Anyone used Kenwood Chef Restore?

[Mrs Pingu]

Having taken ownership of my Mum's old Chef A901, which is probably nearly as old as me, I gave it a whirl last weekend. I expected it to need some refurbishment but the speed is the same from 1-5.

I notice that KCR do motor repair kits (transistors and triacs etc) but that they also recommend replacing the motor altogether with a new one which is higher wattage and they reckon it will work longer at lower speeds. I can't quite decide if I should just go for that or not.

Anyone used the motor upgrade from them and have any feedback?

[David Martin]

I had one of them - two in fact. Great machines till they give up.

[T42]

Dunno about reconditioning but if you use it with a dough hook put it on a rubbery mat and don't take your eyes off it until you're sure it's stable.

Ours walked off the counter.

[Ham]

My Kenwood Chef is 33 years old and, while it languishes unused for most of the time as daily use duties are handled by its veteran partner Magimix of similar vintage, it still works so no idea how effective the upgrade is. The original worked pretty well for me, but possibly more recent versions won't be manufactured to the same standards.

[Wombat]

Didn't know they did this, or we'd have tried it for our 40+ year old one.  Instead I coughed up for a new one, which was quite a few bob and some of the attachements use a different connection now, so after that lot had been replaced I was a few hundred quid poorer.  The new one doesn't LOOK as well built, but I think it probably is in reality, and yes, the motor and speed control is much better. 

Presumably the new ones aren't built in Havant like the old one was.  I used to know the service manager for Kenwood, till he retired and moved away, and as they were closing down the local operation (we're about 2 miles from the factory) we got some very good prices on spares for other models that friends had.

If I was in your situation I think I'd for for the refurb, I think the basic structure of the chef will still be there, with a few old Volvos and BMW flat twin motorcycles, after the final nuclear holocaust.

[andytheflyer]

Hi,

We had the same problem with a 901.  Bought the transistors and triacs off eBay and fitted them - a bit of soldering but easy enough.  The machine (which was a wedding present in 1977!) now works perfectly.

The single speed fault is a well-known problem, but easily fixed for about a tenner.

[Mrs Pingu]

I decided to go for the motor upgrade in the end as I'm hoping it will be a bit more robust under dough loading. It's also getting a service, new feet are very much needed and hopefully the new grease won't smell as bad as the old. Not 10 quid but still cheaper than a new one.
It arrived there today....

[Marco Stefano]

Please keep us posted on performance if you would, Mrs Pingu, when it comes back and you have wound it up on the bypass (or the mixer equivalent).

I inherited an A707A Major from my late Mum, with a load of attachments as well. I checked all the electrical connections before I used it (it was bought in the mid-late 60s) and after a few goes it stopped smelling of old dusty train sets.    All it needs is a set of feet as they have disintegrated - it runs on a couple of silicone mats. All works fine at the moment, but I would be interested to see whether modernisation is worthwhile (a little quieter would be good, but I guess that is mostly the gearbox).

[Mrs Pingu]

I received the Chef back today, it's still at work waiting to get a lift home, but I can report that the service was speedy, and communication was responsive, if terse. It has a shiny new knob where the new motor went in and nice new feet replaced the ones which looked like so much dead blu-tack.

Will report back when I've had the chance to play with it, possibly this weekend...

[Mrs Pingu]

Here it is in action (click thru for video), kneading some wet ciabatta dough. Seemed to do OK  (though I obviously need to adjust the height of the dough hook) and it didn't try to walk off the kitchen counter.
It seems quiet to me, but that's probably because the old motor was running at high speed all the time - I don't know what it was actually supposed to sound like.
Ciabatta dough by The Pingus, on Flickr