Hamilton Beach 51101B Personal Blender with Travel Lid, Black
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 51101B Personal Blender with Travel Lid, Black
Customer Review: Good for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had mine for one year and it's still kicking. Overall for being one of the lowest price items on Amazon, it's been fine.
--Uses--
Used at least 4/5 times a week over one year so far to make protein shakes. I know it can handle and fit all of the following in the plastic jar:
2 Large scoops of protein powder
8oz milk
3 spoon-fulls of yogurt,
4 frozen strawberries (or sometimes ice cubes)
1 banana
2 teaspoons of other powdered supplements
--Issues--
1) After a year, the bottom of the jar is leaking a little bit of milk into the motor when it's running.
2) If I hold down the button or blend for too long, there is a distinct smell of a motor overheating.
3) Some powder gets stuck on the sides when blending (even when it's just milk and powder), normally have to do some manual shaking to get it off.
4) I broke part of the jar's twist and lock pieces. Still locks in place, but was a little too easy to break.
--Likes--
1) Fits nicely in my small kitchen.
2) After it blends, I drink straight from the jar.
3) Not hard to clean.
4) Fairly cheap, I plan to buy a new one as a backup in case the one I have dies.
--Recommendations--
1) This is a pulse blender. In other words, don't hold down the button, instead press, release, press, release.The motor will last longer.
2) It's not hard to clean, but be sure to use a bottle brush to keep the under part of the blades clean.
3) Avoid too many hard (ice) or thick (yogurt) items. This makes the motor work harder.
Customer Review: I have no words it's THAT awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd rate this thing with 6 stars if it allowed me to. I started doing this Herbalife thing and was using the Magic Bullet to mix my shakes. I'd been looking into this Blender for the last month or two but decided to buy it when I went into the kitchen one day and couldn't find where my mother had put the Magic Bullet at.
The Magic Bullet did NOT mix the solution all that well, as there were chunks of the mix left on the side of the glass. It also did not crush ice cubes very well. I will admit, I haven't tried bananas yet in this blender, but the Magic Bullet even have trouble with that. I would imagine that if this Hamilton Beach blender can handle ice cubes, it can handle anything.
One gripe I had without even turning the thing on, is the extremely short cord it had. I'm surprised no one has filed a lawsuit over it. It seems to be that because of the short cord, you might have to hold the blender a certain way. Me, I'm disabled. I have a power strip on the floor that I plug the blender into and I have to hold the blender on the table because the cord is too short to reach the floor, therefore while I blend, the power strip is hanging. Yeah, it's dangerous somewhat but I do try to be careful.
I did notice the burning oil smell that others commented on, but I fixed the problem by only blending a few seconds at a time, as others have mentioned as well. Now that's not something you get with the Magic Bullet, but I'd rather smell burning oil and deal w/ a short cord than have a shake blended to an unacceptable level.
I will recommend this product to others I come into contact with.
Customer Review: Good blender if you tweak your ingredients right
Summary: 4 Stars
At first I had an awful time getting this to blend anything, but when I started playing around with the ingredients I figured out what this blender can and can't do.
Since it's just a tiny blender and has a small motor, it has a hard time with large chunks of ice. I don't have a fridge that crushes ice for me so I have to do it myself and it's kind of a pain, but the smoothies I've been making are so tasty I don't really mind.
Also, I've been storing fruit in the freezer until it's time to use it, but I think this had the same effect as the ice. So I started thawing small amounts of fruit in zip-loc bags to use in my next smoothie. Frozen bananas are fine as long as you cut them up into smaller bits before you freeze them.
And I think the most important thing I've discovered so far is to add plenty of liquid base. Whether that's milk for my peanut butter banana smoothie or whether it's juice for any number of fruit smoothies, adding plenty of liquid helps so much. I don't want to add too much, so I blend a little bit, see how it does, add a little more, etc...
Again, it's a tiny blender, so if the pieces in the blender are large or if what you're blending is thick then the blades create a pocket of air in the bottom and whir around in nothingness. Hence tiny pieces and plenty of liquid.
The top to the blender is a little difficult to put on and off, but it has a little sliding hatch like a coffee mug so you can take it with you and use it like a cup.
Overall, it's been worth the $15 I paid for it once I figured out good ingredient ratios.
Customer Review: It Works Great, Very Convenient
Summary: 5 Stars
I *highly* recommend this single-serving blender thingy.
I read all of the reviews before I purchased and was a little wary. I was concerned it might not be very powerful and that it would smell of burning oil (as some reviewers mentioned) when I made my first smoothie. Even so, I figured I would give it a shot at $15 because at that price, if it worked at all, it would prob still be worth it for the convenience. Well, turns out I shouldn't have worried at all.
UPS delivered it 20 minutes ago and I am currently enjoying a tasty, healthy smoothie!
It was so fast and easy and effective: I opened the box; plugged it in; threw in some frozen fruit, coconut milk, juice, ground flax seed and wheatgerm; and then pulsed for about off and on for less than 30 seconds, pulled the cup off the base, and...smoothie!
Works like a dream: No burning, no leaky lid, no irregular-sized chunks, no mess, no problems at all. Just blended fruit and other good stuff, all in a cup that I immediately drink from. I will definitely be more likely to make smoothies with this thing because it's so simple and fast and clean-up is a breeze.
I'm guessing people who smell the burning are not pulsing. The button says "Pulse" on it--and I'm no engineer--but I'm guessing it does so for a reason. The motor is clearly pretty strong and I can see that if you just held the button down for a while it could over heat. But you don't need to do that. It blends great with repetitive pulsing.
Customer Review: Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender 51101B
Summary: 4 Stars
An excellent product. Easy to use, easy to clean. Price is right. Compact; avoids all of the extraneous parts a la Magic Bullet. I would get another, and I would give it as a gift. Everyone is talking about smoothies, but I made a delicious dressing with it. There were no chunks of garlic, and it was well blended, with barely a few seconds of pulsing. My only quibble is the lid. Are you reading this HB representatives? I would have paid a few $ more for a better lid or more than one lid. First, a consumer may reasonably think that "with travel lid" means that a conventional blender lid is included. The "travel lid" is flimsy--not the sort of hard plastic lid you are used to from, say, a Nissan thermal travel mug, and very difficult to get back off if you have put it on securely. I've started blending with the lid barely pressed in, almost laying it on top, and it works fine, without splashing or spillage, but it is certainly not a secure feeling or convenient to do so. I did spill contents on myself, however, when I tried to shimmy the lid off after one of my first blends with it. A screw on lid would have been far superior. I've seen them--for example Oster has a mini cup and lid to fit on a full size blender. HB should have looked to that type of innovation. I like this product enough, though, that I hope alternative lids are made available.