Cuisinart CBT-500 SmartPower 600-Watt Premier Power Blender, Brushed Stainless
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart CBT-500 SmartPower 600-Watt Premier Power Blender, Brushed Stainless
Customer Review: Horrible Quality for long term
Summary: 1 Stars
I've had this blender now for a few years, excited over the product name Cuisinart, I felt confident in its durability and longevity. Despite the name, however, I am very disappointed with the quality of this product. I thought it might be helpful to review this blender after some years of use so others can see the true quality of this blender in the long run. Here are three main setbacks I've found with this model;
1. I've used this blender infrequently, made smoothies and noticed a degree of difficulty to actually blend ice smoothly. I would get the rogue chunk here and there when I took a sip of my drink which I thought was really unpleasant considering that smoothies are supposed to be "smooth". I would have to open up the top and mix with a long spoon to try to get the top half ingredients blended with the bottom half as well.
2. Of course as others have noted, this blender is very loud. I'm a runner, so I wake up pretty early in the morning before a run but I can't go without making a protein shake. Having a little one at home prevented me (most mornings) from using this blender, so as not to wake her up. I don't expect a blender to be quiet either, but this was pretty loud. Sadly, I'd settle for just the protein powder hand shaker (and if you know what that is, you know the bits of powder chunks are not fun to drink).
3. Third, and last for me is the quality of this model. As noted in #1, I used this blender infrequently, kept it in good condition and yet, despite all that it started to have the burning smell I noticed others have commented on as well. I opened up the blender to see what was preventing the rotating device from running smoothly and concluded that it was the hexagonal nut that mounts the blades to the attachment that connects with the base of the blender. I believe that through time, the blades and the nut tighten itself to the point that rotating the blade (when sitting atop the base) was next to impossible, hence the burning smell.
I am going to contact Cuisinart regarding this matter and will update this review and how to resolve this issue. The number for Cuisinart in the US is 1-800-726-0190
Customer Review: took it back after 3 uses
Summary: 2 Stars
My main purpose in purchasing a new blender was to make fruit smoothies. Your uses may vary, but this is the only real thing I did with the blender for the short time I owned it, as it is a primary requirement for me. My current blender gets clogged and just doesn't have the power to blend the frozen fruit without me having to put too much OJ in it.
Things I didn't like about the blender:
1) The jar design and blades are not any better than my 10 year old Osterizer, yet this blender cost twice as much. The mixture quickly stuck to the sides, and didn't even make it down to the blades.
2) As others have said, the motor is quite loud, but I didn't use it enough for the new motor (aka burning) smell to go away. This smell seems to be pretty typical of most new blenders.
3) Why have a nice glass jar, nickel base, but then a cheap plastic handle? Not to mention the collar around the base of the jar is actually plastic painted to look like nickel.
4) The blender does stay in place while blending, but it's very heavy, large, and cumbersome to use.
5) Lack of enough blend settings, controls are more difficult to use than they should be. There's only a few blend settings, the osterizer I had came with 16. This wouldn't be a problem if there were automatic settings, or the ones that were there actually worked. I don't remember the actual details, but I do remember having to push the power button, select the setting, and who knows what else to star the thing. Why not just push the setting I want and have it start blending immediately?
The main reason I'm giving this blender 2 stars is because you can get the same thing for $20 at Target with a cheap Osterizer, instead of paying $100 for this thing (I bought mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a quicker, easier return). That, and as I've already mentioned, my 10 year old Osterizer does a better job for my purposes.
I ended up returning this blender and stepping up to the Breville Ikon 600- I'll write a review on the respective product page, but I'll just mention that even after first use of the Breville, I'm much happier.
Customer Review: Don't put it in the freezer and the blade assembly won't break
Summary: 5 Stars
Enough said.
DON'T PUT A FROZEN JAR ON THE BASE AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO REPLACE THE BLADE ASSEMBLY. I am sure the owners manual says that someplace.
My Kitchen Aid became unusable because replacement blades were not available 16 months after I purchased it. Aren't you glad you could purchase the replacement part?
