The Impact On Blending Soups And Smoothies From The Noise Levels Of 2 Hp And 3 Hp Blenders
By Thomas Fox
Some of the reasons for blenders not being used at all or used not a lot (about once a week to once or twice a month) are as follows:
1. Space issues to store the blender or where to operate it and how accessible it is.
2. Noise levels of how they affect everyone in the house hold.
3. The learning curve of electronic program features that some blenders require for proper use.
4. Learning curve to use smoothie recipes and soup compositions that are tasty and healthy at the same time.
5. It”s also a matter of time that is used to buy the ingredients, store them, and put the ingredients together from the fridge, clean them, and then prepare the smoothie or soup, and then put everything away again.
6. And finally, where to store all the extra green ingredients and fruits, nuts, seeds….
More research is needed to answer all of these questions. In this study we are focusing on the part of the noise level affecting the blender usability and therefore the outcome of the soup and smoothie-making frequency and its quality.
According to research, high performance blenders have been tested during their smoothie and soup- making blending cycles to yield between 92 dB to 105 dB, depending on blender brand, make and model tested. A Magnum 45 caliber Revolver, when fired is at about 97 dB. So you can get some idea of how noisy a blender can be.
We have found in our survey that children and people with hearing aids are especially sensitive to the noise level coming from the subject high performance blenders. The study also revealed that persons (mostly mothers) are more frequently hesitant using the high performance blenders. This is out of fear to disturb others and possibly cause too much noise for themselves.
Smoothie and soup blenders also hold back for other people in their household and those that live in apartments next door. When guests come over, smoothie making and soup blending is kept usually shorter. This is not just a problem in respect to the smoothie consumption frequency, but also a smoothie quality issue. A smoothie and a soup completed correctly in the time that is required to break the cell walls yields greater nutritional value than the one the one that is prematurely finished.
Our research project concluded with the hypothesis that it is about 95 percent likely that consumers would make 65 percent more smoothies and raw soups if the noise level were reduced by about 30 percent.
We have also found through our study that the available sound enclosures and sound or noise tamper systems available are too expensive for most consumers and then also use up lot of space. They are difficult to use because they open strictly to the top.
About 60 percent of those subjects that participated in the survey suggested that they would use a sound enclosure if it were more practical to use and definitely were priced under $ 80.00 dollars. The subjects indicated in the open-ended questionnaire that the noise level definitely, and second the space issue are the primary causes for these blenders not being used as frequently.
500 surveys and questionnaires were sent out to current blender users. 200 surveys reached Vita Mix blender users, 100 surveys reached Waring blender users and 200 reached Blendtec blender users. The response rate was 35 percent. We received 175 surveys back which were used to come to our hypothesis.
The blenders compared and tested in our own laboratory were:
1. Vita Mix 4500 Turbo Blender, a 2 hp blender, which comes with a simple on/off switch and low/high speed switch (no variable speed dial). The Vita Mix 4500 TB weighs 12 pounds net. The VM 4500 TB was measured at 92 dB
2. Vita Mix 5200 Blender, also a 2 hp blender, which is equipped with the same switches as the Vita Mix 4500 Turbo Blender, but it has also a dial turning knob for variable speed in the center. The dimensional design and the materials used for the blender containers are the same, made from polycarbonate. The Vita Mix 5200 blender weighs also 12 pounds net. The VM 5200 Blender was measured at 93dB.
3. Vita Mix Vita Prep 1005, a 3 hp high performance blender, designed for the use of the elderly in nursing homes because it has more power and can micronize / break the cell walls of its ingredients better than the 2 hp Vita Mix 5200 blender. And just like number 1 and 2 above, this 3 hp Vita Mix Blender (Vita Prep 3) weighs also 12 pounds. 3 hp Vita Mix Vita Prep 1005 was measured at 95dB.
