# Lightweight mixer (mostly for cookie doughs)



## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

Hi everyone! I am moving my tiny business into a commercial incubator space (FINALLY! AND I AM SO EXCITED). In this new space I need to keep all my equipment on my own assigned storage shelf and move it to my work table when I'm working. I also have a serious back injury that is healing, but still makes it difficult for me to lift heavy stuff like my KitchenAid. *So... does anyone have a recommendation on a lightweight mixer I can use for the holiday season? *I will almost exclusively be using it for cookie doughs for the next two months. Ideally, I'd like it to have as large a capacity as possible, but I kind of doubt that I'll find anything with much more than a 5 qt. bowl in the lightweight range. I definitely want a stand mixer not a hand mixer.

Thanks!


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

There may be another option here.
Talk to the powers that be and ask (just until you are 100% again) if you can have a tiny spot to park a rolling cart.
Put the mixer on that.

mimi


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

Light weight usually equals less power. Cookie dough is usually stiff and needs lots of power to mix it. A cart idea that mimi mentioned is best.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

If you will not be able to use a cart, the 6 quart Kitchen Aid is on sale at Costco for $249. I'm only a home cook, but I love Kitchen Aid mixers and am getting this one for my birthday. Not sure how much it weighs. Hope your back heals real soon.


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

Update: I bought a Bosch Universal Plus and it is crazy awesome (although expensive). I've been using it for about two weeks and it is a seriously, seriously fun machine. 6.5 quarts, 800 watts of power, and it only weighs 12.3 lbs! (Compared to the kitchenaid's 30+). My favorite part is that there is virtually no scraping involved because of the very well designed little scraper blades and very little messiness because it's bottom drive and has a lid. So the kitchenaid is being "retired" into our second home mixer.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

azenjoys said:


> Update: I bought a Bosch Universal Plus and it is crazy awesome (although expensive). I've been using it for about two weeks and it is a seriously, seriously fun machine. 6.5 quarts, 800 watts of power, and it only weighs 12.3 lbs! (Compared to the kitchenaid's 30+). My favorite part is that there is virtually no scraping involved because of the very well designed little scraper blades and very little messiness because it's bottom drive and has a lid. So the kitchenaid is being "retired" into our second home mixer.


Oh wow! I am going to take a look. The kitchenaid is so noisy!


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

azenjoys, do you agree with this review/comparison between the Bosch and the albeit smaller Artisan Kitchenaid?
Basically she argues that the Kitchenaid is a better mixer for smaller batches and the Bosch is unbeatable for larger batches. She doesn't think the Bosch mixes small batches as well.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

That Bosch is cheap plastic. Kitchenaid has Hobart heritage. A video of the Bosch mixing dough made it look like the bowl is going to break off it flexed so much.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

drirene said:


> If you will not be able to use a cart, the 6 quart Kitchen Aid is on sale at Costco for $249. I'm only a home cook, but I love Kitchen Aid mixers and am getting this one for my birthday. Not sure how much it weighs. Hope your back heals real soon.


azenjoys, are you still using the Bosch? Do you still love it?

I sent the new 6 quart Kitchenaid back. It was SO LOUUUD and SCREECHY! I think its Hobart gene pool has irrevocably diluted. There are some really cheap elements. I will stick with my 1996 or 97 Kitchenaid Classic until it sputters to death - which may not be too far off.

The 5 quart Hobart N50 sounds amazing... Except for the 50 lb. weight and the $2500 price tag!


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

drirene said:


> The 5 quart Hobart N50 sounds amazing... Except for the 50 lb. weight and the $2500 price tag!


It's no different than the KitchenAid. I find them both equally comparable in terms of performance.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

Pat Pat said:


> It's no different than the KitchenAid. I find them both equally comparable in terms of performance.


Is your Kitchenaid very loud and screechy? Does it have a cheap finish that scratches off? What model?


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

drirene said:


> azenjoys, are you still using the Bosch? Do you still love it?
> 
> I sent the new 6 quart Kitchenaid back. It was SO LOUUUD and SCREECHY! I think its Hobart gene pool has irrevocably diluted. There are some really cheap elements. I will stick with my 1996 or 97 Kitchenaid Classic until it sputters to death - which may not be too far off.
> 
> The 5 quart Hobart N50 sounds amazing... Except for the 50 lb. weight and the $2500 price tag!


