Old Amazing Mixer Broke--Help

May 5, 2009 10:18 PM

I have a 1950s KitchenAid mixer (model-3A), and the motor's dead. It's a great mixer. Is it worth it to get it fixed? How would I do that?
posted by Household Tipster to Technology (14 answers total)

Is it worth it? I don't know.

I've taken motors to get repaired before, usually on power tools but it's the same principle. Find a motor repair shop in your area, hand the motor to a grubby man and he can make it work again.
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:31 PM on May 5, 2009

If it were my mixer, I'd get it fixed, but I love old, well-made stuff that's broken in. Do you have an appliance repair shop nearby?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:36 PM on May 5, 2009

It's going to depend on what is the matter with the motor but a good rewind shop could probably fix it for about half the price of a modern model. I can recommend a shop in Calgary.
posted by Mitheral at 10:37 PM on May 5, 2009

Response by poster: Roughly how much will it cost to get fixed?
posted by Household Tipster at 10:40 PM on May 5, 2009

You have the option of contacting Kitchenaid by phone or email to find out how much they would charge to fix it. Or visit an authorized service center near you. This would at least give you an idea of the cost....
posted by exphysicist345 at 11:27 PM on May 5, 2009

a lot of the googling is turning up 50-100 bucks. atomic era machine might be able to be of more assistance. actually figuring out the price will depend on a lot of factors - how do you know it's the motor? is it just the motor? can it be repaired or will they have to replace the motor?
posted by nadawi at 11:30 PM on May 5, 2009 [1 favorite]

also: the kitchenaid forums are known to be pretty useful.
posted by nadawi at 11:43 PM on May 5, 2009 [1 favorite]

If it's $100, that's a deal! A good, modern mixer will cost you more than this and you might not even like it as much.
posted by secret about box at 12:07 AM on May 6, 2009

How, exactly, did the motor fail? Did it get stuck and overheat the armature (smoke / burning smell=truly dead)? If, instead, it was working intermittently for a while, perhaps starting unreliably but continuing to run once it got going, it's likely that the carbon brushes are just worn out. Brushes are cheap and easy to replace -- a normal wear part.
posted by jon1270 at 4:08 AM on May 6, 2009

A third possibility: if it just stopped working completely one day, without any obvious event that seemed to cause the problem, it could be a bad switch or power cord.
posted by jon1270 at 4:10 AM on May 6, 2009

If you're happy with it, fix it. From the reviews I've read, modern KitchenAid mixers have a pretty spotty reputation. Since KitchenAid was bought out by Whirlpool in 1986, the reliability of their trusty mixers has nosedived. Mine is over 20 years old and my mother-in-law uses one from the 50s; both are still going strong. If/when mine breaks, I intend to fix it rather than buy a new one.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:48 AM on May 6, 2009

i have to also chime in to say fix it! motors from the 50s have entirely metal workings, so not only are they much easier to fix than modern motors (whose gears are made of plastic), but they also can withstand a lot more wear and tear. the older models are built like tanks. modern models are built like a plastic model of a tank that was put together by a middle schooler. good luck!
posted by binocularfight at 10:46 AM on May 6, 2009

Definitely find out how much it'll cost to get it fixed before you make a decision. The old KitchenAids are great, and as far as I can tell will last forever with fairly infrequent maintenance.

Mine's 1963-ish; it was a wedding present to my parents. There's no way I'd trade it for a new model.
posted by Lexica at 9:48 PM on May 6, 2009

Forget what I said above. After visiting the Atomic Era Machines page, I would definitely contact them. They specialize in repairing machines just like yours!
posted by exphysicist345 at 5:02 PM on May 8, 2009