Got Omega VRT Problems?

Wheatgrass (?) string in my Omega VRT350HD juice

This morning I made a juice with my Omega VRT 350 HD juicer.  I juiced baby spinach, a handful of second growth wheatgrass which was not more than a few inches in length, skinny carrots, yam, cucumber, and a bit of apple.  In addition to the usual huge amount of pulpy particles there was a 1.5 inch fibrous string that I assume to be a piece of wheatgrass (what else could it be?  baby spinach has short tender stems) in my juice.  It was, as the youth used to say, "Gross."

Then I read an anonymous comment asking whether I cut my veggies into pieces, feed them slowly, and rotate the produce (leafy then non-leafy) as I feed.  Yes, yes, and yes, generally.  As I understand the official Omega version of the cut the veggies into pieces, from my contact at Omega, is that too small is not necessarily better.  Other so called experts vary suggestions regarding the size of the produce to feed into the Omega VRT.  It jams if the carrots are over an inch in diameter so... I like to keep the jams to a minimum.  Feed slowly?  I never use the pusher tool.  Slow enough I presume.  Rotate the produce?  If I don't, all I get is wheatgrass foam and maybe finally a bit of juice.  I need to put in a carrot or something else to get the VRT juicer to put out or push out the green juice.  This makes it difficult to accurately measure the amount of green juice produced.  In other words, the green juice does not come through on its own when I just want an ounce of wheatgrass of a couple of ounces of baby spinach.  There appears to be green juice, perhaps in stages of juicing, that requires another firmer fruit or vegetable to push it out.  The Omega VRT I have seems to need the variety of produce to juice most effectively. 

"Anonymous" commenter, why don't you tell me and the other Southwest Desert Blogger readers how small you cut your veggies?  Do you have a VRT350HD?  How do you get one ounce of pure wheatgrass juice without rotating in other produce?  I don't want my wheatgrass mixed with anything else, and I do not want to produce mass quantities of wheatgrass juice.  Just an ounce or two of fresh, pure wheatgrass juice.  Not wheatgrass foam!  Mono-juice; not V8.  

I wanted to get off the complaining about the Omega VRT350HD, but that 1.5 inch string in my uber-pulpy juice this morning chaffed my emotional chaps. Then the anonymous commenter with the standard cut the produce, feed it slowly, rotate... line peeved me.  Are you from Omega?  Do you sell Omega?  Do the Omega sales give dealers more profit than other brands like the other vertical juicer I was talked out of by the dealer?  I suggest "anonymous" teach the Southwest Desert Blogger readers how to deal with the produce and pulp that gets under the auger regularly, how to clean the tiny pulp port and juice exit port, how to get beet and green stains off the parts and tiny areas the cleaning tool does not reach, how to clean the vegetable matter caught in wiper blade assembly.  Should I take the blades out?  Or maybe anonymous can tell me how strings are getting into my juice?  Don't just feed me that old "slow feed and rotate" line.  We are talking about an expensive juicer, not a buffet and square dance.

Is it possible I have received 2 defective VRT350HDs?  Is it possible all the folks who use search terms like "Omega sucks" (not my words mind you) and "Omega ... too much pulp" who find their way to this blog are just not feeding the produce slowly?  If I fed it any slower, I could write a post between additions.  I'll tell you what.  Why don't you get your own blog and laud the virtues of the Omega VRT350HD?  Based on our experience, some of us just think it is a poorly designed, sloppily manufactured, disappointing product for the purpose which we intend it.

I need to get a wisdom tooth extracted.  I would like to drink healthful, nourishing, fresh juices after the extraction, during the time I must avoid hard food, vigorous swishing, brushing, and flossing the extraction area.  However, the juice my Omega VRT350HD produces is too pulpy and stringy.  I would worry that the "pulp", which is actually composed of tiny pebbles of produce, would irritate the healing gum area during the initial sensitive recovery period.  I will use my other juicer, as I do several times per week, to get a clean, pulp-free and string-free juice.  The only good thing about my Omega VRT 350HD: it is a little quieter than my other, 16 year old juicer.  But for me, a pulp-free, string-free juice quality is more important than the noise factor. 

