Author: Maurice Savaryego, M.Sc.Eng. (Learn More)
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Comparing the Selected Vitamix and Blendtec Blenders
Table Notes 1-6 Explained:
Note 1:
The Blendtec Total Blender can accommodate both Blendtec's WildSide and FourSide jugs. While the FourSide jug has four sides as described by its name, the WildSide jug has a wide base and a narrow fifth side, or “wild” side, that changes the angle of the blending vortex. As a result, frozen ingredients are far less likely to form a cave above the blade. This makes the WildSide jug great for large, cold recipes as well as more specialized blends, like bread dough. Both types of Blendtec jugs are offered below in the Amazon products section.
Note 2:
Pre-programmed blend cycles are carefully designed and selected to produce optimum results for a wide range of blending tasks.
The following pre-programmed selections are available on the two blenders considered here:
Vitamix:
- Smoothies
- Hot Soups
- Frozen Desserts
- Purées
- Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt
- Milkshakes
- Soups/Syrups/Fondues
- Batters/Sauces/Dips/Dressings
- Whole Juice
- Smoothie
Note 3:
When none of the pre-programmed settings are used, both blenders allow manual selection of the blending speed. This is achieved using either a dial (as in the case of Vitamix), or buttons (as in the case of Blendtec) from their respective control panels.
Note 4:
On Blendtec Total Blender, the illuminated LCD timer displays the remaining blending time when a pre-programmed cycle is selected.
Note 5:
Though Blendtec Total Blender does not have an explicit auto-clean mode, cleaning it is very easy. It is recommended to put a drop of liquid soap and some water into the jug, pulse it and then rinse.
Note 6:
The temper allows you to accelerate the process of very thick and/or frozen mixtures that cannot be processed in a regular blender. Using the tamper maintains circulation by preventing air pockets from forming.
In the following sections below, we will describe each blender in more detail.
If you're in a hurry and wish to see Amazon product and price information for the selected blenders, please click the following link:
Selected High-Powered Multi-Function Blenders on Amazon
Vitamix 750 Professional Blender
The blender is equipped with 5 pre-programmed settings, 4 of which are for preparing recipes while the 5th is for automatic cleanup. There are also explicit On/Off and Start/Stop switches, a variable speed dial and a pulse switch.
The 4 pre-programmed recipe settings are for smoothies, hot soups, frozen desserts and purées .
To operate all you need to do is turn on the machine, select either a pre-programmed setting or a particular speed from the variable speed dial, and press on the Start button.
- The 4 pre-programmed recipe settings automatically handle smoothies, hot soups, frozen desserts and purées with consistent results. The responsive controls let you adjust the texture of every blend. Programs can be interrupted by pushing down the start/stop switch at any time. If reactivated by pushing down the Start/Stop switch, the program will start at the beginning.
- The self-cleaning setting, when used together with a drop of dish soap and warm water, will make the machine clean itself in less than a minute.
- Pressing down on the pulse switch will cause the machine to blend at the speed setting shown on speed dial for as long as the pulse switch is held down. The pulse function can also be used when one of the pre-programmed settings is selected. Pushing down the pulse switch when a program is selected will cause the machine to run at 50% higher power for as long as the pulse switch is pushed down. Finally, note that a temper that allows accelerating the blending process of thick and frozen ingredients is also included.
Blendtec TB 621-20 Total Blender
(Photo credits:Blendtec)
Equipped with a 3hp motor, it's the most powerful blender available for home use, and together with the ultra-hard stainless steel blades that are cold-forged and tuned for heavy use, the machine can easily blend the toughest ingredients. Note that the blades have Blendtec's patented vertical wingtips and precision angles which are engineered for ultimate efficiency.
The Blendtec Total Blender can accommodate both Blendtec's WildSide and FourSide jugs. While the FourSide jug has four sides as its name says, the WildSide jug has a wide base and a narrow fifth side, or “wild” side, that changes the angle of the blending vortex. As a result, frozen ingredients are far less likely to form a cave above the blade. This makes the WildSide jug great for large, cold recipes as well as more specialized blends, like bread dough. Note that Blendtec Total Blenders with both types of jugs can be found in the Amazon products section below.
The control panel is equipped with six touch-pad buttons to invoke six pre-programmed settings that activate blending cycles to handle automatically smoothies, fresh juice, ice cream, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, soups, sauces, batters, dips, salsas and more. There is also pulse button and two speed control buttons.
- When a pre-programmed setting is selected, the machine will run the corresponding blending cycle and automatically shut off. You can also stop the blender before it has completed its programmed cycle by pressing any lower row button. Note that the machine has a status display screen that shows the remaining time when a pre-programmed cycle is selected.
- The speed buttons allow you to manually control the blender and choose any of the available 10 speed settings. Once you select a speed, the blender will begin to run at the selected speed, and then shut off automatically after 50 seconds. You can also stop the cycle before the 50 seconds by pressing any button on the lower row. Note that unlike the Vitamix, this machine does not have explicit Start/Stop buttons.
- The pulse button is used when you want to chop, mince, whip, or do other momentary tasks which do not require a long blend cycle. When the pulse button is pushed, the motor will run only while the button is held down. As soon as the button is released the motor will shut off.
So, which of these two high-powered blenders to buy?
However, there are a few points that you may want to consider before making up your mind:
- First, note that Blendtec Total Blender provides more pre-programmed selections. For instance, the Blendtec machine has separate pre-programmed selections for Milkshakes and Smoothies, while the Vitamix machine has a selection for Smoothies, but none for Milkshakes. Clearly, that doesn't mean that you will not be able to prepare a milkshake using the Vitamix machine. It simply means that, with Blendtec Total Blender, you will be able to prepare the "perfect" milkshake with less experimenting or guess work. Note also that though Blendtec Total Blender is smaller than the Vitamix, it has a more powerful motor at 3.0 hp.
- The Vitamix machine come with a temper that allows acceleration of the blending process of very thick and/or frozen mixtures.
- Finally note that Vitamix offers a 7-year warranty, while Blendtec provides a 3-year warranty.
Compared Vitamix and Blendtec Blenders on Amazon
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