Compare Vita-Mix 5200 with Blendtec HP3A and the Vita-Mix Vita-Prep 2 hp and 3 hp commercial blenders:

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Vita Mix Tritan 32 oz dry Jar	Item ID:    Type:    Description:    Price:    Max Quantity:	VM15842-32ozDRYw/lid    Product    Vitamix Tritan DRY container with blade, and lid, VM15842,  32 oz -  whole grain cookbook not included    119.75 USD    1
Vita Mix Tritan 64 oz wet Jar	Item ID:    Type:    Description:    Price:    Max Quantity:	VM15865WET64oz    Product    Vitamix Tritan container with blade and lid, VM15856, 64 oz  and incl  shipping USA    119.75 USD    1
Vitamix Accelerator Tool-TAMPER	Item ID:    Type:    Description:  Price:    Max Quantity:	VM TAMPER    Product  Vitamix Accelerator Tool SKU: vm760 incl usa shipping    17.75 USD    1
VitaMix Tritan 32oz wholegrain	Item ID:    Type:    Description:    Price:    Max Quantity:	VM15845-32oz wholegrain cb    Product    Vitamix Tritan 32 oz DRY container with blade,  manual and  lid,  VM15845 with whole grain  cookbook- Non BPA  material Will fit standard  vitamix machine, not xp etc. incl  shipping USA    132.50 USD

Vita Mix Sale Tax Notice:

We just want to make sure, you understand, Vita-Mix will charge without exception the State Sales Tax of your Ship-to State when you make your purchase. If you buy the Vita-Mix Vita-Prep 2 from us we can save you as much as $ 100 off from that, and the Vita-Mix Vita-Prep 2 blender is pretty much identical to the Vita-Mix 5200 base model. Or, if you want to buy the Vita-Mix 5200 for total and final price of $ 459.00 (no sales tax in addition, and lower USA States shipping incl).

Compare now the Blendtec HP3A with the Vita-Mix 5200 blenders

• 3 hp blenders versus 2 hp blenders
• Price
  
• Electronic sophistication versus manual switch and knobs
• Storage space
• Material
• Jar / Container Replacement
• No tamper apparently needed

Shipping is normally $ 25.00 from Ohio to anywhere in the continental USA, using either UPS or USPS (if you call to arrange just in case you don't want the valuable box dropped in front of your door by UPS - USPS will keep the box for you at the secure post office, but you need to call in your order). Vita-Mix will not ship to Canada from the USA because they have a authorized sole importer/dealer in Canada. Shipping in Canada is normally $ 35.00 USD. With a coupon code such as the 06-003137 the Vita-Mix purchaser is entitled to a free shipping discount of $25/$35. Terms: For those that may have a little financial hardship and want to buy the blender, Vita Mix will charge a one-time setup fee of $ 15.00 to arrange an interest free 3 months equal payment plan. You need to call Vita-Mix.

Purchasing Information

You can either purchase the Vita-Mix 5200 blender online or by phone:
Call 877-867-4915 - If you ask us, you save money when calling!

To place order, you will leave our website and enter the secured purchasing site of Vita-Mix Corporation. If you have any problems with the purchasing process, please do not hesitate calling us. We will gladly help you out!

Warranty

Vita-Mix 5200 blender comes with a limited 7 years warranty on motor and motor housing. The Blendtec blenders range from 3 to 5 year warranties. Warranties, limited or whatever that means, are there to make the customer feel good. While of course customers that purchase Vita-Mix blenders feel likely a greater peace of mind, a 3 to 5 year warranty is really not any less. After all, a warranty is limited and it could either way mean that more warranty is needed because there are potential problems, or less warranty is better for the manufacturer because they don't have to stand behind their product as long. In our experience, however, when searching on Google for any problems of serious nature arising in the case of Vita-Mix or Blendtec, the result was always positive. There are no serious warranty issues in either case, that we could find on the internet.

A slight drawback the Vita-Mix lid cap is associated with is that at times, when removing the rubber lid, the cap falls off and into the container. We recommend not to remove the lid at all while the blender is in operation. During one of our blending cycles we lost the lid cap in the blender container. No serious problem happened, but the lid cap was slightly chipped by the blending. In any event, we recommend to always have adults operate any blender of that magnitude to prevent injuries, and we also recommend to be cautious with both, the Blendtec, and the Vita-Mix blenders, or any other blenders, in fact, when operating.