Tried to end on a positive note, really,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2012   P.S.  Support this blog and get healthy products using discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements, raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural soap, shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, soaps such as Dr. Bronner's, raw cacao, organic chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Orders of $20 or more ship free in US.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order.
Thanks.

Omega Vertical Juicer VRT 350 HD -- Post #9!

I have reviewed the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer in 8 previous posts starting September 25, 2011.  The problems persist even though I have cut celery as small as one inch lengths -- then the carrot may jam the juicer and cause it to stop.  I suspect these stops and starts add to the pulp in the juice.  Even without the stops and restarts, the juice is still pulpy -- too pulpy for my taste.  And the pulp consists of strings, tiny chunks, and some very thin skin-like stuff.

One or the strings and other material found in the Omega VRT 350HD juice!

Can you see the fiber mass stuck in the exit port?  This is very hard to pull out -- I tried.  The cleaning tool that comes with the juicer does not fit or assist in this area.  Also notice the cylinder at the bottom of the photo is the juice exit port.  The red line in the middle is a piece of hard plastic hanging half-way down the exit port.  This is impossible to clean with the cleaning tool provided or any other dish cleaning tool I have and thus is not hygienic.  There is a very narrow area on all sides of the rectangle.  I cannot imagine the purpose of this hard plastic rectangle in the juice exit port. Earlier versions of the Omega VRT may not have it.

Another view of the fibrous mass.  See the fibers hanging down the exit port and up the inside of the juice bowl.  The bright orange is carrot pulp.

There was also a wad of wet fiber strings in the bottom center of the juice bowl.

The strings and fibers lodge in the exit port even when I juice only one stick of celery, cut into 2 or three inch lengths. I suspect the wheatgrass may be doing the same.  Anything fibrous seems to cause issues.

The fiber I tugged out of the exit port.

That same fiber pulled apart a bit.  Some of these strings end up in my juice!

This strainer is 3 inches in diameter and 1.25 inches deep.  It is sitting on the lid of a wide mouth pint mason jar.  The strainer is filled with pulp strained out of one pint (16 ounces, about 1/2 liter) of vegetable juice (carrot, beet, greens and a bit of apple) from my Omega VRT 350 HD juicer.

The Omega VRT350 is not the juicer to use for efficiency juicing carrots and root vegetables.  Overall it does not produce more yield for me, despite it's reputation of producing a dry pulp.  You have to remember that the juice has so much pulp, that when you strain it, you may get another ounce or two of pulp per pint of juice.  And this juicer produces quite a head of foam, especially when juicing greens.

The company has offered to send me yet another replacement juicer; however, this requires over two weeks of transit time from the time I ship the juicer to them until I receive the replacement.  I have also received several replacement parts to try to remedy issues.  Honestly, one should not have to get replacement parts for a new product!  The parts are mostly plastic and in my opinion poorly molded.  Some of the edges are sloppy, irregular, and thus difficult to clean.  If this were a cheap juicer, i.e., under $100, I would understand the sloppy molding, etc.  But, this is a machine that sells for nearly $400! (USD).  Is it possible that I have gotten 2 defective juicers from Omega?  How many VRT350HD juicers do I have to try to get one that is perfect? How many times do I have to sit on hold while trying to contact Omega?  There is no way I can get that time back.  Is this just as good as it gets with the VRT350 HD?

Before you purchase and Omega vertical juicer, I suggest you read my other 8 posts reviewing the 350HD.  Do I regret this purchase?  Yes.  This is the desert and money doesn't grow on trees.
Your Southwest Desert Blogger,
C. (c)2012
Thanks for reading Southwest Desert Blogger. If you want to learn more about the 10 day juice fast or the 7 day raw food challenge I did (previous posts), or just want a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos (recommended by Southwest Desert Blogger) link to:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344
  P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements, raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, soaps such as Dr. Bronner's, raw cacao, organic chia seed, white chia, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, seaweed noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free (US) for orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order.   www.iherb.com -- check it out.

