Thursday, November 19, 2009

Electrolux Magic Mill DLX 2000...say what!?

A couple of weeks ago I ranted about my Kitchenaid dying just weeks after the warranty ended. I had read numerous similar tales on eGullet so its clearly not a unique problem. And while some people swear by their KAs, I'm ready to move on to something more reliable. When it comes to issues such as this I turn to an online friend, andiesenji, who's opinion I trust more than almost any other. She has quite the background and certainly knows her equipment. She suggested the DLX. Its a price jump, but time will tell if its worth it.

I bought it at PleasantMills which has the best price.

Let me take some of their description:
The Electrolux Magic Mill DLX Assistent has been a Swedish secret for over 50 years. An exceptionally strong dough mixer, the Electrolux DLX has an impeccable reputation for long term reliability and quality results whether you're mixing a cake, whipping a meringue, or baking ten loaves of fresh, light, scrumptious bread.

The Magic Mill DLX Assistent mixer creates smooth, silky, elastic dough quicklyand easily with its unique roller and scraper design. This method effectively mimics kneading by hand, minus the time and effort. As the stainless bowl revolves, the deeply fluted roller of the Magic Mill DLX acts as your fingers, with the scraper mimicking the palm of your hand.

The Magic Mill scraper folds the dough with a rhythmic motion while the roller provides a powerful massaging action. Dough comes out smooth and elastic, in large or small batches. Any speed from 40 to 140 RPM can be selected, and an electronic speed sensor automatically adjusts motor torque to the load. A timer is standard equipment, so the Magic Mill DLX will do its work while you do other tasks, stopping when you want it to. The control panel is angled for comfortable use, and the large timer and speed controls are attractive and easy to read.

The large 8 quart stainless steel bowl of the Magic Mill holds up to 28 cups of flour (7 lbs.), to make approximately 15 lbs. of bread dough (7-10 loaves). The efficient, high-torque 600 watt motor runs smoothly and quietly; coupled with an advanced transmission design, it providing ample power to mix and knead even the largest batch of heavy bread dough without straining. The Magic Mill was given its nickname, "The Workhorse Mixer" not by its manufacturer Electrolux, but by users who praise this powerful kitchen helper that's so enjoyable to use.

So far I agree with this description. I did a large batch of dough today and couldn't figure out whether I was supposed to use the roller or hook, but I made 12 batards where my old KA could only do 6. Its interesting that this machine moves the bowl, not the attachment. Makes sense to me - one big honkin' gear to do the job. Here's some more from their site:
The Magic Mill's whisk beater bowl (the white bowl in illustration above) will create beautiful meringues, beating up to 18 egg whites (or as few as one) with excellent results. You can also cream butter, margarine and shortening with sugar to the creamiest texture for all your cookie needs.

When white bowl is used, it is stationary (unlike the stainless bowl, which turns during use), and the whisks drive from below via a center column in the bowl (the white bowl is shaped something like a bunt cake.) This arrangement provides total access to the top of the Magic Mill bowl, with no overhead motor drive in the way. The beater bowl is sold separately by Magic Mill, but we include it with your mixer at no additional charge. When mixing with either this bowl or the stainless bowl, the only metal in contact with your food is food-grade stainless steel.

The Magic Mill DLX mixer measures 13.5"H x 10.5"W x 15.7"D, weighs only 19 lbs. with stainless bowl. It sits firmly on solid rubber feet, and will not walk on the countertop during use. The entire motor enclosure is made of metal, and is available in your choice of four attractive finishes. The Electrolux Magic Mill DLX mixer has a 3 year manufacturer's warranty on the power unit, 1 year on other parts.

The biggest difference between dense, heavy baked goods and the delightfully textured products you want to enjoy is proper development of the gluten in the dough. The Magic Mill kitchen mixer is unexcelled in its ability to turn out fantastic dough. With the array of available accessories displayed below, it offers to add a myriad of exciting dimensions to your cooking experience. The Magic Mill DLX is a lifetime investment.

I started to max out my bowl with a double batch of butter cream, but I survived. I'll continue reporting on what I think of this and if its worth the investment.

25 comments:

Tri2Cook said...

Very nice... and possibly an explanation of why we had completely opposite Kitchen Aid experiences. I don't use mine for doughs so it doesn't see any really heavy stresses. I've been lucky enough to always have a larger, more powerful beast for doughs available at the places I've worked.

Agg said...

Question
is the white bowl plastic? :(
Since beating egg whites means there has to be no oil at all, using plastic bowl is somewhat risky because it's so hard to get rid of oil in plastic.

I can't wait to see more blogs from you!!!
I've never had a stand mixer before and my hand held mixers keep on dying...I have a hard time whipping together butter cream because of it too :(
I want to buy a stand mixer and I've done lots of research.

All the research has led me to bosch or DLX

But I haven't really seen any posting about baking cakes with them
I would love to see some details about baking cakes like chiffon or sponge cakes with the dlx
maybe i'll be able to get one before christmas comes so i can bake again :)
i'm so going to follow your blog to see more updates!!

Gfron1 said...

Welcome to my obsession Aggie :)

"is the white bowl plastic?"
Yes, and nothing especially sturdy.

"Since beating egg whites means there has to be no oil at all, using plastic bowl is somewhat risky because it's so hard to get rid of oil in plastic."
Yes, but I've never found the no oil issue to be as severe as people say and I'm in a commercial kitchen which means slimy water all the time.

"I've never had a stand mixer before and my hand held mixers keep on dying...I have a hard time whipping together butter cream because of it too :("
I use a Cuisinart hand mixer and have had good luck with it, but not for big jobs. Butter cream in this bad boy is super easy.

