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Question: what is the length of the shaft
Document: not optimal but an improvement. it took me a while to figure that out. i bet ur much better at that sort of thing than me. lastly, krups america is sending me a replacement blender shaft. free. we'll see. i think they were asleep when i called but they eventually accommodated. i still like it a lot. get it. u wont be sorry. i wonder what happened to that metal piece?
This is a replacement for a Viking professional blender, which still works but is a pain to use. This blender is very good. The shaft design is ideal even for low volumes. However, note that the shaft is not all stainless steel. It is basically a plastic part cladded with steel. So, when immersing some plastic still comes in contact with the liquid. What this means is that you should be careful about blending in hot liquids.
The plastic collar that allows the blender shaft to be held into the body is flimsy and broke. My item is completely useless now and Amazon won't stand by the warranty past 30 days. I used it a couple times a week to make smoothies and it eventually started to wiggle around and ultimately broke. This was casual use in my kitchen, not a restaurant.The design is very poor. I would not buy this again.
We need to figure out how to return it or get replacements for the attachments, but I'm concerned that there's just a fundamental problem of the motor out-powering the attachments. I will update when we resolve this with Amazon or Krups.UPDATE 11/11/13: We did get the parts replaced under warranty from Krups, by sending in the entire set in its original box, but the plastic gear that allows the motor to spin the metal drive shaft in the immersion blender has broken again.
The body feels solid but the shaft feels flimsy and it vibrates too much when the blender is running. If I hold the shaft with my hand while I run the blender, the the vibration stops and it runs smooth; but once y release it, the shaft starts to vibrate again. The blade also looks frail. The gear where the shaft connects to the body is made of plastic. A product is as strong as its weakest link. This blender would be ok for $30.
i like krups. good ole german design and engineering. this baby is a thoroughbred. its big, as long as ur forearm. a bit ungainly perhaps and loud too but its built to last (steel shaft, as best i can tell) it's fast and powerful, no toy. it rocks on cubes. (float the ice cubes in liquid and plunge repeatedly) the little accessory blender cup with its own blades does a nice job mincing garlic and ginger. it's easy to clean, just rinse.
When the blender works, it seemed to work OK. I had a $10 stick blender that worked for 12 years until the blade started "locking up". Thought I would replace it with a nice one, but after 13 months of very light use (like it would easily go a month or two between uses) the plastic housing that holds the blade in the shaft sheered off at the bottom so now the blade just falls out. Now it is barely 1 month out of warranty and Krups won't help.
this is a nice tool that does what it's supposed to. you'll like it. a lot. go for it. amazon... well, they're just the best.update: it's been nearly two months in use. one limb of the propeller like blade broke off at some point. fortunately, that doesn't affect performance. it's still a killer blender. the push button is oriented for the thumb. if u use ur thumb u can't solidly grip the motor body.
excellent - strong - good for chunky soup, smoothies, whipped cream, egg whites, etc. worth the money. (word, word, word)
You can replace one several times for the same cost as this product.
Answer: about 6" plus the length of the motor. The blender attachment fell apart in 2 weeks. The Lexan beaker split after a month. The blender works fine.