Vitamix 6000 – The most convenient blender?

The Vitamix 6000 is a completely different type of blender compared to other Vitamix models. It’s a blender that’s made with convenience in mind. Instead of having a dial dedicated to manually adjusting the speed, it has a unique timer dial with six presets in its place. This allows you to add your ingredients and let the machine do all of the work for you. This provides consistent results instead of trial and error when making recipes with other models.

The question then arises whether this convenience is worth the $599 MSRP. I hope that going over its performance and features will help you make the best purchasing decision to fit your needs.

Power:

The high price of the blender does correlate to high performance as you’d expect. All of the Vitamix machines come equipped with an incredibly powerful motor. The 6000 model is no exception as it has a 2-peak horsepower motor inside. That’s the same as a few of the other models that are available like the 5200, so you can expect about the same performance. This means it’s able to turn raw nuts into homemade peanut butter due to the sheer force of the blades. According to Vitamix the 3″ blades spin at a maximum of over 240 MPH!

This produces a lot of heat when you run the machine for extended periods of time. Thankfully Vitamix incorporates a radiant-cooling system into the blender. This safety feature will turn the machine off if the heat reaches a worst-case scenario. I’ve never experienced this happening and with the Vitamix 6000, it’s even less of an issue in my opinion, since the timer dial maxes out at 6 1/2 minutes.

It’s also rather loud once the machines revs up to its max speed. I wouldn’t say you’d need ear protection but you wouldn’t want to run this machine at night. If you live in an apartment complex your neighbors may even think you’re tackling a late night home improvement project. I’ve had some luck placing a rubber mat under my blenders to reduce vibration.
vitamix 6000

Functionality:

As I said earlier, the Vitamix 6000 is designed with convenience and ease of use in mind. The lack of manual speed control on the dial means you have to rely on the preprogrammed settings. This can be somewhat limiting since you don’t have full control of the machine like some of the other models available. Alternatively, it can also be a huge benefit if you want consistent blending results. I’ve made multiple recipes in it and everything turned out exactly the same every time I ran the blender at the specified setting.

The timer settings to choose from on the dial are 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, 4 1/2 minutes, and 6 1/2 minutes. I appreciated the fact that the Vitamix 6000 includes a cookbook with over 300 recipes tailored specifically for the blender’s presets. All of the settings sorta work in the same way; you select a preset and the machine gradually increases its speed as time goes on. It varies based on the setting you choose.

I’ll mention that this blender model comes with the older, taller, 64-ounce container. This means that the overall height of the machine reaches 20 1/2 inches. At this height, it probably won’t fit under anyone’s kitchen cabinets. Some people just leave the blender pulled out or they place their jar next to the base. Vitamix does make a newer 64-ounce jar that’s shorter, slightly quieter, and a little easier to clean. But those are only on newer models or you have to buy it separately. It isn’t a big deal since the jar still works great, I just prefer the newer style which makes the max height be 17 1/2 inches.

Grinding/Chopping:

I tried to make a few different homemade nut butters with the Vitamix 6000. Which is my favorite way to test how well a blender grinds ingredients. Unfortunately, I still had to tamp the nuts down while the machine was running so that everything got incorporated into one smooth mixture. That kind of negates the benefit of having a timer and automatic mode on the blender. Having manual work required for this task gives this model no advantage over others.

For chopping I usually just use the dedicated pulse switch. Any of the other settings would make the blender run for too long. Then you’d just have a weird clump of greens or liquify your vegetables and that’s not the desired effect.

Smoothies:

This is really where the machine shines for me. I’ve been able to make smoothies with continuous results thanks to the timer presets. Now you don’t have to worry about mixing for too long or having to watch a clock. You can really just add your ingredients and hit start. When the machine stops you’ll have a perfect smoothie every time. This also seems to work well with recipes that aren’t included in the accompanying cookbook.

