KitchenAid ProLine or Commercial

[kolache-man]

I have a KitchenAid Pro 600 and want to upgrade to either a ProLine 7-qt or the commercial NSF Certified 8-qt. Are there any disadvantages to going with the 8-qt commercial?

One rep at the commercial support line said they "didn't recommend" using the standard attachments on the front hub, even though the docs say it's standard and accommodates everything. I have lots of attachments (pasta, extruder, juicer, meat grinder, etc), and they're key to my usage of the machine. Her comment about "not recommending" them made no sense.

When I emailed the support line, *that* rep said it was simply that the attachments were not NSF certified, which makes total sense. I don't care about this -- I'm a home hobbyist. But, wanna make sure there are no *real* issues with using attachments with the big 8-qt unit.

And, fundamentally, if there are thoughts on the ProLine vs NSF.

Thanks much in advance.

 

[retired baker]

If going into that price range , I like the globe 8 qt gear driven, it looks like it uses an AC motor running constant speed, relying on gears for the 3 speed ranges rather than a variable DC motor.
Costs more but I prefer gear driven myself.
I don't see you gaining much upgrading to 7 qt.

 

[MixUp]

Tough call. To my knowledge, from the 600 to either the 7 or 8 quart you're just getting a quieter motor, with a little more power, that tends to run smoother. Mostly it runs quieter, and can run much more continuously without overheating. It does have some additional power, however, personally, I question once you get to the 600 if motor power is really the limiting factor at all - the drive train and heat/runtime seem like the weakest links there more than the motor. I suspect the heavy doughs like a double batch of pasta dough, etc that really seem to strain the 600 are going to strain the others as well - but you can knead longer without working the motor to overheat. I haven't tested this theory myself however. I'd worry more about the gearing under such a load on any of the machines.

The 7 & 8 qt is more similar than different. The motor in the 8 is a bit more powerful, the bowl is bigger, and it comes with SS attachments in the box while the ProLine doesn't. The ProLine has a 5 year replacement warranty included vs the standard 1 year on the commercial. That's kind of valuable (I almost wish I bought a ProLine instead of a second 600 due to that - but I have a ton of bowls and the 11 wire whisk and such I wanted to keep using. that would cost another $325+ to replicate on an incompatible machine.)

While the machines aren't identical I tend to think of the 8qt as "an NSF certified ProLine with a slightly taller bowl and included SS attachments and a slightly beefier motor." Don't read too much into the motor specs. Their 1.3HP rating is nonsensical marketing that requires contortions and qualifiers to be true.

If I manage to wear out the new 600 (which I intend to use it very heavily, so I might), I'd strongly consider one of the ones you're looking at next time. Personally I lean commercial any chance I get - but the 5 year "no hassle" warranty is very alluring on the ProLine.

KA customer service has gone down the toilet though. It took them almost 2 weeks to respond to me about a few things recently (they say 48 hours...) and it seems the marketing department makes the calls on product availability. Your experience with commercial support telling you not to use the attachments doesn't make me more confident in their service. Maybe the motor is too powerful for the plastic parts on some of the attachments to withstand since they weren't designed for it? That and the lack of NSF cert is really all I can think of.

retired_baker's advice on the Globe is good - no DC motors and electronics - all gearing - much more robust. But it's also a different price, size, and weight class, and if, like me, you need the counter space to be multi-purpose, you're probably depending on the attachments to justify the footprint of a mixer and still be able to use your kitchen, and the Globe doesn't help with that. REALLY nice machine though! I considered an N50 and a Famag years ago. But I can't afford the counter space and still have room for ingredients, scales, and a pastry board somewhere! I can't even find space for my Electrolux/Ankarsrum and am trying to force the 600 to do everything.

 

[MixUp]

I'm not sure if you're still following this thread, but I thought of this thread when I stumbled into some information that might explain the KA rep's comments about the commercial 8 qt and attachments. It sounds like there are some issues with attachments not fitting if you get the 8 quart with the bowl guard (cage.) It seems like it must take up some of the space near the port that some attachments do and leads to problems. That might be what the rep was talking about. The guard-less 8 quart seems fine. It's the bowl guard/cage that causes the problem. Not many places are even selling the model with the guard these days, even among commercial supply shops.

