Juicer Buying Guide - What to Pay Attention to When Purchasing a Juice Extractor?

The aim of this juicer buying guide and tips is to help you select a juicer that will be your best friend on on your juicing journey. The wide range of juice extractors offered by retailers can be confusing and it pays to know which model is good for juicing what. Additional advice this articles includes answers the following questions:

What main technical features you need to examine and compare prior to buying a juicing machine?

What other aspects of the appliance are important to check?

Juicer Buying Guide - Finding the Best Juicer that Suits your Needs and Budget

To many people the price of an appliance is the major decision factor - which is very important on our oppinion, too - but there are other important features that must be considered before buying a product, including a juicer.

Things to Consider When Buying a Juicer

1. The Types of Produce You Will be Juicing

Don't all juicing machines juice everything? There's no universal juicer that will juice every kind of produce, that's why you should think through your juicing habits and select a unit that is best suited to your needs.

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Fruits and vegetables have different characteristics. Some are soft and contain lots of juice, others have harder structure with less liquid content. There are also stringy fruits and veggies and ones that have lots of seeds.

Not all juicing methods will work with the same efficiency while juicng various types of produce. Leafy greens require a different kind of process to get the highest possible amount of juice out of them.

There are 3 main juicer types based on the process applied during operation:

Centrifugal Juicers: will juice most fruits and vegetables (carrots, celery, ginger, tomato) that are often used to make juice drinks, except leafy greens (whetagrass, parsley, spinach etc.). See our selection of the Best Value Centrifugal Juicers.
If you want to juice primarily citrus fruits (lemon, oranges, lime, grapefruit) then a dedicated citrus juicer is the best choice for you.

Masticating single auger juicers - an auger crushes the added produce then the juice is extracted. These machines operate at much lower speed (low rpm juicers) than centrifugal ones. A single gear juice extractor will yield a higher quality juice (oxidation of nutrients is minimal). If you're a fruit juice drinker then a masticating style machine is not suitable for you (perhaps the Champion juicer is worth considering) because they process vegetables better than fruits. Although single gear (auger) juicers do juice fruits, but this type of machines don't cope well with softer fruits if you add them alone (without some veggies). For juicing fruits exclusively get a centrifugal juicer or blend the fruits.
Twin Gear Juicers - these are the most pricey juicing machines but they also have the most benefits. Apart from all types of vegeatbles and most fruits, these type of juicing machines can juice wheatgrass and even pine needles. The produce is pressed between the two gears to exerting high pressure to obtain the highest possible amount of juice.
Wheatgrass juicers - these units are specifically designed to juice wheatgrass and leafy herbs. There are both manual and electric models.

2. Motor Power, Output

For quick and effective juicing look for a machine which has at least a 450-500 Watt motor (cc. 3/4 horsepower) although a 250 Watt juice extractor is a good entry level juicer (our first juicer was Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer which has 200 watt ouput and we were able juice with it most hard vegetables - carrots, celery, beetroot - and fruits).

3. Ease of Use and Cleaning

If you do not want to spend too much time and effort on washing up the juicer parts then look for one that is dishwasher safe. In my oppinion all juicing machines require a bit of cleaning up work, but once you get the hang of it it will be a natural part of your daily habit.
Some juicers, however are more complicated to assemble/disassemble and clean than others which can make juicing a time-consuming task. Read juicer reviews and ratings written by unbiased users (like the ones published on this site) to find out whether a juicer model is simple to use and clean.

4. Durability - Length of Warranty

The best juicers carry 5-15 years (Omega) warranty. Some manufacturers give longer warranty on the motor than the rest of the appliance. Since there are so many juice extractor brands and models to choose from, a long warranty period (at least 5 years) is definitely an important factor in deciding which one to buy. By any means, don't waste your money on models that come with only 90 days warranty.

5. Replacement Parts

How easy it is to get replacement parts? Finding accessories and replacement parts for famous juicer brands is more easier than it is for lesser-known ones.

6. Price

If you're a beginner juicer then probably an inexpensive model would be the best for you to decide whether juicing is for you at all. Later you can invest in a durable, high-end juice extractor that will last many years.

7. Attractiveness of the Juicer

It's an advantage if the appliance is good to look at and matches with other utensils you use in the kitchen. It should also be conveniently placed on the kitchen counter so that you'll not forget about using it regularly.

8. Noise Level

Due to the powerful motor and the juicing process all juicers are a bit noisy. Even the less loud ones (Green Star, Solo Star, Samson Juicers) generate around 80 dB noise. The loudest juicers make around or more than 100 dB (Breville Juice Fountain, Vitamix 4500 Juicer)

9. Portability

If you plan to carry your juicing machine with you a lot then opt for a lightweight juicer (L'Equip Mini Juicer, Model 110.5, Omega Compact Juicer 02,) or one with a carry handle. Masticating juicers are rather bulky, weighing 5-10 kg.

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