543850 Wed Jul 30 07:28:06 -0700 2008 4 41 Cookware 0 3914477 My mom and I both wanted juice extractors, so I decided to run a little test kitchen experiment this week. The contenders: $299: 1000 watt Breville Juice Fountain. Amazon, Williams Sonoma, Macy's, etc. $30: 850 watt refurbished Waring Pro Juicerator from Amazon. Retail for a new one is about $150. I know it's an unfair comparison, since even brand new the Waring is only half the price of the Breville. But for my own purposes, I wanted to know how the cheapest compares to the best. APPEARANCE -The Breville's parts are clearly superior. The brushed stainless steel looks sturdy and elegant; the Waring Pro's shell looked a little like aluminum in comparison. The Breville's plastic canisters and lids were the high quality clear type that looks like glass from far away and stands up to a little banging around in a kitchen sink. The Waring's plastic parts had a thin, hollow quality. I know over time I'd manage to crack one. ASSEMBLY -The Breville wins again. It was the first extractor I've ever used and I didn't have to look at the manual or even think very hard to take it apart and put it back together again. There were very few parts to click together. The Waring, while easy to use, had more parts that needed to click together a certain way. It took me a minute to figure out even though essentially it's the same mechanism as the Breville. And since the parts seemed thinner and more delicate, I had to be careful. Same goes for taking the machine apart for cleaning. PERFORMANCE -Breville, clearly. It was quieter (though hardly quiet), faster, better at separating juice from pulp, and yielded more juice. One obvious reason is the holes in the Breville mesh receptor are much finer. I'm sure the higher wattage also helps. -However, I can't rule out the possibility that my refurbished Waring is simply a lemon. The juices I made were all murky, no matter what fruits or vegetables I tried. It seems unlikely that the Waring would get fairly solid reviews on Amazon and Chowhound if this were the case. Did I just have bad luck? My mom will be keeping the Breville; I will be returning the Waring but am not able to spring for the Breville. Does anyone have a suggestion for a juice extractor in a medium price range? Wed Jul 30 07:28:07 -0700 2008 11577 Pei 1 3917225 Here's a good thread, all though you may not get the answer you expect. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/437703 Wed Jul 30 20:18:24 -0700 2008 3914477 10743 yayadave 2 3918345 Wow! Very interesting. Thanks! Thu Jul 31 08:54:53 -0700 2008 3917225 11577 Pei 3 3918674 Amazon has milk nut bags. TeeHee Thu Jul 31 10:14:08 -0700 2008 3918345 10743 yayadave 1 3917351 My recommendation is to buy a Champion Juicer, http://www.championjuicer.com/ Made in the US in California. Nice 10 year warranty. Wed Jul 30 21:19:28 -0700 2008 3914477 203391 rockfish42