Factors to Consider in Blenders and Blending

Here are some factors to consider in Blenders and Blending:

Length of Blending Time 

Temperature of Smoothie

The Motor

The Blade

The Container

TIME - The longer you blend a smoothie, the more oxygen you mix with the ingredients which oxidizes and kills the nutrients.  So - the shorter the blending time, the better.  The more powerful and efficient the blender is, the less time it takes to blend.  In the 20 amp Blendtec - we can break up the food particles to the micron level in the shortest possible time.  Lesser blenders will take at least twice the amount of time and still not attain the level of cell breakdown that we get from the 20amp blender.

Oxidation is a killer of nutrients so it is better to start out slow to break up the food and then move on to the high speed for the most cellular breaking power.  The Blendtec blenders have 30 preprogrammed cycles to optimize the blending.  Some of them start out slow and then speed up when the food is partially broken up.  I use the XL SMOOTHIE button for many smoothies - It’s a 40 second cycle - the first 15 seconds churns the food up at a slow speed and then it kicks into high speed for 25 seconds and then shuts off.  It’s one touch blending!  It takes the guess work out of timing.  If I want to blend a little longer, I just hit the pulse button. 

Another important issue is - TEMPERATURE - The process of blending creates friction which cause the temperature of the smoothie to rise.  The higher the starting temperature of your food, the higher the finishing temperature is.  You don’t want your smoothie to overheat and “cook” your nutrients.  The reason you are reading this is probably because you are trying to maximize the number of phytochemicals that you ingest.  SO -  It is better to have your smoothie ingredients cold when you start - rather than at room temperature because you don’t want your smoothie to get too warm.  If you’re making a raw soup and want it warm then it is better to start with warmer food.  What you don’t want is to use a longer blending cycle to warm the food because it will over oxidize the soup.  It is very important to understand the dynamics of blending to get the most nutrients from the smoothie. 

And speaking of temperature - Whatever you drink or eat should be as close to body temperature as possible - that’s one reason why you should always “chew” your smoothies and “drink” your food to bring them closer to body temperature.  Hot or cold food or drinks are not good for your 98.6 degree body.

THE MOTOR - What does the rated horsepower mean?  The Vita Prep 3 claimed to be 3 HP but was rated at 12.5 amps and 1500 watts.  The Waring MX1050 claimed to be 3.5 HP but was rated at 13 amps and 1,560 watts.  One horsepower is equal to 746 watts, so a 3 HP motor should be 2,238 watts but these two blenders were 1500 and 1560 watts.  It didn’t make sense to me that they could be rated  at 3 HP.  I tried to get a valid explanation but it was all double talk.  1500 watts is equal to - only 2 HP not 3.  It’s all marketing numbers to impress potential customers.  On the other hand, the 20 amp Blendtec is rated at 2400 watts which equals a true 3.2 HP that peaks at over 4 HP. 

As evidenced in our tests, every blender was easily overloaded, except the 20 amper.  We used an amp meter to test the electrical input - which is the amount of power that the motor required to blend the ingredients.  A 13 amp motor is designed to run at less than 13 amps.  If you run it - drawing more amperage than it was designed for - you will shorten the life of the motor and burn it out prematurely.  Just like if you red-line your car all the time - it won’t last very long.  If you choose an entry level blender - be aware of how easy it is to overload them with the thicker smoothies and nut butters.

The 20 amp motor has reserve power for the real tough jobs like nut butters and dough kneading.  I could not overload the motor - no matter how hard I tried.  I had a nut butter mix that was so thick that the blade was moving very slowly and the container was actually shuddering - yet - it was only drawing 18.5 amps.  This motor will last forever.  It was designed for commercial use and to be run all day long at a smoothie bar.  It’s guaranteed for 3 years or 20,000 cycles - which is unheard of for a commercial blender.  The Blendtec never went over its rated amperage and in normal fruit smoothies and green smoothies it drew about 15 amps which by the way - would NOT overload a 15 amp circuit in your kitchen. 

Another bonus with a powerful motor - is that no matter what you put in the blender the blade rpm will not be slowed down - which brings me to the issue of blades and blade speed and blade design.

THE BLADE  What is better a single blade or a double cross blade?  Of these 5 blenders - only the 2 Blendtecs have a single blade.  One of the advantages of the single blade is that it is  SO  much easier to clean.  It doesn’t have the sharp pointy tips that the Vita Mix has.  Also a single blade does not create as much resistance- so under load - the rpm’s are not slowed down.  It is able to maintain the high rpm’s. 

For a given rpm, the longer the blade, the faster the speed at the tip.  Circumference is equal to 2 PIE R with pie being 3.14.  The circumference of a 2 inch circle is half of the circumference of a 4 inch circle - SO - The tip of a 4 inch blade travels twice the distance as the tip of a 2 inch blade in the same amount of time.  In one revolution of the shaft - the tip of a 4 inch blade will travel 8.68 inches.  In one revolution of the shaft the tip of a 2 inch blade will travel 4.34 inches - which is half the distance.  This means that the 4 inch tip will travel at twice the speed of the 2 inch tip.  Which would do more damage - or - have more particle breaking power?  Obviously the faster tip.  The 4 inch Blendtec blade has been clocked at 366 mph so the 2 inch blade would only be traveling at 183 mph.  The Vita Mix and Waring have 2 ¾  inch blades which travel at 33% less speed than the Blendtec.  Quite a significant difference.  And the Blendtec has the added power to turn the blade. 

Another point which is very significant is that most blender blades come to a point at the tip so the fastest part of the blade is a tiny little point.  At the ends of the Blendtec 20amp 4” blade is a huge ½” upright tip.  Since the tip is the fastest part of the blade, the Blendtec is exponentially more effective at breaking up the food which is the goal of an EcoAerobic Smoothie Drinker. 

The 3 ¼ inch blade of the smaller Blendtec also has the 2, ½ inch upright tips.  I haven’t said much about the smaller Blendtec.  It has a 12.5 amp, 1500 watt motor - the same as the Vita Prep 3  BUT coupled with it’s container with the 3 ¼ inch blade with the 2, ½ inch upright tips – it is far superior.  Look at the videos - It’s the best entry level blender in the group.  I used to use one when I travel but I am so used to the silky smoothness from the 20 amper that I just carry an electrical adapter with me so I can use my 20amper anywhere.

One final point I would like to take note of is the design of the 96 ounce Blendtec CONTAINER.  What separates the so-so blenders from a superior blender is all about the design and the new design of this container is phenomenal.  It’s a 5 sided square that is amazing to watch.  The roundish containers create a whirlpool that is very gentle and controlled while the 5 sided square sucks the smoothie down the center and throws it up the sides.  It’s more like an earthquake instead of a tornado.  This container is 32 ounces larger than any other blender container so you can make enough for now and have some left over for later.  With our Vacuum Pump you can vacuum seal a smoothie in a glass jar and it will last for a few days. 

The Blendtec designers and engineers went to the drawing board with no preconceived ideas and created an amazing blender.  They had one goal in mind – build the best blender in the world.  They succeeded as is evidenced by the ICB7.

Hopefully, our videos will help you make your own decision about which blender is the best for you and your purposes.  I think you can tell which one we use!

Call us if you have any questions and have a SMOOOOOTH day or a SMOOOOOTHIE DAY!!!