Er, sorry. The “don’t ask me to explain” primal urges sounds kinda pompous now that I see it. I meant don’t ask me to because I can’t.
Don’t fret. This is a lighthearted thread about my hubby wanting a power tool (even if it is a kitchen appliance) powerful enough to blow out transformers on our street. I know it’s a primal urge, just like it’s a primal urge in women that we can’t pass by a shoe store without stopping in “just for a second.”
I have a Vita-Mix. It can chop wood. 
Now he wants the pasta and meat attachments.
I don’t understand what’s not to get. It’s simple.
The 325 watt model does X.
The 400 watt model does X+Y.
The 575 watt model does X+Y+Z.
And the 1000 watt model will power an ocean liner.
It doesn’t matter if you are absolutely sure that you will never need to power an ocean liner. The point is that Ivylad knows that when the day comes that an ocean liner needs to be powered, he’ll be able to say “I have something that should do it.”
In the meantime, he can also do X+Y+Z.
Believe me, when it comes to power tools, there’s no such thing as too much capacity.
I heart Kitchen Aid. Definitely get the metal geared one. I have my great-grandmother’s. With the old METAL attachments. Yes, a power tool has been passed down through four generations of cooks.
Don’t think of it as spending $400 on Father’s Day. Think of it as spending $100 for Father’s Day, $100 on your kid, $100 on your grandchild and $100 on your great-grandchild.
(Another thought: will your kitchen even support 1000 watts? I got a too-powerful imicrowave that pops the circuit breakers in my whole apartment if we use it while the TV’s on.)
Got one of those in Licorice. (a semi-sparkly black)
It replaced a 5-quart machine that we’d pretty much worn out. One day, when making cookie batter, the poor old thing was going urrr urrr urrr urrr urrr instead of its usual whirrrrrrrr. Checked the motor brushes, saw they were in need of replacement, but once the motor was back at full power, the gears were not up to the task.
Next batch - whirrrrrr urrr urrr WHEEEEEEEEEE as the motor’s now completely unloaded and the gears fall into the bowl. 
So we’re mixer shopping, see the Pro series and we’re both like “Ahruh! More power!”
That’s it in a nutshell: Ahruh! More power!
The meat grinder is a great attachment. Absolutely worth getting. With it you can buy some chuck steak and lamb shoulder and make your own gyro meat. If he hunts, then he’ll be able to grind any game meat for making chili (venison makes the best chili). Surprise him with the sausage stuffer attachment, too, for only 10 bucks and make your own sausages. You can even make gourmet sausages like duck breast with spinach and Parmigiano Reggiano.
I’ve read that the pasta attachment is not worth the price. You can get a better stand-alone pasta maker for about the same price or even less.
We’ve been watching too much FoodTV. I must also blame my crush on Alton Brown.
AB, you see grinds his own hamburger meat. Ivylad’s eyes lit up, which is why he wants the meat attachment.
Sigh…I’m being punished for having Alton on My List. Karma is punishing me for getting giggly over a man not my husband.
I’m off to search for attachments…
This is getting more and more expensive
(It was a harmless little crush! It means nothing!)
I need a mixer and a sewing machine in flat black, with flame decals.
or maybe a nice DeWault yellow.
I am not a man, but I would love to have one of the high wattage Kitchen Aid mixers with attachments! Although I don’t think I would ever grind meat. (That sounds kinda dirty).
I am able to pass up shoe stores but I love to go to Home Depot and Lowes and look at all the shiny power tools that I have no idea how to use. I bought a Dremel not too long ago with no real idea of what I would use it for, I got it just because I wanted one. So I brought it home and started looking for all sorts of things I could Dremel. I want to get a circular saw now … although I do fear for my fingers.
Maybe one of my X chromosomes thinks it’s a Y?
Female.
Drools over powered and non-powered tools. (ooo! shiney!)
Hates shopping for clothes and shoes and does so only when forced.
Do I trade in my spare X for a Y, or what? 
Oh, I’m sure there’s some crossover, just like there’s some guys (Frasier and Niles 
) who could care less about power tools.
But yeesh…is it just the Boy Scout Be Prepared for Anything aspect of it? You may never need a 1000 watt power mixer, you feel better knowing you have one, just in case?
I agree with all of this except the “venison” part. Moose makes the best chili.
But yeah, the meat grinder is worth it’s weight in carbide-tipped drill bits.
I hate to break it to you, but your husband is a wuss.
Real Men™ know that wattage is irrelevant to a mixer (Sorry for insulting you man, but your not-so-secret love Alton Brown did at least one bit on this, if that assuages your heart – “Squash Court” was one, I believe) It’s all about the transmission, the efficiency, the capacity and (No UniTaskers! Even a clean fire extinguisher can be used to creatively pound or roll) of course, the accessories. It sounds like Hubby Dearest wants something big and loud. Loud is no good. It means wasted energy, heat, rapid wear and a whole world of other inefficiencies. It means he may actually get less usuable power. Guess how many watts are being wasted if it’s as loud as your 1500 W home theater system.
My rule: the guy who always demands the biggest gun is the most scared. A guy who is productively concerned simply learns to be a crack shot. If you can consistently put a BB through the eye (ewww) you have all the stopping power you’ll ever need.
BTW, Amazon has the brand you were looking at form under $200, in a variety of colors and free shipping. I suggest pink. Real Men™ can spray-paint and do custom enamel/lacquer finishes that will put the factory paint to shame. Make him trick it out! Real men don’t just buy a fast car, they make a car fast.
And next Dad’s Day, he will (suitably chastened) only want a family dinner out for the family – and maybe the in-laws, so you can celebrate the two dads in you life.
You sound just like my wife! :eek:
Speaking as a male, who has spent years maintaining and repairing machines, I take a differant view, however its likely to be used as a justification for more power, which isn’t the intention.
Firstly, using an appropriate power machine for the task is often cheaper on energy consumption, its usually safer, and smaller machines are easier to lug around, often they are less hassle to clean, and as for maintenance, they are often so much cheaper than industrial ones that you can do minimum maintenance and when it breaks, its cost effective to throw it and get another.
However, larger machines are generally built to higher specs, they are much more of an investment rather than consumable, the con is that the cost of spares can be very high, and often they may not have many of the do-it-all features as they are intended for an environment which will have specific machines for specific tasks, and as a result they can actually be worse and less adaptable than your cheap and cheerful at doing some things.
A large powerful machine that has been made cheap, will not always put the power it consumes into the work it is designed to do, it may well waste a lot of power as heat, be noisy etc etc, a smaller, well designed machine should win out, and will actually often do more useful work.
I see this sort of thing with all kinds of power tools, from pressure washers to pillar drills, lathes and stuff, huge power can mean huge size, unwieldy and not always that reliable too, and normally not cost effective, cross out that ‘normally’ and insert ‘usually’.
Forget big, go for quality, or cheap and throw away, I tend to go for the latter, there’s no way I’m spending 3 or 4 times the price of a cheap tool on some all singing and dancing alternative, to find it only lasts twice as long, and is more cumbersome, and of course when you turn up at a site to work, stuff has a habit of going missing, the shinier the item, the more likely it will dissappear.
I’ve also found that some cheapies actually are every bit as reliable to their more expensive counterparts, this is not unusual.
I’d go for a more subtle Makita teal. With pinstriping by Chip Foose.
Now I have to find something to do with my skill saw and jigsaw. Hmm, new shelving…
I’d definitely go for the one with metal gears. In black. Maybe a subtle flame job, too.
Plastic gears are for wimps.
How you doin’?