Problems with the Omega VRT350HD Continue

This morning I tried straining the juice from the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer.  The 2 ounces of kale juice produced so much foam it nearly covered most of the 5 inch strainer.  I chose to just juice 24 ounces of vegetable juice and strain the juice afterward.  The juice contained kale, carrots, celery, and a small amount of apple and cucumber.  Here are some photos of the results.
Notice the celery strings on the rim of the strainer.
These strings, and more, were in the juice!
There are many more strings in the pulp.

Close-up of pulp after I pushed out much of the juice with the back of a spoon.  Look closely and notice more celery strings throughout the pulp.  This pulp also contains carrot and apple.  The green kale material, which Omega says the 350HD does the best job of juicing, predominates this pulp although it was less than 10 percent of the total juice.

Select Celery Strings in the Omega 350HD juice:  Up to 2 inches long!

 Notice some celery strings from the juice in the photo on the right.  And yes Omega, I did cut the celery into quarters prior to juicing.  This celery was not the most stringy variety I have ever purchased.  It's strings were average.  This would have juiced very well in my 16 year old centrifugal juicer.  The old juicer produced a sweeter, pulp-free juice in less time, with no strings and fewer parts to wash.  Omega's answer to the problem of the large quantity (more than photographed) of strings in the juice:  it might be a defective auger.  This is the second auger!  I will try the third auger when it arrives and let you know whether things improve.  I am developing a new string theory.

So far, my experience with the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer has been a strain.  And no, this is not pulp fiction.

With apologies for the puns,
Southwest Desert Blogger   P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.

If you want to learn more about the 10 day juice fast (also see my September 2011 posts), the 7 day raw food challenge (see my July 2011 posts), or just want a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos link to:http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344
Be happy!
C. (c)2011

Review #1 of the Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer

After weeks of intensive research I finally purchased a new juicer.  My 16 year old centrifugal juicer worked pretty well but was very loud and the pulp was a bit juicy.  With the price of organic produce I had hoped for a drier pulp and better yield, especially when juicing leafy greens, as well as a quiet juicer that does a good job juicing both fruits and vegetables.

A few years ago the Huron vertical juicer was the new rage.  It is quiet, has the new style vertical (tall) design, and is a "slow" juicer.  The slow juicers generally use an old style auger design like your grandmother's old clamp-to-the-counter, metal, meat grinder.  This style meat grinder is still for sale in gourmet and cook's supply sites and shops.  They are generally reasonably priced and some folks have used them as a cheap wheatgrass juicer.

Back to the Huron:  It was the rage among those who had about $400 (USD) or more to spend on a newfangled juicer.  As time passed, the new guys on the block came out with their new and improved vertical juicers.  There was the Omega VRT330, 330HD and 350HD among others.  The newest versions generally have harder materials in critical parts such as the screen and auger.  This addresses rumors that there were screen problems with earlier vertical juicers.  There is even another brand that boasts their plastic doesn't leach a certain chemical.  That is very seductive when trying to select among very similar juicers.  Two juicer dealers do not recommend that non-leaching brand but prefer the Omega Vert Juicer.  Consequently, I purchased an Omega VRT 350 HD vertical juicer.  Shop around as prices vary a bit.   If you buy online, you should get free shipping. 

This is not a cheap purchase.  One hopes it will give a decade or more of service, but be sure your dealer has a favorable return policy.  The juicer could weigh over 18 pounds boxed, and if you have to pay return shipping, it could get costly -- that is if you are allowed to return it!