"All the research has led me to bosch or DLX"
Same here. What put me over the edge was andiesenji from eGullet, and I trust her implicitly on such matters.

"But I haven't really seen any posting about baking cakes with them
I would love to see some details about baking cakes like chiffon or sponge cakes with the dlx"
Everything you're seeing on my blog at this point is on the DLX. I don't do too many chiffons, but a heck of a lot of meringue based cakes (they do better for me at the altitude).

Agg said...

curious to know what exactly did andiesenji from eGullet say so that you picked the DLX over the Bosch?

I might end up getting the Bosch just because the DLX is not supported in Canada :(
I can't get it in any stores here and getting it online might just cost too much
I'll have to really look into the pricing and warranties to see if they all still apply to me in Canada :(

Gfron1 said...

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/14505-stand-mixers/

Start at the end of the topic for the most recent opinions. The main DLX comments are just a page or two from the end.

Manggy said...

Yes, the no oil issue really matters most with hand whisking. I've never wiped down anything with vinegar, even with my hand mixer (roll eyes)... Though I do use a stainless steel bowl, because I don't want chips of plastic or glass in my batters.
Do you think you could get these at an auction or outlet? I used to lust after Kitchenaids but you've totally turned me on something else here!

Gfron1 said...

I think you might pick it up on Ebay but I haven't seen one yet. I'm still learning but so far I like it. My biggest problem is when my doughs are too much for the bowl. I'm getting more output than my KA but still not quite as much as I want/need. And remember, Larry loves his KA, but he's not doing much bread.

misterrios said...

I've had one of these since the beginning of the year and I absolutely love it. I got it because I'm in Europe, and a Kitchen Aid would have been more expensive, and because I make more bread than anything else. Glad to see another DLX user out there!

Ryan & Emma Kalmbach said...

I love the DLX and have had it for seven years with no problems and have used it for all sorts of baking, from cookie dough to bread doughs. In Sweden the DLX motor has a lifetime warranty, here it only has 3 years. Today my beaters for the beater/whisk mixing bowl broke, but it was because the dough I was mixing was way too dense and the motor kept chugging but the beaters got stuck and ripped off! Oops!

Annee said...

I live In Australia & imported a DLX & it worked really well to start. Sadly it started to go flat out even on the slowest speed. I just don't know what has happened. After about 5 minutes it slows to the set speed but it throws stuff all over the kitchen. Does anyone else have this problem?

Gfron1 said...

I've been using this for a couple of month with very heavy usage. Each morning it chugs out 12 loaves of bread and has done this daily from the beginning. The rest of the day I use it on creams and such where it really excels. So, no, I haven't had any troubles...and let's keep it that way :)

Kal said...

Does anyone out there know where to get service on a DLX 2000? I called Electrolux and they disavow any knowledge of Magic Mill...I have a unit that's 10 years old but hasn't seen much use - the switch doesn't work anymore, it won't turn on - and I can't find anyone to fix it! Perhaps one of you who has purchased one recently might be able to help me with info from your unit's manual? Thanks!

Gfron1 said...

My manual says to call 866-844-6565 for service location.

Kal said...

Thanks - I did try that already, it's the Electrolux help #, and they were no help at all - they're not offering any support for Magic Mill products, even though they own the product line.

Anonymous said...

I have had my DLX for more than 15 years and have NEVER had a problem. I do 6 loaves of w/w bread at a time. We also make big batch cookies to roll into balls and freeze.

the only issue I had is one of the knobs came off and i glued it back on!

Simply the best product and it's NOT made in CHINA!

Gfron1 said...

Just and FYI that I've posted a new discussion of my past nine months of usages: http://blogquat.blogspot.com/2010/06/electrolux-magic-mill-dlx-2000-follow.html

happy4ever said...

I've an a DLX for 4 years and loved it! Especially for whole wheat bread! Lately I've made some green smoothies in the blender, and managed to crack the bottom of the blender. This caused leakage into the base unit and smelled horrible! When I tried to use the mixer again it was really slow and smells bad again. I called Pleasant Hill Grain, and even though I didn't purchase the unit from them, they were kind enough to give me this number to call for service- royallux at 201-785-8840. This is Eastern time zone and she said that on Friday's they're only there until 1pm their time. I still have to find the receipt for my mixer so I can call them-I purchased it from an internet place by Denver and can't find the company on the net-I'll try my old credit card history.
Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

I am looking for an everyday mixer. I have had numerous hand mixers but they don't seem to last long. I was looking at a KA pro stand mixer, but then saw the DLX. Can you do more than mixing baked goods such as mash potatoes?

Gfron1 said...

Sure you can, but those would be some expensive mashers! If you you use a mixer almost every day, then I still say that this is the way to go - especially if you're making heavy doughs or confections. If you're only doing light duty mixing, go with the cheaper KA mixer.

Ruth said...

Which parts of the Verona mixer do you use, to make a sponge cake?

Gfron1 said...

I don't use this much for cakes anymore - its definitely my bread workhorse. But, if I were, I would use the plastic bowl with the rotating whisks.

Unknown said...

I've had a DLX Assistent for 3 + years and it recently was "Dead On Arrival" when I tried to start it. I tried the 866-844-6565 number and it was disconnected. I called Pleasant Hill Grain where I purchased it. They told me Roylux in Upper Saddle River, NJ repairs them and a call confirmed they do. I noticed that there may be a fuse in the plug and am going to try an electrician to repair that before I ship my machine to NJ. Has anyone had experience with a "fuse failure"?

Unknown said...

I have a used one for sale. Excellent condition, all parts, manual and and clean. $350

Anonymous said...

I have a used one for sale. All parts, clean, works well. $250.00

Anonymous said...

Still for sale?