I’ve received a lot of questions and suggestions from fellow bakers regarding my original review of the Famag spiral mixer and am posting an update that will hopefully address everything. If you have not seen the original review, I recommend checking it out before reading this update.
I have now had the mixer for over 9 months a year, so I can more confidently discuss the benefits and shortcomings.
Let me cut to the chase: aside from some annoyances, I still believe this is the best mixer money can buy for residential use or a small bakery.
My original review included pros and cons. The pros have remained unchanged: It is a strong, quiet, efficient and cost-effective dough mixer. As for the cons, my original gripes were about pops/clicks from the bowl attachment, an annoying screw connection between the top/base and a few other quirks.
I now have a few more things to add to the cons list:
The connection of the breaker bar is not well-designed.
In the picture above, you see the breaker bar in the middle. The image on the left shows the bar centered properly. The image on the right shows the bar skewed to the left, as indicated by the red arrow. I found that stiff dough causes the breaker bar to tip due to pressure exerted against it as the bowl rotates clockwise. Yes, I tightened the two screws with an Allen wrench very, very tightly. No matter how tight the screws are, the bar eventually tips to the left.
Is this the end of the world? Not really. Will dough not develop properly? I doubt it. But I would have expected Famag to detect the problem in their design testing and come up with a better connection that doesn’t allow for this much movement.
My solution was to place a small rod in a place that prevents the breaker bar from moving. See pictures and description below.
The above modification did solve the problem. I exchanged some emails with several fellow bakers who are a lot more handy than me. They made great suggestions for how to fix this problem. Unfortunately, those fixes were beyond my skill level, so this was the most practical solution I could accomplish. I will update further if things don’t work out. The important thing to note: while this will probably happen to everyone who has this machine, I am not convinced it will cause any problems whatsoever. It is mostly an OCD issue with me.
The breaker bar and spiral arm sit about 1/4″ too high off the bowl.
If you have experience with commercial spiral mixers, you know they generally have a breaker bar and spiral arm that practically touch the bowl at the bottom. Sometimes, they even have an additional fin on the breaker bar that extends out to hug the bowl even more intimately. The problem with having a gap under the bar (like you see in the picture) is that there is a tendency for dough to smear against the bowl instead of getting pulled off and folded over the bar as it should. I believe the end result is a tendency for increased dough temperature, increased oxidation and longer mix times. In other words, the mixer is a little less efficient than it could be.
As with the problem where the bar tips to the left over time, I am not convinced at all that this has any negative effect in real-world use. It just bothers me because Famag could have gotten this better. I looked at re-drilling the two holes holding the breaker bar and lowering it 1/4″, but then changed my mind. It would be too difficult to do properly without better equipment than I have. I’m also not sure it’s worth all the trouble. I am going to live with it the way it is.
The bowl locking mechanism unlocks spontaneously (solved 7-2020, see below)
One of the new issues I have noted is that for pretty much every mix I do, but especially for stiffer dough, the bowl lock spontaneously unlocks. At first I thought maybe I forgot to lock it. But then I paid really close attention and noticed that I definitely locked it when starting. When I was done mixing, it was partially or fully unlocked. This does not cause anything obvious to happen, because the bowl still sits in its proper position passively locked in by the protrusions in the bowl underside.
Why does this happen? I looked at the mechanism for a while and it appears the design is simply not well-thought-out. Pressure on the bowl from the dough inside applies pressure in such a way that unlocking is bound to happen.
Is this dangerous? I do not see any real problems coming from this yet, but I’m sure Famag did not intend for it to happen. I’m also sure they would tell you never to run the machine with it in the unlocked position. So the answer is, I simply don’t know.
The only real annoyance with this quirk for now is that when the lock unlatches, the bowl makes a lot more clanking/popping sounds as it spins around. In other words, the machine gets louder. I don’t have a solution for the problem, it seems to be just bad design. The fix is in! Please read all about it here.
Power is not as great as I first thought.
When I first reviewed this machine, I was sure you could mix 10kg of cement without any hiccups. Since then, I have put it through some tough dough like 50% hydration bagel and even lower hydration Challah dough. Although this machine is rated for much more, it almost completely stalls out with only 3 kg of low hydration dough. I guess this is mostly a limitation of 110V 1-phase power. I cannot really fault Famag, it’s just not as powerful as I thought. Keep in mind that for normally hydrated dough (65%+), you can load it up and things run just fine. I found stalling problems with really dry dough only.
The lesson here: remember that spiral mixers are especially good at mixing a lot less than their rated volume of dough, down to 10% of the rated capacity. If you are in doubt about whether to get something perfectly sized for your needs or the next size up, get the next size up.
Very heavy, very large.
