought the unit mostly to make fruit popsicles for my grandsons, I didn't want to risk that happening again. I called the manufacturer to see what they had to say about it. Predictably, the response was that the plastic must have come from one of my smoothie ingredients.
On the possibility that the reviewer was right about this being a one-time event, I filled the cup about a third of the way with water and turned the unit on. The result was not good. My nice, clear water had turned grey and cloudy, with tiny black and grey specks in it. I photographed it, and then dumped it out and took a picture of fresh water. Although you can't see the specks in photo #1, the difference between the two is pretty clear. Or should I say cloudy?
I'll include these photos with my return request to Amazon.
Oh wow that is very noticeable and alarming. I would understand some residue before it's washed but not after repeat usage. I'm glad you tested with water as that could easily be hidden with other ingredients.
I'm so glad you posted this. Apparently Ninjas were created by Euro-Pro, perhaps you would consider notifying them.
Chi83 makes an excellent point, without a thoughtful testing like the one you did, the problem would be covered up by the ingredients in various slushies.
The consumer reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and many people say they strongly prefer the Nutri Ninja to the Nutribullet. I feel like asking them, "Have you tried running some water through it?" :-)
Lucille, I called the Customer Service number twice. The first time it wasn't convenient to sit around during the wait time, and the second time I had a wait of 10 minutes after going through all the various voicemail options. I think their reps would have the same response as the one I spoke with. Perhaps a letter to the company would be a better idea.
Is it possible that in the top picture the water has air bubbles in it? (That wouldn't account for black dots, though). Just a thought. I don't blame you, I wouldn't like it either. Can't you just use your regular blender?
Return it for a full refund. Sorry this happened. You got a lemon, and lemon's do exist. Good luck to you!
That's awful. Good for you for testing it. Although you shouldn't have tiny specks in your water it is possible that the top photo has tiny water bubbles. We have a reverse osmosis filter at our home in NE PA and when the water first comes out of the faucet it looks like that, but it's only tiny bubbles and after a few minutes it clears up.
You can also report it to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Their form is fairly simple and only takes about 5 minutes.
https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/ReportIncident.aspx
No air bubbles. The water sat for a bit before I photographed it. I did swirl it around, though, which is why you can't see the specks. I wanted to get the specks off the bottom.
I do have a regular blender that I hardly ever use. I wish I'd bought a better one. Couldn't afford a Vitamix or a Blendtec, but there must be a mid-grade blender that would do a better job.
I tried the same thing with my Vitamix just now, and had little bubbles initially but they cleared up within a few seconds.
I just tested my Oster. Cloudy for a moment and then cleared up, probably water bubbles. No black specks.
Sorry you had this happen. I'd return it also as another poster advised.
I'm hung up on the Kitchenaid brand. I have a perfectly good 30 year old Oster and purchased a KA just because I like the way it looks, works, the color....:0) I make smoothies in the Summer also. I'd recommend it! (Paid $45 on Ebay from the seller "Kitchenaid"....they warranty it....It's gone up $5 lol)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Refurbished-KitchenAid-5-Speed-Blender-with-BPA-Free-Pitcher-/111471981267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0amp;var=&hash=item19f43f72d3
So far my NutriBullet has been working fine....never tried the Nutri Ninja....
I have the regular Cheap Ninja blenderI bought at Walmart for about $34 and love it!
Sorry to hear about your problem.
Alisande, I had a similar experience with my new KitchenAid blender. No broken plastic, but little bits of black in my drinks. Turns out that I did not have the pitcher seated firmly over the base (apparently more than once). Somehow that caused the black specks (don't know how, though). It also stripped the gear. Company sent me a new pitcher and I made sure it was seated correctly and have had no more black specs. That's the only thing I can think of .
Good to know, Donna--thanks! I guess that could explain why the water leaked too, although I don't know how I could have seated the cup any differently. The NutriNinja has no buttons; you set the cup on top, turn it clockwise to lock it (it clicks), and then press down to start the blending.
One problem with my Hamilton Beach blender is that I never felt the pitcher was seated properly. I'll try again....
My son stopped by the house today to pick up some mail and he mentioned that he just purchased a Ninja blender at Best Buy. They have an older Hamilton Beach blender that they've never cared for and one of the features that they really liked about the new one is that you can't turn it on until the lid is locked in place. I think they paid around $200 for it on sale but the motor is strong enough to crush ice, process food, make ice cream and mix dough - although they have a KitchenAid mixer for that purpose.
I mentioned what happened to your Nutri Ninja and he said he'd heard the same thing.
Maire, my son stopped by tonight and noticed the big box ready to go to the UPS store. I told him why I was returning the Nutri Ninja, and he said he'd heard about the problem too. Sounds like I need to tap into another route on the information highway. Too bad I didn't mention my intended purchase to him before I did it.
The blender I have now is a Hamilton Beach. I"m going to try it out, and if I don't like it a whole lot better than I think I will, I might look into a refurbished KitchenAid similar to the one Nicole mentioned. Amazon has them for $47, which sounds appealing now that I've spent all my money at the Sierra Trading Post sale Raven led me to. :-)
Alisande, that's the KitchenAid I have to. Bought it at Target last year on sale for $49, marked down from $99. Guess red isn't a big seller. I really like it.
That is awful, glad you tested it with water. I use my immersion stick blender to make smoothies, I think it is a Braun, it came with a whisk attachment as well as a chopper which I love. and a container to make smoothies or whip cream. Clean up is easier for me and I don't have to haul out the blender.
I don't believe an immersion blender will do what Allisande wants, which is to have a tool that will completely pulverize assorted fruits and vegetables. When blended with a liquid, the mixture is so finely pulverized that there are no stems, chunks, or much of anything solid.
I'm still a big NutriBullet fan.
I make smoothies all the time with my immersion blender and I never have chunks of anything including ice if I use it. Works a lot better than a normal blender. I don't think it would liquidize raw carrots but i have never tried that.
FYI, just checked Amazon for Braun. Many are 220 volt only; Not for use in US.
Alisande, if you are a member of Costco or Sam's Club, you should check them. Both carry the Blendtec as well as the Vitamix, at a lower price than you'll find in "regular" stores. Also, I know that Costco often has them on sale.