Hamilton Beach 67650 Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor

I received my Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro today (five days via free shipping from Amazon.) As with another item I ordered recently from Amazon, the price of the juicer is now $5 cheaper. I hate when that happens. It's only been a week, for crying out loud!I'd done a lot of research on reasonably priced juicers, including reading all the reviews here at Amazon, before deciding on the HB BMP.For the past couple of months pre-purchase, I'd been juicing using my small food processor and a blender - and then straining the blended vegetables in order to get my drink. I had to add distilled water to the blender in order for it to blend well, thus diluting the juice. Still tasted fine, but I was eager to get a taste of undiluted juice extracted vegetables.Upon unpacking the HB BMP, I made sure to read the short instructions, and then I carefully dismantled the machine and washed all the parts except the base, paying careful attention to the cutting basket.***Please note that if the cutting basket gets warped or dented or bent in any way, according to the book, it can apparently destroy the machine and send plastic parts flying everywhere.*** As some other buyer noted a little earlier in the comments, his machine did just that.So, I handled the cutting basket carefully, and when I put everything back together I made sure that the cutting basket was firmly secure in its place. You have to press down on it slightly to make sure that it isn't just sitting there. In other words, don't just plop it down and then put the top on - I think that's how it can destroy your machine. BTW, I don't have a dishwasher, but I wouldn't put any of these parts in the dishwasher where they could warp or change in some way; it's up to you, but I wouldn't take the chance.Also make sure you securely snap down the two metal holders on the side of the machine. And don't forget to put a small baggie in the pulp container, as suggested by many here in this thread and in the HB instructions.I turned on the machine to process my first batch of vegetables, and while the machine does make a vacuum cleaner kind of sound, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I slowly dropped in my baby carrots, plunged them down with the plunger, and everything started to go as I had hoped: juice came out one end, pulp was extracted and dumped into the pulp bin.Now, while this may be a Big Mouth, I, of course, had to dice the apple since it wouldn't fit down the chute. I inserted one piece at a time and was kind of surprised it took the plunger (applied somewhat gently) a few seconds for the apple to be fully extracted. Happened with each piece; didn't seem very "automatic" like the carrots, but then, of course, it was thicker. The celery went okay as did the parsley (though since parsley is so thin, there are tiny pieces flung into the pulp bin).When I turned off the machine and checked the pulp, I did notice that it seemed moist (I think others had mentioned that their pulp was also moist), and a few pieces of sliced apple about the size of my thumb had not processed and neither had a couple parsley stems. I took the cutting basket off the machine, brushed and rinsed the basket, and put the machine back together. I wanted to see if running the pulp back through the machine would do anything.Well, it did - the pulp came out very dry this time round and I got a bit more juice. Not a lot, but just a bit more. It cut up those extra pieces in the pulp, too. And, like I did when I used my food processor and blender, I made sure to get the HB plastic parts washed off of pulp sediment very quickly; ditto the cutting basket (and then I put it in soapy water to soak while I drank my juice).For this drink, I got about 12 ounces of juice, which is certainly big enough for me. I poured the juice into a chilled glass and then back into the plastic "glass" that came with the machine, and then back into the chilled glass. There didn't seem to be a lot of foam/froth, which is a good thing, but if you pour it back and forth like this, it definitely will lower what foam there is.I took a drink. WOW. I'm in love. Just a wonderful taste. I did notice that the juice seemed to be a bit thicker than I thought it would be - but then again, I was used to applying distilled water to my juice in order for my blender to blend it correctly.Overall, I'd say my first experience with the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro was pretty good.Something to keep in mind is - this isn't an expensive Breville or a masticating juicer that most likely will do a bang up job of extracting juice for a few hundred dollars - and indeed, some very high end extractors can run in the thousands! This is a decent juicer, from what I can tell from my first experience, for the money paid. Pulp most likely isn't going to be bone dry (unless you run it back through the machine), and there are bound to be some bits and pieces of the vegetables that aren't going to get cut up in the basket. But it will deliver a good glass of juice - and for me, right now it beats the food processor/blender/strainer bag routine I had been doing for the past two months.I plan to juice at least once a day, so if things change with the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro within the next month, I'll come back here and update my review.