Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsBad Lid/Plug design; bad instructions, bad attitude, great smoothies
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018
Wanting to upgrade my smoothie processing, got the 5200, white, on sale at a good price (for it, but really it's a bit pricey). It happened; now it's easier for me every day compared to my old, smaller machine which was perfectly fine but not quite as good.
Out of the box my Plug would not lock in the lid. Didn't fit together right. Examining the parts, I ascertained that the Vitamix instructions, lock clockwise, unlock counter-clockwise (cc) made no sense. So I wrote to Vitamix as follows:
"….Your Owner's Manual instructs me (and everybody else) to secure the plug by turning it clockwise (Page 7, para 2) and, to remove it by rotating counterclockwise from "locked" to "unlocked". But my inspection of the two pieces informs me that the design doesn't care which direction is used to secure/ lock it, and equally doen't care which direction is used to unlock it for removal. Unfortunately I cannot test my analysis because my pieces don't fit, and don't lock.
The Plug has two studs, each a semi-cylinder.
The Lid has four pairs of studs, equally spaced around the inside of the opening for the Plug. The two studs constituting a pair are spaces approximately 9/32" apart, thus forming a nest for the Plug's stud to rest in. To try to avoid confusion, I'll now call the pair of studs of which the Lid has four, the "goalposts".
The goalposts have small inclines (or, perhaps, ramps) on the side of each post that is away from the other post. But on the side of each post that faces the other post, there is no ramp and the post has a straight wall.
One can see that the semi-circular side of the semi-cylinder Plug stud will, with an easy twist, ride up the ramp of a goalpost, continue over the goalpost, and fall into the space between the posts. It will take greater effort to twist it out, because there is no ramp to assist. But since every pair of goalposts has two outside ramps, it doesn't matter whether one locks clockwise or counterclockwise. The Plug stud will proceed to the next goalposts in the direction used and go up the ramp and over the post .
So I wonder why your instruction book says what it says. Ditto for the unlock. The geometry is symmetrical...doesn't matter which direction. One can both lock and unlock clockwise, or lock and unlock counterclockwise, or lock clockwise and unclock cc, or lock cc and unlock clockwise.
My pieces were not properly made. I don't know which piece is dimensionally wrong, but I don't get any contact whatsoever between the Plug studs and the Lid goalposts. The plug just spins around. I suspect that the goalposts are too short, perhaps a molding problem. But that's just a guess.
Please send me a replacement Lid and Plug, and a shipping label so I can then send you the misfits in the box you used to send the replacements. That way I can continue to make smoothies( being careful not to overload the container causing a spray of fruit through the plug opening after the Plug is shot across the room) whilst I await the replacement."
They sent the replacement but didn't want the original parts back. When I asked why they didn't want to find out what was wrong, they indicated that they already knew the part was prone to warpage. They said:
"As for the lid itself, the ridges when brand new should stop the lid plug from turning. It is possible over time that they become worn down or the lid becomes warp and the lid plug is no longer stopped by them"
Well, these were brand new parts, so obviously they weren't worn down, but perhaps they were warped? When the new parts came I compared all the pieces and realized that the original lid was very slightly (1/8") warped out of shape. It is a soft plastic-like lid and I wasn't surprised it didn't keep it's proper shape. Just the 1/8 inch removed the "lock".
When I assembled the new Lid & Plug, I confirmed my previous opinion (based on the visual of the design) that it would lock and unlock both clockwise and cc. Then I thought about Vitamix's statement that over time the ridges wear down, and that is a known cause of lock failure. then I had a "eureka moment". Not only are Vitamix's instructions ("lock clockwise, unlock cc") unwarranted because the plug will lock and unlock in either direction, BUT THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE ACTUALLY HARMFUL AND SHORTEN THE USEFUL LIFE OF THE LID. I told this to Vitamix and explained as follows:
"Well, if you always lock clockwise, and always unlock cc, the hard stud of the Plug will always ride over the same stud (or "ridge", as you call it) of the pair. Back and forth over that stud (and the same thing happens on the opposite side) and no travel whatsoever over the other stud of the pair. So all the wear and tear goes on one ridge, rather than being shared between the two ridges of the pair. Better practice would be to make all movement clockwise (or all movement cc) as this would put both studs of the pair in play for each lock-unlock episode ( and reduce the wear on the otherwise solo stud by a significant percentage).. The BEST PRACTICE, however, which might be a little hard to swallow or ordain in the instructions, would be to make all movement clockwise on odd days of the month, and all movement cc on even days of the month. OK, you think I'm nuts, so let me explain. The "Better practice", although it uses both studs of the pair, is always going up the ramp of one stud for the lock, but going against the vertical edge of the other stud for the unlock. Since the ramp makes it easy to lock, it is putting less wear on the stud (or ridge) to lock than to unlock, which requires brute force (a small brute) to blast through the vertical obstacle. Thus the unlock will put more wear and tear on the piece than the lock, and if you always twist in the same direction for both lock and unlock you will wear out the ridges unevenly. Yes, the wear goes to both of them for sharing, but the share is not even. The BEST PRACTICE will even it out, maximizing the useful life"
The Vitamix customer service reaction to all this bordered on total disinterest. I was told that the product was around some 20 years and if I wanted a better designed lid/plug I should return it and purchase a different model Vitamix. I should probably do that but I probably won't, because we spent so much time in deciding to purchase the 5200 that I don't want to go through that drill again.
I even found, on one occasion when my smoothie was quite large, and I was blending on high, the pressure of the fluid pressing up against the replacement lit caused it to flex (or warp) thereby unlocking the plug which then spun around and around pushed by the swirl (but did not fly out, for some reason). I might end up by simply making it a point to put my finger on the plug in that situation.
But what really galls me is that I asked for feedback from Vitamix engineering about my observations about the instructions for lock/ unlock, and I was flatly refused. "We don't give feedback. Period" or some such language.
Truly, I don't know how durable (had it less than a month) or versatile (all I do is smoothies) the machine is. Not at all. I gave three stars only because I had to give something.
