Built to last. 👍👍

Have had ours about 35 years, only part I’ve ever replaced was a small gear on the pasta maker. If there were a Hall of Fame for BIFL products, I’d definitely nominate KitchenAid

If you're handy at all you may consider opening that baby up to clean out the old gummed up gear lube / replace with some fresh lube.

Even if the machine isn't begging for it right now, it's totally worth the work if it hasn't been done in decades.

(Also you can typically order replacement hardware as needed - even for these older models)

lifthead > tilthead too.

Older KitchenAid and Sunbeam were bulletproof. I have a 50's KitchenAid mixer I bought for $20 and it's awesome.

How should I go about doing this without fucking up the mixer?

There are a surprising number of channels on YouTube that make quality, in-depth tutorials on most models. Give your particular model a quick Google.

Just keep in mind that you should order supplies (lube and any necessary tools prior to opening the machine up).

Also, once you open it - keep in mind it may stay open for a few weeks if you end up needing to order replacement gears / other parts.

Thank you!

I would also point out that if you don't feel comfortable doing the maintenance yourself, which is totally okay, there might be someone near you who services these mixers.

Tip for people wanting their own: You can find a good number of used KitchenAids on the new Goodwill website. It specifies if they are working or just for parts.

i am a huge fan of restoration and upkeep!! i'll look into this - wasn't sure what maintenance needed to be done! thank you!!

what's the difference? didn't even know there were different types!

My mom had one that lasted 60 years. It did finally die, but had had no maintenance.

Nice. I got a new one last year.wanna trade?

Modern domestic units use a 'tilt head' system, they still use lift head on commercial units.

Lift head: what you have, you lock the bowl in and pull a lever to lift it up to the mixer.

Tilt head: the mixer motor and head tilt backwards, allowing the bowl to be placed directly under it.

Tilt heads have some great advantages for the typical home user (lower centre of gravity requiring less ballast = lower overall weight, shorter height to fit under cabinets, and less chance of catching fingers. But one big disadvantage - the whole force of the beater is held by that tilt hinge. So especially if you make a lot of bread or other tough mixes you can put a lot of wear on the hinge. For the majority of home bakers a tilt head is plenty good enough and probably worth the trade off, but if you make brioche twice a week then just be aware you may need to replace the hinges earlier than maybe you would need to otherwise.

It doesn't affect things like the meat grinder or other PTO attachments, because the engine isn't fighting the bowl.

Our two year old new one looks identical to this one lol that's like trading 5 pennies for a nickel

thank you for this, this is very insightful, exactly what i needed. more than likely won't be making brioche twice a week, but i enjoy knowing the pros and cons!! thanks!

No worries! You have a lift head anyway, so you're only missing out on the lighter weight and more compact form - you can make brioche as much as you like without worrying 😆

Those are the best ones. Built to last.

I have this exact model. Found it in a thrift store about 15 years ago for 50 bucks. At this point, it needs new grease. It's been leaking grease out of the motor when I use it but works fine otherwise.

I have found YouTube videos on how to take it apart and apply new grease but haven't gotten around to it.

I've done this multiple times. It fairly simple. I recommend ensuring you buy food grade grease in the event it ever leaks.

If you’re on TikTok, look up MrMixer. He repairs these for a living and sells kits with all the tools and grease you need. He also has tutorial videos

Do they still make them like they used to?

My daughters mother gifted me one for Christmas in '96 and it's in better shape today than I am.

No, Whirlpool ought out Kitchenaid in 1986 and cheapened the design. They work okay but nothing like the Hobart models.

Can confirm these things never die. My mother has been using one that her grandmother gave her in the 90s. I looked up the part number and manufacture date and it’s from the 60s.

Awesome mixer but the first thing I thought looking at the pic was that my butthole cat would do everything in his power to rip those cords down. Especially if it meant that something else got broken in the process.

If it ain't broke, dont fix it

This isn't a "fix" this is regular maintenance.

That's like saying "Don't brush your teeth - they're not actively falling out of your head so they must be fine."

