As discussed previously here, one of the essential factors that you need to check before buying a blender is to make sure you will get tremendous or sufficient power comes out from the motor, which correlates to the machine workload capacity itself.
The easiest clue for this is to find a blender that stated at least has 1 Horsepower (HP) motor output on its peak level that would be simply perfect for you.
The top 3 blender brands so far: Vitamix, Blendtec, and Ninja Kitchen compete to provide powerful blender with average 1-2 horsepower machines, while some of the blender models are designed for a professional user and can generate more than 3 HP motor output.
Let’s Reveal the Truth Behind Horsepower in a Blender
Probably for some of you now wondering why we need that kind of huge power from a blender? Some people prefer to buy a cheap blender, but others look for a powerful blender that they can use for many other things, like making peanut butter, make dough, etc. So no wonder if there still blender manufacturers compete to provide a blender with a decent machine.
But before we discuss horsepower in a blender machine, let’s find out the definition of horsepower itself in the electrical device.
Horsepower in the electrical machine
Based on Wikipedia, a horsepower is a unit in the foot-pound-second that was adopted in the late 18th century by James Watt to compare steam engines’ output with the power of draft horses. It was later expanded for use in other engineering and machinery types, including an electric motor.
The electrical power level of 1 HP is approximately equivalent to 746 watts (W). To convert HP to W, multiply with 746 and convert from watts to HP, multiply with 0.00134.
1 HP = Watts * 0.00134
Wattage calculation
The power (P) in watts (W) is equal to the voltage in volts (V), times the current (I) in amps (A):
P = V * I
The marketing words vs. reality
There’s a solid reason for our suggestion to take a blender that states at least a 2 HP output. In fact, regardless of the capability statement of providing a specific number of HP, the blender machine actually can never reach that output number in the real deal.
Let’s reveal the truth by evaluating some blender models from the 3 top brands: Vitamix 5200 Standard, Blendtec Classic 575, Ninja Ultima Blender.
Vitamix 5200 Standard Real Horsepower
Vitamix claims that the Vitamix 5200 Standard model has 2 HP motor output on peak level. With fact it has 120V and 11.5A, that will provide power 120V * 11.5A = 1,380 W.
Based on the formula earlier in this article, the real HP output wiil be: 1,380 * 0.00134 = 1.8492HP (92.46%)
Blendtec Designer 625 Real Horsepower
Blendtec claims that Blendtec Designer 625 model has 3 HP motor output on peak level. With fact it has 120V and 13A which will provide power 120V * 13A = 1,560 Watt.
The real horse power output: 1,560 * 0.00134 = 2.0904HP (69.68%)
Ninja Ultima Blender Real Horsepower
Ninja Kitchen claims that the Ninja Ultima Blender model has 2.5 HP motor output on peak level. Along with the fact that it provides 1,500 W electrical power.
The real horse power output: 1,500 * 0.00134 = 2.01HP (80.4%)
Conclusion
From the examples above, we revealed that marketing words could never be equal to the real output the blender machine can provide. The closest one, based on the samples above, is Vitamix 5200 Standard model. It has 92.46% total output towards what they stated.
There is a limitation of horsepower output, which is always directly proportional to the wattage power level that the machine consumes.