Mike Liebner’s Positive Think Tank

OK… so I am going to write about my new juicer.

If you knew me, you’d know a juice machine plays a big part in my day to day existence. I’d go so far as to say juicing has improved my health about as much as anything. Changed my life in a big way.

The Jack Lallanne Power Juicer Pro box had been sitting on my living room floor for more than 6o days and last night was the night I finally took it out of the box. I intentionally left it on my living room floor because I thought it would nudge me to get it out and put it into action. 60 days or so later I finally did it!

It’s a Jack Lalane Professional Deluxe model. I’m not going to do a full review – this is just a slice of life (or fruit if you prefer!) with my first impressions.

OK… so I must have had that Jucieman Jr. juicer for at least 10 years. That thing was all plastic and not really a pro machine, but it did admirable for all those years. Considering I used it almost every day and sometimes 2 or even 3 times a day, means it was a super trooper and must have been made well to last that long.

The new one, the deluxe Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro model was a birthday gift. While my old trusty Juiceman Junior thing was still hanging in there, I really did need a nice new clean machine. Mainly because the Jucieman Jr was so tough to really get clean and in fact had crevices and such that never really could get scrubbed. I was always a little worried that something could be growing those hard to clean areas. I had to scrape it regularly with a knife and that black stuff was tough to get out of the plastic. It was not very friendly in that respect.

So – last night I cleaned the Power Juicer Pro and soaped it up and let it dry overnight. This morning I had the new juicer experience.

My first impressions were mixed.

A few disappointments, but hey, 10 years means I was likely emotionally attached :’>

So – for one thing this new Power Juicer Pro one is a big monster of a machine.

It’s mostly stainless steel and looks to be pretty durable. I was immediately disappointed to find it had a lot of parts that needed to be put together. I’m suprised the blade had to be screwed into the screen container thing with a weird handle tool they provided. I hope I don’t lose it – I don’t think they’d have it at the hardware store. Poor design idea if ya asked me.

The Juiceman Jr. blade bucket thang was one piece and just dropped in – this Power Juicer Pro basket and blade required a tool to fasten and then unfasten it.

That’s an extra step times two and shouldn’t be there if ya asked me.

That said – the Power Juicer Pro blade is much more substantial and pretty hardcore.

The new Power Juicer Pro is much quiter than my old one which sounded like a leaf blower pretty much. It’s quiet in comparison.

My first batch was with: 8 carrots, a tangelo, a 1/4 of a yam, an apple and 2 slices of cantaloupe (skin removed).

As expected the juice tasted fantastic. But it also tasted yummy in my old one too – so no edge here. I bet it had less germs though (arghhh) being it was so new and clean.

As expected the Jack Lallanne Power Juicer Pro machine is much bigger so I did not have to slice the apple and could just drop everything in whole, however the large carrots may have been more difficult than if had I snapped them in half as I would normally do.

Here is a big disappointment >>>

The new Jack Lalanne deluxe thingy did NOT come with a CONTAINER to catch the juice in.

THAT SUCKS!

You’d expect a juice container for the 150 bucks or whatever it sells for.  Especially since it was the DELUXE version. So that blows.

Also – the HEIGHT of the spout is LOWER than you’d think – so you can’t just use a LARGE GLASS. It’s not tall enough. That’s a hassle.

That is a disappointment because since the footprint is so huge – a big juicer like this should be able to handle a LARGE GLASS.

Now I have to go out and buy some low riding containers that are low and wide. I don’t want to use the one from the Jucieman Jr. because it is old and moldy also has crevices that never really could be cleaned properly.

Big oversight if you asked me.

Ruined the experience a little as I had to use small glasses and swap them out as they filled up. Messy too.

I normally juice a little extra in the morning and keep it in an airtight container and drink it later in the day for a little boost. That’s why a small glass won’t cut it for me.

If you do single servings and small ones – it won’t be an issue – but me – if I am gonna juice – I’m going do a lot!

Power Juicer Pro is a good machine. $150. is a good price I guess. I won’t be bummed out swapping from the old Juiceman I reckon…

All in all – I am satisfied, because it is fast and quiet and appears to have less pulp (didn’t measure or ccompare so I don’t know if that is accurate)

The clean up process was ok, although because of the extra assembly/disassembly steps with the blade it was slightly longer to use and clean, but since the parts are steel and also not as many crevices, it is easy to rinse – I’m not sure if it is significantly easier – so no major improvement really.

Day 1 verdict – it’s a very good juicer – but should have had a container and ideally would not require assembly/disassembly for each use. The blade should not have to be  screwed in with a one of a kind tool each time the machine is used.

Oh well… it’s good – but, if I had been involved in the design process – it would have been better.

 If you are curious which model I got – here is the link to it

>>> http://www.powerjuicer.com/power-juicer-pro.html

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2-25-10 Followup Notes: I have used the juicer 2 more since the initial usage on which I based my feelings and all I can say is – what were they thinking when they made the basket and the blade seperate and require screwing in with that custom tool??? I am having trouble getting used to that – otherwise it is a mighty fine juicer but does require more time to set up for juicing and tear down for cleaning. I guess that is the price I must pay for progress… oh well.