Didn’t know that. And while KA does not offer a spiral hook for tilt heads, I came across this third party one, but have no idea how well it works.
Now that I’ve figured out that the problem with this stand mixer is bowl clearance I have an ethical problem with selling it, which I want to do.
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If I was crystal clear in my listing (e.g., good for whipping, batters, etc. but my reason for selling is that it’s not great for bread dough), I wouldn’t have any qualms. I’d be surprised if there weren’t someone out there wanting a SM mainly for cake batter etc. who doesn’t care about making bread.
I’d also not feel bad about donating to a thrift shop.
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If I bought a new Volkswagen to tow my 30ft boat to Tahoe, I would have no issues selling it after discovering it was not cut out to do the job. I don’t see how you can assume responsibility for a product’s design.
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Not sure I agree with your thinking on this. A stand mixer is generally expected to be capable of mixing dough. Diana has insider knowledge that hers is not capable of doing something people normally think it can do.
By Volkswagen, I guess you mean one of their smaller vehicles (Beetle, Passat, etc.) and if so, people do not generally expect them to be capable of heavy towing.
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Ok, skip the VW scenario. In the real world I have sold a number of “like new” cameras due to quirks and performance issues I found annoying. I just didn’t feel it was my responsibility to provide a review of the product I was selling unless issues existed that a new build would not have.
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Thanks, that makes sense to me, if the quirk is something that all of the same model would have, and I get your point a lot better. As you said before but I didn’t really catch, an actual product design issue.
I may have misunderstood the situation with this SM though - I thought here that it was a defect peculiar to her device, not a defect standard to all of this model.
I’ve got a similar problem with my KA SM - it fails the dime test even with the height adjustment screw set to lowest possible. Not all KA’s have this problem - I’d guess the vast majority(*) don’t - so I’d feel compelled to disclose it to a buyer.
(*) However it was common enough that I recall a fair bit of discussion about it on CH.
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There are quite a number of online reviews stating that this is a poorly designed mixer… one that does a poor/non-existent job of kneading dough, and even beating some mixtures. But it is a hundred bucks… if you are expecting a lot from a stand mixer at this price point you are bound to be disappointed.
As for your bowl lift mixer issue… was it always this way? Did you contact KA about the issue? Guessing if it has been over a year since purchase they won’t be of much help, but it is worth a try.
If they refuse to help, have a look at this video for a couple of methods (and a chuckle) for how to fix it.
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I thought it over. I would have an ethical problem selling a stand mixer whose key design flaw I discovered. I don’t judge people who don’t. But I would. That said, I wouldn’t go into an exhaustive description as to how I discovered the problem. I would be honest that it’s better at cake mixing than bread doughs. I would say that if your thing is bread dough, then look elsewhere, and leave it at that.
(That said, I’m going to work with it further. It might be good at already mixed dough, which I haven’t experimented with.)
I didn’t just do a dime test. I did a quarter test. I taped two quarters together & did a double quarter test (it passed that). I’ve told HB’s customer service what I discovered.
I’m amazed that in all the reviews of stand mixers I’ve read, not one discusses bowl clearance. I’m miffed about this & I might write to the NY Times about this --they did a stand mixer review in 2022 and didn’t mention this at all.
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I doubt that the defect is peculiar to my device. I think it’s a design flaw.
Sorry to hear that you have a KA with this problem. I’d be steaming if I bought a KA and it failed a test that’s key to its reputation.
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I appreciate your ethics. Note that in the reviews I recently looked at, not only was bowl clearance an issue… so was longevity. So if you use it often maybe be prepared to replace it.
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Sequentially the answers are yes and no. This thing is maybe 20 years old and for a long time I used it for making marshmallow candies, fudge, cake batters, etc… so it wasn’t evident to me that it didn’t dip deeply enough. I didn’t start making breads using the SM until 15 years ago (my first foray was a bread machine for several years).
I’ve never thought to contact KA about it because so much time had elapsed. And really, I do feel like I’ve gotten my desired use out of it, given how long I’ve used it.
But that fixit video you linked - solid gold, man. Thanks Scott - I’ve looked quite a lot about fixing this and never landed on this guy’s solution.
You’re welcome. Believe me, it occurred to me to say, “Buyer beware,” and get my few bucks, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t feel right selling an item (to a fellow bread baker no less!) after having identified why it’s not optimal for that purpose.
PS I haven’t done this yet: mix up the dough by hand, autolyse, and then try to use the dough hook for a finishing touch. It’s worth a try. Also, use the dough hook to incorporate the butter into an already-mixed brioche dough. I truly dislike that laborious process by hand. Even if they worked, I’d still be honest with my prospective buyer about the dough hook issues.
More like a belly laugh. That accident was hilarious!
You’ve mentioned my fix a few times. I don’t use the hook for initial mixing of ingredients, but once mixed I use it to knead. For me I just do a quick mix with a spatula or even the paddle just until mixed and then switch.
But I have the same issue when trying to do it all with the hook. So you’re not alone on that front.
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What size batch are you making, and what speed are you mixing on?
If the hook seems slower than the paddle, use a higher speed until the dough comes together.
I’m not sure to whom the question is directed but in any case if the issue is bowl clearance then it doesn’t matter how fast you put the speed, the ingredients won’t be incorporated.
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Is your dough is forming a ball, riding up the hook, and not touching the bowl? Do you typically make very stiff doughs?
I admit it’s been a while since I made bread, but in my experience dough is sticky, hangs off the hook, and slaps around to clean the bowl such that a few mm of clearance wouldn’t make a difference. I’ve had doughs that mush against the side of the bowl and I have to scrape them down and put them on the hook. Or that ride up the hook and need to be taken off. Normal baking stuff.
Maybe I’m not picturing your issue correctly …
Depending on how much higher you need your bowl to go (I’d test before hand like @MissDior did) there is another less invasive method if you only need an 1/8th of an inch or so.
The Locator Points are friction fit in the mounting arm, and can be removed by tapping up from underneath using a mallet and short screwdriver or hole punch. Then create a shim from fibre board, plastic, leather (I think he used leather), or maybe just by customizing a washer from the hardware store with a Dremel or rat tail file (you might even find one that is a perfect fit.)
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Sorry I should take more time to read through all these posts.
But the height of the hook/beater can be adjusted. There is a screw on the machine that can raise and lower the hook small amounts. There should be plenty of YouTube videos.
That said, I still do a very quick premix before using the hook.
