KitchenAid KFPW760

I bought the Kitchenaid FKP750 12 cup processor as a factory refurbished item. The machine arrived in the original packaging, clearly marked as a factory refurb. I unpacked it and found no damage,… cosmetic or otherwise, and would not have been able to tell that it was not a completely new product. I used the large bowl with a number of blades and it functioned perfectly in every case. I decieded to make some hummus in the small bowl, and ran into an issue. I dumped all the ingredients (including two whole cloves of garlic) into the bowl and turned the machine on. It seemed to be functioning correctly, but when I stopped to check, both garlic cloves were virtually untouched. I tried a couple of more times, with the same result. I noticed that there was a rather loud noise when the machine was running. On closer inspection, I found that the blade was not all the way down on the shaft. The noise was the bottom of the blade striking the top of the garlic cloves. I pushed the blade down and tried again. This time I saw that the blade quickly rose about 1/2" on the shaft; high enough that it wouldn't cut the garlic. Perplexed, I played with the blade to see if it would lock on the shaft, but it would not. I finally got the hummus made by running the machine and inserting a chop stick through the chute to push down on the top of the blade shaft. This brought the blade down to where it would chop the garlic. After I was finished, I cleaned the machine and looked at the design. In the main bowl, the blade will lock on the shaft, preventing it from rising when it's working. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the small bowl. There is no way to lock the small blade on the shaft, and it's free to float upward. This seems to be a design problem that could be fixed by Kitchenaid. It may be possible to fix this problem myself by twisting the blades slightly, so that they would act like a propeller and generate some downward thrust when turning. BTW, there was no leakage from the smaller bowl into the larger bowl. Others have said that leakage was a problem, but it wasn't for the hummus. Possibly it might happen with a less viscous liquid in the small bowl.

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I have never owned a processor before, and decided to do so because I want to make healthy meals quickly. I work full time, and have 2 young children. I truly love the ease of this machine KitchenAid… KFPW760WH 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, White, and it does almost all I hoped for: I make fresh, healthy meals in less than half the time I used to. I ordered 2 cook books to go with it, and am glad I did - The Food Processor Bible, and 125 Best Food Processor Recipes. I actually look forward to cooking, and my family and I are very pleased with the results. I decided on Kitchenaid as it consistently receives good reviews, and customer ratings. I have heard that their customer service is 2nd to none. It had all the features (and more) that I thought I would need. But as good as it is, there are a few improvements that could be made: * I agree with the other reviewers that the 3 bowl system is somewhat disappointing. It sounds great in theory: use the smaller bowl for small jobs, and save your self the work of dismantling and cleaning the large work bowl. Alas, whenever I use the small or medium sized bowls, the food creeps into the bowl(s) underneath and I have to clean them all. * The large bowl works with the large multi-purpose and the dough blade, and all disks, but the middle bowl only works with the disks. The smallest bowl can only be used with the smallest multi-purpose blade. So, this system is not as interchangable as you might think. * The 4mm shredding blade is a disappointment to me. The shreds are too fine, and stringy. My cheese ends up clumping together, and shredded carrots for a salad do the same. I want to be able to shred cheese so it resembles the bags of shredded cheese that I normally buy. * The included 2mm and 4mm discs are good and work extremely well. But for apple slices for pies, even 4mm slices are too thin, at least in my book. So - in order to get a 6mm shredding disk, and the 6mm slicing disk, I ended up ordering KitchenAid KFP7DS Food Processor Disc Set, Includes: french fry, julienne, parmesan/ice grating, 6mm, which was the most economical. I found them on Amazon.com for $68, which is a bargain when they can go for up to $100. But this really added to the expense of owning a processor. Other processors have disks that do double duty: one side does one thing, and if you flip the disk over it does something else. I think Kitchenaid could improve on what it already a really great product if they would have the 3 disks that come with the processor do more than one thing each. * Yes - the "wide mouth" feed tube is limiting - you do have to cut the food down so it does not come up above the halfway point on the tube. I know this is a safety feature, but it does make for more prep before you use the processor. And I haven't made french fries yet, but other reviewers have said they come out really short because of the way the feed tube works. I know this sounds like a lot of issues, but really, I am very pleased with my purchase. This is a solid and well-made machine, and even if with the drawbacks I've mentioned, I am not sorry I bought it as opposed to one by another manufacturer. I did look at Cuisinart pretty closely, but everything I've read on them says the machine is not as well made as in years past, and their customer service is lousy. Even buying the extra blades was worth it: I use KitchenAid KFPW760WH 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, White most daily, so in the long run I am really getting my money's worth.

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