"Tech Tips" Posts

Compatible Bowls and Accessories

Here are lists of compatible bowls and accessories (beater/dough hook/whip), grouped by model type. Model number designations refer to the label underneath the base of the mixer. These lists are formatted as tables; the left column is the item number, which you can use for a web search. Where to buy: most items with retail part numbers (beginning with “K” or a number) can be found by searching on KitchenAid’s web site. Other good places to look are Seneca River…    more →Compatible Bowls and Accessories

“Pro” Series Clean and Re-grease parts

This applies to all “Professional” and UK “Pro Line” bowl-lift mixers (“Professional 5 HD”, “Professional 5 Plus”, “Professional 6”, and “Professional 600” in the US, “Pro Line” and “Artisan” in the UK) and the Accolade 400. The series model numbers for these machines begin with KG25, KV25, KB26, KD26, KP26, KL26, and KN15. (This list is inclusive but not comprehensive. KitchenAid has a lot of different model numbers for what is essentially the same mixer inside.) If you are going to DIY this job,…    more →“Pro” Series Clean and Re-grease parts

K45/K5 Clean and Re-grease Parts

This page contains resources useful for anyone who is preparing to do maintenance or overhaul on any full-sized tilt-head or bowl-lift model which has a round rear cover secured at the top with a screw. Models included: the original Model “K”, K4-B, K45, K45SS, “Classic”, “Classic Plus”, “Artisan”, “Ultra Power”, and all similar machines except the Accolade and Artisan Mini; as well as the older bowl-lift machines in the K5 series: K5A, K4SS, K5SS, KSM5, KPM5, KSM50, KSMC50S, KSM450, KSM500 and all similar. Note…    more →K45/K5 Clean and Re-grease Parts

Plastic Mythology

There’s a popular claim that modern KitchenAid mixers are specifically inferior to vintage ones because their “gears are made of plastic” (or a similarly phrased complaint). This is a category error, in two ways. First: all of the gears in full-sized tilt-head KitchenAid mixers, from a 60s-era K45, the 90s KSM90 “Ultra Power” or the modern KSM150 Artisan (and all the variants in between, but not the Artisan Mini or Accolade), are the same. This is also the same gearing…    more →Plastic Mythology

It’s Never The Motor Brushes

So, in “Hard Luck Cases“, I mentioned learning a valuable lesson. When I got the mixer on the bench, I didn’t even plug it in to see if it ran. Once I saw its overall condition, with the corroded power cord, crud, and all the rest, I just started right in on disassembling it. As a result, I had no idea whether it actually ran. The first thing I did was remove the motor brushes. There was no particular reason…    more →It’s Never The Motor Brushes

Care Tips for Bowl-Lift Mixers

A customized KitchenAid KM25 bowl-lift mixer, powder coated in Illusion Cherry Red.

Here are some tips to help keep your bowl-lift KitchenAid mixer in dependable working order. Keep it Clean After each use, unplug the mixer. Then clean it thoroughly using only a soft damp (not wet) cloth and very light pressure. If there’s anything sticky that won’t wipe off easily, you can use a little dish soap on a damp sponge, but take care to keep water out of the mixer, especially around the lever slots. Clean everywhere, including the back…    more →Care Tips for Bowl-Lift Mixers