It’s hard to fault a machine with well-published specifications for being huge and heavy, so I can’t really call this a con. But one comment I got was that folks considering this machine should especially be alerted to the fact that it is a beast. I agree. If you are considering this machine, the 10S especially, it is so heavy that you will not be able to move it alone. Two people are needed to move it anywhere. In fact, even just sliding it on my counter is hard to do and I’m no slouch.
The lesson: if you thought you would somehow fit this in your kitchen and then slide it back and forth out of the way when you don’t need it…I discourage you from counting on that strategy. I would suggest you find a space for it and never plan to move it again.
Conclusion
Most everything above is just more nit-pickiness by me. The things I mention are going to hardly affect the most important feature of the Famag mixer: really good dough mixing. Are there quirks? You bet! If Famag called me up and asked for my feedback and on how to improve their product, I’d be ready with a list!
But that aside, it is still a great machine and I’ve received a lot of questions and comments from folks interested in it. I still conclude it is the best machine for dough mixing money can buy in the USA (for small scale). I cannot imagine living without it. My Hobart N50 hardly gets any use at all these days, except for pastries and other things. For breads, the Famag wins hands down every time.
As of this writing (July 2020), the only place to buy the machine is at Pleasant Hill Grain. I do not get any commission for writing this review or any compensation whatsoever. I simply do this for fun. So be assured you are getting totally unbiased information.
Update 7-2020: There is a new mixer in town, the SunMix spiral mixer which uses 110V, is made in Italy and has lots of nice specs. I hope to be able to review it soon and compare it to the Famag.
More pictures!
As I was checking things out, I took off the top plate from the machine. Here are some pictures to show you what’s inside.
The above images show the safety mechanism attached to the metal wire lid. The image on the right is when the top is open and the switch is open, preventing the machine from starting.
Do you think red locktite on the two screws would hold the breaker bar in place?
I really, really doubt it. The problem is not the screws loosening. The problem is that there is too much play even when the screws are locked down tight.
Thanks!
Did you knead a 77-80% hydration dough? How do you achieve the dough catch around spiral hook? Thank you.
I find that with high hydration, batch size is key. If your batch is too small then your mix will not be efficient. For the most part, I have no trouble with 80%. If you have issues, the best strategy is to use a double hydration technique.
When I aim for a spiral mixer I can choose between a permanently installed bowl and a removable bowl.
1) Could you fix your “click…pop” problem with the removable bowl? Is it easy to fix?
2) Would you recommand a removable bowl or is it super easy and simple to clean a spiral mixer with a permanent installed bowl?
3) Would you recommand a Famag or should I go with a Bosch; KitchenAid; Kenwood; or something else?
If you primarily need a mixer to knead dough, the Famag is the only true spiral mixer. The others you mention are inferior for that purpose, in my humble opinion. I answered your other questions in another comment you left.
The Sunmix in my opinion is a better mixer as far as build quality goes
Do you need more than 1 speed level for some doughs does it help?
Professional spiral mixer have 2 motors one drives the kettle and the other the spiral hook. If you speed up, only the hook gets faster, not the bowl and the dough kneaded more intensively.
The Famag spiral mixer that you can buy for home only have 1 motor that drives the bowl and the spiral hook, so if you set the Famag faster both go faster, the dough is not kneaded more intensively, it is just a little faster.
I think you only need two speeds but the Famag has infinite speeds. I wish it had two motors, as you say, but I guess it would be much more expensive. Because there is only one motor, the reverse mode is totally useless because the hook reverses and not just the bowl. So the dough rides up to the ceiling of the mixer as a result.
Curious if you’ve got any thoughts on Famag versus SunMix
I don’t have experience with SunMix. I hear they are great too!
You identify the fact that the breaker bar could be placed somewhat lower (and closer to the bottom of the bowl)to reduce possible smearing of the dough. I have a similar question about the breaker bar placement to the spiral.that Might a greater distance degrade the performance of the bar in the separation of the dough or not? I realize this question might presume some adjustment of the bar placement which is not a factor here however.. The misalignment of the breaker bar after continued use is due to the constant pressure of the dough upon the bar itself, pivoting… Read more »
If I had to guess, I would say you must be an engineer 🙂 Yes, I think your ideas of how to keep the breaker bar in place are great and they would work. I also think you are correct that the holes are too large for the screw, which allows for play. I fixed the problem by adding a pin that prevents that movement (as indicated in the post above). I am not sure about the optimal distance of the bar to the spiral, however. I think that distance would depend on the dough itself and could be better… Read more »
I now see that the attachment of the breaker bar screws is via washers and nuts. I had mentioned a threaded plate as an option as well to minimize or eliminate the movement of the breaker bar at the pivot point. Possibly that might be a more effective means of attachment. I have also noted that much larger commercial spiral mixers utilize breaker bars which have been ground to a dull knife
edge where they contact the dough, effectively reducing the drag on the bar. This a possible method of increasing effectiveness in mixing drier dough and avoiding stalling.
