Vitamix is a well-known brand but manufactures very expensive products. So, customers want to find the answers to all their questions about this machine before deciding to buy it.
Here we address some of the most frequent questions about Vitamix blenders.
Table of Contents
What makes Vitamix so popular?
Vitamix has been a family-owned business with a factory located in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1921 and has produced blenders since 1937.
It has a long history with patented motor and blade containers. For example, Vitamix produced commercial blenders for many years before they introduced commercial standard blenders for home use.
It now manufactures benchmark blenders for commercial and household usage.
What is the difference between the Vitamix Commercial Units and Blenders for Home Use?
The commercial and home-use blenders have the same motor and blade design. However, commercial blenders are constructed for heavy use in bars/restaurants where they run 100 or more daily cycles. In addition, some of them have programmable functions for the most used bar/restaurant recipes. Thus, they usually come with a shorter 1–3 years Limited warranty.
While the home use blenders are engineered with versatility in mind and often have pre-set programs such as soup or dips/salsa that expand the unit’s tasks variety. The home-use Vitamix blenders usually cost considerably cheaper and have a 5–10 years Full warranty.
What are the cheaper Vitamix alternatives?
The major competitor of Vitamix is Blendtec Company which produces is not considerably cheaper than Vitamix blenders. However, sometimes both companies, Vitamix and Blendtec, run special offers for some models, and if you are lucky, you can grab the true high-end blenders for just a bit over $200.
The Waring and KitchenAid also have commercial types of blenders for home use that are comparable in quality with Vitamix but are also not cheap. All high-end blenders have approximately the same price in a range of $350-$700, depending on the model.
Vitamix has certified refurbished models that are usually 25–30% cheaper.
However, there is some cheaper alternative, but they are certainly of inferior quality to Vitamix and are often the Chinese dupe of high-end machines from well-known brands. The Blendtec, Oster, and Dash blenders are among the most popular models.
Check our article “Best Blender under $200 – Cheaper Alternative to Vitamix 2019 Guide” to find out more details about cheaper Vitamix alternatives.
How can the same Vitamix unit make ice cream and steaming hot soup?
The ice cream recipes are usually made within 30–45 seconds and load the jar with mostly frozen ingredients. The Vitamix patented blades can homogenize frozen food in seconds, so they do not have time to melt away.
The hot soup takes 6–8 minutes to blend the liquid up to 180–200F. It is possible because of the very high speed of the Vitamix blades, so high that the liquids inside of the jar are heated from the blades’ frictions.
Are there any Vitamix models available with glass or stainless steel containers?
All Vitamix models come with BPA-free Eastman Tritan Copolyester material, which is the USA-produced special heavy-duty plastic.
Glass: No such glass can withstand the heavy-duty impact that Vitamix blenders are exposed to during blending.
Stainless steel: In July 2020, Vitamix released a new Stainless Steel Container, which you can buy separately.
The standard for commercial blending changed since Vitamix had the blenders in a stainless steel container. However, nowadays, it is not very popular in the retail industry to use stainless steel jars, and is not match the current commercial blending industry standards. Besides, the stainless steel container does not allow you to observe what is happening inside the blending jar.
However, some brands such as Waring still manufacture commercial types of blenders with stainless steel containers.
What is the difference between the Vitamix wet and dry blade containers?
All Vitamix models come with a standard 64 oz. high profile, 64 oz. low profile or 48 oz. low profile wet blade containers. The vortex the wet blades create is designed to pull ingredients down to the blades to ensure their perfect emulsification.
The dry blades are engineered to push ingredients up for a more efficient grinding, milling, and kneading job.
Wet blade containers are designed to perform all standard Vitamix tasks such as blending smoothies, and nut milk, making nut butter, and freezing desserts. In addition, the wet blades also easily perform the dry blades’ tasks such as milling flour, kneading dough, and grinding ingredients.
You do not need dry containers, but it will make the wet container look cloudy if you do milling and grinding. So, it is nice to have the dry container as an extra container for more efficient milling, grinding, kneading, and keeping your jar look nice and clear for aesthetic purposes.
What is the difference between the Vitamix 64 ounces, 48 ounces, and 32 ounces wet containers?
The Vitamix makes the following Classic series containers, which differ by the ability to handle large and small batches of food:
- 64 oz. wet blades high profile – handles large and small batches of food;
- 64 oz. wet blades low profile — handles better large batches of food;
- 48 oz. wet blades — handle small batches of food;
- 32 oz. wet blades — handle small batches of food;
- 32 oz. dry blades – designed for dry tasks such as milling, grinding and kneading.
Vitamix makes the following Smart System series containers, which differ by the ability to handle large and small batches of food:
- 64 oz. low profile wet container- handles better large batches of food;
- 48 oz. wet blades container — handles small batches of food;
- 48 oz. dry blade containers — designed for dry tasks such as milling, grinding, and kneading.
Are the Vitamix containers interchangeable between different blenders for Home Use?
Vitamix tries hard to make all its containers interchangeable. However, after the release of Smart Series Ascent Blenders, this becomes impossible because the Ascent series blender containers are equipped with a new self-detect system, while the older Classic series models containers are not.
Read “Vitamix Ascent Series Containers Explained” for more details about the Smart System Ascent series containers.
