Customer Reviews

KitchenAid K5SSWH Heavy Duty Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer, White

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a heavier mixer than the "Artisan" model, and the bowl raises and lowers on a lever rather than the head of the mixer lifting up. If you make heavy breads or a lot of bread for your family, this may be a better choice mixer with the stronger motor.

You can also add a grain grinder to the front of the device--there's a lid that flips up and you insert it into a hole with a positioning pin. The motor then turns the grinder, sausage stuffer or vegetable grater. The grinders work terrific; the vegetable grater/slicer is a variation on those cone slicers and not my favorite attachment. But for a one-stop heavy-duty device that mashes potatoes, kneads bread, whips egg whites, stirs cake batter or grinds wheat flour or rye flour, this can't be beat.

I bought this mixer to replace my KitchenAid Ultra Power because it was a smoking deal on Amazon.

Here's what I don't like:
1. The struggle to snap the bowl in place.
2. Because of #1, I have to keep adjusting the screw so the paddle/dough hook, whip meet correctly.
3. One ruined paddle that is missing its nylon coating.

Upside:
1. Customer service is nice. I called to complain about the paddle, and they sent me a new one, free, along with instructions on how to properly adjust the mixer.
2. I can make double batches of frosting.

Here's how you adjust that screw to prevent the nylon coating from coming off your paddle and dough hook:
1. Put a dime in the bottom of the bowl.
2. Use the paddle and turn the mixer on.
3. Adjust the screw.
4. If the dime moves about 3/4" each time the paddle goes by, then your mixer is properly adjusted.

I just puchased the commercial Kitchen Aid mixer and I absolutely love it!! I cannot believe the difference between it and the hand mixer that I have been using for the last 25 years. Besides looking so beautiful in my kitchen, it mixes beautifully and in half the time of other mixers. It's much quieter than I had expected and it so handy that I use it as much as possible. I do not regret purchasing this very special mixer. It was well worth the wait and the cost.

I have this mixer for 3 years now, and I am very pleased with it. Power is more than enough for home use, and quality is un-surpassed. I have not noticed any of the problems previous reviews talk about, no paint chipping or lift height problems.
However, keep in mind that this is a home use mixer, not an industrial "10 loaves of bread" one. I make my own bread, so I use this mixer at least every 2 days for dough making, not to mention numerous other baking needs. As such it has performed flawlessly, without a glitch, for over 3 years in my household now.

I purchased this mixer for my aunt, who is a caterer and she told me that out of all the mixer that she has used in the past, this is the best. The difference is that this mixer is heavy duty and it can handle a tremendous amount pressure without breaking down.

I totally love this mixer...I originally settled with the artisian model...and wasn't pleased with it. I like this one much better for it's power, it's bowl lift feature...I had a hard time with the tilt head because the bowl was too close to the head of the mixer making it hard to pour into the bowl. My other one also didn't come with a handle for the bowl which is essential to have. Enjoy and get one yourself you will love it too!!!!!

I have to say that after 18 years of near constant use, this mixer is like an old friend.

It has consistantly made large loads of bread 2-3 times aweek for 18 years before it started acting up. It also has been used for just about everything else, as we have almost every contraption that goes with it!

In the 18th year the motor brushes needed to be replaced, which was done by a local repair shop. Now about a year later it is starting to make a lot of noise. I took it apart and could not find what the source of trouble was. When I got it all back together, the noise stopped for a few weeks, but now is back again, prompting me to look around to see if there is something better . . . I am tempted by the larger motor series mixers, but would like to keep my current mixers bowls and beaters . . .

As for the other reviewers who seem to be trashing this mixer . . . I simply do not see their complaints as being a problem. This has been a great workhorse for our busy kitchen for far longer than anything else that see's nearly half it's use.

I am still looking for the next mixer, but for 99% of the users, this machine is more than enough I'm certain.

Just an update. It's now 2011 (7 years after the last review), the mixer problem was simply a loose screw, and the mixer is still going strong. It now operates from a voltage converter, as the mixer followed me to New Zealand where the voltage is 230 volts. Even thought the HZ are wrong, the mixer does not overheat. I now use an Electrolux weekly for making bread, but this does everything else. Happy 25th anniversary Kitchen Aid mixer!

Even though this is a good mixer according to KitchAid....It is not the KitchAid mixer that Amazon shows in the picture or the price. The one pictured is KitchenAids's Commercial mixer and the mixer that Amazon sells and you get is not rated for Commercial use. The mixer that you actually get is bulk produced by KitchenAid and normally retails for $300.00 not for $545.00.

For fifteen years I've talked about getting a good stand mixer and my sweet husband went out and bought me this one. He bought it on sale at Cosco last Spring, then stored it until we moved back to the States from Europe and gave it to me as a housewarming gift in Nov. I've used it a few times but the paddle and whisk don't reach the bottom of the bowl and the screw meant for adjustment will NOT tighten any further. I can't get into the bowl at all while it is in the upward position... to scape or to add ingredients. I like to make crepes, which calls for adding sifted flour gradually over eggs while beating. It's impossible with this machine. I get a gluey mass at the bottom of the bowl, unmixed... and the batter is full of lumps. If I want to scape the bowl, (which is frequently necessary since the paddle or whisk doesn't reach all the way to the sides of the bowl) I have to stop the machine and lower the bowl each time, and even then, with the paddle or whisk attached, it's not easy to reach the sides of the bowl towards the back. You can't turn the bowl without removing it from the stand completely. You have to yank on the bowl and lift at the same time to remove it from the stand. This takes a fair amount of force to maneuver. It's impossible to remove the paddle or whisk without first letting it drop completely into the batter. The speeds are not variable enough. It seems to be either ploddingly slow or so fast that any liquid or flour flies out.
It's a monumental disappointment and I'm frustrated because it's been so long since he bought it, I can't imagine they would allow it to be returned. So, I still mix everything by hand or use my stick mixer and feel crumby about the big white doorstop taking up counter space.

I bought my first KitchenAid K5SS in the 1980s while living in New York, and loved it so much that when I moved to Australia in 1990, I bought another one (the voltage is different - 110v in the USA, 220V in Australia). I still say that it's worth its weight in gold!

It is used regularly (several times a week) for everything from breads to meringues, and is always up to the task. I've never had it overheat or stall on me.

There are a lot of attachments available for this mixer. I've only ever purchased one, that being the food grinder/pasta extrusion disk combo, and for making pasta, it was (IMHO) awful (see my review on this site).

But for mixing, kneading, and whipping, this mixer's 325 watts ensure that there's plenty of power.

I've read that the new wire beaters aren't made solely of stainless steel as mine were, and that they are no longer dishwasher safe. That is a shame, as some people have complained about that on the KitchenAid website. Perhaps KA will take heed and go back to the stainless ones, or maybe some after-market company may decided to start selling them.

In summation, I've had my current KA K5SS for 15 years now, and have recommended it over the years to many people. It's been well worth the money, and if it were to disappear from my house tomorrow, I'd have no hesitation about buying another one.