Customer Reviews

OrangeX 17343 OJex Juicer, Cobalt

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

 

 

I allowed myself to be seduced by this juicer's unique good looks and vendor propaganda regarding its sturdy cast-iron construction.

Well, I juiced exactly _3_ 3-inch diameter oranges. On the 4th orange, a critical cast-iron piece on one of the 2 right-hand hinges broke.

Other review comments concerning difficulty of cleanup are accurate. I would add that the metal strainer has edges that seemed quite sharp, making cleanup potentially dangerous.

I would not recommend this juicer under any circumstances.

Given the reviews posted earlier, I approached this machine with some trepidation, expecting difficult operation, inconvenient clean-up, and poor juice. I am pleased to say that none of this occurred. I have had my juicer for 2 weeks now, have pressed over 5lbs. of oranges, and enjoyed a gallon of gloriously fresh juice. It was easy to squeeze and easy to clean-up. However, consider the following points before puchasing.

1. You absolutely must have some upperbody strength to exert the required force and control the lever action. While my wife had a bit more difficulty, she was able to squeeze the oranges just fine. Also, operation may not be comfortable for left-handed individuals, as the lever is on the right-side of the machine and your free (left) hand must rest on the top of the unit to prevent excessive force from jolting the machine.

2. When rotating the lever, do so SLOWLY, as rapid motion can lead to spraying juice from the orange, loss of control of the unit, or both.

3. Do not use the machine for 1 glass of juice. You'll spend less time and effort using a simple plastic pulper over a glass.

4. Do not use this machine for 1 gallon of juice or more. If you're making that much juice, consider an industrial automatic model ($2000 and up), or just get used to that juice out of the carton.

5. Be sure to read the directions before using. It really helps to know how all four removable pieces attach/detach when cleaning up. Clean up is as simple as rinsing/wiping with a sponge and replacing into machine. Really takes no more than 15 seconds.

6. Leave the machine on your counter if possible. Your lower back will thank you.

7. Purchase good quality juicing oranges. After buying oranges of several varieties from different purveyors, you'll be amazed at the differences in flavor. All oranges are not created equal!

8. Before pressing your oranges, give them a few seconds (10) in the microwave. This will result in more free flowing juice during pressing.

9. Some reviewers have mentioned that pressing the oranges releases some of the volatile oils found in the rind into the juice. While this is true, these oils give oranges their distinctive aroma and taste, and therefore improve the quality of the juice and provide some bracing acidity to its sweetness.

10. The imperfect shape of the upper and lower press molds doesn't extract all of the juice from the outer edges of the orange half. We addressed this by simply moving the orange edges over the lower mold and repressing - a few more precious drops!

11. Will not extract as much juice per orange as an electric machine with a rotary pulper, but requires less cumulative effort when doing more than a few oranges.

I cannot comment about the durability of the unit as I have only used it for several weeks. However, it is difficult to believe that avoiding overtorque using slow deliberate lever motion wouldn't reduce the probability of any cracking in the cast-iron.

In summary, this machine provides great value for the niche it was intended to serve - fresh juice enthusiasts squeezing a quart or more of juice per week (but not more than 2 gallons!)with an eye for sharp design.

I bought one of these, and it was a total waste of my time and money. It looks cool, it looks sturdy, but trust me, it is horrible. Because of the way the handle is positioned, the thing tips over (or tries to) EVERY TIME YOU USE IT.

Save yourself some aggravation, and just buy the OrangeX mid-size commercial juicer. Same company, but a MUCH better product. I've had one for several months now, and LOVE it. Yes, it's bigger. Yes, it's more expensive. But it'll do what you want - juice your citrus quickly and easily, with super easy cleanup.

This juicer is not weight balanced. When you pull down the handel, the juicer wants to turn over. Causes a messy scean trying to make sure it does not flip over. Also did not get any instructions for using the juicer with it's many parts. Had to learn by trial and error, still not completly sure I am using it correctly.

I've had this little guy for over 5 years and still works great. Granted I only use it a couple of times/month but I'm starting to drink more juice. It is also a gorgeous piece of equipment.

I've read that some people tip it over....I don't see how. It's never happened to me. I guess if you pull very hard there is that possibility but that will happen with any appliance with a handle that isn't anchored to the counter top. I simply pull down on the handle slowly and it pulverizes the orange leaving nothing but juice. It's actually a very satisfying task for some reason...it just feels good.

This is a unit for making 1-4 glasses of juice. If you frequently need more juice than this you may want to get a heavier duty juicer or an electronic unit.

Clean up is nothing. Take the extraction cup out and attachment and give it a 10 second hot water rinse and you are done. The top plastic piece (covers the top of the fruit) easy turns and slides out. This and the round piece for placing your glass/cup to catch the juice may need to be rinsed every few uses. The edges are thin and somewhat sharp so handle with care.

My only knocks on this is that the unit is quite heavy so you are not going to like moving it around but that is part of makes it so cool. Also I find on occasion if you are handling oversized fruit the clearance between the extraction cup and the top of the unit which crushes the fruit is a little tight and you have to mess with a bit to place the fruit in there. Both of these are minor things.

I love mine

It sucks and that's about all you need to know. I echo most everything that many others have written; it's poorly balanced and mine also broke after limited use.

I was cautious based on the other reviews but decided to go ahead, and am very glad that I did. I find that this little guy fits perfectly into my routine; I squeeze predominently lemons and limes, and quickly discovered one little trick - cut off the thick and sometimes buldging ends that citrus fruit can develop; this allows the fruit to fit evenly within the press, and you will have no trouble pressing the arm down to express all the juice.

Basically all the negative reviews about this product are true. I would recommend this juicer to anyone who is looking to build upper-body strength while making juice, because the hinges really don't work well after a while (and I've tried lubricating them), so you'll end up exerting all you can just to squeeze an orange. But watch out because the small suction cups aren't enough to prevent it from flipping over when you're putting all that force on the off-center handle.

This product was badly designed and is seriously not worth its price tag.

my husband bought me an orangex juicer 5 years ago. i love the thing. i can see how it's not for everyone, though. it does take a little bit of physical strength and a modicum of common sense to use - when you push down on the handle, you need to go gradually and make sure the little suction cups don't pop up - but it works very well and ours, at least, is built like a tank.

and it's easy to clean. pop off the 4 easily removable parts, rinse them off, give the main body a quick wipe down if things were really squirty, and you're done.

it works best on bigger citrus - juicing 3 dozen key limes for a pie didn't work so well, but does a great job on anything from regulation-sized limes on up.

I've been using this juicer about once a week for over a year without problem. Granted, it is slightly unbalanced and a bit of care needs be taken when pressing on the lever - and you will press hard - but I've never tipped it. Put your other hand on top to maintain balance. OrangeX also seems to have a quality control problem. I've read several complaints about one of the pivots breaking. Again, mine has seen plenty of duty without problem.

The juicer is cast iron and HEAVY. The paint is a thick coat of enamel that cleans easily and still looks good. It has four suction cups on the bottom, two of mine have split and no longer stick. The printing on the chrome wore off. With that said, it still works as intended.

Four stars because I got mine for under $75. 2.5 stars at Amazon's price.