Opinions on Oster Regency Kitchen Center 10-speed?

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TheLoud on

Someone in my area is selling an Oster Regency Kitchen Center 10-speed, including all the original accessories, for $90. Is that good for kneading dough, whipping frosting, etc? What's its capacity? That is, how many cups of flour in a bread dough can it handle without burning out the motor?

It seems like a pretty good deal compared to eBay, where ones missing a lot of accessories are selling for at least that much. I know there are people who'll say, "I got mine for fifty cents at a yard sale" but I don't know how many yard sales I'd have to go to to find one of these. 

I'll take any advice, including estimates of how many yard sales I'd have to go to to find one cheaper, or even a mythical pre-1986 Kitchenaid stand mixer. 

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Rube Goldberg on Fri, 10/28/2016 - 02:55

It is 30-40 years old and still going. You just need to realize that it is for home use only. Not a commercial mixer by any stretch of the imagination. It kneads bread OK, but only for 1 or 2 loafs at a time. Any more than that and you risk burning it up. The blender and ice cream maker attachments work good. Works fine as a cake mixer.

...it would not appear to be useful if you're ever going to go beyond  1-2 loaves, as Rube just wrote..  And that means you're going to be quite limited in the amount and kinds of doughs you're going to make.  I wouldn't buy it unless I was quite certain I want limitations like that and especially if it doesn't come with a dough hook.  None of the pictures of that machine that I see on the net show a dough hook, but maybe I missed it.  That machine is very reminiscent of the old MixMaster that my mother used in my 1095's childhood.  My mother got rid of it when she got into serious breadmaking.

Also, give a hard look in this website at all the comments about KitchenAid mixers before you buy one of those or any of the various knockoffs made by other equally reputable companies.  Design and engineering difficulties have to be considered which out-weigh their value as a fashion statement, which they've certainly become.  I wouldn't buy one of those machines, nor the one you're looking at without examining carefully all that's written about it by a serious home breadmaker.  If no such comments exist, don't buy it.

 

My Oster Kitchen Center has a pair of dough hooks with separate holes in the mixer head, which are geared lower for more torque than the holes for the beaters. Any thrift store bread machine would give you as good, if not better, bread dough kneading capabilities as the Oster. The Oster is a poor mans' Kitchen Aide. It works well within its limitations. Just my opinion.

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TheLoud on Fri, 10/28/2016 - 07:56

Thanks, everyone. A one or two loaf limit might be a deal breaker for me, even though it does come with dough hooks and a bewildering array of other accessories. 

I'd like to buy something to help me make, say, two to four loaves worth of dough, so I can freeze three and rise and bake them later. Now I'm leaning towards a Bosch.

I have a KA Artisan, and can make 2 loaves max in it. Even then, I need to use a hammer to bang the lift head pivot pin back in frequently as it works its way out (and yes, I do tighten the inside head screw from time to time). I bake and sell bread in my community, so I'm often making four to 12 loaves of dough at a time. I sprung for a used Univex 30 quart floor model which handles everything with ease. Not an option for most home bakers though.

I bought one of these almost fifty years ago, it is still working very well, I have taken off the top plastic piece a couple of times, to be sure that the gears are sufficiently lubricated. That was perhaps the only negative issue, the metal screws (four or them), holding the top piece in place, are anchored into the top piece, into four rather very weak plastic receptacles. It is incredibly easy to strip out the threads in those plastic openings!!! I eventually simply drilled those plastic receptacles out with a small drill, and then reanchored the piece with four proper length machine bolts, and used locking nuts, to be sure that the bolts/nuts stayed secure. That was done some years ago, still no problems. I broke the small bowl. Large bowl still ok. Lost the dough hooks, got a replace via Internet. The grinder, my ex broke it long ago, she tried to make bread crumbs, tch tch. The mixer is for home use, not at all for commercial use. Like any smaller kitchen appliance, keep it clean, use it within it's limitations. Like I said, mine in almost 50 years old, I don't use it as much anymore at my rather advanced age.