Jack LaLanne JLPJB Power Juicer Juicing Machine
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Jack LaLanne JLPJB Power Juicer Juicing Machine
Customer Review: This Product Belongs In The Trash
Summary: 3 Stars
Are you thinking about purchasing this juicer? Ug. You are better off pulling a one hundred dollar bill out of your wallet and lighting it on fire. Sure, that's a crazy thing to do, but in the long run you will spare yourself a lot of irritation and disappointment. This juicer isn't worth all the wet, mushy pulp spewing out of its back end.
The motor in this overpriced paper weight is 250 watts. Want to know how you can find out that bit of information? Only by calling and asking, because nobody is going to admit it on the infomercials or on the box. The makers of this product boast about RPMs, but that information doesn't mean squat. With a centrifugal juicer such as this one what really matters is how many watts the motor is. 250 watts makes that disc spin mighty fast, but it doesn't hold up well if you want to juice carrots and beets.
I am overjoyed that I did not pay any money for this smoldering pile of doo. A relative of mine had one that had been lingering around in the pantry for a while. I am honestly not sure that it was ever used before, because it looks brand new. White plastic will be stained by juices after a while, so my guess is that it was an impulse appliance buy that perhaps was used once and put away.
I cut up a beet and carrot into pretty small pieces (just to be on the safe side, as I had a feeling the juicer wasn't of good quality)and slowly dropped them into the shoot and the result was laughable. After about a minute the motor seemed to have overheated. The end. I didn't even have time to drop in an apple. The pulp was very wet, and the machine was a mess. I don't mind cleaning a juicer if I have some freshly made juice to enjoy, but cleaning one that only produced a quarter of an inch of juice before petering out is pretty much the opposite of fun.
Pros-
it didn't explode when I hit the on switch
I wasn't injured or killed while attempting to make juice
it came apart without any rouble
it slid easily into the trash bag
the lifetime warranty ensures that I can give them money indefinitely and a brand new, %^&tty juicer will be sent to my door
Cons-
it is the worst juicer I have ever used
I was really thirsty and there was no fresh juice to be had
all those RPMs were powerless against my super carrots
the lifetime warranty ensures that I can give them money indefinitely and a brand new, %^&tty juicer will be sent to my door
A lifetime warranty on this product is useless. You must pay a high price for shipping, and the next juicer will be just as terrible.
This juicer may have been ok to use with apples, oranges, or softer veggies, but I'll never know.
A good juicer is pricey, and I completely understand wanting to save a few dollars, but this product just isn't worth it. Most folks don't need a Green Star, Omega, or Champion quality juicer on their counter top, but don't just throw your money away on any piece of trash. If you are looking for a "starter" juicer in the one hundred dollar range get something else. Perhaps the Juiceman jm1000m, the Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain, the Omega Model O2, or the L'Equip Mini. Any of these are better juicers, and they won't start smoking after a minute of use. Jeez, just head to Target and try a Black and Decker Juicer or something. THERE IS NO WAY it will be worse than this thing.
Jack LaLanne must be a real knob to let 'em put his name on this one. Money ain't everything, Jackie boy.
*UPDATE*
I REALLY wanted fresh juice this morning, so I decided to give the LaLanne another go. This time, expecting disaster, I cut all my fruits and veggies into very small pieces. Timidly I pressed the on switch while reciting Hail Marys under my breath. I was able to juice a large beet, several carrots, a piece of ginger, two apples, and two clementines. HOORAY! I originally gave this product one star, but have changed it to three. Yes, there are still better juicers, but I was so happy that the thing worked this morning that it earned two more stars in the span of one day. The pulp was not dry (as advertised on infomercials) and I ran it through the juicer a second time to extract as much juice as possible. Some pulp manages to spray out of the back and gets on the counter top as well. I will happily overlook all of this as long as this baby keeps working twice a day until late April/ early May when I can upgrade to a better juicer.
Customer Review: Gives Champion a run for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a definite skeptic about today's low-quality mass-produced products, but I am happily sold on the Jack Lalanne JFPJ-B. The stainless steel version has the same size motor as the white one, and I think plastic is easier to keep clean than the stainless steel.
