Cuisinart CB-18 SmartPower Basics 18-Speed Blender

Pros: Crushes ice well, blends quickly, and is attractive
Cons: Blade is possibly thinner than what one would expect

Cuisinart SmartPower Basics CB-18 Work Top Blender I've have this blender or should I say *had* this blender last year and used it quite a bit before it gave out on me. The motor did not burn up but the blade became dull and would ...

Pros: Powerfull 500 watts, glass pitcher, durable, sleek, great price, easy to clean
Cons: Lots of use can result in a slight burning odor

My fiance and I both owned old blenders that were on their last legs. After some research for something powerful and durable, we came up with the Cuisinart SmartPower blender. It is listed on the Cuisinart website for $60.00, but it is available ...

Pros: Glass jar, good price, ice crushing actually works, pulse button
Cons: a little more costly than other blenders

I bought this blender at a department store after breaking a cheap plastic-jar blender and resolving never to deal with that hassle again. This blender has worked better than I expected.

The super-powerful motor really does mix things up well....

Pros: cheap, easy to use.
Cons: Cheap, power setting button is hard to turn, ice crusher button gets stuck too.

This worked very well for awhile. Though not an alcholic, I like to mix drinks and so do my friends. So I have everyone over and we pretty much use the thing constantly and blend 20-40 pounds of ice a week with it. That is a lot of use. (ANd perhaps I'm bit of an alcholic, but I like my icee drinks). It worked well for awhile and then the little prongs on the bottom of the blade got weak and they all literally fell off- like teeth. They just broke off! I didn't keep the box for the warranty and I know I use it tons, but it was inoperable. I would put the top on the motor, and the motor still worked, but without the little rubber prongs the blades didn't rotate.So anyway, this is a good blender for the price, but beware of the rubber prongs on BOTH the base and the blade. They aren't steel, but rubber, and I can imagine in time with regular use will break off and get weak. Save your money and get something with steel parts if you are going to use it a lot.

Pros: Good looks and simple controls.
Cons: Bad design for the blade to motor contact.

The blender worked great for us for 16 months or so. We used it for smoothies 90% of the time. We might have made two a week at the most so I would say it was moderately used at best. The hardest thing we ever blended was frozen banana pieces for our smoothies, never ice.

We started smelling the rubber teeth that connect the upper blades with the motor slowly grinding away. At first it was small pieces that would fall off but once and awhile larger chunks came off. We found that if you pushed down hard on the lid the "teeth" would make better contact. But all it took was a short mater of time and there was no more contact so the blades would not blend warm water. I don't think this is a very good design and in fact I saw today the blender has been discontinued. Too bad because it looks good and had nice simple features.

Pros: Jar is glass. Unit is attractive.
Cons: Motor burns out. Very noisy.

After only a half dozen uses the motor burned out. I had read some reviews that mentioned this problem but for some reason thought they were isolated instances.
I had the option to return it at my expense so they could do a repair and send it back to me -- again at my expense. I did not think it worth the cost just to have it burn out again. Wish I could use the glass jar in my next blender but I am going to buy a different brand.

Pros: Nice looking
Cons: Blade broke twice

Received blender as a gift for Christmas 2006. Used only about 3 times a week to make myself a breakfast smoothie with banana, yogurt, milk and six ice cubes. The plastic base of the blade assembly cracked after 4 months use. The company agreed to send me a new part even though I did not have a receipt. The new blade assembly worked fine for 7 months, but then it froze completely and cannot be loosened with any tools. I was in the middle of making a smoothie, and it just locked up. The motor in the base is still running very quietly. Reluctantly I've made the decision to toss the whole thing in the the garbage rather than spend $10 plus shipping on another new blade. I am regretting having tossed my old blender in the trash when I received the new Cuisinart. The old one had served my needs since I'd bought it in the 1970s, and still worked (although it was a dated avocado green!)

Pros: NONE
Cons: LOUD INEFFECTIVE

This blender is like "all bark, no bite".... incredibly loud, but won't even puree a banana... LITERALLY. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY.

Pros: Never got to find out
Cons: Dead On Arrival

Got a great deal on a close-out at Kohls. Got it home, plugged it in, and...nothing. The little red light went on, but the blade didn't turn. I spent over 20 years in manufacturing for several companies. NOTHING ever went out of any of these companies without EVERY unit being tested. I'm really disappointed in American quality.

Pros: Attractive, intuitive design. Easy to use.
Cons: Enough power, but motor burns out too easily.

Attractive styling, lots of power, but after burning out the motor on the second one, looking for one with more durable power. We make smoothies with frozen fruit and yogurt every morning, and so far we can't get more than 3 weeks out of one of these blenders. Our old Oster was more durable, but didn't mix well. I can only recommend this blender for less than heavy tasks.