Blender for Smoothies - Recommendations?

[Ratsima]

When we first moved to Thailand in 2005 one of our first purchases was a Philips blender we got at The Mall in Korat. It was a stellar performer; one of those with pushbutton controls on the base. It made great smoothies in no time and the blades never went in to cavitation. It also had a little attachment that I used to grind coffee beans until I got a proper grinder.

After fifteen years of use the plastic bits started to crack and get discolored. I found some replacement parts but decided a new one was in order. We took the old one to our condo in Cha Am where it still works great.

The replacement is also a Philips. A "ProBlend 6". To put it bluntly, it sucks. Making a smoothies is nearly impossible as the blades constantly cavitate and it has a horrible time crunching ice cubes. Speed is controlled by a dial on the base. This dial is now broken. Even though the unit is still under warranty, I have no intention of getting it repaired as it will still suck.

Now, I'm looking for a blender that actually works to make smoothies.

In the meantime we're using a Philips 800 watt hand blender. When it comes to smoothies it far outperforms the ProBlend. (Maybe that's all we really need.)

Any recommendations?

[Big Boy]

My daughter-in-law used to make smoothies for a living in a past life. She was fed up with seeing us pay over the odds for smoothies, and offered to make smoothies at home, but we'd need to buy a machine. She knew exactly the machine she wanted, and we bought it. Not expensive. I don't know how the machine is rated, but it makes lovely smoothies and has been in regular use for quite some time.

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[Big Boy]

I've just put it into Google, and cheaper than I remember. At those prices, it has to be worth a try.

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[Dannie Boy]

I find it hard to believe that a food blender like that would have a 4500 W motor - that can’t be right?

[HHTel]

It also had a little attachment that I used to grind coffee beans until I got a proper grinder.

Not about smoothies but I picked up on the above. I used to have a 'coffee grinder' which I could never get on with. Then I found that a bog standard blender will grind the beans perfectly.

[Ratsima]

Well, I ordered one, so we'll see how well it performs.

The same model (SC-1589) on Lazada is advertised as having anything from 3000 to 4500 watts. All that seems bogus to me. The crummy Philips I have says 900 watts on the label. I would think that 1 horsepower (750 watts?) would be plenty for most household use. Crushing ice might want more.

[Big Boy]

I don't think you'll be disappointed. It won't be the prettiest machine on the shelf, but it will certainly make the smoothest smoothies. Let us know what you think after you've tried it a few times.

[Ratsima]

Thanks for the recommendation. Exactly what I was hoping for.

[handdrummer]

Well, I ordered one, so we'll see how well it performs.

The same model (SC-1589) on Lazada is advertised as having anything from 3000 to 4500 watts. All that seems bogus to me. The crummy Philips I have says 900 watts on the label. I would think that 1 horsepower (750 watts?) would be plenty for most household use. Crushing ice might want more.

Which seller did you order from?

[Dannie Boy]

Well, I ordered one, so we'll see how well it performs.

The same model (SC-1589) on Lazada is advertised as having anything from 3000 to 4500 watts. All that seems bogus to me. The crummy Philips I have says 900 watts on the label. I would think that 1 horsepower (750 watts?) would be plenty for most household use. Crushing ice might want more.

There’s something wrong here - 4500W on a 240v supply would draw 18.75 amps which would blow a normal fuse?

[bigston]

4500 watts would blend an elephant
it most likely chinese watts or 1200 or so real ones, bit like amplifiers that say they are 1000 watts, turn it up and you still cant hear it

[Nereus]

You think that is a bit much? What about a 3 litre at 8,000 watts!

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/silve ... OIQAvD_BwE

If you look closely the 8,000 is Bt, or Bi, cannot really see it properly.
What they may be doing is quoting BTU,s. I have never seen it quoted like that, but hey, bigger is better!
Also, BTU is usually quoted as per hour.

There is 3.412 btu in 1 watt. So if 8,000 BTU ÷ by 3.412 it converts to 2,345 watts.

For the 2 litre version at 4,250 Bt converts to 1,245 watts, a possible figure, but still a bit high.

The best AC supply that you can hope for here is 220 volts. It is not exactly correct but as a ball park:
watts ÷ volts gives amps. Power circuit breakers used here are rated at either 16 amps, or 32 amps:
1,250 watts ÷ 220 gives 5.65 amps, 2,344 watts gives 10.65 amps. All rough numbers.

[Ratsima]

Which seller did you order from?

It was hard to decide as the prices and specs for the very same model vary wildly. Also, some of the sellers that display low prices also say something like "ships within 30 days", so not actually in stock. In some cases this products gets awful reviews saying the blender doesn't work at all. In other cases, people love it.

So, it's a crap shoot. But, at the price probably worth the risk.

I ordered here:

Rick shop

[Big Boy]

So, it's a crap shoot. But, at the price probably worth the risk.

I hope not. Ours is a brute, and very powerful. Is it 4500 watts? I've no idea. When I told my daughter-in-law to buy one, she had an open cheque book, but she knew exactly what she wanted. I've since seen the same machine being used in many Thai establishments. OK, you get good and bad with everything, but IMHO there is no risk whatsoever.

[brianks]

I saw one in a bar here but oh is it noisy BUT GREAT Smoothies.