Soups:

My goal when using the Vitamix 6000 for soups was to add all of my ingredients and let it run automatically while I focused on preparing my entrée and other side dishes. I was really impressed with how well this task worked. It made piping hot soups on its own while I didn’t have to worry about the amount of time it was running for. I’d say it’s extremely convenient with this and definitely one of the best benefits compared to some alternative models.

flip top bottleAccessories:

This blender actually comes with a 22-ounce flip-top beverage bottle as a bonus. It’s perfect for pouring your smoothies into before heading out the front door to work. Vitamix offers many other accessories ranging from different blender jar sizes to smaller things such as spatulas and juice filtration bags. In terms of the containers, they come in either 32, 48, or 64-ounce sizes. They even have an alternate dry grains jar, which has differently shaped blades to blend dough recipes and raw nuts more easily. I’ve seen Costco, Amazon, and a few other retailers occasionally offering a Vitamix bundle with multiple jars. It might be wise to search around for one of those deals before buying.

Negatives:

I’ve mentioned a few negatives already but I think it’s a good idea to go over them again. Depending on how much you care about these will determine whether the Vitamix 6000 is your ideal blender. I’ll start by saying that the machine is too tall for some people. At 20 1/5 inches this probably won’t fit under your cabinets. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing since even if it did, you’d still have to pull it out to use it. It’s something to consider though.

Another peculiar negative is that the machine only includes a 5-year warranty, while many other models come with 7 years by default. I’m not sure why there’s a discrepancy between the length of warranty coverage. It’s from the same company and even cheaper models include the full 7 years.

Also, the machine does not excel at making homemade nut butters. It requires constant attention which negates the benefits of the machine’s automatic settings. It’s still possible to make them but it isn’t any easier nor does it provide any better results. You do not have any control over the speed of the machine. That’s something that can be a big negative for some people.

Conclusion:

After going over the Vitamix 6000 you can see that there’s still plenty to love about it, even with a few drawbacks. The blender was designed to be convenient to use and it does a good job of accomplishing that. It especially shines when you use it to make soups and smoothies, as it produces consistent results every time. Unfortunately, the lack of speed control can limit it on some tasks compared to other models. It does work really well with the recipes that are in the included cookbook. I’ll note that it’s also perfectly capable of handling any other recipe you find, granted with a little experimenting with the time settings and pulse button.

If you like the idea of preprogrammed presets but also want complete speed control, there are a few alternative options. The Vitamix 6300 includes three presets to handle hot soups, smoothies, and frozen desserts. On top of that, it has full 10-speed controls. The downside is that the MSRP is $649, which is $50 more, but I personally feel it’s worth the extra price since it also includes a 7-year warranty. You could also look into getting the Professional Series 750 model. That model includes a few more presets compared to the 6300 and it comes with the newer shorter blender jar. That’s even more expensive at an MSRP of $689. Though the prices for all of these models vary based on the type of deal you can find so I’d recommend searching around.

Before ending this article I’d like to quickly mention that all of the Vitamix blenders are built here in the United States. Some people aren’t aware of this when I tell them and this decision by the company obviously adds to the overall cost. Once you get one of these machines in your home you can see and feel the quality that goes into it. It may sound cliche but it really is a product that you want to use every day. The blenders can even do the job of other appliances such as juicers and mixers. This fact coupled with the incredibly long warranty helps make this a smart long-term purchase.

Vitamix 6000 Deals

This model has now been discontinued! There’s currently a deal for a certified reconditioned 5200 or 6300 model on Amazon though! Every machine is thoroughly inspected and must pass multiple quality checks before it leaves the Vitamix warehouse. It comes with the exact same 5-year warranty as a brand new model. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee if you’re unhappy with it. View the following link to check which colors are in stock.

Vitamix Blender (Certified Reconditioned) – Amazon Offer

Update: I know this is a different model, but I want to let you know that there’s also the new Vitamix A3300 right now on Amazon. It’s somewhat similar to the 6000 model with it being based on a timer functionality. I’ll include a link just in case you’re interested:

Newest Vitamix A3300 – Amazon Offer

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