Flawed product with cheap plastic parts that fail
Pros:
Solid motor, generally quiet operation, large feed chute
Cons:
Breaks easily, plastics will stain, no replacement parts, no product support
The Bottom Line:
Avoid product since it is easy to break with daily use.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
This review intended for Canadian/US users. Bought the product from TheShoppingChannel in Canada. Product was used for about 1.5 years with nearly daily use before the machine broke down.
Usage History: I was careful in using the machine which is probably why it lasted for so long. Typically, it was used a minimum of once a day where about 4 glasses of juice was made. The machine in general operated well but has some flaws where the straining basket warps with use or heavy loads. After about one year, stress cracks were noticed in the cheap plastic used on the mounting disk that connects the grinding blades to the base of the motor. About 6 months later once the mounting disk broke apart the machine cannot be used. No replacement was available from Tristar Products.
What was juiced: Most juice was derived from vegetables. Primary loading consisted of carrots, celery, and beets. If beets were obtained out of season, juicing them would be harder and cause the strainer basket to become unbalanced and a loud buzz would occur. To remedy, stop the machine, clean out the basket since the pulp wouldn't eject. Mixing beets with carrots (more moisture) would have the problem occur less often. It is suspected that the stress of juicing hard vegetables over time caused the mount disk to break. This part should have been made out of metal instead of plastic.
Cleaning: The machine was exclusively hand washed when regularly used. A simple rinse with hot water and dish soap should be done immediately otherwise the plastic would stain (especially from beets and carrots). Once a month, the plastic chute, catch bin, blade disk, strainer, and plastic housing was washed in water with bleach to remove mineral buildup and stains. Moter part was wiped with water and soap. Cleaning time was about 3 to 5 minutes for soap wash and bleach wash had parts soaked over 2 hours.
Comments: Machine is only suitable for light duty with softer vegetables or fruits. Using hard sources for juice will shorten the life of the product considerably. For heavy use, consider machines that have metal parts and replacements. Tristart Products must invest in an actual service dept. for customers. Its too bad they don't get their business to supply replacement parts or part upgrades. It surely would improve their image and product.