Features

The Vita-Mix 5200 standard package comes with 1 64 oz jar, lid, the tamper, manuals, recipe book, etc. The Blendtec blender also comes with a 64 oz jar, lid, no tamper - not needed, manual, and recipe book. There are some material differences between the two. The blendtec appears to be about 1/2 pound lighter than the Vita Mix base blender unit.

Sound and Noise:

The Vita-Mix 5200 has exactly the same container socket as the Vita-Mix 5200 and the old 5000. The Blendtec HP3A has long been equipped with this stronghold feature of a metal socket that holds the jar in place better and it does not wear as easy, obviously, as the rubber one. But a draw back is in the metal base over the rubber one, that it is little noisier. Sound travels better in metal than in rubber. But it is not so significant when you take into account that a smoothie in the Blendtec 3 hp blender is done between 15 to 22 seconds and the Vita-Mix 5200 takes slightly longer with its 2 hp motor.To the other hand, if you considered the Vita-Prep 3 as an option, this one comes with a 3 hp motor.

Jar/ Container

The blender jar material from the Vita-Mix is Eastman Tritan Copolyester while the Blentec blender has a solid hardened copolyester jar. We have found in our google search information about reports about the Vita-Mix Copolyester Jar (the old one from the time of the Vita-Mix 5000) leeching out toxins. There have never been any reports however found about the blendtec blender jar material having had a similar problem. Regardless, Vita-Mix has solved this challenge by introducing the new Eastman Tritan material. The lid in both brands is made out of rubber. While the Blendtec lid has a removable cap in the lid (use to add ingredients during the blend cycle), the Vita-Mix 5200 new rubber lid has a cap that is used as a measuring device. It is at times convenient, but I asked my wife, and she suggested she rather uses her own measuring cups and devices over the Vita-Mix lid cup.

The other issue with the container or the jar of Vita-Mix 5200 and Blendtec HP3A blenders, the Vita-Mix 5200 container 64 oz comes with a soft grip handle and the blendtec does not. The blendtec blade is nearly 4 inches while the Vita-Mix container blade has just about 2 inches in diameter. The blendtec container replacement cost is $ 60.00 including shipping and the Vita-Mix replacement container is about $ 140 with the soft grip handle or about $ 120 without the soft grip, but a regular handle, both being the new Tritan container material.

Motor

Vita-Mix 5200 blenders come with a Peak 2 HP motor with 11.5 AMPS Torque and a 1500 Watts power supply. The blender base is also equipped with a cooling fan and an auto-shutoff system in case of overheating. The difference of the HP3A Blendtec blender is that it comes with a 3hp motor, 13 AMP torque and a 1500 Watts power supply. The power supply is important to be big enough because it delivers the necessary juice of electricity to give the motor the energy that is translated into Revolutions Per Minute.

But, the Blendtec Blender is not a true 3 hp motor blender. If it were, it would require a power supply in excess of 15 amps and 2000 watts. So, why the heck does it have a 3 hp motor then? Just like with the Vita-Mix Vita-Prep 3 (the commercial Vita Mix blender - very similar to the Vita-Mix 5200), the Blendtec HP3A has also 13 amps / 1500 watts with its 3 hp motor to increase longevity and endurance of the motor. The motor does not overheat as easily, and it will last longer. Just think of an 8 cylinder motor in a pickup truck versus a 4 cylinder motor in a pickup truck, both pulling the same weight up a hill, neither one necessarily going faster. But one is certainly putting less wear on the motor... makes sense?

Both blenders are pretty much very compatible with its motor to blade speed, ranging in both cases from 12 MPH to over 240 MPH. However, the Vita-Mix has little more drag on the motor and on the blade, subject to the type of ingredients in the jar being blended. The Vita-Mix appeared little slower and weaker with its revolutions, still making no difference, better or worse, one than the other when testing the texture and micron-level of the smoothie ingredients.

Speed Adjustment, Knobs versus Electronics Sophistication

The Blendtec HP3A is equipped with soft touch electronic buttons, featuring 16 pre-programmed blend speed settings of which 4 are custom-programmable. There is a power on/off button at the rear of the blender base. The Vita-Mix 5200 is equipped with a manual turn-knob for slow speed adjustments when the right On/OF switch is on ON. The left switch is a Variable/Fast override switch. When on ON, the center adjustable speed knob only responds if the left switch is on Variable. But that can be overridden when switching up to FAST. In conclusion of this issue, one blender is more electronically sophisticated doing the same generally what the one with the manual settings can do. We have received feedback from some people that they simply prefer manual simple sophistication (knobs and switches) over electronic buttons, while others are intrigued by the electronic options the Blendtec provides. In order to choose the one blender you will be happy with, just ask yourself if you like computers or if you prefer doing things manually.

