Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My daughter received the Vita-Mix Super 5200 last Christmas, and she has already destroyed two of the hollow plastic Tampers. Thankfully, both were replaced by Vita-Mix, but only after some assertive arguing with the Vita-Mix customer service reps. The Vita-Mix is an awesome machine, with numerous uses. On their website, Vita-Mix states that it is, "Engineered to perform, engineered to last". The included Tamper (Accelerator Tool/Tamper, as it's called by Vita-Mix) was "engineered" to shred if it should come in contact with the rotating blades. While that was a good idea, much more consideration should have been given to engineering a Tamper that would not be able to contact the blades in the first place. The Vita-Mix "Use and Care Manual" cautions that "Excessive force may cause the Accelerator Tool/Tamper to extend too far into the container and possibly cause damage to the blades". My daughter read the manual and she read that caution ... and she has exercised caution .... but both times the Tamper got shredded were while my daughter was grinding nut butters. And both times, the Tamper was pulled, not pushed downward into the rotating blades ... and both times, the nut butter ingredients were wasted because the tip of the hollow Tamper shredded into thousands of tiny pieces of plastic. Obviously, after the first incident, my daughter was extremely careful when using the Tamper ... but the second time, the tamper AGAIN got pulled into the blades again. "PULLED" (read further), not pushed. The Vita-Mix Tamper and lid design has problems ... and, if you check the check the internet, you'll find that others have experienced identical problems (shredding the Vita-Mix Tamper). Vita-Mix customer service reps told me that they don't hear many reports of their Tampers shredding, but I'm willing to bet that this is mostly because replacement Tampers are available and cheaper on sites other than the Vita-Mix website.
Vita-Mix Tamper, problems:
The "Use and Care Manual" shows a picture (drawing) of the "Current Accelerator Tool/Tamper". That picture is incorrect/misleading. It shows a Tamper with a "step" in the middle of its length, and it appears that the "step" is square cornered. The "step" is NOT square cornered, it is chamfered or beveled. That "step" is what is supposed to prevent the Tamper from being inserted too far through the hole in the Vita-Mix lid (when using the 32 oz. container). Since the "step" on the Tamper is chamfered (not squared) and the neoprene lid is flexible and gives a little, the Tamper can be easily pushed beyond the hole in the Vita-Mix lid. That, in itself, is a problem, but here is how the problem can be compounded: When the lid and the tamper are wet with anything, especially oils, then the Tamper can be pushed ... with only moderate force ... beyond the chamfered "step" through the opening in the lid. And, to compound the problem further, the opening in the lid is square and the tamper is round ... which (obviously) results in contact (between the Tamper and the lid) being made in only 4 very small points in the lid opening (picture a round peg in a square hole). When grinding nut butters, little or NO force is needed to cause the tamper to be "pulled" into the blades. The stickiness of the mixtures combined with the blades pulling motion will actually draw the tamper past its "step" and into the blades. Again, no downward force on the tamper is required for this to occur when grinding nut butters. Aside from being a hollow, shreddable plastic, the tamper was just not engineered very well. Yes it will spare the blades if and when it comes into contact with them ... but (as I stated) it should not come into contact with the blades in the first place. When the Tamper is used with the large (64 oz.) container, it's impossible for the tamper to make contact with the Vita-Mix blades ... the Tamper simply cannot be inserted beyond its wide collar/flange.
One of the video demos on the Vita-Mix website shows a lady (Melissa) making nut butter. She's using the large (64 oz.) container and the Tamper is not pulled in beyond the wide collar/flange. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that Melissa actually exerts a little force 'pulling' the tamper OUT of the nut butter. That is because the mixture is sticky, and the Tamper being pulled in, toward the blades.
Possible solutions:
I wrote to Vita Mix, explaining this issue/concern, and I offered ideas for possible solutions to the Tamper problem. It's been nearly 2 weeks, and I've not received a response. I wrote that aside from stiffening the neoprene around the opening hole to prevent the "step" on the Tamper from passing through ... or actually making that opening in the neoprene lid round, instead of square (to insure more contact at the "step") ... a good solution might be to provide two (2) Tampers .... that is, have a second, shorter Tamper that would be used only with the 32 oz. container. That shorter Tamper would have a full-stop collar/flange to prevent it from being able to be pushed or pulled into the blades under any circumstances.
The Tamper has been our only complaint about the Vita-Mix Super 5200.
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