Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)After owning two inferior blenders, I wanted one for our family that was powerful, sturdy, relatively quiet, easy to clean and good-looking. This blender is simply the best blender we have ever owned.
First, it is very powerful. You should have no problem using it for everything blenders are usually used for, including crushing ice, which it does amazingly well. It has a separate smoothie button that is fantastic: it varies the speed during the blending process and helps you create perfect smoothies, with no effort on your part. The blender shuts off automatically after using the smoothie or other preset functions, and has a digital display that counts down and tells you how long it will take to finish blending.
Perhaps most importantly, the curved blades and concave container are designed in such a way as to reduce or eliminate the amount of food that gets stuck in the bottom of the blender. In fact, after using it a few times, I was pleasantly surprised to find NO unblended pieces of food at the bottom of the blender. Everything was blended.
Regarding noise, this is by far the quietest blender I have ever encountered. With such a powerful motor, I'm not sure how they did it. I am a professional composer and have very sensitive ears, and the relative low volume of this blender is something I definitely appreciate. Don't get me wrong: it's a blender, so it still makes noise, but it is definitely NOT as loud as inferior blenders priced less than $100.
The base and container are quite heavy and will stay put when you are blending. It giggles a little when blending on a high setting (there are sturdy rubber feet that help to reduce noise), but it won't move on your counter. The container is made of thick glass, and you can wash the whole base in the dishwasher (the glass part in the bottom rack, the other parts in the top rack). The container lid has a sturdy ring that makes it very easy to pull off the tight-fitting lid. Don't let the pics fool you: that little ring is thicker than it looks.
Some blenders have plastic containers and some have glass, like this one. The advantage of plastic is really just the (usually) cheaper cost and lighter weight. The disadvantage is that plastic containers may crack (as ours did) and leak plastic molecules into your food over time as the container ages. Most plastics are carcinogenic, so I like to avoid plastic containers if at all possible, since this one is glass, and very thick, it is relatively safe. The markings on the side of the container are easy to read, so it's not difficult to use it as a measuring container when adding food, particularly liquids.
The blade housing is also very sturdy and much larger than on a typical cheap blender. It fits on so tightly that you need a turning handle (supplied) to unscrew the base. If I had only ONE complaint, this would be it. I don't like the idea of having to use anything other than my hands to disassemble the blender. But since I'll take a tight-fitting assembly over one that might leak any day, this really isn't a complaint at all.
BTW: for the technically inclined, this blender is assembled with screws, so if you wanted to disassemble the base, you could do it very easily. This thing is solid as a rock.
Regarding cleaning, the buttons are slightly raised under a one-piece pad that is extremely easy to clean. If any food does spill, which is unlikely, all you need to do is wipe it up with a soft rag or paper towel. One side note: you will need to thoroughly wash the blender once you get it out of the box. It still has the factory manufacturing smell, but that clears up with a good wash or two in the dishwasher.
Lastly, this is a fine-looking appliance. It's much sleeker than others made my KitchenAid and so on, and is industrial-quality, without looking like it belongs in a restaurant kitchen.
All in all, I am extremely happy with this blender and enthusiastically give it five stars.
***UPDATE***
We had this blender for 2 1/ 2 years, using it maybe 3-4 times a week on average, and the motor finally gave out. To be more accurate, the power light blinked on, but the blade assembly would not run. We didn't do anything abnormal with it, and mostly used it for smoothies. Then one day, it just would not work.
Like others mention here, it will leak if you do not screw the bottom part on very tight. In fact, you have to be quite strong to screw it on tight enough so that it will not leak. Ironically, leaks rarely happened over the button area, but definitely happened above the blade if the bottom was even a tiny bit loose. I also found it annoying that the only way to remove the base if it was screw on as tightly as it needed to be was to use the lever that comes with the blender. Shouldn't blenders come apart without having a separate gadget to worry about?
As for my comments that it can be taken apart, I'll have to retract that. I attempted to take it apart to replace a fuse, the part of the blender that apparently gave out, but it's basically impossible--not very easy to take apart at all.
All in all, we really enjoyed our Breville blender while it worked, but we think that for this price, it should last five years or longer under normal use. We will not purchase this model again and will look at other brands like Vitamix.
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Breville BBL600XL Ikon 750-Watt 51-Ounce BlenderWith its 750-watt motor and die-cast aluminum base, this powerful blender provides an array of convenient features. Its control pad offers five speed settings, which include mix, chop, blend, liquefy, and puree, as well as a pulse function and two preset programs for ice crushing and smoothies. The blender's 54-ounce engineering-grade borosilicate glass jar resists scratching, chipping, and fogginess for optimal clarity, while dual-tone baked enamel measurements in both metric and empirical volumes ensure sharp viewing and accurate measuring. The jar provides 1/4-turn blade removal for thorough and effortless cleaning of the jar and Hemisphere bowl/blade system. In addition, all jar and blade parts are top-shelf dishwasher-safe, and the bowl/blade system easily locks into place and seals for leak-free performance. Other highlights include a control pad designed without crevices for fast cleaning, a backlit easy-to-read digital timer, and a Breville assist cord. The blender measures 6-1/2 by 8 by 15-1/2 inches.
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