Customer Reviews

Oster BRLY07-B 6cup/600w Fusion Blender

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have had a Vita-Max for almost 7 years now. While the Vita-Mix can't be beat power wise it has some very important weaknesses. First it is very expensive. I paid almost $600 for mine. Second, if you use protein poweder in it you have to not only rinse it immediately, you have to blend water in it to clean the protein powder grit out of it so that it doesn't destroy the blade assembly. I have went through three blade assemblies in the last 7 years. This with following their directions for blending water in it after using it. Third, the plastic (polycarbonate) containers crack at the bracing points. I have went through 8 containers in 7 Years.

I bought the Oster Fusion because I wanted a simple blender for blended drinks and the like and I didn't want to have to worry about destroying the blade assembly. I have had the Oster Fusion for nearly 4 months now and I still love it. It is powerful, easy to use, great blender container and wonderful rubber seal lid. I have made not only blended coffee drinks, smoothies, milk shakes, slurpies, but have also made salsa, apple sauce, wheat berry pancakes and more in it and it works wonderfully. I am especially impressed with the blenders ability to chop things like salsa and applesauce in to consistent size peices. Not even my Vita-Mix could do that.

The only reason I am giving it 4 stars and not 5 is because you can't reverse the blender yourself, reversing is only done in the two pre-programmed modes. I would like to have a rocker switch that I could move back and forth to reverse and then forward the blades myself. The preprogrammed cycles work great for me. If you drop in a whole tomato or something that can't get down in to the blades of the semi-funnel shaped blender container then it isn't going to be able to blend it. I am for peices that are 1 to 1-1/2-inches in size and I have never had a problem.

As for blending drinks with ice, the instructions say to put the liquid in first and then the ice or ice like stuff (frozen fruit, etc.) I have no issues with this not working. In fact here are two recipes for you.

Ice-Cream Free Strawberry Milk Shake

2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries, thawed for 30 minutes

1-1/2 cups of Milk

1/2 Cup of Half and Half or Whole Milk

4 Packets of Equal

1 Tablespoon of Lime Juice

Place all of the liquids in to the blender container and then add the frozen berries. You want to thaw the frozen berries for about 30 minutes so that they aren't rock hard but still frozen. Use the pre-programmed Frozen Drinks and Shakes mode. As test to see if the berries are frozen but soft enough I use a meat mallet on them. If they can be smashed without a lot of hard heavy pounding they are ready. The frozen berries provides the freezing component to make the shake. It is also best to use really nice ripe berries. We buy berries each year when they are at their peak, prep and freeze them ourselves.

Salsa

2 whole fresh tomatoes (garden fresh are best, but use the best you can get)

1 Jalapeno, seeded and stem removed

1 Small/Medium Can Whole Green Chilies, Drained

1 Can of Diced Tomatoes with Chilies

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice

1/4 Cup Cilantro

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt (use 1/2 as much or to taste for table salt)

1/4 Medium Red Onion, cut in to chunks

2 Cloves Garlic

Core the tomatoes and cut them in to 1 to 1-1/2-inch pieces and place them in the blender container. Seed and stem the jalapeno and cut in to 1/4's. Add the can of whole green chilies after you drain them. Use the Food Chop mode and then empty the blender container in to a large bowl. Add the canned tomatoes, cilantro, salt, lime juice, garlic and onion in to the blender container and use the Food Chop mode. Add this to the bowl, mix well and then taste. Adjust salt as needed. You can also add some black pepper if you wish.

As for other reviews, people need to understand that nothing made by man or women is perfect. You will (more often now-a-days then in times past) get a lemon, this is the price we pay for being able to get technology at rock bottom prices. Even at $500 plus the Vita-Mix isn't perfect either. Sometimes I think people either don't follow directions or have very un-real expectations. I love my Oster Fusion and I am not sorry I bought it.

I had purchased an In2itive blender from Oster about 4 years ago and had to replace it within a few weeks. The second one I received from their customer service was an upgraded model with an LCD display. I used it regularly for 4 years and had difficulty with even the replacement one. The gasket on the blade assembly kept leaking and it was the noisiest blender ever! At the end of it's life, the LCD display was rather moody and didn't work half the time. Luckily, I had memorized which buttons to push or I would have been SOL.

I wasn't turned off to Oster products, however, due to their good natured help over the phone and sending me a replacement for my old blender - I decided to stay a loyal customer, if their new products were well rated. I did some research on-line and found the new Oster Fusion to have higher ratings than other higher priced competitors...sighting similar results at a fraction of the price. I had to drive several miles to get one, as several stores around my area were sold out. I have used it everyday since then to make frozen drinks and protein shakes and am very satisfied so far. I even got excited and purchased extra gaskets, which don't leak at all on this newer model and a pretty nifty Oster "milkshake" attachment blade that whips up a mean protein shake.

The controls are much easier to use on this Fusion model, and the carafe is much easier to clean made of real glass, not plastic which tends to get scratched and opaque. The noise level is still loud, but greatly improved over it's predacessor. So, my final recomendation is to try one out. Once you get used to the controls, it's a breeze, and produces consistantly good results.