I grew up with a Champion GS-PG-710, which was the holy grail of life to my hippie parents. I think the Champion's biggest advantage over the JL is the stronger motor - it shreds those carrots like nobody's business. However, the Champion has no spout. The juice dribbles out of a large screened opening beneath the feeder, so you need a bowl to collect the juice and then you need to transfer the juice to a cup, making for extra cleanup (and counter space demands). Also, the Champion has no pulp receptacle. You need another bowl to catch the pulp as it flies from the extractor end (though I suppose you could rubber-band a plastic bag over the end). These issues, combined with the Champion's narrower chute, $220 price tag and absurd heaviness, give the JL the definite edge.
The JL is very light and compact (takes up a little more much counter space than a coffeemaker). The chute is much wider, making for less chopping, therefore faster cleanup, and it has a large plastic pulp receptacle, which stays completely clean if you line it with a plastic baggie. The JL has a lifetime motor guarantee. Pricewise, $99 is a deal, as the JL pulls as much juice as the Champion does (i.e., the veggie pulp is really dry, the fruit pulp a little wetter), and it is easier to use, hence I am more likely to use it, hence the better value. It also comes with a nice color recipe book and detailed instruction sheets, etc.
The JL yielded 2+ cups of juice from 4 medium carrots, 1 large celery stalk and .5 large cucumber. One large grannysmith apple, 1 small apple and a dozen black grapes made about 1.5 cups, and it was sublime.
Cleaning up (the necessary evil of juicing): The Champion has fewer parts to rinse, but its grinder piece is very heavy and has the sharp blades all over it, which you have to handle in order to clean the thing. The JL's grinder is a small metal circle which is quick and easy to scrub (you remove it with a separate tool - I find this no big deal but other reviewers haven't liked it). It's easier to clean this with a handled brush than with a sponge. The JL does have a somewhat delicate metal filter which I could see tearing or breaking if scrubbed too hard. The lid and filter do collect some pulp, so just manually scoop it into your pulp bag and just rinse the other parts and you're good to go. The spout attachment part does have a groove around the top edge (where the lid fits) which needs to be scrubbed carefully as pulp can get in there and build up. One complaint I have is that the spout sits too low; if you want to fit a glass that is taller than a pint, you have to find a raised platform for the juicer (in the infomercial, they have it on cutting boards). I'm using a 2 inch tall aluminum rectangular baking pan that was destined for the trash. The juicer has grippy rubber feet.
If you're considering juicing, I would definitely recommend giving the JL a shot. Cleaning up is just a part of juicing. This juicer is honestly not a pain to clean. It's quite fun to juice and the results are delicious, energizing and slimming. Just go easy on the cabbage and onion, they come out with a really overpowering flavor :)
Customer Review: Decent Juicer
Summary: 2 Stars
I had this juicer for around two years, and it just broke. I am not writing this review to bash it for this reason. But rather to tell my experiences and impressions of the machine for the time I had it. With that said, this was also my first juicer so I have nothing else to compare it to.
Initial Impression: The first time I used it, the motor was quiet. However, after several more uses, it seemed to get louder. Much louder than I expected. The "Whisper Quiet" really threw me off. You usually have to speak at the top of your voice if someone tries speaking to you while you're juicing (no joke). When you watch the infomercial, all you're hearing is the juicer through lav microphones. So it really does seem quiet because it doesn't pick up the authentic noise of the machine. If they actually put a handheld up to it, the machine would be quite loud (especially while juicing). The cleanup of this machine was more than I expected as well. Again, the infomercial stretches the truth. It just shows them rinsing it under a faucet. In reality, there are a ton of tight areas where fruit/vegetable remnants get stuck and are difficult to remove (The accessory brush may help, but I never bought it). However, it always did a good job of making juice so I was overall satisfied.
Continued use: The motor definitely seems to weardown the more it's used. At first, it had no problem with any item. But, thicker objects like carrots and certain apples started to have trouble going through after a while. The juicer would jam and make extremely loud noises. In order for it to actually juice them, you'd have to turn it off and clean out the filter several times over. And that's just for one cup of juice. (Softer items like grapes and strawberries had no trouble). But again, as long as I ended up with juice at the end of the process, I was happy.
Finale: The other day, after juicing, I went to clean it. So I removed the blade from the machine and the plastic threaded piece that you screw and tighten the blade onto broke off.
Final Thoughts: I used this juicer almost everyday for the past two years. Although that may be a long time for a cheap As Seen on TV appliance, I was still a bit disappointed. I expected much more being that La Lanne was willing to put his name on it. This item would be good as a first juicer or maybe even for the occasional juicer. Using it daily? Get something better. The company offers a lifetime warranty on the motor. They can do that because the rest of the machine is made of plastic, which will surely go before the motor.
