Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart FPB-5PCFR SmartPower 5-Speed Duet Blender and Food Processor, White

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this as a single guy living in a small apartment with scant kitchen storage space. What appealed to me was that owning one is like having two appliances that take up the space of one-and-a-half, and that the brand name is synonymous with a quality product.

The machine works well, but it is noisy and a the food processor bowl is a little undersized. It is good for a single person or maybe a couple, but a larger family needs a larger machine. I now have a full-sized cuisinart food processor but I still use this as my blender and nearly ten years later I'm still happy with it. All in all it is a good product, but not a great product. Buy it if you're tight on storage space and will not be cooking/preparing food for a large family on a regular basis. If noise is a concern keep shopping. Peace.

I bought my Cuisinart 5-speed Duet blender/processor back in 2003 and still enjoy it as a trusted kitchen appliance. I picked it from the shelf of a retail store (where it cost $[...]) specifically for its small size - a 3-cup food processor jar was all I needed for a two-person household.

This machine has helped me create a lot of pleasant food memories shared with friends in the last 5 years: French liver pates and terrines, Provencal olive tapenades, "peasant caviar" from the canonical Silver Palate Cookbook, and a wonderful hummus adapted from the one of the very many helpful recipes included in this product's instruction manual. All of the things listed above are basically appetizer dips and spreads done best in small batches, but if you need a food processor to do things that take up a lot of volume, like shredding coleslaw for more than a couple of people, you should consider a bigger unit to fit your needs.

The very powerful blender unit of this product with a razor-sharp blade and a heayv glass jar is great for crushing ice or whipping up a batch of frozen margaritas. At the current "refurb" price, the 5-speed Duet is a great deal as a high quality and full sized blender, even if you never use the food processor attachments.

Why don't I give this favorite kitchen gadget of mine five stars? After 5 years, I have already worn out two brittle plastic food processor jars, which are very easy to damage if you ever try to lock or unlock the feeder lid by accidentally turning it in the wrong direction.

Why does Cuisinart provide a nice heavy duty, thick glass blender jar for the Duet, while offering only a cheap, thin plastic container for the processor? I also thought the food processor chopper blade that originally came with the unit got dull awfully quick, but the replacement blade I ordered two years ago still works very well.

Until very recently, I could always easily order replacement attachments for the Cuisinart 5-speed Duet blender/processor from [...], but I can't find the URL for Duet replacement parts anymore. Maybe Cuisinart offers extra guidance about part replacements with the refurb unit.

What am I doing with this trusty kitchen appliance after 5 years of hard service? I certainly don't want to retire or get rid of it. I am keeping the Cuisinart Duet as my favorite blender but upgrading to a German Bosch Kitchen Machine as food processor. BTW, Bosch products don't go out of style quite as quickly as Cuisinart models, and I know I'll be able to get replacement parts and manufacturer support from Bosch for many years to come.

Cuisinart Blender/Food Processor/Reconditioned.
I am very happy with this product.I makes crushed ice and that is important as my other brands of blenders did not do this very well. It is compacted and the cord goes into the back of the blender. I looks and works as if brand new. This will make me look at other Cuisinart produces to purchase..

This factory reconditioned cuisinart is actually my second choice , but I am glad I chose it . I was going to get a bullet blender ,and then I read a review about the bullet blender , and I decided I wanted something more powerful.The cusinart fits that bill. Plus , with the cuisinart , I also got a food processor. A much better deal in my eyes. I live in an apartment and it is also nice to have a "2-in-1" item . I am really glad that I chose the cuisinart . It works well and is just like the review said it would be.
Holly

I had to downsize to an apartment and this machine was the answer to several problems the biggest one was the lack of space. I have used this many times and have never been sorry.

Yesterday on one of the morning news shows (fox actually I never watch fox but just happened to be flipping)showed the news gal hooked up to electrodes measuring her happiness or pleasure response to getting a bargain, I guess when we shop and actually get a good deal it makes us very happy. Anyway this was so low cost - it is reconditioned so I guess that means used, but it didn't look it at all and it works perfectly. Very satisfied, I've crushed Ice - wonderful - made lots of salads and smoothies everything is great.

This refurbed cuisinart doesn't live up to my old food processor. The engine smells and leaves black "grinds" where it connects to the base. I'm expecting it to die shortly and won't be purchasing refurbed products from Amazon again. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and in this case, unfortunately I did. :(

i bought this because i really wanted a food processor but so far am so satisfied with how it works as a blender that i haven't even gotten around to processing any food. awesome product! you can find it cheaper and possibly in better condition at most retailers. i ordered mine online because of back pain and only after my boyfriend found the receipt did he point out the price for this refurbished one. STILL - great product! Extremely satisfied with it and all the smoothies it's made me since :)

p.s. when blending frozen fruit, thaw it for at least 30min before blending or it takes a lot longer and you might still get chunks.

We thought this would be a great combo but the food processor only lasted one block of cheese before it broke. The blender has served me well in previous years but the combo unit is not worth the money. I sent it back within a week of delivery. You can get a better blender for the money too. Combo units and movie sequel just are not as good as the originals!

I bought this in June of 2008 and now, six months later, it is completely broken. The base of the blade for the blender cracked last week and I wasn't too upset because I could order a replacement part and the food processor still worked. Now, it will not turn at all, so it is basically worthless. It had only a 90 day warranty and even though it wasn't very expensive, I would not have bought it if I knew it would work for six months and then break completely. I expected more from Cuisinart.