Compare the Oscar Quality
posted on February 22nd, 2008 in Benefits of Juicing, F.A.Q'sConventional Juicers
Conventional (centrifugal) juicers work by using a flat serrated cutting blade on the bottom of a rapidly spinning strainer (average rpm of 6 000). Fruit and vegetables are feed down and subsequently shredded into tiny pieces, and the juice is flung out due to centrifugal force, through small holes in the strainer. This process produces a ‘dying’ or ‘dead’ juice because:
- The massive amount of air drawn into the machine oxygenates the tiny grated pieces of fruit and vegetables.
- Nutrients (particularly enzymes) deteriorate and eventually die due to oxidation and friction heat.
Living Juicers
These juicers work on the principle of gently crushing the produce, and then pushing these crushed fibres through a strainer to separate the juice from the cellulose. Living juicers come in twin gear and single gear models.
Identifying a quality Living Juicer
Oscar was the original single gear juicer released to the international market. This revolutionised the juicing community because now a ‘living juicer’ was affordable. An incomplete patenting process on the Oscar 502 saw the emergence of imitation single gear juicers on the world market.
After testing we identified the following areas as problematic in other single gear juicers:
Other Brands |
Oscar Brand Quality |
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| ‘Other motor’ with only two screws securing motor and exposed wiring. | Oscar motor secured in four places with covered wiring, capacitor and cooling fan. |
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| Uses soldering connectors. Our experience with these and our decision not to use them is that this method is susceptible to moisture, particularly in warm climates, which can lead to electrical failure. | Safe and reliable electric clips are manufactured for 20 years of trouble free use |
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| Most other single gear juicers have these older style push buttons have been known to leak into the locking clip and motor housing which causes long term problems with the gearbox as fruit acids reach the lubricating grease within the gearbox causing extra noise and eventually a breakage | The Oscar has been ergonomically designed for ease of use, ease of cleaning, safety and aesthetics (for the modern kitchen). |
Below is a comparison of the juicing mechanisms |
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| This is a typical auger from older model single gear juicers. This screw is very similar to the first Oscar 502 juicer, with no design changes taking place. | Released in early 2005, Oscar Vital Max 900 has a newly patented three-step extraction auger working insude a dual stage juicing screen. Upon the initial crushing of the produce, any released juice is directed through the first stage of the juicing screen into the juice collection bowl.
The crushed produce minus juice then continues its way through the machine to the second stage, where there is a finer holed screen to obtain not only a higher yield, but a near pulp free juice. |
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| This is a screen which is typical of most other single gear juicers. The holes need to be large to prevent clogging, yet the larger the holes the more pulp is extracted into the juice, therefore the need for a sieve on the collection bowl to separate the pulp from the juice. Made from polycarbonate. Other single gear juicers may be affected by the following problems:
1. Leaks, especially into the locking clip and motor housing (this causes long term problems with the gearbox as fruit acids reach the lubricating grease within the gearbox causing extra noise and eventually a breakage…. additionally locking clips / face plates of juicers are tricky to clean and add to your time) 2. Poor performance with soft fruits (soft fruits hold more juice extractable at the first stage. When trying to pass this juice onto the second stage typically nothing happens at all and produce remains stationary in the juicing drum with the juice and all the auger does is stir it). |
Silicon seal has improved efficiency, more juice extracted and less pulp has eliminated the need for a seive on collection. Longer stage one and less screen to clean.
Made from ULTEM, ideal for high strength applications. It is hydrolysis resistant, highly resistant to acidic solutions and capable of withstanding repeated autoclaving cycles. The Oscar Vital Max juicer comes with a silicon seals on both plunger and screen to produce a true pulp free juice without the need of a sieve. The inventor of the single gear juicer realized consumers wanted to juice both fruit and vegetables successfully. While centrifugal juicers will produce a mushy pulp from fruits, the Vital Max has a ‘silicon seal’ on the juicing screen which allows the fruit juice to be more readily separated from the pulp. Juice is allowed to exit at the first stage which prevents problems details below. |
This process is claimed to obtain up to 20% more juice than ordinary single gear juicers and in many instances yields like a twin gear machine. A test with carrots yielded 26% more juice.
With other single auger juicers, the juice is only produced in the second stage, requiring larger holes in the juicing screen. Consequently a sieve is provided with other single gear juicers covering the juice collecting bowl to catch pulp.