 

[Linus]

If going into that price range , I like the globe 8 qt gear driven, it looks like it uses an AC motor running constant speed, relying on gears for the 3 speed ranges rather than a variable DC motor.
Costs more but I prefer gear driven myself.
I don't see you gaining much upgrading to 7 qt.

Bought this used Globe SP08 from Ebay for only $325. It works fine! Everything on it works. Just need the 8-qt bowl & beaters. The top has to be painted. It DOES have a commercial induction motor & metal gears for the machinery. As well as 3 speeds. And it is quiet as a church mouse!! Actually, the motor is a single-speed one. The speed changer is on the right side, facing the mixer.

 

[retired baker]

View attachment 2819


Bought this used Globe SP08 from Ebay for only $325. It works fine! Everything on it works. Just need the 8-qt bowl & beaters. The top has to be painted. It DOES have a commercial induction motor & metal gears for the machinery. As well as 3 speeds. And it is quiet as a church mouse!! Actually, the motor is a single-speed one. The speed changer is on the right side, facing the mixer.

when my virus check gets here I'll have plenty of cash, I can offer you $350 for that old beaten up missing attachments mixer.

 

[Linus]

Why would you want it though?

 

[Linus]

It's probably more powerful than anything you got at home right now.

 

[Linus]

The mixer that you have, you're slapping it around & beating it up. You keep on doing that, you won't have it for long.

 

[retired baker]

I get 20 yrs out of the kitchenaids, they're not bad little workers.
I used to beat on them all day long commercially, they're quite well made.

 

[Linus]

I don't like KA any more, because they're made too cheap. Even the commercial ones!

 

[retired baker]

If I had your mixer I wouldn't like KA either.

 

[Linus]

Actually, I have THIS model also. I have both of Globe's lowest models, & theyl are both powerhouses!

 

[Linus]

Plus THIS one. Kind of a smaller version of the Bosch Universal. It's a powerhouse in it's own right!!

 

[retired baker]

Thats called hoarding.
The dept of excessive regulations will be calling.
Not to mention exceeding your carbon credit elec bill.
Those machines could be converted to ventilators...I think.

 

[Linus]

I don't pay for Electricity. It's included in the rent.

 

[MixUp]

I don't like KA any more, because they're made too cheap. Even the commercial ones!

I'm not sure the KAs are poorly made at all. They've had some bad moments, they've cheaped out from time to time and then had to rectify it, but the current production seems to have really fixed a lot of those issues. They were kind of wayward after the Hobart buyout and spinoff and did make some junk. They started getting their act together about 15 years ago, but really got in line in the past 8 or so. They're solid workhorses. No they're not meant to be abused in a heavy duty capacity like the Globes, but they're pretty tough machines.

My next one, if there is a next one, it's a tough debate between the KA commercial 8 qt and a Globe. Did you have particular problems with the 8 quart KA commercial, or just overall hearsay?

Mostly I need a mixer that better handles 2kg+ of WW bread dough, or my killer, 5lb hard half whole wheat pasta dough. I have an Ankarsrum/Electrolux.....costs almost as much as the globes 8 qt. But I'm just not in love with it. The fact that it prefers pouring dry into wet makes percentages a mess as well, and I feel like with hard dense doughs, while it doesn't strain, it also doesn't do anything...I end up doing the mixing. It's great for normal bread though. There's always Famag....

 

[Linus]

But some of those commercial mixers are so ridiculously Over priced. I'm still new to commercial mixers though But I DO know that they are more durable than regular stand mixers.

 

[retired baker]

But some of those commercial mixers are so ridiculously Over priced. I'm still new to commercial mixers though But I DO know that they are more durable than regular stand mixers.

Commercial mixers are money makers, certain to work all day for decades.
I bought a hobart 60 quart in 1984 for $4K, used it for 30 yrs and sold it for $2K .
They retain value because they rarely wear out in normal heavy use.

 

[Linus]

People usually have them rebuilt when they start to show signs of trouble, then one's mind has to be made up as to whether they want it fixed or get a new one, but yes, they DO last for a very long time.

Actually ANYTHING that's commercially made lasts a long time. Longer than a new car.