The good ones were made by Hobart still, the new ones are terrible.

Well the insides of these older ones are better. They were made by Hobart, who still make commercial mixers to this day.

Main differences are in the gearing inside (metal on older vs plastic on newer ones). Newer ones will still likely last quite a long time, and the plastic gear is a wear part/sacrificial to prevent more expensive damage.

All the new attachments will fit it.

Ya my understanding is the plastic gear is really easy to replace so I'm not too worried. And Hobart? As in the welding company??

Nah, Hobart Manufacturing. They only make foodservice equipment AFAIK.

Wild, they have the same name as the welding company which is a subsidiary of a company that also makes food service equipment lmao

I just ordered that same model yesterday to replace the 20 year old slightly smaller version that’s still working but too small for family now.

> tHeY MADe iT NoT BIFl bEcAUSe oF THe MeTaL WoRm gear

If I were you I'd replace the metal with the plastic. The plastic is a controlled failure point that won't smoke the motor, like the metal one will. I'd recommend getting in there and cleaning and re-greasing the whole thing and replacing the worm gear while you're in there. It was a huge engineering improvement.

Unpopular opinion these last forever because people use them like 3 times and then leave them in a corner cabinet of their kitchen for decades.

Ty for this suggestion! (Not OP)

I just inherited a Ksm90 from my mother-in-law last week. First thing I did was buy some grease (food safe) and did a full service following these YouTube videos (there are 3 parts) ....

https://youtu.be/EW9BQ-oPFkk

Went off without a hitch and the unit runs silent and like new. My first loaf of bread on the other hand was of the vintage they must have stoned Jesus with.... Old yeast I think, but I'm going to keep trying.

Enjoy these machines are built to last with a little maintenance.

I have the same one! One of the best things I've ever bought myself!

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I have the same one! Though lately the motor sounds a bit sad when I try to make my bread in it.

*jealous

Replace the metal worm gear with the new plastic one, too. It'll fail 10x more often but when it fails only it fails. When the old metal one fails it'll take the whole machine with it. It's a great example of engineering resiliency into the product.

Edit: and the motor contacts. Those are wear parts.

I doubt it's regularmaintenance by the manual, it's most likely irregular maintenance because it's been in use for so long. I doubt that machine needs any regular maintenance apart from cleaning. Tbh if there's metal gears, they expected it to stay sealed for-life, kind of like how most manual car gearboxes have the same oil for the life of the car...

I mean, it's not bad to swap out the grease, but in most cases itwon't really make a difference if it's just a sealed metal reduction transmission.

I used the wrong term.

When I said "regular maintenance" I meant maintenance that should be considered "regular" or normal, after a decade or more of use... not the typical meaning of "regular maintenance" meaning frequently occurring out of necessity.

did you mean liftbowl > tilthead?

I'm no expert on kitchen appliances, and I expect they cheap out on everything as much as possible - but such a hinge could easily be made strong enough to outlast the motor or a gearbox. It's probably just made poorly.

I think linear sliding ways are harder to "control" how long they work - for hinges, there's a lot of standards to design them exactly as you want them to be.... Most applications for linear ways are more long lasting/permanent in general

They aren't as good as they used to be. I got through about three a year commercially. I will say you aren't supposed to use them commercially but still. Three a year.

Full disclosure - I have a tilt head and make three loaves of bread a week (and the occasional cake, but bread dough is where the wear and tear is) . I think it's completely adequate for the home baker.

It's not a direct comparison though - the motion of the mixer means it places lateral tension and 'wiggle' on the hinge, but it barely exerts any force downward. So objectively, a lift type is going to offer fewer opportunities for wear and fatigue. But it's a repairable part, and even if I have to replace a hinge twice in my lifetime (pessimistic) that's worth the saved effort of a taller, heavier, mixer.

If you run a professional bakery though obviously all that goes out the window.

I have this same one! I think I need to re-lube it though.

Definitely avoid anything built this century. They use plastic gears that strip out if too much torque is required (kneading dough, etc) compared to the metal gears used in the original model.

