Customer Reviews

KRUPS KB720 5-Speed Blender, 60 oz Glass Jar

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Just finished my first blend - was a bit worried after reading all of the negative reviews concerning about whether this unit can adequately blend frozen fruit. First impression - very nice. Smoothie with frozen strawberries (+ almond milk & protein powder) was well blended. Unit did turn itself off, either from an (unseen) auto timer or the heat sensor issues raised in other reviews, but my smoothie was finished anyway. Very quiet blending - a huge plus as my cheapo blenders used to make me plug my ears and I'm sure woke the neighbors (apartment neighbors), as loud as jackhammers. So far so good, very pleased.

UPDATE: Many smoothies later - it occurs to me that those complaining about the lack of a "vortex" action, or incomplete blending, probably aren't following the blender directions. You must start the blender on its lowest setting first, then once the material has been broken down, you can move it up the speed list. If you make it go too fast too soon, there is no vortex action. My smoothies are chock full of frozen stuff and this blender handles it well (if I follow the unit's directions). Wonderful to be in the same room with an operating blender and not worry about hearing loss...

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

*UPDATE - 3 MONTHS LATER*

2 Blends a day, this blender handles it all, does a great job, still very quiet, I'm buying an extra for the office soon.

Given the name and great reviews, I had really high hopes for this blender. It is a solid blender, but it just did not blend solid food. At 1,000 watts it should have had the power to do what I needed it to do, which was to blend my frozen fruits into my daily smoothie. I use various frozen fruits depending on the flavor, as well as soy milk and yogurt (that I partially freeze as well to gain a certain consistency) and some dry ingredients, such as sugar and protein powder. My old blender, the L' Equip 228 R.P.M Blender, only had 900 watts and it handled the blending extremely well, but the shoddy construction of the L'Equip blender meant fishing out little bits of aluminum shards from my smoothie, which is what sent me looking for a replacement blender in the first place.

Right out of the box, it seemed solid, if enormous. This blender will hold about 33% to 50% more than your average blender, without really taking up more space, and I can see how that can be a benefit for someone who needs it. That black band between the silver and glass is part of the jar/blade assembly, it envelops the base and sits solidly on it, and this probably enhances stability. The parts seemed well made and durable. I like a glass jar better than polycarbonate because it will not scratch up, and the whole thing assembles for use and disassembles for cleaning very easily. I really liked the lid construction, because instead of being super tight it has tabs that you slide into position underneath a lip on the jar that keep it in place while blending, and you can still remove the cap to add things while blending. It has no stir stick, but I never really used that on my last blender anyway because I wasn't blending enough ingredients for the stick to be very useful.

So far so good, I like the parts and the construction, but the true test is in the actual blending, right? Since I use both frozen and partly frozen ingredients, for best results I always add the more liquid ingredients first and the frozen fruit last. Any other blender I've ever used before has had a vortex that sucked the ingredients down toward the blades, and how well they blended frozen foods was dependent on how much wattage power they had. Not so this blender. The first time I tried it I used my usual mix of frozen and semi-frozen ingredients and wound up with chewable fruit. To test it out further, the next day I did not partly freeze the yogurt or soy milk and defrosted the fruit first, and it actually would not even blend the fruit that day, instead the fruit just floated on top and spun in circles. I tried the various speeds and pulses, still no real blending action. It was quiet and I did not smell any peculiar odors like another reviewer mentioned, but it did not blend, and any benefit to the machine being quiet was drowned out by me yelling "get off your fat butt and work you big dumb blender!!!!" at it while it was running. Any neighbors who heard me are no doubt hoping my medical coverage includes mental illness right about now. And really, what's the point of a blender with so much power that ramps up slowly and can't blend anyway? Going 0 to 60 in 5 minutes or more in order to maintain peace and quiet doesn't impress me when you still cannot blend your food. It's like giving a Porsche to a little old lady to drive to the grocery store 2 miles away at 30 mph each week.

Needless to say, I boxed it up and sent it back. It did not blend my food, it stirred it, and I already have a spoon that does that.

This is a really well designed blender worth the extra for serious users. The 60 oz capacity is great. It comes with a glass not plastic jug. As noted, it's unusually easy to disassemble and clean. No effort needed to unscrew it. The speeds are well chosen (a pulse option and an ice option, plus 4 speeds, not counting "slow."). Very quiet, especially at speed 1 (low) which is all you need to remix a smoothie you set aside in the fridge. Another great feature is that it has protection against vibration "creep" (which causes so many blenders to unscrew from the base while they run).
On the other hand, it smells like burning oil on top speed and a heat sensor often causes it to turn itself off (it resets in a minute or so). Another negative is the bad pour "spout." Inevitably it drools down the side of the blender when you pour. Finally, the top latches (locks) on, which is totally unnecessary and makes the top harder to clean (extra nooks and crannies on the cover because of the screw on design).

