A durable mixer can provide bakeries with the consistent performance needed to make great baked goods — from muffins and cookies to cakes, breads and pies. It can also help save time and money. As mixers age, however, they can become less reliable and increase costs for downtime and repairs.  

At a certain point, upgrading to a new mixer makes financial and logistical sense. That’s especially true given how new mixer technologies improve performance and reduce expenses for bakeries. 

What are the problems associated with an aging mixer? 

Oftentimes aging mixers experience declining performance due to wear on belts and gears, which can slowly lower the mixer’s RPMs. This lower mixing speed affects mix times for recipes and can impact the quality of the product, leading to wasted ingredients and increased labor time and costs for mixing new batches. Bakers may find that they need to service an aging mixer more frequently and replace parts more often, including the motor. This can increase the total cost of owning that piece of equipment.  

What mixer options does Hobart offer?

Hobart has its Legacy+^® line of maximum heavy-duty mixers, including countertop models like its HL200 20-quart mixer. It’s HL600 60-quart and HL1400 140-quart mixers are among its popular floor model mixers for bakeries. Each of these models has been designed to provide bakers with consistent and continuous mixing, batch after batch, all day long.

Why should a bakery upgrade to a Legacy+ mixer? 

Hobart designed the Legacy+ mixers with its PLUS System, which consists of three Hobart-exclusive technologies that offer more powerful and reliable mixing. This system provides productivity advantages to bakers. 

• First, the mixers include VFDadvantage variable frequency drive  (VFD). During operation, the VFDadvantage precisely monitors the motor and RPMs to support optimal mixing performance, drive more power to the bowl and to protect the mixer from overheating. Depending on the application, bakers can mix up to 30% more ingredients in the same size bowl for greater output with less labor.
• Second, Hobart has incorporated maximum capacity overheat protection in this mixer offering. This consists of extreme-duty wiring and connections that manage more power, so bakers can easily mix heavy ingredients.
• Third, a reinforced planetary shaft system, combined with the all-gear driven transmission, provides additional power to the bowl to increase mixer capacity and output.

How do Legacy+ mixers save bakers money? 

In addition to allowing bakers to mix more throughout the day, with a consistency that ensures high quality products and less waste, the PLUS System also offers cost savings. There are fewer gears in the VFD, which means fewer components that need repair. Hobart has also designed the mixers with more durable parts overall to lower the total cost of ownership of the Legacy+ mixers.

Aside from the PLUS System, what features make the Legacy+ mixers so high performing? 

Hobart has incorporated two key features that support consistent mixing performance: the Quick-Release™ agitators and an ultra-slow stir speed. The Quick-Release agitators have a pin that locks the agitator to the mixer shaft to eliminate the up/down movement bakers experience with bayonet-style agitators. Because the bowl-to-agitator ratio stays the same during mixing, the mixers can more consistently incorporate ingredients. The ultra-slow stir speed also mixes ingredients slowly and thoroughly. 

Are Legacy+ mixers easy to clean? 

Yes! These mixers have a stainless-steel removable bowl guard. Bakers can easily remove it without tools and place it in a dishwasher for easy cleaning and sanitizing. Hobart also designed the mixers with soft start technology. This feature delivers electricity to the mixer slowly until it reaches the desired speed. The result is less ingredient splash-out to clean up. 

Can Legacy+ mixers make mixing easier and save time in the bakery? 

Also, yes! Hobart has incorporated several features that help Legacy+ mixers save bakers time in their daily operations. Shift-on-the-Fly™ allows bakers to change speeds while the mixer is operating, so it saves time by eliminating starts and stops. When mixing repeated batches, the 

SmartTimer™ recalls the time and speed of mixing so there is no downtime for guesswork. The timer counts time up and down, so it’s also easier for bakers to create new recipes. Legacy+ mixers have a swing-out bowl, so a baker can easily remove the bowl and move it to a bench or tub using a bowl truck with less fatigue.

What features has Hobart incorporated to help bakery staff feel confident using the Legacy+ mixers? 

Hobart always wants bakers and their staff to feel comfortable using the Legacy+ mixers, so they are designed with a Triple Interlock System. This system prevents the mixer from operating until the bowl is fully in position and locked with the bowl guard secured. The 60-, 80- and 140-quart Legacy+ mixers have a FastStop feature that completely stops all moving parts in less than three seconds when the baker turns off the mixer. 

Is there anything else that makes an upgrade to a Legacy+ mixer a good idea? 

The HL600 and HL662 60-quart mixers now feature a new Hobart-exclusive NoChipMax™ System, which has a NoChip™ aluminum planetary with a metallic gray hybrid powder finish instead of a cast iron painted one. The new planetary with a burnished finish is corrosion and scratch resistant and prevents paint chipping.

The NoChipMax System also includes a NoChip #12 taper attachment hub with a stainless-steel insert and die-cast cover that prevents paint chipping when a meat grinder or VS9 slicer attachment is used

Learn more about upgrading to a Legacy+ mixer.