Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart BFP-703FR SmartPower Duet Blender

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Despite the nay-saying of my girlfriend on the likely quality of a two-in-one appliance that was reconditioned to boot, I recently bought the cuisinart BFP-703FR combination blender/food. It has been a pleasant surprise.

First off there was no discenable wear and tear on the unit that arrived. My girlfriend's first attempt to demolish it with heavy on the ice fruit smoothies was rewarded with you guessed it, high quality fruit smoothies. Reassuringly the base had no tendency to "walk" across the counter during the blending process. The food processor is easy to swap onto the base, and performed equally well. Guys, buy one of these and you too can tell your girlfriend "I told you so!"

I purchased the duet simply out of curiosity. I currently own similar Kitchen Aid products, which I love, but the one-year total replacement warranty is almost up, so I figured I'd buy a back-up. The Cuisinart blender is much louder, and hits that high-pitched, "I'm gonna smoke if you don't shut me off NOW" pitch far quicker than does the Kitchen Aid. I was blending a very heavy-iced adult drink, and was not comfortable continuing on to a completely smooth-blended drink. After removing the ice chunks from the top, however, the remainder was perfectly smooth. The food processor made mince-meat of an onion in no time flat, and was both easy to use and easy to clean. There were no instructions or any paperwork at all included with the unit, which might have been helpful in using the appliance properly, but for just winging it, it handled both jobs quite well, and for a very reasonable price.

1. nice looking unit. easy to put together.
2. easy to clean up and get started.
3. good blender, average processor
4. you can't put too much in the processor. 2 carrots at a time at most.
5. slight rubber burning smell after 10 plus second use.
6. processor limited use!!!

but for this price...not bad....if you want the real deal, pay the few hundred bucks.

I bought the reconditioned version of this product. (For $... The price has dropped by half since then. That figures.) It arrived cosmetically and functionally near-new. It's easy to use and to clean. And like one earlier reviewer claimed, it crushes ice just fine. Unfortunately, that's the end of the positive comments.

Negative: The pulse button stopped working after a week. The blender jar is on the small side. The food processor is small and very noisy.

But worse, the little toy motor on this blender just doesn't have the oomph to do a serious job. It was unable to puree a batch of hummus, for instance. And when I tried to make a very soft pate, the motor overheated and produced a lot of smoke, and small plastic pieces fell out of the bottom. We are not impressed.

I would have thought that the electronic control would provide burnout protection, but apparently not. My kitchen still smells like burning motor. I guess I'll have to give up and get a Vitamix.

This appliance is fine for mixing drinks, slicing carrots, and grating cheese. Just don't expect it to do any serious kitchen work.

I brought the unit with low expectations. Results are not too bad.

General
1. Very nice appearance.
2. Very sturdy with non-skid feet.

Blender
1. Above average power
2. Glass jar is a nice touch.
3. Slight smell of ozone after 10 seconds of operation.
4. Blender noise did not bother me.
5. Easy to take apart to clean and put back together
6. Makes great milk shake.

Food processor
1. Average power
2. Plastic safety locks may break easily. Don't apply excessive force locking / unlocking the processor attachment from the base.
3. Good for 1 or 2 people.

This is not a professional grade gadget. Treat it with a kid glove and it works charms.

I have always known of Cuisinart's great reputation. I purchased the reconditioned Blender/Food Processor combination and for the first time I tried it out to make a Smoothie. The power of the motor was fantastic - it crushed all of the ice cubes (and there were quite a lot of them) to slush with such ease that I was completely amazed. The blender pureed the ingredients so smoothly with a quietness that I just never believed possible.

So, thanks Cuisinart, you make a brilliant product. I love mine a lot and know that I shall have it for a long time. Thanks so much.

....

I needed a blender and thought that getting a food processor on top of it for the same price would be nice. Downside: it's
extremely loud. Upside: it does the job. On small quantities of food like a single onion or carrot, it chops more uniformly than my larger 18-year-old Cuisinart processor; but it does only handle small quantities. 8 ounces (2 cups) of shredded cheese max. I've put my big Cuisinart in the cupboard for those times I need capacity, and am keeping this one on the counter for everyday use. (I've only used the blender once, but it did fine.)

I have owned two Cuisinart products both had to be sent in for repairs at the same time Cuisinart refused to repair either of the products. When I called the factory they said that the products showed commercial use. I told them my wife and I had bought them new and I sold insurance and my wife was a teacher and neither of use had anything to do with commercial food industry, they refused to change their position. If a company does not have the integrity to honor their warranty I will not do business with them and neither should you.

Despite all the bad reviews, I decided to try this one, because of the brand. I am not a bit disappointed. I used it for three weeks before reviewing it, and am happy. Because of dental surgery, I have used either the blender of food processor 3 to 4 times daily and have no complaints after continued use. Noise was not a problem and it is easy to clean. Would recommend it highly.

We used the slicer to chop carrots and the black impeller cracked. This is the second time we've had a impeller brake on this model(this is the second machine). If I could find my receipt I'd return it in a heartbeat.
Very disappointed.