Did you know that Hamilton Beach Commercial once ran a high-performance blender for more than 1 million cycles, back-to-back? Visitors to our offices in Richmond, Virginia could see it at work, blending (and blending, and blending) a pink silicone-based liquid that was meant to simulate a smoothie.
At Hamilton Beach Commercial, we never stop challenging, testing and improving our blenders — even after almost a century of manufacturing them. Here’s an inside look at how we do it!
We test our commercial blenders in the toughest conditions.
Once a new blender concept makes it through rigorous internal and external processes and comes to life in a functional form, it undergoes a series of tests in the Hamilton Beach Commercial Test Lab. The lab is where appliances made by Hamilton Beach Commercial and its competitors are tested for performance, safety and durability. Among other tests, we:
- Use the Blade Flex Machine to test blender blade durability. This machine can generate precisely measured mechanical stress that’s the equivalent of many cycles or years of operation. It’s used to confirm that the blade will not fail.
- Drip salt water on blenders and other appliances while they’re running to test the coating of circuit boards as well as the integrity of seals and gaskets. While a commercial blender on a cruise ship might be subject to excessive salt and humidity, our Rain Machine testing is intended to put an appliance through exposure more extreme than it’s likely to encounter. The goal is to produce equipment that’s much stronger and more durable than it will ever need to be.
- Run dishwasher-safe parts through hundreds of continuous dishwashing cycles to test for stress. If we spot a crack or other sign of wear, we investigate it.
We also have third-party testing labs conduct highly accelerated life testing (HALT) on our circuit boards. This means using a combination of variables, such as vibration, temperature and electrical stress, to push electrical systems to their limits.
We send our blenders to high-volume field testers.
Once a blender has been perfected in the lab, we send it to a wide variety of users. These field testers may be a busy bar that’s blending custom frozen beverages; a smoothie shop that blends fresh, fibrous fruits and veggies; a university kitchen that makes large quantities of food; or Feed More, a nonprofit community kitchen serving central Virginia, where foodservice pros work alongside volunteers.
This part of our blender testing is crucial, because we always discover things we hadn’t anticipated. For example, we’ve seen kitchen staff using a spray hose to clean a blender base. You wouldn’t think that someone would hose down an electrical appliance, but it can happen in a busy kitchen! That led us to improve the sealing where the motor shaft exits the housing, improving water resistance.
We look at blender results in real-world environments.
We love ordering blended beverages at restaurants and bars all over the world. The average person might shrug if they find a big chunk of ice in their daiquiri, but we know this can signify a serious problem. Ice chunks mean either the beverage hasn’t blended long enough, or the blades have formed an air pocket in the bottom of the blender jar, so they’re blending nothing.
These problems don’t happen with Hamilton Beach Commercial beverage blenders. Our proprietary Wave~Action® jar creates a vertical wave action that pushes the blended mix down in the jar and keeps it circulating. Our customized blending cycles plus Auto Blend, which stops the blender when the beverage reaches its perfect consistency (available on the Summit® Edge), ensure a perfect blend, even when bartenders are multitasking.
Meet the latest models
Hamilton Beach Commercial’s high-performance blenders now feature highly durable, BPA-free copolyester jars with improved seals and an upgraded cutter assembly. You’ll also notice one thing missing: foam packaging. As part of our longstanding commitment to sustainability, our blenders are packaged in recyclable pulp, with reusable straps to secure cords instead of disposable twist ties.
Discover the difference for yourself when you order:
- The Fury™ Blender (HBH550R Series)
- The Tempest® Blender (HBH650R Series)
- The Eclipse™ Blender (HBH755R Series), which also features a USB port for custom programming and capacitive touch buttons, making it even more resistant to moisture or water ingress.
Explore the full line of Hamilton Beach Commercial high-performance blenders.