Like most anything consumer these days it has been cheapened with plastic parts and probably made in China.

The Hobart I'm sure is great but you pay for Hobart (not that it isn't worth it). You might consider a commercial Kitchenaid like this as a compromise.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ki...tertop-mixer-120v-1-3-10-hp/519KSM8990WH.html


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

It's the professional line that look like this. It's not any louder than the various other KitchenAid models I have used. I would even say it's quite quiet. Maybe you got a defective one? The only time it was loud was when a wire on the whip attachment got a bit out of place and banged around the bowl very loudly.

I bought the one with the finish all scratched up for 25% off. LOL.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

drirene said:


> the 6 quart Kitchen Aid is on sale at Costco for $249.


I just noticed that you bought it at Cosco? I have a policy of not buying any kind of power tool or appliance at a "big box" store because of experiences and reports of them not being the same as what you purchase elsewhere- even if they have the same model number. There is a good chance that they have been de-specd to meet the "big box" price point. Manufacturers are willing to do that because the stores buy so many of them. Also, returns and damaged merchandise is often just put back on the shelf so it is entirely possible that you got what somebody else returned because of that problem.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

That's one nice machine Pat Pat. I will take a look at the pro line. (I'll take the scratches!) And halb, good to know. I had no idea! Makes sense.
Back to the drawing board.
Thanks guys!


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

@drirene - Sorry for the long delay in reply - it was a very busy holiday season! I continue to love the Bosch, although I would agree that it is not as good for small batches as a KitchenAid (not particularly a concern for me, since I use it for production at work and do my small batch experimenting at home). The Bosch mixing bowl has a much larger surface area at the bottom, which is, I think, what makes the difference.

As for concerns about durability... the only problem I encountered was right at the beginning of using the mixer - the plastic part where the beaters attach to the mixer was cast slightly sloppily, so when I tried to snap them on to the machine one of the little teeth broke (not sure I'm describing this well, but it was annoying). Other than that, I've been very happy with the quality - and I've made dough for just over 6,000 cookies in it (small-ish cookies, but still, it's gotten pretty heavy use for the past two months). For me, the combination of light weight, lots of power, and a comparatively large bowl have been pretty unbeatable. The motor seems a lot stronger and more durable than the one in my KitchenAid. I have used it almost exclusively for cookies and meringues - so no feedback on bread making or cakes yet.

Drawbacks/criticism: 1) It doesn't really have a low speed. 2) There's a lot of nooks and crannies on the beaters and attachments - I think these would be annoying if I didn't have a commercial sprayer to wash them out with. 3) Because of the central drive and how the whole thing is set up, you can't really scale ingredients directly into the bowl.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

What about noise level? It seems pretty loud in the videos I watched on YouTube.


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

It's not noticeably/unpleasantly loud to me - but I'm a terrible judge of noise levels. I tend to block out background sound completely and I also only used it once at home before bringing it to work - with work being a busy-ish shared commercial space with a lot of competing sounds, hoods running, etc. Probably louder than the Kitchen Aid.


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## drirene (Dec 30, 2015)

azenjoys, thank you very much for the helpful review! It sounds like a wonderful machine. However, with my home cook max at double or maybe triple batches (cakes, cookies, frostings), I should probably stick to a Kitchenaid. Wish the 6 quart DC motor one wasn't so heavy... 
Enjoy your Bosch. Sounds like you guys have become best buds!


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## Gastrophysics (Aug 22, 2017)

A very silent but sturdy 5 quart mixer is the Varimixer V5 Teddy, the smallest in a series of professional mixers. I'ts available in the US, weighs 40lb and costs about 1200USD.

I have it for home use only and haven't used it long enough to review properly but its as silent as advertized! Also, I already find it easier to clean that the KitchenAid.


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

Anything Varimixer is super quiet cuz their mixers are belt-driven. I have the Kodiak bear for stuff my KitchenAid can't handle and love its power and quietness.


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