It’s an opinion, but not one supported by my experiences. We use the crap out of them. Burned through a couple new ones before we went on Craigslist about 10 years ago and tracked down an antique model.

We burned through a couple new models in a few years. Definitely not an improvement. Ponied up for an antique model and it’s been grinding through dough for a decade without complaint.

as long as we can all agree on the superiority of the lift. 🤣

I just picked one of these up on Craigslist yesterday. I saw the price and thought it was too good to be true but worth inquiring. Surprisingly not a scam. Sixty bucks, and it included the bowl and all 3 original attachments. I took off the trim pieces and gave it a thorough cleaning. Almost like new. Still can't believe my luck.

I'm impressed. When you say burned through though, how? What was the failure mode?

These last forever

Swapping out grease is important once mixers get old, the original grease is clay-based and it eventually separates. Oil drips out of the machine and the gear case is left with big masses of clay.

It's also not a very good idea to never change your transmission fluid

Personally, I think that older Whirlpool models are essentially the same as the Hobart models, I've taken both apart and (at least for this style) they are made the same way

Idk, I’d rather replace a plastic gear than a whole gearbox or motor

ty for this suggestion! (I am op)

lol we have cats and thankfully they do no rip those cords down. we rent the place and this was our only Ethernet option haha

Excellent, looks like the K5SS. I have a K5A myself - the newer SS's are somewhat easier to get parts for still. As others have mentioned it's not a bad idea to tear into it and replace the grease (and gasket). It's an afternoon job and will give that mixer a new lease on life for $20.

You'll also be able to get under the trim ring and seams where the castings meet and give it a very satisfying deep clean!

Buy two so when it does fail, you have a spare and can fix it immediately. Really sucks having it happen the night before thanksgiving without a spare.

That grease definitely is not designed to be "sealed for life", it lasts a while but you should replace it after 5 years of regular use or at worst 10 years of occasional use. I know some people who do it yearly.

It actually depends on which model you get, and the plastic one also has advantages (if it breaks, its a sub $10 part, if the metal gears go its basically junk). As far as i know, the lift bowl pro models have metal gears. (Also they started using nylon gears in the 70s, better off with 90s or newer as they reinforced with kevlar).

To bad the new ones are not this dependable.

I’ve never seen anyone use a different mixer in my whole life. My mom used this forever

I mean tell that to every professional kitchen that uses and abuses KitchenAids daily.

Is it just the photo, or does that back wall have quite a lean to it?

Mine is between 40-50 years old and still going strong. I keep it in a cupboard and am starting to think it’s getting too heavy for me.

Uh oh - which new ones? Just ordered 7580x

What models do you get? Just ordered 7580x and am curious.

you should tell our landlord

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These older models are collectible, they were made by Hobart and are sought after for their durability.

Pro 5 plus

Nice! We keep ours on the counter, tucked in a corner. It gets regular use for muffins and pancakes/waffles, so taking it in and out of a cupboard would be a hassle for us, too. Here’s to another 40 years!

Transmission fluid is for automatics, not manual gearboxes.

That’s not a bad thing at all. It makes sure that if you overload the mixer, it’s a small easy part to replace than an entire more. The older kitchenaids have a plastic fail gear too—I’ve replaced them.

The joy of baking :)

Cooking is jazz, feel free to change things up.

Baking is classical music, follow the notes or people are mad.

Do theirs last decades tho?

Ty for this info- not op but I have had the same mixer on my counter since the mid-80s.

Eh, mine is on the counter, in the corner, used fairly often. Not daily though.

My husband did that to ours today! It had developed a squeak after 15 years. Lots of cleaning and fresh food-safe oil later, it’ll be grand for another 15.

Rev-A-Shelf?

Check out his videos too. Seems like a nice guy. His house was destroyed by a tornado too. He has lots of interesting content.

There's definitely manual transmission fluid, it's much less specialized than ATF, but MTF certainly exists. Honda recommends changing it every 30-60k miles

Manual gearboxes in nearly all instances use SAE 90 api gl-5 or gl-4 oil. You don't need to ever swap it out.