I definitely recommend this blender. I use my Oster Fusion blender at least three or four times a week to make fruit yogurt smoothies, and it absolutely pulverizes frozen fruit and ice. On a handful of occasions I've had to run it twice based on the ingredients or whether they got stuck in the wrong spot, but this is the first blender I've ever had that didn't leave ANY chunks of ice.

I also love that, if you thoroughly rinse the jar and blade assembly right away after using it, you don't need to wash it (this assumes you're not blending something that's oily). The blades are VERY sharp and will slice you and your sponge if you're not careful, so this makes clean-up safer. I dump the whole thing in the dishwasher as well, but if you do, you need to get it out right away and get the water out of the bottom to prevent rust.

I also use it to turn cookies into fine crumbs for baking, and if you only put about 10 or so cookies in at a time, it does a great job on them, just a few chunks that go back in with the next batch (or get eaten ;-)). It does a better job crumbling cookies than my mini food processor.

The only drawback, and it's a mild one that's worth the trade-off, given its performance, is that this thing is truly loud enough to wake the dead. You can't hear the TV, the phone, anyone speaking, etc. when it's running (at least on the frozen drink mode). When I run it, though, the kids come running to watch my smoothies dance...it's so powerful, it literally flings the ingredients up the jar and makes for quite a show. I've had blenders where you can leave the lid off, but on this one, I make sure it's on properly!

I do not recommend, however, the "blend and go" blender cup that is sold separately. It takes several attempts to get everything to blend the ingredients because it's so much smaller and the ice gets stuck. The blender is so powerful you have to hold it down while using the travel cup, because the base starts moving without the weight holding it down! I just use the regular jar and pour the smoothie into a travel mug if I'm taking it with me.

Just purchased this blender yesterday as a replacement for my 30 year old Oster blender. The performance is amazing! I honestly didn't think it was possible to chop ice as finely as this blender is capable of doing--it looks like snow if you let it go long enough!

There are two pre-programmed settings-one for drinks and one for chopping-as well as three manual speeds and a pulse option for both high and low manual speeds. The programmed setting for drinks starts out slowly and reduces the size of the cubes, then accelerates to high and grinds in pulses, with the blade reversing direction every so often. The blade has six prongs, not four, and the result is perfectly ground ice, with absolutely no chunks.

The program for chopping does the same thing as above, with blades reversing direction every so often. Both programs will stop automatically after a period of time, or can be stopped manually.

The jar is a sturdy glass, and buttons are soft and recessed, making it easy to clean the front of the blender with a sponge or towel. Case is black plastic. While I'm not personally crazy about the angular style of the case, it's a small consideration in light of the stellar performance this appliance delivers. Now, if it will only last 30 years like my first Oster did, it will be perfect!

I've had this blender for about two months now and use it daily... it works great! I blend frozen fruit, ice, etc., and have never had a problem. It works much better than my previous Braun MX2050 blender. Although it cost a bit more, the metal drive and pre-programmed settings make it worth it.

I highly recommend it!

I bought this about 4 months ago after reading the reviews here and waited to place my own review till I actually gave it a good run through.

To date it has worked flawlessly. Absolutely no ice chunks - meaning it really blends everything well. As far as the noise I don't have a problem with it because I wanted a powerful motor for my smoothies.

The only negative I guess that I would have is the pour spout seems to wide and does not give a clean pour. Maybe I am too impatient...

Be careful these blades are SHARP!

I have recommended this to family and friends.

I am now on my third blender, and it just quit working after using it only twice! All three have, after a short period of time, stopped dead; and done so with no provocation, just sitting on the counter. While this blender is working, it is 5-star, which is why I have replaced each one. But, after three duds, that's it for me!

After purchasing this blender I have finally convinced myself to never again buy a cheap applicance and *hope* that it will work well. This blender is very much worth the price! You will never need to buy another one because this one does everything right. It is relatively quiet, blends smoothly and evenly, is super easy to take apart and use, and has a very sturdy base. The three speeds _really are_ three speeds - meaning the low is slow and gentle and the high is very quick. I love the flexibility and ability to control it exactly to my liking. Just today I blended up potatoes and wanted them very smooth to use as baby food and they came out like buttery silk. I was inspired to write this review after that experience.

** I see that several people have said that their blender stopped working. I just wanted to say that I've had mine for 6 months to a year and use it at least 3 times a week and haven't had any trouble with it so far.

After only a month of having this product, the all metal drive snapped in half. In truth the all metal drive is a metal cap with a rubber gasket underneath. We purchased this blender to replace our oster beehive which had the exact thing break after 2 years. This only lasted for 29 days.

Like others here, my Oster Fusion died after less than two months' use. I did it enjoy it while it worked, but now it is trash. The store I purchased it from accepts returns in 30 days. I've contacted Oster about it, but I suspect they won't do anything about it and a replacement would also die in a short amount of time.