4. Blendtec HP3A Blender (Total Blender is the same design with some minor blending cycle program differences), is a 3 hp blender, considered the highest power for the buck. It is however electronically sophisticated with 25 programs and therefore becomes little less-user friendly due to the electronic program choices for some people. The Blendtec HP3A and Total Blenders weigh 9 pounds without its box. The Blendtec HP3A and the Total Blenders were both tested at 95 dB to 97 dB.
5. Blendtec EZ Blender, also a 3 hp blender, which is a commercial version of the Blendtec HP3A 3 hp blender. It cost just about the same, but comes with 2 jars. The EZ Blender weighs 9 pounds. This test was the same as above.
6. Blendtec ICB-7 Symbiotic Blender and the Blendtec ICB-7 20 AMP Smoother. Both blenders are 3.5 hp blenders with the same motor, equipped with a 20 amp power supply and up to 2.4 kW consumption. The first is built in the Connoisseur housing with the keypad and programming of the Blendtec HP3A, and the second is the plane motor that can either be put into the counter-top or set into the black motor-base together with its upper blender sound enclosure box from 3/16 inch cell-cast acrylic. Both, the ICBB 7 20 amp smoother and the symbiotic after market blender weigh net (without the sound enclosure on the Smoother) 17 pounds. The Blendtec 20 AMP 3.5 hp Symbiotic Blender tested at 102 dB and the 20 AMP Smoother tested at 98 dB.
7. Waring MX1050XT, a 3.5 hp blender with a 13 amp torque and 1500 watts power supply. This blender is about 16 pounds heavy. See dB below.
8. Waring MX1200XT, a 3.5 hp blender with the same power configuration as the MX1050XT Waring blender and the same weight. Both 3.5 hp Waring blenders tested at 92 dB
The blending media used for the test was the equal amount of ice cubes to be crushed and made into slush. We filled all 64 oz containers up with ice cubes. Tampers where used where applicable to push down on the ice, where needed. Applicable and available sound enclosures were not used.
The ICB 7 20 AMP Smoother motor was placed in its pre-designed base and the top sound enclosure box was not used. All other blenders, from Vita Mix 5200 to Vita Mix Vita Prep 3, the Blendtec HP3A, etc, to the Waring 3.5 hp blenders we operated standing on the same location in our laboratory. When a test completed with one blender, the blender was removed and the next test sample (blender) was placed in its location.
We were unable to determine the exact cause of the noise level differences. They may have something to do with the weight differences, and the associated applications. All blender containers were made from polycarbonate materials. There were some minor weight differences. The Blendtec containers were about 25 percent lighter than the Vita Mix and the Waring containers. But that may have had also some relationship to the blade assemblies which each container is equipped with.
The outcome of the ice texture and ingredient smoothie-ness may also help us to come to a better understanding as to why one blender is noisier or quieter than the other. One blender may simply run faster and more powerful than the other, subject to RPM. We were not able to measure the RPM differences, but acoustically were able to differentiate a higher pitch and lower frequency generated by the RPM of the motor and the speed of crushing the ice.
Possibly, another variable is the power issue and then benefits associated. For example the Blendtec 20 AMP blenders, both of them blended and crushed the entire ice cubes in the 64 oz containers in about 4 to 5 seconds into snow, while the Vita Mix 5200 2 hp and the Vita Mix 4500 TB were blending the ice into slush in 15 seconds. The Waring 3.5 hp blenders came right after the Vita Mix Vita prep 3 hp blender at 9 seconds, producing also slush, but little icier than the slush in the 2 hp blender.
In conclusion, and in defense of the high performance blenders, the only other solution for avoiding these levels of noise would be the use of a 1 hp blender, or something like that. It will however never yield in the soup and smoothie quality that a 2 hp and a 3 hp blender will demonstrate. With this high power blender performance comes also the associated noise level of the 2 hp and 3 hp or even 3.5 hp blender motor. Some of them come with optional sound enclosures while other do not yet.
About The Author
T. Fox researches healthy smoothies ,a mix of blenders and health ingredients, at the at the workplace , resulting in work collaboration. People perform better when they are healthy.