ATF is something totally different.

They literally don't make them like that anymore. Like, literally, kitchenaid has gone down in quality significantly. Take good care of that baby, it will whip your egg whites for the rest of your life.

And what happens if you don't?

I bet the majority of these mixers never had it replaced.

The plate that holds the gear assembly (right above the bowl) should PROBABLY be replaced a lot of those had lead weights in them to act as a counterbalance for the spin but lead is kind of bad for you

Or get hungry whilst doing it

My wife wore out the motor in two of the 5qt 325w lift arm models made around 2000-ish. The first one stopped working a month after she got it. It’s replacement lasted 10 years or so until it stripped the nylon gear. I replaced the gear, but the motor just had no power after that and was unable to mix anything as stiff as cookie dough.

I see these recommended on BIFL fairly often. Are there heavier duty models available?

I don't think you're going to find many supporters of sealed transmissions and lifetime fluids in the buy it for life subreddit, it's not a very long term solution, and it certainly doesn't apply to every manual transmission

And I'm specifying ATF and MTF because I'm used to Hondas, and Honda has a specific Manual Transmission Fluid. I know that it's not the same thing as ATF and that not all manufacturers have a specific manual transmission fluid

That's just how it is, my 1997 Land Cruiser had the same fluid in the gearbox until ~300000km last year when I changed it the first time, which is beyond the mileage where most cars around here get discarded.

It does not make it any worse.

Like with this grease, some guy even said it should be swapped yearly. You're not doing anything good by that - if anything you're most likely to harm something like strip threads to some panel or whatever. Gears don't require a lot of lube anyway, it's probably more important for the bearings that drive them.

These kitchen aid mixers also probably use sealed bearings in the electric motor and most people don't think about repacking those with grease.

I have the same one. Going on 25 years now

You might want to look into a Bosch Universal Plus or Ankarsrum mixer, they're a style that's much more common in Europe, but they seem to be very robust. Hobart also makes a 5 quart mixer, the N50-60, but it's $3500 unless you find one used

The newer models (past years) are definitely not buy it for life. I was under the impression they were the best of the best for many years until I started working in logistics for a furniture store also selling kitchen aids. Working together close with customer service I was not only totally shocked about the amount of returns due to motor failures, broken pieces and even scratched paint right out of the box but also about their own terrible customer and repair services … awful. Took weeks to get them back and they have even mixed up machines, meaning the customer got back a different machine than we send in. Very disappointed and I personally wouldn‘t buy a new one.

I am too! In the '80s I bought a Sunbeam deep fryer from the '60s and had it re-wired & it's still going strong.

My Sunbeam Mixmaster from the '70s is still running great too. We discard things too readily.

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll check them out.

I have this exact mixer. It’s been going strong for over 30 years. It’s a champ!

KitchenAid seem great for replacement parts - will deffo be my next purchase when the old kMix burns out!

Have the exact same model. Bought in late 80's or early 90's. 4 loaves of bread at a time, but only partially mixed. Hand kneed to finish. Never the slightest complaint or repair. Have grinder and slicer attachments which are used regularly too.

I have my mother's old Kitchenaid mixer that dates back to the late 80s. It is a beast. Enjoy yours!

It’s a pretty simple task. We received a broken one that just needed a drive gear changed out (only needed one specialty tool). I cleaned and lubed while in there (no specialty tools needed). It was a 2-3 hour process. I could do it again in an hour.

Good stuff! Here’s to many more meals to come!

I came here to recommend mr mixer, you got that done before I could. Wealth of knowledge for these mixers and a good resource for literally everything you can imagine for them

Equipment failure? I've seen a number of these with blown motors, blown gears, etc. What the hell do you think the grease is for?

Keep your old kitchen aids, the newer ones past a certain point are cheap generic shit. Older ones hold up much longer than the new models.

So weird that you get downvoted for having a friendly conversation. For what it's worth, I appreciate your comment.

Appreciate you. Haters gonna hate