As a result, Vitamix manufactures a separate range of containers for the Classic Series models and the Ascent Series models. All classic series containers are interchangeable between the Classic Series Blenders. All the Smart System containers are interchangeable between all Ascent Blenders, while the Smart and Classic Series containers are not interchangeable.
Does Vitamix produce a Personal Type Blender or Personal Blender attachment?
Vitamix is used to manufacture Personal Blenders Series S30, S50, and S55 but discontinued those models at the end of 2019.
However, it produces a Personal Blender attachment called Personal Cup Starter Kit for Smart System Blenders that are compatible with Ascent A2300, A2500, A3300, A2500, and Venturist models.
Vitamix produces a Personal Cup Adaptor Kit for the Classic Series compatible with all Classic models.
Why is the Vitamix blender designed with the tamper (plunger)? Is Vitamix unable to process food without the help of a tamper?
The tamper is a very convenient Vitamix tool; however, it does not mean that you are supposed to use it all the time. In most recipes, the bender processes all ingredients well without tamper involvement. For example, blending smoothies, whole juices, hot soups, grinding tasks, and others usually do not require any tamper help.
The tamper is helpful while blending thick recipes such as nut butter, hummus, or pesto when cavitation and air pockets are most likely to occur.
How do you decide which Vitamix to choose?
It is not an easy task as Vitamix currently produces 15 different models.
Look at our comprehensive guide, “Which Vitamix Blender to Buy?” for more details.
Which Vitamix Blenders fit under standard kitchen cabinets?
All Smart System Vitamix Blenders and Pro Series 750, Vitamix 7500, 5300, 6500, and 780 Classic models will fit under your kitchen cabinet. The only blenders that will not are Vitamix Classic 5200 and Standard program units.
Is it worth buying Vitamix Certified Reconditioned blender?
Certified Reconditioned Vitamix machines are a good option if you want to buy a high-end machine at a discounted price.
Read our article “Vitamix Certified Refurbished Blenders – Are They Worth Consider?” for more details.
Is a Blender’s wattage or horsepower (HP) the most critical parameter for a high-end blender like Vitamix?
No. Wattage or HP is just a measure that indicates the motor power. However, it does not guarantee you high-end blender performance.
For example, a few blenders on the market, like Ninja or Hamilton Beach models, have a motor power of 1500 Watts and more, while the classic Vitamix 5200 model has only a 1380 Watts motor. However, Vitamix 5200 and Ninja Mega Kitchen blender performance are not comparable. For example, the Vitamix 5200 can make a steaming hot soup just via friction, while Ninja Mage Kitchens is not.
The Vitamix has a world-class motor, ball-bearing blade assembly technology, patented container, and blades that allow the blender to deliver top-quality blending results.
How can I remove the Vitamix blades for sharpening?
You can use the Special Vitamix retainer nut tool to remove the blades. However, the Vitamix blade does not lose sharpness over time, so they do not need sharpening.
Why the Vitamix container has no locking system? Is it secure when the container moves slightly during the blending?
Yes, it is secure. The container has a locking mechanism that is not very obvious. It is locked via coupling to drive the socket connection. The container also rests on a rubber mat and rubber stoppers that also keep the jar secure.
Can the Vitamix Blender replace a Juicer?
It can, to some extent. For example, Vitamix will not make textbook juice that separates the fiber from the liquid. But Vitamix will homogenize all ingredients to such a degree that you may treat it as a juice or so-called “Whole Juice.” While juice is an even healthier option than textbook juice because it has valuable fiber.
Is the Vitamix Blender suitable for vegan, gluten-free, or (and) raw-food recipes?
Vegan/gluten-free: The Vitamix is a multitasking machine. It is designed to prepare a wide range of recipes, from healthy smoothies to steaming hot soup. It can even mill any grain into baking quality flour, making the Vitamix blender an indispensable tool for any gluten-allergic person. It is certainly a perfect addition to the vegan and/or gluten-free kitchen.
Raw: The Vitamix blender heats the liquid inside of containers via friction. The steaming hot soup (up to 200F/94C) is heated within 6 minutes in the jars with 4 “blades and within 7.5 minutes in the jars with 3” blades. The blender will not noticeably increase the liquid temperature inside the container in the first minute of blending. If you blended your recipe for less than 3 minutes, it should maintain the temperature within the raw food allowance of 118F/48C.
So if you blend your ingredients in under 3 minutes, then any of your recipes will abide by the raw food standard. Thus, the Vitamix machine is perfectly suitable for preparing a range of vegan raw recipes.
What shall I do if the Vitamix blender has performance issues or if I decide to return the blender?
Vitamix has the best customer service and one of the longest warranties in the industry. The Vitamix customer service will repair or replace any part of the machine within the warranty period free of charge and provide free shipping both ways. In addition, Vitamix has a transferable warranty. It covers your machine even if you bought it second-hand or transferred it to another member of the family during the warranty period. Still, in this case, your warranty starts from the initial purchase day of the original owner. The warranty (and usually free shipping) applies to any authorized retailer.
If you buy your Vitamix blender and do not like it for some reason, you can return it within 30 days of purchase, no questions asked. In addition, Vitamix will pay the shipping costs for you if you decide to return your machine.
