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Clunky design in general. One lousy blender: The base leaks if not screwed on just right. As the leaks drip down the front of the blender, the buttons become inoperable.
i have very wide cups (3.75", I just measured) at the top, but with thick mixtures, the "pour width" is still too wide.Motor fan problem. it's better to use one of the corners, but even then, it's so wide that you'd better have a very wide cup. if you're blending something thick or icy, the blades like to push the mixture up and create a little air bubble down there, and the mixture doesn't get to sink back down. in the photo it looks like the base is very large, but it's not. about 30 uses later, in the middle of a party, I smelled something burning and the motor's RPM dropped and seemed to be having problems.
This is the basic test for blenders IMO. the oster definitely wasn't as good. maybe you'll have better luck. there is also a pulse button which allows you to pulse blend at the low or high speeds. I always use the Low setting.
pretty useful if instructions/recipes call for a specific duration.The Other:the handle is plastic, but I don't see why it would need to be any stronger. the bottom "clutch" piece as I hear it's called, sheared some of the plastic off the bottom. A way to work around this is to put all the liquids in first and then slowly add your solids or ice.Pour Spout - the top of the blender has a pour spout but it's pretty much useless for the things you'd be blending. Not with this cuisinart. but it worked. The Bad:It Broke - I trust the Cuisinart brand, so I bought this blender.
That oster I described earlier is terrible compared to this Cuisinart. The lid is thick but pliable rubber, seems like it will last a lifetime.Timer - the timer on the front shows you how long you've been blending in Min:Sec. Thankfully I had an old 70's era Oster blender and went back to that. there would always be at least one big chunk of ice bouncing around in the Oster which it could never get to. but i haven't heard it for a while now.The GoodTHE POWER - ice. The "blade assembly" on the bottom had seized.
There are only 3 speeds; low, high, and Ice Crush, which is a pulse setting only. all you have is fine snowflakes in your blender after a few seconds. the base seems solid, but not as heavy as it might look in the picture. Build Quality - it's almost all glass and steel. works fine for me. the top hole and plastic cover could seal together a bit better, but i haven't had any problems or have anything fly out yet.If it didn't have the blade assembly failures, I'd give this a 4/5 (5/5 for the price I paid).
I've never had to use Ice Crush in order to crush ice (which is involved in everything i make). Cuisinart claims to sell the blade assembly for $10. The other two buttons are On and Off. I'm not sure where the failure actually occurred (under/outside the jar or inside the jar near the blades) but some part of the blade assembly's axle broke. the pitcher is pretty heavy glass, it would work well as a defensive weapon. what ice.
I asked Cuisinart to send me a new blade assembly, and they did, but I had to pay to send the broken one back (less than $3 via USPS).Tapered Bottom - The bottom of the blender tapers too much, so that the blades sit in their little hole. - at the beginning, the motor would make some weird noises which seemed like the fan attachment on the bottom was coming loose.
You can see this film (I think of it as bacteria) but you can't get to it. The one that concerns me most is that the glass does not disconnect from the base for cleaning, therefore a residue is trapped beetween the two of them. Though this blender has a lot of power I have 2 concerns about it. There isn't a very good spout for pouring therefore you do have to improvise if you don't want the drink all over the counter.
I use mine for frozen daiquiris and the result is excellent, but slow.So in a nutshell: thorough; noisy; slow. If you are impatient, you will be frustrated by an incomplete job. The people who complained about difficulty pouring from the pitcher are correct, it can be messy. The blender is loud, but it does the job IF you allow it time to work.
No complaints. A very nice blender and it looks new. Very powerful, the price was good, and free shipping.
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