Customer Reviews

Black & Decker MX217 PowerPro 250-Watt 6-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, Black

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I bought this mixer to replace a 14 year old cheap no name brand mixer because the whisk were starting to get a little rusty. I looked at a few, and thought, Black and Decker should be a good choice. YEAH RIGHT! I love the power, the speed, awesome. Until I had the unit for a about 6 month with about 3 times monthly use. My daughter and I were beating eggs for a cake. The next thing we knew was that one of the wires from one of the whisks got loose and caught in the other whisk which was still beating. A loud plonk and parts of the wire darted through my kitchen and another part was wrapped around the other whisk. That gave me a big scare. I went in the garage and got my 14 year old no name mixer back out and finished my cake with fresh eggs. DISAPPOINTING!!! What is happening to all the big companies and their great products. When our parents bought their appliances they lasted for at least 20 years. Now you have to replace stuff more often which is costing the consumer a lot of money and we are not happy!!!!! We used to be proud to show off what name brand we owned. These days we are hoping nobody wants to know.

I have had this mixer for about a year now, it is not my primary mixer but I wanted to get a mixer that I could use for "small" things instead of dragging out my stand mixer all of the time. It has a powerful little motor in it and can stand up to making several batches of thick butter cream icing. It comes with three attachment sets the beaters, dough hooks and whisk. They all work pretty well; I wouldn't use a hand mixer to make breads though. I even used this to make several cakes (10 when my stand mixer died) in a single day and it never overheated and kept trucking through with no problems. Most hand mixers would not have made it through all of those cakes and icings. I also love that it has its own case which makes storage easier and it looks nicer. I cook and bake ALOT and would recommend this to anyone who wants an inexpensive mixer.

Many thanks to reviewer Gabriele whose review I read AFTER I bought this but in time to return it unused. As Gabriele's review from 2009 points out, there is an actual warning on the bottom of the box that states that there is lead in the cord and to wash you hands after usage!!!!! AND, to make it worse, the beater are of course packed near and around this cord!!! Anyone want lead with their cookies? This brings up some serious questions:

1. Why would B&D sell this knowing it has lead?
2. I have read elsewhere that articles sold in this country have to pass lead safety standards--how can this be?
3. How many other Made in China products have lead in the cord or elsewhere but the companies don't bother to put a warning on the box?
4. What about the poor Chinese worker who does not know what he is handling day in and day out? Or maybe he does.
5. Boycott chinese-made products

Needless to say, I did not even take this mixer out of the box and plan to return it pronto. I will also bring this warning to the attention of a manager at the big box store where I bought it. This is just inexcusable.

The mixer itself works fine but the beaters/paddle that do the mixing are not well constructed. The wire they use are thin and break easily. Finding new ones are difficult at best. When we go to buy another we'll have a better idea on what to look for in a mixer.

We have had this mixer about 4 months. And so far have not had any major issues with it. But the primary beaters are very cheaply made. The beaters that came with it look more like whisks than traditional beaters. They do not mix well as other reviews have stated. We bought it to replace a Rival brand (model #HM-708) which was beginning to overheat during normal use. Today when I was getting ready to bake a cake I decided to try the beaters from our old mixer in the B&D and they fit and worked great. I have had no issues with the mixer it's self. It seems to have plenty of power to do what we have needed to use it far. However the attachments are very flimsy and do not work well. The spatula is completely useless. When we tried to use the mixer to make mashed potatoes they had lumps in them, using the beaters that come with the mixer. The mixer seems to have plenty of power, but I have not tried to mix any very heavy batters or dough. I will update this review when I have tried that. I really like the storage case that it came with, we even had room in it to store our old beaters. As for the lead in the cord I did not see the warning the box. The box was discarded as soon as we got it home. As for storing the attachments and mixer together I do not see a problem because there is a different compartment in the case for the attachments, so they don't touch the cord of the mixer. I would have given it a higher rating if the attachments had been of better quality. Hope this helps someone in the market for an inexpensive mixer

Just used my brand new Black & Decker MX217 250- Watt Mixer with storage case today. It was a major disappointment because I was trying to make a simple instant pudding cream cheese graham cracker crust pie for my daughter's birthday. Well the cream cheese and instant pudding mix went round and round breaking the cream cheese into little pieces with the consistency of cottage cheese. No matter how much I beat the small lumps would not smooth out. This is because the the wire beaters are like heavy duty egg whisks instead of the typical sharper edged beaters. However I often make cream cheese frosting which needs a smooth texture. This may also be a problem for mashed potatoes; but not sure because I am taking the mixer back to WalMart where I purchased it only a few days ago. This mixture will work well for eggs, cake mixes, fudge, and a typical powdered sugar frosting without cream cheese; and is very powerful. If Black and Decker would redesign the mixer beaters to have flatter sides to chop through ingredients then I would definately buy this product. Until it is redesigned my money will be spent elsewhere.

I originally picked this out (at a store) because it had multiple beaters. I thought it would be convenient to have more than one set/type.
The standard beaters seemed ok but literally fell apart after just a few months. One of the prongs had pulled out and I put it back in and it lasted a couple more uses until it literally fell apart into the muffin batter and the other beater broke the first one in half...buying a replacement beater from the company costs (after shipping) as much as a new mixer.
The bread hooks I tried once, and found that the dough pulled up into the machine. I reversed them into the opposite holes of how the label said they should go, and they pushed the dough down sure enough but didn't mix worth a darn.
The whisk does just fine. I wish it were a pair rather than just a single though.

I set it up and started to beat some cake batter. It had a low viscosity. The mixer broke the first time I used it after about 1 minute. Maybe less. *sigh*. My poor chocolate cake...

Seriously? I have to rate this one star? It deserves none! Burned out after three uses? How about dding a circuit breaker to the thermal override? If you plan to mix dough or do anything beyond whipped cream or beaten eggs, this is not the right mixer for you. My 200 watt Sunbeam lasted years longer than this piece of c***.

I bought this Black and Decker hand mixer to help with my holiday baking. I do not have a standing mixer, so this one seemed like it would be enough to handle cakes, breads, and cookie doughs. The beaters are small and the spatula attachment seems ackward. There is also a warning on the bottom of the box that you need to wash your hands after use because the power cord contains lead! What the heck! In a household with 3 children under 4, this is definitely not safe! I am returning this immediately!