The blender has a burning smell! What is the problem? Is it dangerous? The good news is that it’s not always time to get rid of your blender.
The average blender can blend at around 12,000 RPM (rotations per minute). Blenders that can blend at higher speeds are available, and they can help chop through ice and frozen fruit, as well as harder ingredients like nuts, seeds, and beans. However, the high speed brings an inherent risk of fire and burns. Getting the best blender you can afford is the best defense against unneeded injuries.
What do you do when your blender starts smoking?
So, you got your brand new blender and have been using it every day for the first week… and then you noticed that smoke was pouring out of the bottom. What do you do?
Well, first off, unplug the appliance immediately.
Then, carefully check the bottom of the pitcher for any signs of damage. Sometimes, this is a sign that the blender is overheated, and the bottom of the pitcher is getting too hot.
If this is the case, you need to wait a few hours until the object has cooled enough for you to pick it up and examine it closer. If it isn’t too hot to handle, try to pry the bottom of the pitcher off with a butter knife or flat head screwdriver.
If you can’t find any signs of damage, the blender is overheated and needs to be cleaned.
However, if there are signs of damage on the bottom of the pitcher or it’s very hot to touch then unplugging your appliance was not enough – this time plug a small fan into an outlet close by and point it towards the area where smoke emerged from in order for heat to escape more quickly.
Once everything has cooled down (you should wait up to five hours), try prying off the bottom with a butter knife again as before. If that doesn’t work, take out every single removable part – so blades, rubber gasket around them etc., pour water over all parts until they’re completely submerged, leave them to soak up for about two hours, and then take them out. Don’t forget the blades – they might be getting stuck in other removable parts!
If your blender is not under warranty or you’re mechanically unskilled, call a professional who specializes in this type of work.
Diagnosing the Issue
After some time, it may be possible that the blender has developed a burning smell. This usually means there is something wrong with your appliance; which can range from being an easy fix to being more significant and expensive.
Here are some of the common causes of blenders developing this issue:
- The motor overheats and burns out because you ran too many processes in one go or used tasks like ice crushing for longer periods than necessary. If this happens often, consider upgrading to a better model so as not to replace parts over and over again.
- There’s food trapped between blades at the bottom of the container – try running water through them by tipping the blender upside down, holding the base under the tap, and pouring until water runs clear.
- The blender is close to its max capacity; the motor develops more heat as it’s doing a harder job than usual, so you’ll need to be more careful about how much food and liquid goes into your blend – usually this happens when making soups or anything with lots of water in it. You can also try reducing speed on high-powered blenders by pressing buttons down one notch at a time until there are no longer any signs of burning smell coming from the appliance.
- There’s something wrong with the blade assembly (blades becoming detached). Oftentimes, after enough use over time, blades will become loose where they attach to the container wall and start getting caught up in the mixture being blended – which causes excess heat and consequently, a burning smell. This can usually be fixed by re-tightening the blade assembly with hands or pliers (by tightening screws).
- The blender is defective and needs to be replaced. If you’ve tried all of these fixes but still notice an issue after blending food for long periods of time, it’s possible that your blender just isn’t working properly anymore – which could mean replacing the appliance altogether.
- Your blender may have been manufactured incorrectly while in production, causing it not to work as intended from day one; this would warrant returning/exchanging the product under warranty if available.
- You’re expecting too much out of a cheaply made blender: In some cases overloading your blender will cause a burning smell.
- If you notice a long-term issue that may be caused by the blender not being used as intended, it’s possible that the blades are dull and need to be replaced.
- Your blender has been overheating too much from extended use: This could mean there was an improper venting system that needs to be fixed for safety reasons (or replace appliance).
- The motor isn’t working properly due to old age: Trying these fixes first will only buy some time until eventually needing more extensive repairs; this would warrant returning/exchanging blender.
- There is a crack in the base of your blender: This could be caused by someone dropping it on their foot, something large falling into it or some other misuse of the appliance; this should warrant returning/exchanging blender for safety reasons and to prevent further damage.
- You have been using too much liquid with not enough food to thin out mixture: It’s natural that liquids will evaporate over time but try adding more solid foods when making thicker mixtures like hummus, pesto sauces, etc.; you can also use ice cubes if necessary (referring back to #D).
- Your blade assembly has come loose from its housing during blending: Try tightening screws located at the bottom.
How do you fix a burnt blender?
The blender has a burning smell because the blades are getting too hot and cooking food. This can happen in two ways:
- There is not enough liquid to thin out the mixture, so it’s clogging up around the blade assembly. Add more water or juice for thinner consistencies like pesto sauces and hummus
- The blade assembly has come loose from its housing during blending due to things being dropped on it, misuse of appliance, etc.; try tightening screws located at the bottom of blender base where you should see four visible ones with corresponding slots they fit into; this will tighten down all components together again after taking them apart as necessary. “Fixing” your blender might involve replacing broken or worn parts and repairing any loose screws.
This blender has a safety mechanism that shuts the machine down if there is not enough liquid for it to blend properly; this will help avoid clogging up of food in the blade assembly or melting blades due to friction/heat from lack of water. If you’re still experiencing problems, make sure all parts are tightened down and make sure you have enough liquid in your blender.
Burnt smell is usually caused by spinning the blender too fast without any water or food for lubrication. Working out a solution to this problem may involve slowing down the blending speed, adding more ingredients that contain sugar (ie: fruits) into the mix, cleaning off old dried-up residue from blade assembly and blades with soap/water/vinegar mixture.
There’s also an option to use a dry brush on both sides of blade assembly along with rotating it while brushing so that powdery particles stick together; then twist clockwise until they form larger clumps which should be easier to remove during cleanings.
Another possible cause might be due to the motor overheating and causing the blender to stink.
Some people have found that using a lower speed setting, or switching the power off while blending ingredients can help prevent this issue since it is caused by excessive heat building up inside of the appliance.
Another way to reduce overuse/overheating would be to install an anti-vibration pad (which helps with protecting from possible noise pollution) on top of the blender’s base in order for blade assembly not to touch any surface directly where vibrations may cause unnecessary wear and tear at high speeds.
This will also keep your blades from being scratched during use which could lead them to dull faster than they should be.
