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A Few Solutions to Common Smoothie Blender Problems December 10 2015

I could be talking about healthy foods this time. But what our business is really about is healthy equipment so you can blend up your healthy foods. You have already a great blender, either that being a Blendtec, Vita Mix, Waring, or an Omni blender.

Blenders don’t easily break, but the blades and jars wear out. Sometimes blades wear quicker. So let’s go over a few things to help you extend the life of your blender blades and jars, regardless of what brand of a blender you have.

Problems and solutions (most common) that could arise during blending:

  1. Blade bearings (and bushings) can seize up - Rinse and dry by hand only
  2. Jars can crack - Keep bottom plate tightened
  3. If you blend heavy low-water-content ingredients (puree) you can get temporarily stuck or have a little delay getting the vortex / swirling of the smoothie miracle going - Use a tamper or when blending smoothies, make sure the solids to water ratio is right for the vortex

Problem 1: When you over-expose a blade bearing of your blender jar to water too much, water getsseized up blade assembly into the blade assembly housing and will wash out grease. You will see rust powder coming out on the bottom end of the blade assembly at the gear seal. This leads to damage to the bearings which then will not turn smoothly anymore. Bearings are getting hot already when they are in good condition. They become much louder and hotter when there is more friction due to bad bearings. This will lead to oil exit on the bottom outside of the where the gear sticks out of the blender container. When the blade seizes it can also transfer energy to the drive socket and snap it or strip it (Drive socket is on the blender motor).

With the Blendtec blender jars (Wildside, Fourside, Twister), as the picture above left indicates, the the Real Rebel Jar by Alterna Jars for Blendtec with replaceable sharp bladesblades are permanent fix installed. If that breaks, you cannot just change the blade assembly, but you have to change the entire jar. There is a big advantage if you have a jar with a removable blade assembly because you just change the blade – see to the right – if you run into a problem. That said, there are in both cases preventative solutions that can help you preserve the blade assembly bearing and help you get more usage out of it

Solution 1: Always wash or rinse the blender jar by hand and then dry by hand to limit water exposure. For additional sanitizing, use a non-caustic water-diluted spray on sanitizing solution to briefly apply to the inside of the jar. Don’t leave jar in sink with water puddle or wash in dishwasher. If your blade has seized up, or shows signs of seizing (roughness of turning, noisier blending, smoke / smell), replace the blade right away to prevent further damage to the driver socket.

Problem 2: Jars, if they do crack, they mostly crack on the very bottom around the hole where the damage to bottom of hole in blender jar where the blade assembly is insertedblade assemcrack in blender jar bottombly inserted into the jar. This occurs mostly when the blade assembly is starting to seize up or has already seized and you keep blending with it and in addition the bottom plate may not be completely tight, or tight enough.

tamper in wildside Blendtec jarSolution 2: Make sure the blade assembly works well and there is no rust around the gear. If there is and/or you experience leakage on the bottom, immediately remove the blade assembly and inspect the jar and the blade. Replace the blade if the jar is still good. Or else replace the whole jar with blade. We do have new better working blending jars with sharp efficient advanced blending knives. Frequently check the bottom plate to see if you can manage turning it clockwise to tighten it, to make sure it stays tightened.

Universal Tamper fits inside multiple blender jarsProblem / Solution 3: Simple, if you get stuck or your blender has a hard time getting the ingredients blended or started up, either add more liquid, or if liquid is not part of your recipe, use a tamper stick specifically designed for the use with your blender jar. In our case, we have a Universmultiple blenders with alterna jars and universal tamperal Tamper that can be adjusted to work with any blender jar, from Blendtec to Waring or Hamilton Beach. Make sure you use the tamper to push down on ingredients with the flanges positioned correctly to avoid touching the blades and only inserting the tamper through the lid hole with the cap removed, the lid on the jar, of course.

If your Universal tamper accidentally touches the blade knives during blending, this is not a serious problem for the tamper. The material is a food grade FDA approved material, but it is not edible. You will lose your smoothie. But you can save the tamper with sand paper and/or a saw. The Universal Tamper is solid.

If the flangOmni and Waring blender with Alterna Jar and universal tamperes come apart, use tape to secure the flanges. If you use a wooden tamper it will splinter into oblivion unfortunately and if you use a tamper made with injection molding plastic, it will break and not be usable anymore. If you do not have a tamper, I suggest you get one, even if think you never need one or needed one before. It takes only one time of difficult blending when you lose your hand or your fork. Never insert a fork, knife, or spoon into your blender jar during blending to push down on ingredients.

Even blenders made to work well without the use of a tamper need a push every now and then. And if you have a blender from a factory that recommends regular usage of a tamper to eliminate their air pocket, you will find,Vita Mix and Blendtec Blenders with Alterna Jars and broken container with the right solid – to – liquid ratio, you do not need to use the tamper.

Please check out our new Alterna Jars, sharp blades, advanced finer better smoother blending, interchangeable between Blendtec – Vita Mix – Waring – Omni, etc… blending volume of 80 ounces. Now available with a $10 OFF discount. Use Coupon code $10AlternaOFF (use with purchase $80 and up – good till supply lasts and/or subject to be discontinued without notice)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by phone 801-623-3225 or by email customerservice@alternajar.com.

 

Thomas Fox

www.alternajar.com

801-623-3225


Logic behind Sharp versus Dull Knives in Blenders November 25 2015

Blendtec wants to do everything in opposite Vita Mix does. Vita Mix blenders turn counterclockwise, so Blendtec motors turn clockwise. Vita Mix uses, even promotes, the safe use of air pocket eliminating blending accelerator tools (aka plunger or tamper). So Blendtec's Tom Dickson calls them silly (on Youtube), and in opposition promotes a blender and jars (especially the Twister) that do not need apparently a tamper "plunger". Vitamix has sharp blades, so Blendtec professes blades blend better when they are dull.

Really?

Sharp knives really cut better. Have you ever cut yourself on a dull blade edge? Can you cut an apple better with a dull or a sharp knife? Is a Samurai Sword dull or sharp? Is a circular saw blade dull or sharp? Do you know what happens when a circular saw blade is dull and you cut yourself? It pulls in your whole limb and rips it off instead of just a nice clean straight cut. Do you know what happens to wood when you cut with a dull blade? It is ripped to pieces with an ugly looking finish edge and splinters flying.

Get the point?

Sharp is definitely better:

A sharp knife in a blade assembly inside a blender jar cuts ingredients much finer and smoother. Blending goes faster, it is faster better tasting too. No logic question about sharp, just like with the logic behind that a blender apparently never needs a plunger tamper ("Blendtec friends"), while we sell a ton of tampers for Blendtec Wildside and even for the use with the famous Twister jar. Why would consumers buy tampers if they are not needed?

No need to be all about Rebel. By the way the Rebel Jar is a jar made by Blendtec to fit onto thethe Real Rebel Jar by Alterna Jars for Blendtec with replaceable sharp blades Vitamix blender, an idea taken from 123Vita LLC in 2010, really nothing so rebel about when a company like Blendtec actually just rebels against common sense and all logic.

Blendtec makes good Blenders. The fight against everything that Vitamix does is childish. We make the real Rebel Jar, the Alterna Jar with replaceable blade assembly and the knives are really sharp, as sharp as a Samurai Sword.

The same jar fits multiple blenders, like the Vita Mix, Omni blender, or the Waring MX series of blenders, and all Blendtec blenders of course. And we offer a tamper for those who blend puree and nut butters. It's common sense. When you need it you are glad you have it.

(C) 2015 - 2016 Thomas Fox / Alterna Jar LLC