I've had this blender over a year now, but have not used it excessively.

I've started using it again recently to make raw green smoothies & other raw smoothies. It works perfectly for me.

I'm not sure why some people are having trouble with the bottom falling off?? Bizarre, since the bottom twists & locks into place. I guess if you don't attach it properly in the first place, then it's your own fault that the bottom falls out. Seriously, there's no way for the bottom to come off unless you do not attach it properly. You have to push it down & twist it & you will hear it click & lock onto the jar. Anyway...

It blends everything perfectly for me. Some of my latest creations have included watermelon, bananas, strawberries, baby carrots (whole), spinach, kale, watercress, blueberries, cherries, mangoes, pineapple, raw almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, raw oatmeal, and everything else you can imagine. It liquefies everythng I put in there easily & quickly.

When it was brand new, yes, it gave off a burning rubber kind of smell. But that's typical of most new appliances such as this. It's just how things are. It goes away after a few uses.

The glass jar is awesome - very heavy duty. So much nicer than plastic!

At any rate, its a nice blender as far as I'm concerned. It does what I need it to do, cleans super easy, and doesn't take up huge amounts of counter space.

I am changing my review - I wish I could change the rating to one star: The locking mechanism that attaches the blade to the jar can accidentally and easily unlock. So far we have had two spills on that account. I am going to return the blender.

To follow up on the original review: The smell when running at hight speed went away, so that was only a result of breaking in. When we do not run the blender for long enough (quite long), chunks of fruit remain.

Original review:

This is a very quiet blender that makes smoothies much creamier that I was used to. A major upgrade over the now dead 600W Cuisinart. Very high capacity, nice design, easy to clean. Not nearly as heavy as the super heavy Cuisinart, but still very solid. I like the gradual start - no violent splashes.

This being said, not everything is positive: The first instance of this blender kept shutting off after a few seconds of operation. I suspect the temperature sensor was poorly set. The replacement (no hassle at a nearby BBB) works well. There is some smell when operating at a high speed, hopefully just breaking in - the smell is rapidly becoming less intense.

Bottom line: Buy it at a local store with a good return policy. I believe the quietness and blending capability are worth the risk of an extra trip to the store.

I bought this blender after hearing it. It may cost a little more, but like a great pair of jeans you will get your moneys worth because you really enjoy wearing them day after day. The base is heavy, sturdy and does not walk around the counter. When you start the blender, the blades start slowly and come up to speed without throwing your smoothy all over the kitchen. Ice - no problem. Without a lot of noise you get lump free drinks and creamy soups in no time.

Back to the noise, this is the quietest blender I have owned. Easy to clean. Simple to operate with four speeds and a pulse option. I didn't even read the manual but hey I'm a guy!

This is a very loud and expensive machine that I returned because it gave off a funny smell when used and left my fruit shakes lumpy. Amazon quickly gave me a refund and I then bought an Osterizer Classic (retro red beehive style) which works great and is less than half the price of the Krups.

A long time Krups customer, I purchased this blender after 10 years of suffering with a lack luster, non Krups blender, which was given to me as a wedding present. To say this is an outstanding blender would be an understatement. I'm amazed with how quiet the blender is and the best feature is how powerful it is. We use our blender for smoothies in the morning and my husband uses it for his nutrition drinks in the evenings, so we needed something that was durable, substantial and will last a long a time.

An excellent blender, it was a good investment for our household.

We have used this blender 5 days a week for 3 full years. We use it every weekday to blend up our smoothie in the AM. We use frozen fruit (including strawberries), protein powder, juice, vitamins etc...

This blender always mixes our smoothies perfectly in fact it is easy to over blend them if you let it go too long. One key, like with all other blenders, you must use enough liquid. Also with large frozen fruit like strawberries it is good to use the "ice crush" setting at the beginning to get everything nice and chopped up.

After three years of working hard it is time to replace the blade and seal. Nice thing is the parts only cost $10 total. Love it and highly recommend this product.

After reading the various reviews, I opted for this blender rather than the more pricey VitaMix. When I first used it, I was quite disappointed, the smoothies remain gritty to chunky. Then I learned that I was putting in way too many veggies to juice/water. Now, I start with the slow button, move up through to speed 4 where I let it run for 45 seconds. The result, tasty, SMOOTH, smoothies.

This is definitely a viable alternative to VitaMix for those of us with limited budgets. It is also very easy to clean, I use my kitchen sink sprayer to clean it out and put the glass container (without base) in the dishwasher a couple times a week (or whenever I include yogurt in my smoothies).

Tara