Breaker bars can come in several forms. Typical European spiral mixers have round bars while American versions tend to have rectangular bars. I have also seen the ‘dull knife’ ones you mention. The round bars tend to mix less efficiently, but they are more gentle on the dough and there is less stalling. I think the best solution is simply a stronger motor, but that necessitates 220V and higher amps. For the 110V models, some stalling is expected and that’s ok. It just takes la little longer to finish the mix.
Considering a Famag IM-40 for a small cottage bakery – any thoughts on the larger version of the Famag – as their spiral mixers increase in size, do you know if the quality holds up or do you have a spiral mixer at this size (roughly 100 lbs of dough) that you would recommend?
Thank you!
I have been very pleased with Famag quality, and, as a commenter below mentioned, everything is Italian-made including the motor. Saying that, I don’t have direct experience with the much larger IM-40. I was planning to get that model for my cottage bakery but I am still a year away from setting that up. I’m sure you are aware it does not have a lifting head and removable bowl, but it does have a nice timer. I have been hearing very good things about the new game in town (SunMix) and you might want to check that out before making… Read more »
Hi there! Been staying out of the conversation since I am clearly partial to Sunmix, but I appreciate the link and reference. Please reach out if you have any additional Sunmix questions. And if you want to do a side-by-side test I am sure we can work something out. Please let me know.
Thanks a lot and FORZA PIZZA!
-Alberto
Thanks for chiming in Alberto. I will private message you about that!
Hi Alberto, are Sunmix spiral mixers available in the u.s.?
Hello Zuri, Just bought this mixer, and to a great degree, relied on your detailed review, thank you! It mixes a 6 kg batch of bread dough with great ease, and handles lower hydration dough just fine. One of the first things I did, was to look at the locking mechanism of the bowl. I don’t think that engineers who designed this mixer did not account for the direction of rotation and the spontaneous unlocking that you mention. I would guess that some other company holds a patent and they had to reverse the locking direction to avoid… Read more »
Thanks Tim, that is really great info. Mine unlocks now with every mix no matter the hydration or batch size. It’s pretty awful. So if your fix works, you are a genius! I will let you know soon.
Thanks again Tim! I applied your idea and it works brilliantly. I have posted the details for others to see here: https://wheatbeat.com/how-to-fix-the-famag-bowl-lock/
I am very glad to hear that. My Famag has also been working great over the last month, never had unlocking problem. Recently my wife started using it too and she is impressed with the results. Now our KitchenAid is jealous for all the attention the new mixer is getting. 🙂
I just unpacked my IM-5 S 10V 3000 manufactured 3/2020. The breaker bar mounting screws are installed about 11mm lower than the ones on your photo. Both your and my screws appear to be installed on 24.5mm centers. Perhaps this will help the tilting breaker bar issue you mention in your review (breaker bar is 249mm in length for comparison). The breaker bar is 7mm from the bowl, so the distance from breaker bar to bowl has not changed.
The handles to lock down the tilting mechanism are now levers, a little easier to use to lock down.
Thank you Jim, I appreciate the updates on what Famag is doing now. Are you able to attach a picture of the breaker bar mounting screw area? Are you sure it’s not just that yours is a IM-5 and mine is the 10?
Hello , I own the same model you reviewed and I am pretty happy with it. I just want to have your opinion on the last model FAMG brought to the USA, that is the high hydration model that they state gets up to 300 RPM. Do you think that those RPM are really needed for high hydration? No commercial spiral mixer goes that high. Since you were pointing on your original review on how unnecessary is to have the so many speeds, I was wondering what your take on this is.
Great question and I am puzzled by it myself. Maybe someone else can answer. My guess is that high hydration dough is easier to whip up into a ball when the rpm is higher; therefore, maybe they assume the mix would be more efficient?? Another theory is they are simply offering a machine that would develop gluten faster than their lower rpm machine – about 25% faster. But since they are trading torque for speed, there would be a risk to using this machine to mix low hydration dough – and that risk would be motor burnout. Anyhow, those are… Read more »
Good points, well taken! I would like to add that one might see a faster and stronger gluten structure for wet doughs at higher RPM but at expenses of higher oxidation and loss of flavor. Hamelman in his great book clearly states how it is preferable to under develop gluten in the mixer and strengthen it with folding later. The Sunmix V6 that every single italian pizza and bread making forum highly prizes over FAMAG for developing gluten at high hydration (disclosure – I have no personal experience with it!) only goes to 210RPM. Perhaps one should also look at… Read more »
Super helpful and thank you for sharing the information! I still am not sure what the point is of doing this conversion. Even if it was offered in the USA, I don’t see myself getting it. You are correct about oxidation with faster mixing, but keep in mind that for production purposes, there is a trade-off to slower mixing: fermentation time. The more you mix, the less time you need to ferment, which also means less flavor. But in a production setting where time is money, faster mixing can be relevant. Also, for some applications, additional oxidation is actually desirable.