Verdict: 2.5 stars out of *****.
I just ordered a Breville 800JEXL, so I will write a review on that later in time.
Customer Review: not perfect, but an excellent value (plus regular vs deluxe)
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall I think it's a great juicer, particularly for the budget conscious novice; the price is appealing and the quality is good. There is no need to buy disposable filters and the main source of labor lies in washing which is initially something to get used to. The amount of juice it extracts is good as far as I can tell, though the pulp is not perfectly dry*, but the juice is thick and not clear, so if you want very clear juice perhaps this juicer isn't for you.
*Now for my explanation on the pulp. Apples for example, frequently result in very thin slices being discarded into the pulp collector. That doesn't thrill me. Also in general, despite the pulp being dry, I discover on dismantling the juicer there's a good amount of wet juicy pulp that's stuck to the inside (think: apple sauce). The TV demonstration's somewhat misleading on their claim of this juicer's superiority in extracting juice completely from fruits and vegies.
As mentioned by others, the parts are plastic, so take care in washing well. For me the green side (scour pad) of the sponge will remove a great deal of the staining, especially if you clean it right after using, but be gentle, because you don't want to scratch it up and create more crevices for stains to seep.
By the way, you do still need to cut the fruit, like large apples and oranges which cannot be fed into the chute. But of course, the preparation process is lessened as peeling and de-seeding is an optional step. Be careful when you use this juicer on harder veggies like beets, though. The way I get around this is by cutting them down and alternating with another type of veg/fruit. Fortunately I haven't had any problems by following the suggestions outlined by the LaLannes, but I can definitely sense there's a limit.
REGULAR or DELUXE?
Soon after purchasing my regular model I found the deluxe at the local wharehouse store for the same price. I bought that one, too, and compared. I discovered there is absolutely no difference in the machine itself. The deluxe simply comes with extras, which boils down to figuring out whether you find the price difference (if there is any) worth paying for the following:
- an extra blade
- a brush (very useful in cleaning the strainer, but a very generic kitchen tool)
- large measurement cup (again, useful, but generic and superfluous if you juice directly into your glass)
- juicer platform and overflow platform (these would be better if they latched onto each other so there's some stability and utility)
- an extra blade-remover
- a bonus book entitled TOTAL JUICING
Customer Review: Powerful, Quiet, & Long Lasting!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was online looking for a mini juicer that I could leave on my countertop all the time, and saw that Amazon sold this larger one. Since I've owned it for several years, I decided to write a review.
I purchased this one about 8 years ago, as my third juicer. My first juicer would bog down, clog up, and stop running after about 8 oz of carrot juice. My second one wasn't much better, I had to really push to get the carrots thru, although cucumbers, etc, went thru fine. Both of my first two juicers were very loud, not a good feature for me. So then, I saw the infomercial for the LaLanne juicer and the way they fed the vegees thru so quickly sold me. I purchased it and threw my other two juicers away.
For this juicer, I rarely have to chop anything. There is no such thing as a carrot too big for this juicer. Cucumbers and small apples go thru whole as well. I have to cut larger apples in half, but that's still a breeze compared to my old juicers. Celery strings are no problem for this baby. And it's powerful enough that I hardly have to push the fruits/vegees down at all, no matter what I'm juicing. And it's quiet! When I saw the infomercial, I wondered if they did some kind of trick with the microphone to make it seem like the juicer was quiet, but when I used it the first time and was still able to talk to my husband while juicing, I was thrilled. It does of course make some noise, but it's not bad at all. This juicer is also easy to clean; I basically just spray everything good with my sink sprayer and the pulp comes right off. I do use a small brush on the mesh basket, but that goes quick too.
The only thing I don't care for, is that once the pieces to this juicer are washed, I like to let them dry in my dish drainer. It's a real trick to get them all to fit without falling off the drainer. So, instead of juicing every day (which would be healthier), I end up juicing big batches at a time and keeping a few days worth in the fridge, and sometimes freezing what's left over. I just don't care for that bulk in my drainer.
All in all, if you want a juicer that works quickly, extracts a lot of juice, is fairly quiet, can take fairly large vegetables, cleans up easily, and you don't mind the bulkiness of it, then you'll love this one!
Personally, I'd love to find a small countertop juicer with small parts that is easy to clean, yet powerful enough to do a good job, for everyday use. It would be a great counterpart to my LaLanne juicer, that I'd prefer to use just for mass juicing!