Another issue is water and soil / spills potentially entering the knobs and switches. The Blendtec Keypad is completely sealed. The Vita-Mix knobs and switches are also sealed within and inside of the housing. But outside some residue could be somewhat more difficult to clean off. This is however not such a big issue if one is careful preventing spills. And of course, one would never submerge the blender motor base into water or other liquid ingredients. Accidents however could happen and this is where the convenience of a sealed electric keypad comes in really handy - just wipe off.

Blade

The Vita-Mix 5200 & 5000 blade has a diameter of 2.5 inches. The blendtec HP3A blade has 3 inches diameter. It is a dual-wing-tipped blade. The ICB-7 Blendtec 20 AMP smoother has even a custom 4 inch blade in a 96oz jar (not available anywhere else). See Pictures to compare:

A difference of the two is also the space between the bottom of the jar floor and the lowest reach of the blade. My wife likes to crush 10 almonds. She can only do that with the Vita-Mix 5000/5200 because the blade reaches little lower to get the almonds of the floor and start crushing them. In a test however, with almonds filled into the container reaching a few inches above the blade, the HP3A produced smoother almond nut flower than the Vita Mix 5200.

Tamper usage

The Blendtec does not come with a tamper because it is not needed...supposedly. The container and the variable pre-programmed speed settings are designed to grab the not so reachable ingredients during the smoothing and blending process. The Vita-Mix container design requires a tamper usage from time to time if less liquid is present to begin with and ingredients get stuck in a corner or the larger bulky ingredients need to be pushed downward. The tamper is made of plastic and is only to be used with the blender jar lid in place by removing the cap.

While one blender officially comes with a tamper and the tamper is recommended to push down on the ingredients to engage them into the blending process by the shear blade force, the other blender that is designed without the use of a tamper occasionally in our opinion could use a tamper. The electronic sophistication with the Blendtec HP3A requires a learning process of the various 25 pre-set blending cycle programs. While these are certainly great to have, and they indeed represent some great features, when consumers use the sophisticated HP3A without proper usage, they might find themselves in the need of a tamper. We are going to make a tamper and will offer it to our customers for that purpose. The lid center of the Blendtec HP3A blender has a plug that allows the insertion of a tamper. It is not designed for that, but we use it.

My wife had an accident with Vita-Mix tamper once, using the tamper without the lid in place. The tamper was blended into the smoothie rather quickly. This also represents risks for injuries. With either blender, actually with household small kitchen appliances, I would caution parents with children to strictest supervision and only follow the instructions carefully. A powerful blender like the Vita-Mix could quickly amputate your fingers, etc... Lets not get into this any further. You get the point...!

Storage

Storage may be an issue for those folks with smaller kitchen counter top space. The Vita-Mix 5200 blender stands tall and proud out over many of its rivals. But the jar assembled on top of its blender housing in place will not likely fit into standard kitchen designs on top of the counter-top right beneath the top cabinets. My wife stores the container always next. The blendtec HP3A however is a lower-laying design which allows the storage with container in place. Of course, another solution is the Blendtec Connoisseur or the ICB-7 Blender that give the option of a built-in flush with the counter-top.

Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer

We are not an affiliate marketer of Vita-Mix to sell the 5000/5200 models. These two models are only sold through affiliate marketers and through road shows such as CostCo, Sams Club, Military Base Demos, and other road shows. Affiliate marketers have also websites. An incentive is give to consumers in form of a coupon code. This coupon code worth $ 25.00 representing free shipping links the Vita-Mix 5200 sale to the referring Vita-Mix Affiliate Marketer. As a result, the Affiliate Marketer receives 15% commission on the equipment purchased initially and 5% on all additionally purchased accessories. We are posting these links for and in behalf of the person associated to coupon code # 06-003137. There is not further benefit to us.

Warranty disclaimer:

We do not warrant the Vita-Mix 5200 purchase and the associated accessories and equipment. Vita-Mix Corporation needs to be contacted with any claims. We have never heard of any serious repair claims.