When Stand Mixers Fail On The Battlefield Of Cooking

There's nothing worse than getting knee-deep into mixing dough for a cake, some bread or fresh pastas and seeing your mixer grind to a halt. The problem could be in the motor, the electrical circuit or even the mixing extensions in particular. Before throwing the entire stand mixer into the garbage and buying a new one, consider a few inspection and troubleshooting points that could restore the mixer to its former glory.

Start With The Attachments

Every attachment has a set of specific qualities for stirring, mixing or grinding certain materials. For a skilled warrior of the cooking arts, there are many different ways to creatively use these attachments. Unfortunately, disaster may strike while getting a little too creative.

The specific mixing materials may be too tough for the attachment in use. It may seem fine at first, but you could be gradually breaking the fastening clamp that holds the attachment in place or grinding away at the built-in lock notches for the attachment.

When either component wears away, your attachment can slip and slide when met with the resistance from whatever you're trying to mix. The attachment may turn slower than planned and yield an inferior mix, or it may stop turning at all if the bad habit continues.

Carefully inspect the inside of the attachment port on your mixer. Look for any broken materials and try to use other attachments. You may need to order the specific port part from your stand mixer's manufacturer if the poor performance continues with all attachments.

If the attachment itself is worn out, get a new one. You may still want to be careful with the attachment port, as it likely suffered some damage as well.

What Could Kill The Motor?

If you're mixing materials that are just too thick for the mixer, the mixer's motor may have to work harder than normal. The increase in heat and the wear and tear on the motor's moving parts can eventually cause it to burn out. Such failures often require a complete replacement of the motor.

Heavy resistance isn't the only possible problem. If the motor casing is exposed, due to cracking open after being dropped or due to manufacturer error, liquid from mixing could get inside the motor and start an electrical failure.

In either case, contact the manufacturer. You either have a case for buying a new motor or having a new mixer shipped under warranty. If you're having problems with the warranty and need a repair professional to troubleshoot or install in a difficult situation, contact an appliance repair professional like Appliance Doctor.