As I mentioned, the head can also loosen if you are mixing a large amount of tough materials, such as ground sausage. I eventually fixed this head loosening problem by taking the mixer apart, and replacing the philips cross head screws with allen head hex screws and lock washers and bolting it town more securely.
I have also performed lash adjustments on the motor positioning after a year of use to make the motor less grindy sounding. This worked well, and I found that this mixer does have a strong metal gear set in it to which I applied fresh lithium grease.
I'm not giving this mixer a 5 star review because it isn't a Hobart mixer, but for the price this mixer is awesome, strong, and repairable. There are no weak parts inside it, so it is possible to adjust and repair this mixer. The strength of this mixer is in its construction, and as I said, I was able to repair it myself when it needed help. This is a telling quality. None of the parts have ever broken, and the over heating protection has prevented the mixer from destroying itself when I've set it on a task too difficult.
The issues with the head and gear set that I've mentioned are not detractors in my opinion, because I drive my mixer beyond normal use patterns, and I wouldn't expect a mixer which is less than 0.00 to perform in the role of an industrial strength product. I am very pleased that this mixer can perform at that level, even if it does need minor tweaking at times.
I do have the sausage making attachment, and I'm very pleased with it. It paid for itself the first time out of the box when I made 40lb's of sausage in an afternoon using chicken, beef, and pork.
Best gift ever - L. Messerly - Enterprise, UT USA
I gave this mixer to my daughter for her birthday. She is a young mother of two attending college; so as you can imagine she is very busy. She told me this is the best gift she has ever received. She is a very good cook and loves to make meals for her family. This mixer has cut her meal preparation time way down. She can now dedicate more of her precious time to her family instead of the kitchen. She really likes this mixer.
What's on the inside - I just did a complete rebuild - JG - FL, USA
Hello everyone. I purchased this mixer just a few years ago, and I just had to do a COMPLETE tear down and rebuild. Yes, it has all metal gears and metal bearings inside. Unfortunately, it also had (repeat HAD) a plastic housing holding all of that metal gearing in place. Yikes. Bad. When I got a little aggressive with the grinder attachment, the 475 watt motor was strong enough to destroy three steel gears and the plastic gear housing that once held it all in place. Fortunately, the mixer is VERY easy to dissasemble and repair, although it took me four evenings of work to assess the damage, clean, and reassemble. I have replaced ALL the gears and bearings with newer versions that you can find online. All the parts I ordered were very reasonably priced ( - ), labelled made in the USA, genuine Whirlpool, and many appear to be upgraded, ESPECIALLY the all metal gear housing complete with cooling fins. Awesome. Total price to replace all of the gears and bearings, including the whole planetary assembly was 0.00. That's much less than a new one, and I have all the latest improved parts. This time I know it is done right. I was VERY disappointed to find upon dissasembly that NO grease had been placed in the top bearing. It was running dry since the day it was new, and it was scored. Due to poor lubrication, all the other bearings had worn, and the gears were meshing loosely. The orbital planetary assembly also had no grease in its sleeve where the beater attaches, and the sleeve bearing and was worn. A lot of the grease in the plastic gear housing was hardened and not doing its job any more. Dissasembly was very disappointing. I say SHAME on KitchenAid for advertising it as all metal gearing and then not lubricating those bearings and then using a plastic housing to hold it all in place. The new parts and the overhauled mixer are very pleasing. I now own the best. Tips: Parts and diagrams are available online. Shop for low parts prices, which vary by 500%. You will need a special pin-spanning tool two remove two very strong "c" clips and I recommend a square-point drive screwdriver. Special grease that is USDA approved "H-1" for food preparation use is available online or locally. I bought Super Lube brand at my local hardware store for a few bucks. Be sure to remove ALL of the old grease. ALL of it. Lubricate every bearing twice during assembly to make sure it has grease completely coating the inside of the bearing. If you buy a new planetary assembly, (why not do it all at once so you never have to do it again) take the "c" clip off and grease the beater drive shaft. The bottom bearing for the main shaft is pressed into the mixer housing, but it can be pulled out gently with a large pair of pliers. The new bottom bearing should be very gently tapped into place with a hammer - I padded my hammer with about 10 layers of paper tape to protect the bearing - go slowly and gently. It went right in. The motor still is very loud, with a high pitched whine, but it always has been that way and it is 475 watts, so I expect some noise. Do yourself a favor - do a little research, find the new parts, get the "c" clip tool, and rebuild yours with all the new parts. Then and only then can I recommend this mixer.
More Than Just a Pretty Face - B. Smith - Houston, TX, USA
I am very happy with my Empire Red HD 5-Quart KitchenAid Mixer. It is one of the only a couple of appliances that my wife allows to be on the counter all the time. I have made cheesecake and sticky buns. It has worked flawlessly. Many people have remarked that the handle that lifts the bowl is inconvenient, but I have not had much trouble adding ingredients whether the bowl is up or bringing the bowl down.
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