Useful information about stick blenders

I've come across a great article about stick blenders,choosing one, and caring for them so they last. I have also found the reason that many of our SBs begin to draw air into the batter. I have one with the detachable shaft and had been putting it in the dishwasher. Apparently, that is a no-no and will weaken the seals... now I have bubble city. They are made detachable for ease of changing blades, not cleaning. They should be cleaned by wiping off then left to air dry. Oof! I have yet to find a solution to the bubble problem.... other than fixing the seals the right way or replacing the shaft. =P

Here is the article about immersion blenders:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/810839

So, my blender wasn't a piece of junk, I was just mistreating it.

If anyone has a solution to the air bubbles, please discuss.

Thanks for the article.

As for bubbles, when you're blending do you have the blender standing straight up and down or tipped slightly at an angle?

Thanks, this was a great article. I have had two stick blenders fail in as many years. Both had detachable wands and I never put either in the dishwasher. I whirred them in soapy water and then wiped down. In both cases they started to draw air through the shaft, I suspect the little rubber seal went bad.

I have a theory that the single piece SBs may be more robust and this article seems to bear this out. I also think that for soap, less is more WRT wattage, HP, etc. Too much power = too much air? Additionally, the shape of the bell on the end is probably important for soapers as it's harder to get all of the air out of a round bell than a flatter profile one with vents.

Recently I spent some quality time on eBay and picked up some used SBs of the fixed shaft variety. I'm hoping the build quality will be better. I got four - three were 15 dollars or less and I got a Bamix for 25. I'm especially curious about the Bamix as it has no bell at all, just four protective metal prongs as shielding for the blade.

My original SBS was a SS cuisinart which gave out after several months. I replaced it with a cheap Hamilton Beach which lasted a bit over a year. So far my "vintage" Braun looks like a better bet.

Genny, its at all angles. If I burp the bell, another bubble just swiftly forms. If its straight up and down, the bubble will sit there and the blades will just spin in the bubble. I've been using many rubberbands to act as a seal and its helping a little but this busted Sb is still a pain in the butt to use.

I was looking at commercial SBs... untill I realized how huge they are! I'm waiting to hear back on my best offer ebay bid for a Dynamic 7" immersion blender. Looks like some good stuff and its not made in China. This one doesn't have a bell either, just the shielding that you described. After using a paint mixer, I am going back to the SB. I think its much more effective for accelerated trace, which I end up doing to myself alot!