Customer Reviews

L'Equip 306500 20,000-RPM 7-Cup Blender with Polycarbonate Pitcher

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is a good blender with lots of power. I was happy to junk my 12-speed Hamilton-Beach when i got this puppy. (If you've seen recent episodes of Good Eats on Food Network, this is one of the blenders Alton Brown uses.)

The jug/carafe is light but sturdy and easy to handle. Blade is permanently attached though, so you'll have to blend some soapy water to get the blades really clean.

The lid seals very well and comes with a little funnel that can be inserted in place of a knob so you can add liquids at full speed without going Jackson Pollack all over your kitchen. The "smoothie stick" has a long reach and is surprisingly useful for thicker drinks.

The dial is a nice touch, allowing you to adjust the speed to your liking. Full speed to dead stop in about half a turn, though the knob itself has far greater range. Go figure...

The tachometer is very cool looking, but unless you're stone deaf it's unnecessary since you can simply adjust the speed by ear. Yeah, it's a bit loud, but it's 900W of electrical goodness!

I have a lot of stainless appliances in my kitchen and admittedly, it's a handsome, manly blender. Grr! The steel is not coated, so if you're really particular about looks you may want to hit the base with some polyurethane to protect it.

<em>Now for the one-star deduction...</em>

Note: BEFORE you plug it in, grab the coupling and give it one full turn. If you hear a click, you'll have to do some minor surgery to fix a wee little defect (don't worry, it easy).

Unscrew the base and check to see which of the blades (there are two of them in a white plastic brace on the bottom of the motor) is hitting the tachometer's sensor (small, black U-shaped piece of plastic that the blades pass through. Carefully bend it down with a pair of pliers until it stops hitting it. Reviews on other sites have noted this problem. Running the unit without checking could trash the sensor and generally make a racket.

I've had this blender for probably 3 years now and I thought I'd finally write a review for it after a recent experience I had when I had to get a replacement part.

First of all, the blender itself is fantastic. It's very simply and easy to use but also very powerful. I really like the simple single turn knob to control speed. It would be hard to use another blender after this one.

Recently I had a problem with the blade assembly in the plastic pitcher. On my model the portion of the blade assembly directly under the blades is some kind of chrome plated surface. This recently starting flaking and chipping off. I first noticed it in a drink.. not good.

I of course didn't have my receipt, never sent in the warranty card, and have long since thrown out the instructions and box the blender came in.

After a little effort to track down contact information for service and replacement parts I found out that a company called Kitchen Resource is responsible for the L'Equip brand in the United States.

I contacted them via their toll free number and spoke to Dave in their service department. After explaining the issue he said that they would send me a new pitcher at no charge and that they had just recently changed them to replace the chrome plated stuff with stainless steel so I should not experience the issue again. I emailed him my contact info and the serial # from the bottom of my blender and shortly after he emailed back to confirm the order had been placed and I should get a new pitcher shortly.

I have to say it was a very easy and pleasant experience. As far as the few folks who have had problems with the motor and such.. I would tend to believe you may be in the minority. Kitchen Resource seemed to be very happy to stand behind their product and I would suggest contacting them before returning it as they will likely repair it at no cost to you.

The service number for the US for this blender in case anyone needs it is 1-877-267-2434.

As a blender, this works really well. It has a lot of power and the stir stick helps knock out air bubbles and keeps things moving. The blades are well set so that I can wash it (carefully) without gloves and I've never cut myself. The lid is good and tight, although at high speeds the suction in the center works the lid right off. Once you've used it you know what blended food is, lesser blenders just mix food.

The problem is the cheap aluminum metal covering below the blades in the canister peels off. How about ingesting little shards of aluminum with your food? I use mine every day but I wash it by hand with a soft sponge. I'm not rough on it, but that aluminum covering peeled and little bits found their way into my food. I realized it when I was drinking a smoothie, something hurt my tongue I and went to see where they came from. Supposedly the warranty should cover it, but I have to pay to ship it and I can't get L'Equip on the phone or by e-mail. It would actually be less expensive to just buy a new pitcher/blade assembly than bother with the warranty for it but they have been out of stock on that for months.

I would not buy this again. It's too expensive to have had such a problem without a good solution.

So I've had this blender for about a month now and I've been cranking out awesome smoothies with this thing on a daily basis. I don't normally leave reviews for things, but I really like this blender and some others have expressed issues that I would like to address for other potential buyers.

The biggest issue most report is that the blade assembly base starts to chip and metal flakes end up in whatever you're blending. I did some research on this prior to buying the blender and found that the company has now replaced those with stainless steel blade assemblies so no more chipping. As soon as I received mine, the first thing I checked was that assembly and it does in fact appear to be stainless steel. Of course I will still monitor it for any flaking but I really don't think this is a concern with the new ones.

Some have said the pitcher is cheap... well, it is plastic but it seems like a very sturdy plastic to me. The lid is a little cheap feeling though, as in I would be careful with washing it in the dishwasher as I could see it being melted or deformed easily in high heat.