My story: My son put his leftover smoothie into the freezer, jar and all. The next day when he took the jar out of the freezer and put it on the Kitchen Aid blender, the motor broke the blade assembly. The motor base was still good and I liked the blender. Kitchen Aid changed their model and didn't make replacement parts. I think it is unreasonable for a manufacturer to not have replacement parts available after just 16 months. (...)!
I can't say enough good things about the quality and ease of use of my Cuisinart blender. The jar's shape helps the food move and mix better than a round jar. The jar's size is larger than any I have found. I pour from the corner of the jar if the mix is too thick to pour from the spout (which I concede is a little wide). The weight keeps the blender in place. The shipping weight is around 15 LBS is that too heavy? Maybe you should skip the smoothies and switch to a muscle building drink. Most every quality blender has weight to it. The plastic units are light and considered disposable. Keep buying those $30 disposable blenders if you want, however I'll keep my Cuisinart!
The three year warranty and Cuisinart's backing keep us, the consumer, in parts when we do something stupid (like putting the frozen smoothie mix on the blender and breaking the blade assembly). (...) replacement blade assembly is cheaper than being FORCED to purchase a new blender (Kitchen Aid).
Buy the Cuisinart a great value for a quality product.
Customer Review: Heavy Duty & Heavy
Summary: 5 Stars
I was skeptical when I purchased this blender after reading the other 35 reviews here at Amazon. I picked this up at a local retail shop because I had a gift card which made this blender only $52 ($102 normal retail price). Got home, plugged it in, and made my first frozen berry smoothie.
I smelled the same "burning rubber" smell that others have commented on and having worked in construction for a couple years can say that is the smell of a powerful electric motor. I smelled the same thing using electric drills. This is a 600 watt motor... not the cheap motor you get with a $35 blender.
The blender is heavy. The glass jar is thick and heavy as well. I'm a guy so I don't mind the lifting of this weighty behemoth, but if weight is a consideration for you just keep that in mind before you purchase.
The blender crushes ice like a champion, frozen fruit is no problem. With any blender put your liquids in first, followed by you softer items and heavy (ice like substances) last.
The mouth of the jar is wide and it can be tricky when pouring out your liquid but its not all that bad.
The metal blades are sharp and thick, good for chopping up those ice cubes and frozen strawberries.
I like the clean simple buttons and interface. Has a handy count up digital timer to let you know how long you've been blending.
Overall I am very pleased with this blender and would not hesitate to purchase it again.
PRO: Heavy duty construction and motor, powerful. Large capacity. Simple button configuration.
CON: Heavy. Pouring of liquids from its wide mouth might prove challenging if you're not careful.
Customer Review: Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned this blender for over a year now & this is the best one yet. My favorite part about it (other than the 600 watts)...it has 3 speeds: ice crush, high & low...that's all you need!
This is definitely equivelant to a bar blendar. It crushes ice without hassle & within seconds. Protein shakes, milk shakes, smoothies, daquaries, fruit drinks & sauces...a breeze!
I've used every kind of frozen berry out there in this blender & it does an outstanding job! I haven't used frozen bananas or frozen peaches in my Cuisenart...so I can't comment there. I prefer to use fresh fruits, unless I'm using berries.
Bread crumbs also come out beautifully & without a problem.
This blender is very easy to clean & easy to put away. One time I accidentally (side tracked) put the rubber ring on the outside, instead of between the jar & blade attachment...it made a strange noise, I turned it off & noticed my mistake. After putting the blender back together how it's suppose to go, I was able to use it with total ease & no more strange noises.
In my opinion, this is an outstanding blender. The only way I can see any of these problems that have been stated by other reviewers...it may not have been used properly (maybe even simple mistakes like I once did). We use our blender almost everyday for 3 people (and guests) & 3 dogs. The dogs love cottage cheese, blueberry, apple & yogurt shakes! I've even made a very good natural applesauce with uncooked apples...the people & dogs loved it!
All in all, this is a great kitchen helper.