This lovely lady has been a true workhorse in my kitchen for about 22 years. Ok, I will admit that I have on occasion longed for one of the really cool stainless steel models.... but mine, well she's been faithful and I'm not ready to trade her in just yet. Several months ago I noticed my beater had become chipped. I ordered a new one and went about my business thinking all was fine. It seemed reasonable that after that many years the coating had just weakened.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my NEW beater already had a chip on it. WHAT THE HECK! My first thought was that they just don't make them like they used to but after some research I found that there are actually some adjustments you CAN and probably should make to your mixer. If yours has been around as long as mine then I would assume adjustments are possibly due.
Here is what I learned.... If your beater is chipped, it is probably sitting too low in the bowl. If you have a lot of batter that isn't getting mixed in the bowl, then your beater is probably sitting too high.
Raise the head of your mixer and notice the large screw. If you turn this screw slightly to the left it raises the beater and if you turn it slightly to the right it lowers. I was kind of unsure just how high it should be. I raised mine just high enough so that it didn't touch the bottom. After my adjustment I lowered the beater into the bowl, then I slid a piece of paper under the beater to make sure it wasn't touching the bowl.
Another problem I've been experiencing is that the head of the mixer bounces when I am working with a stiff dough. If you turn your machine over on it's side and look up under the head you will see a small screw which can be tightened to resolve this problem.
I was very happy at how easy it was to fix this lady right up. With a little love and care, who knows how long this baby will last!
On to some FUN news. I found out that I was made Spotlight Artist over at the Lia Stampz Blog for my SPOT OF TEA card. You can check it out on my October 14th Post HERE. Whoop Whoop!! Wow I feel so honored.
Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!!
I have had my kitchenaid mixer for 42 years. I have never had to adjust it, but this is good information to keep for future reference. I like you have eyed some of the newer models with the glass bowl! As long as mine works I will be loyal to it! LOL
ReplyDeleteMarie Ward