Do you have a link where I cam buy
I recently purchased this machine and have found it to be rather week in performance. As an example; since you have removed the top cover plate try watching the operation under load. you will see that the mounting plate for the spiral bearing flexes. This in itself is a huge problem as over time metal fatigue occur and that will render the unit useless. I will point out that the unit I have has a variable frequency drive (VFD) which does allow you to adjust the speed of the motor which btw is in fact a 3 phase motor. The… Read more »
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts Kurt. It’s good to have different points of view. I think you might be disappointed because you are directly comparing this machine to something you use professionally. There is no doubt that you could spend $30,000 and get a Hobart which exceed the quality of the Famag at every level. But couldn’t that be said of anything you buy? Professionals that use a machine every day to make a living have different requirements than passionate home or cottage bakers. As for reliability, I think having a 3 year warranty says… Read more »
I gave the Famag a quality review based on parameters that I know will effect the performance of the machine. The voltage is not the limiting factor as I explained. The hp of the motor is the limiting factor. In this particular case the motor isn’t able to utilize its full hp because the gearing is to high and therefore you will run it at a slower speed which also significantly lowers the hp rating. The slower the motor turns the less torque the motor generates. – Significantly less torque. its not a liner slope its a curve. btw for… Read more »
Excuse me for jumping in but was visitiing andI thought I’d add a few FYI’s. 1) Pleasant Hill appears to be the US importer/distributor for Famag (modified to 110v for residential US). The same models (5, 8 & 10) are offered online on UK shops Agrieuro and PiratesPizzaShack in 220v varieties. You can find the curved breaker bars there too! 2) There is a Facebook Famag MIxer Users Group that’s quite active. 3) I had contacted Sunmix some time ago and found that they are offered in the US from their US distributor Forza Pizza. As I remember the unit… Read more »
Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed review.
I noticed that you reported stalling with only 3 kg of low hydration dough.
What is the largest batch (pieces or weight) of 65% to 80% hydration you have ran through the IM-10 S ?
Thanks,
JP
I have not loaded it to maximum capacity. I have done up to 7kg of normal hydration dough and the motor slowed down for sure, but it was not straining. Nothing got hot and I didn’t feel like I was pushing any limits.
Thank you!
If you put a rectangle heavy plate with tapped thread behind the two screws of the bar will makes no more movement of the bar.
That’s a great idea, but you would need to have access to machining equipment that most of us don’t have.
Thanks for the detailed review and tips. If the breaker bar isn’t quite long enough, you could probably have some local guy with a welder extend the bottom length just a bit. Not that you should have to do that at this price point, but it’s quick and easy.
Yes, there are definitely some options but as you say, who wants to waste time on stuff like that when it should be correct from the get-go?
Did you ever post an audio of the sound of FAMAG? I loved the Audio comparing the KA and Hobart. TY for the Review. I want a Famag !! 😉
I didn’t post the sounds but I just got the 40Qt Famag too and will do a review on that and compare audio with the smaller 10Qt Famag too!
Cool ! Thanks Mike!
Hi wondering your thoughts on the 40qt Famag? Ive been looking at that one and a Sunmix for my small pizza shop and on the fence! Any opinions would be much appreciated!
Hi Jon, I just bought the 40qt Famag. Haven’t used it yet but you can take a look at it on my YouTube page here: https://youtu.be/4vCHylXiGaA
I will definitely be going into all the details soon. I am doing more videos than blog posts these days, so you might want to check back there.
The Sunmix is an excellent mixer too, but it had some limitations that affected my operation.
Thanks MIke, appreciate the feedback. Ill look at the videos and keep up the good work! Cheers
Thank you for sharing experience about Famag. The lock problem just happened to me, I’m glad to found how to fixes it here.
Hey Mike thanks for the review of this mixer, was going to pull the trigger on a Famag with PHG this week and now I’m not so sure…they did tell me they will be carrying Spiral Macs in the future but for the size I was considering those won’t be available until July 🙁 Any other recs? I wish I could find SunMix, a friend in Europe loves that one but I can’t find it in the US. Anyways thanks in advance, keep up the great content as I’ve found it extremely helpful 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. I would revisit the Famag if I were you. The issues I had were pretty minor and I am told the newest version PHG sells are improved. Why don’t you call them and ask about it? They are very helpful. I also have the 40Qt Famag mixer and it is a gem. Overall, they are great machines. The big deal is the removable bowl. Do not underestimate the importance of that. Cleaning a fixed bowl is no picnic and I believe SunMix is, indeed, fixed. If you find anything out, do come back here and… Read more »