I saw a review that said the blades didn't come off and you have to blend soapy water to clean it. I'm not sure if that was an older design or not but mine does come apart... in fact there's a tool that comes with it to help you remove the blade assembly, although you can still remove it without the tool if you lose it.

I did take one star off because the first unit I received would not power on at all. I called their support and they sent a new one out via FedEx with a pre-paid return label for the bad one. Took about a week but I'm pretty satisfied with their response and turn-around and it didn't cost me any extra money in shipping since they sent me the pre-paid label. Also the rubber covering over the feet that hold the pitcher in place were so loose one actually came off... They are only glued on in the first place so a little super-glue fixed them.

I've owned this blender for about four years. Almost every day, I make a fruit smoothie; I've done little else with it, besides a fruit smoothie. When this blender works, it easily makes quick work of frozen items and blending the rest. I'd say it is about twice as powerful as household blenders I've owned. But, that is when it works. In about four years of owning the blender, I'm now on my fourth replacement! The first one I returned for poor base construction and the blade came off while in operation. The second emitted a smokey smell while in operation, and the tachometer didn't go over 3. The third one just died out after about 8 months. The fourth one is on its way, but after this one, I think I'd go with a Vita-Mix. Kitchen Resource, the company who handles repairs, has been cordial about replacing the units, but I had to pay S&H for the first three, which was about $20. I would not recommend this blender to anyone, based on my experience, but, you may have a good experience. Just make sure you get a good warranty, if planning on owning for more than a year. If you can afford a Vita-Mix, go with it instead.

It does everything I need it to and more! I'm a raw foodist so I don't need something that will "cook" foods like some of the other high-powered blenders will. However, if that's what you need one for, this will do that, too. The L'equip is the only blender I have ever used without the lid (not advised for households with children). I can start it out at a crawl and go up to blindingly fast with a turn of the knob. I liked my original one so much that I bought one to have at the office so my green smoothies could be made fresh for lunch. Alton Brown was showing off his appliances on "Good Eats" and he has a L'equip, too. Made me feel famous!

I bought this blender as a birthday present to myself in October 2006. Since then, I have used it almost every morning to make smoothies for breakfast. The first time I fired it up, it almost scared me. This thing has power to spare. It will puree rock solid frozen fruit like it was warm butter. You could probably crush gravel if you wanted to. Over eighteen months of hard use and absolutely no problems. No peeling chrome, no burning smells, no clanking, the tachometer works perfectly. I do get that electrical, ozone type smell when using it for long periods, but, come on... it has a 900w motor. I don't know why the one reviewer says it has non-removable blades. The blades on mine are very easy to remove from the bottom of the pitcher. Just turn it upside down, and the whole blade assembly simply rotates out. The design is another high point. This blender, along with my Kitchenaid Pro-Line burr-grinder and waffle maker are the jewels of my countertop appliances. Very retro, with an almost deco look, they remind me of set pieces from Metropolis. They look, feel and work like they were built in the 1920's to last a couple of centuries. What more could you want?

So far I've been extremely pleased with this blender. I've read some reviews online where people had trouble with the tachometer working, but I have had no problems at all. Initially I thought perhaps the tach didn't work, but it turned out I justed needed to crank up the speed. This thing is just ferocious at 5,000rpm... I'm afraid to push it to the full 20k.

Probably the biggest thing to be aware of is that with nearly a full horsepower, this can get loud. However, with it's huge, heavy, sturdy base (don't let the picture fool you, while the carafe may look small, it's not... rather, the base is huge) it always feels competent and able. No burning smells, no out of control vibrations - this thing is a work horse. I'm usually blending concoctions with either frozen fruit or ice and this blender makes very short work of both of them, giving me a smooth, perfect consistency.

The controls are very easy to use (flip switch on, turn knob to desired speed) and the lack of buttons and crevices makes it very easy to clean. The carafe is easy to clean as welll, but I always clean it immediately after use... if food has time to try, I'd imagine cleaning down around the blades may be trickier.

Anyhow... I read that if you've never used a "professional" blender then you'll really be impressed by one... and it's true. Absolutely love this blender. Plus it makes for a great conversation piece in your kitchen :)

Bought this item two years ago for power plus price. The blender ring broke right away and I had to ship it for repair. The speedometer has never really worked correctly and eventually broke. The blender, when it does work, is powerful. The blender ring recently broke again. If you get a good warranty, go for it, otherwise, save your cash for a blender with a good warranty and track record.

(Revised) We bought this product based on a review by Cooks Illustrated, normally a reliable source. Here is what is wrong with the blender:

1) It is huge, it will not fit in or under most kitchen cabinets. Forget about leaving it on the counter.
2) The plastic jar is cheaply made, feels cheap, and broke within 18 months (although, the jar was quickly replaced for free after I completed the task of tracking down the US distributor).
3) The RPM dial only works about 10% of the time.

Would add a couple of starts to the original review based on the quick and courteous jar replacement.