Immersion Blender

Overview

An immersion blender, or stick blender, is a handheld appliance that blends and purees food directly in its container instead of in a separate jar. A brushed motor sits in the Motor Body, the ergonomic hand unit you grip and squeeze, and a detachable Blending Shaft tipped with a guarded blade extends down into the food. Because the working end is a slim wand rather than a tall jar, the tool reaches into pots, beakers and pans, which is why it ships with a Mixing Beaker tall enough to clear the blade guard.

How it works

Squeezing the Speed Trigger feeds a position signal to the Control Board, whose microcontroller phase-chops mains current through a triac to set motor speed; a turbo button on the body jumps straight to full power. That power spins the Brushed DC Motor, a compact brushed DC motor whose armature turns at well over ten thousand rpm, cooled by a fan that pulls air through vents in the grip.

Torque leaves the body through a splined coupling. In blending mode it drives the stainless driveshaft inside the shaft tube down to the four-prong blade, which whirls inside the Bell Guard; the bell both contains splatter and sets up the circulation that pulls food into the blades, while a lip seal and O-rings keep liquid out of the lower bearing. Swapping the shaft for the Whisk Attachment routes drive through a reduction gearbox that steps the high motor speed down to a gentle whisking pace for cream and eggs. Fitting the Chopper Attachment instead seats the body on a geared lid that spins an S-blade in a sealed bowl to mince herbs, nuts and onions. Mains power reaches the electronics through the strain-relieved Power Cord.