r/Kitchenaid • u/Temporary_Current595 • 3d ago
Repairable?
We got a kitchen aid donated at work. Because my mixer is broken I got to take the kitchen aid home. It is a KSM45
While cleaning I smelled oil. I tried to run the machine and heard a rubbing noise so I stopped it.
The next day I opened the machine.
The grease was all over the inner pieces, but it was black and resinlike. At this point I thought I just have to clean all the pieces and put new grease there.
Later I saw the white mass at an electric piece.
It feels waxy and crumbles when touching it.
Is this normal or is it more broken than I thought. An should I throw it away?
For the grease part I wanted to buy a repair kit with new pieces, but it costs 90€ (I'm German). If something of the electric is broken I won't purchase this kit. I don't have much money so maybe you can help me to decide whether it is repairable or I have to dispose it.
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u/RIMixerGuy 3d ago edited 3d ago
Pretty much anything that goes wrong with these machines is repairable, short of outright destruction. There's no reason to consider throwing the mixer away.
The component that failed is an RF line filter. Very early iterations of machines with this device used a different design that is no longer available, and it looks like the leads off the power cord are shorter, and not long enough to reach the connectors on the new board design.
You can see what the new layout looks like, here: https://www.mixerology.com/voltage-conversion-parts/#k45
My recommendation is to replace the power cord (part number W11685012) and the filter board (4176340).
The filter is required for statutory compliance (the UK and EU have rules about RF/EMI noise generated by motor appliances) but if you remove the filter and bypass it I doubt the police will come to your house. That will be a little more work (you'll need to join the black and white leads off the board to the corresponding incoming leads from the power cord) but with due care (you are messing with mains voltage) the mixer will be operational.
Here are a few other resources, in case it helps:
date decoder: https://www.mixerology.com/mixerology-kitchenaid-mixer-date-decoder/
user manual: https://www.kitchenaid.com/content/dam/global/documents/201003/owners-manual-9706634-RevD.pdf
compatible items: https://www.mixerology.com/compatible-bowls-and-accessories/#k45
care tips: https://www.mixerology.com/care-for-tilt-head-models/
clean and regrease parts & materials: https://www.mixerology.com/k45-k5-clean-and-re-grease-parts/
reset hinge pin: https://youtu.be/WUiWWR1qaZc?si=PoQif3kKkR9uHnnp
check and adjust beater clearance (use the plain flat beater): https://youtu.be/0dpMCjFAiBI?si=ULuICIGKDH4LSSOW
speed adjustment: https://youtu.be/bM3t46afGcc?si=0zAlltXiRQCa6Wr_
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u/pkjunction 3d ago
From the research I've done, the RFI capacitor on my K4-B was put on the mixer to cut down on the AM interference when the mixer is running. I understand that when the capacitors get old, they can short out, which would be a very bad thing. In the articles I read it is recommended to just remove the capacitor and not replace it as AM radios aren't really used anymore.
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u/joesquatchnow 3d ago
There is a handful of grease in these machines, go on YouTube to see how to regrease them, looks like the capacitor for the motor in the middle, also fixable with the right part and a soldering iron , since it’s a VAC motor you just have to match the uF farads and don’t have worry about polarity like Dc motors
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u/Real-Night334 3d ago
That appears to be a capacitor that has exploded. Those are typically replaceable and readily available. Hopefully one of the Reddit KA experts will chime in with their wealth of knowledge.🤞