So-so construction quality

After reading the other review, I thought I should share my darker experiences with you...

I and a friend bought a pair of this blender for ourselves, interested in the opportunity it gave with it's higher power output to blend fruits and vegetables without heat that might destroy the nutrients.

One unit was perfect, minus a scratch on the face of the aluminum base, but the second unit (the one I got...) was a different story.

As soon as I took it out of the box, I turned the rubber coupling on the top of the motor base. It seemed to only move a bit each way. I didn't know if that was normal but after I plugged it in and turned it on, I soon found it wasn't. It made a huge amount of clanging noise and I found that a metal plate on the bottom of the motor had collided with the sensor that reads the rpm. A small dent in the leading edges of the open portions of the plate was the only apparent damage besides having to bend the sensor arm so that it no longer got in the way of the spinning plate.

Now, when I ran the unit (with and without water in the jug) I found that any speed over half caused it to generate a lot of noise (far more than the other unit I had around to compare it to) and at near full speed, it vibrated so bad that I was frighted of it coming apart! The fact that it was moving around on the counter all by itself (even with rubber feet) didn't help.

To keep it short, I sent it back for a replacement and when the new one arrived, I took it out of the box and manually spun the coupling again to make sure there was no problem. I had marked with a grease pencil inside the housing of the last one to ensure I didn't get the same one back. The coupling had exactly the same problem as the previous one! I opened up the bottom and saw where the metal plate was coming in contact with a screw that held the sensor on it's metal arm. What's the chance of that happening again?! So, I bent it carefully so the arm was no longer in position to be hit and turned it on. Although it no longer moves around on it's own, it does make more noise than the other unit.

Also, the motor groans while you turn the knob up from minimum until it starts to move (nothing attached so no resistance is on the motor). Both this and the bad unit (or should I say the 'other' bad unit) had this same problem. You could turn the knob 90 degrees before the motor would begin to turn. The 'perfect' unit did not have this problem.

Hence, although I can say that it is a strong motor and handles ice much better than the Oster unit I've used 3 times a day for the last 5 or so years, it remains to be seen if it lasts that long. I would say that one bad unit does not spoil the entire product line, but 2 in a row? They were brand new units.

You cannot remove the blade base (except for replacement) so cleaning has to be done from the top. Although it usually isn't a problem by blending some hot water and soap, I have had some material lodged in the small depression around the edge of the polycarbonate base and the metal blade unit that was a bugger to get at!