**UPDATE** New Remarks a few days after I posted this review: I've used the Big Mouth Pro every day (it's only been a few days), sometimes twice a day. I'm happy to report that the machine seems to be taking all vegetables with ease, and the pulp, depending on what I'm juicing, comes out quite dry (with no need to run the pulp back through the juicer). I think the key is to not rush anything - try to be gentle as you go with the plunger. It even does leafy red tipped lettuce stalks and kale perfectly.The only thing I don't like, of course, is cleaning the cutting basket. But I went back and read other comments at the more expensive juicers and it seems they have this same complaint. I was complaining to myself loudly about this, but then, I realized today that I had to soak the basket (in hot soapy water) longer than five to 10 minutes. When I soak it about 30 or more minutes, the pulp brushes off pretty easily. You still have to brush it all off, but I truly noticed a difference when I soaked the basket longer - brushing about 3 to 4 minutes instead of the intense 10 minute routine I'd been having to do.Hope this lasts awhile. I'm truly enjoying the fresh taste of juice. (P.S. If possible, I'm amending my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars since thus far I'm very pleased with the product.)**January 2013 Update**: Back to report that the Hamilton Beach juicer is still going strong! I've used it nearly every day since purchasing it, once a day, to juice (mainly) carrots, celery, ginger, cucumbers, apples. I also regularly juice oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines. You can, of course, juice many other vegetables and fruit, but those listed above are my favorites. No issues with the juicer (just make sure that you substitute a larger receptacle if you are juicing a lot at one time), and cleaning the basket has become routine/easy.**April 2013 Update**: I just need to add that I am beginning to notice a deterioration of the sharpness of the centrifugal cutting blades which only started this past month. As mentioned, I've used it nearly every day since purchase, and I take good care of the juicer. What the juicer is now doing is not pulping carrots completely; I'm finding inch long, flat shards in the pulp catcher. Just an FYI. I still love the juicer, however.

Before I started juicing, I did a lot of research on juicing and what kind of juicer to get and ultimately decided to get an inexpensive juicer to start with. After reading a lot of reviews, I finally went this juicer and I'm glad I did.PROS:Price - You really can't beat the price for such a good juicer, especially if you're just getting into it and not wanting to spend a lot of money. This juicer will give you a great first experience with juicing, and you can always upgrade.Durability - I bought mine back in April of this year, and even after using almost every single day since, I'm amazed at how well it's holding up. I haven't had any problems with it so far. I do cut up almost everything I put it in though (apples into quarters, large cucumber slices, etc.), which I believe helps.Cleaning - As long as you rinse it off right after you use it, then it's only a few minutes to clean since it all comes apart easily (into about 5 pieces). It also comes with a scrub brush for cleaning, which makes cleaning the tiny holes in the metal basket much easier.CONS:Efficiency - This juicer does great with the more solid fruits and veggies, but if you want to really be efficient, then you might want to put some of that juicier pulp through another time. When I do carrots, the pulp comes out pretty dry. Something like a cucumber isn't quite as dry as I'd like, but dry enough I'm fine with not putting it through again. I juiced a small watermelon a few weeks ago, and after putting the pulp through about 3 times and even taking out the metal basket and unclogging it during the process, I ended up with only about a quarter cup of pulp. So it's possible to make it more efficient, but it might take a few more steps than other juicers.Greens - While it can do kale and spinach and the like, you're just not going to get as much juice out of it as you would with a masticating juicer. However that's part of what you're paying for (or lack thereof), since those kinds of juicers would be hundreds of dollars more. It's still a powerful juicer, so a good few handfuls of kale makes about a shot glass of juice. I don't mind this though because then you can do kale shots! Yum.Overall, this is a great juicer that I haven't had any major complaints about. I've recommended it to quite a few friends who are also happy with it, and happy with the price. Even for a juice-savvy person, I think this juicer is a great one and would be a great replacement as long as you're not used to doing too many greens-heavy juices.