The juicer arrived in good condition.  The instruction manual is minimal.  Too minimal.  The base unit, the motor, is heavier than I expected.  In my opinion it is awkward to move the juicer as it has a sleek smooth base and no grips.  In my opinion, it is difficult to disassemble, after juicing, to clean it.  But, I get ahead of myself.

The instructions give basic safety tips, show you how to put the parts together and take it apart for cleaning, and give some trouble shooting tips.  That's all folks.  The problem is, this is not your old centrifugal juicer or Champion style juicer.  It is a persnickety machine.  It is self-feeding for the most part, but you need to cut the produce into small pieces (opinions vary here) and add the pieces slowly to keep the unit from jamming, flooding, backing up, or getting tangled in fiber.  Yes, it is sometimes called a "slow juicer" but that's only part of the story.  It is a picky eater.  Even after partially de-stringing celery, and cutting the celery into 1 inch pieces, cutting the chard into 2 inch pieces and the chard stems into 1 inch pieces, strings got tangled in the pulp ejection spout area.  This is the hardest part to clean.  The pulp gets mashed into a near solid mass and I have to use the special cleaning tool to wedge and push it out after pulling at the strings as best I can.  This can be frustrating.

The juice is VERY pulpy.  Is the V in VRT for very pulpy?  Think of the pulpiest orange juice you can get commercially and then add some more pulp.  I was warned of this and tried straining the juice.  I filled a 2.5 inch diameter x 1 inch deep metal mesh strainer to the brim with thick pulp after juicing one cup of carrot, chard, celery, beet, ginger juice.  This is the blend I have been making daily for years.  With my old centrifugal juicer, the juice is a cleaner, much lower pulp, juice.  In the old juicer I do not have to cut the chard stems or leaves -- I just roll it up like a cigar and push it in;  I cut the celery once so that the length is 5 inches.  I only use a small piece of ginger -- one inch at most.  So, the prep time is greater for the Omega VRT because all stringy produce must be cut into small pieces that will not jam the machine.  Worst of all, I have gotten pieces of celery string, up to 3/4 inch, in the VRT juice! in addition to the thick pulp.  [see future posts for longer strings! and photos of the "string of the day"]

Overall, the cleanup is nearly the same as my previous centrifugal juicer -- that is if there are no plugged ports or spillovers to clean.  My old juicer had less parts to clean, so it is quicker and easier for me to clean.  The actual juicing time is longer than a centrifugal juicer.  The yield does not appear to be significantly greater even though the ejected pulp seems a bit drier.  The Omega VRT350 HD waste pulp is generally heavier that the waste from my 16 year old juicer for the same amount of juice produced by each.  One wishes the pulp  extracted into the juice of the VRT350HD was sifted and ejected into the trash by the juicer.  Note that I am using the fine strainer that comes with the juicer, and all reported results in this post are using the fine strainer!  [See strainer post in 2012] This pulpy juice is a real turn off for me.  As a seasoned juicer, I judge the juice unpleasantly pulpy.

My opinion:  I would rate this juicer disappointing.  There is a lot of online and video hype which makes me wonder whether this juicer gives a big mark-up to the on-line sales people.  In my opinion, the Omega VRT 350HD is a heavy, awkward to move, awkward to completely disassemble and clean, product that delivers an unpleasantly pulpy juice.  It sometimes makes a loud squeaking sound when juicing green leafy produce.  It does not handle stringy produce well.  It requires more prep time and more juicing time than my old centrifugal juicer.  It weighs more than my old juicer.  It does not deliver noticeably more juice although the juice contains, after draining the hand strainer of liquid, about two solid tablespoons of pulp per 8 ounce cup of vegetable juice.  This is unacceptable in my opinion.  I feel like I have to brush and floss after drinking this juice.  After I put a pint of the mixed vegetable juice in a clear glass pint jar in the refrigerator for 2.5 hours, there are 3 distinct layers:  a 1 inch pulp layer on the bottom, a 1 inch particle and foam layer on the top, and the 2 inches of good-looking juice in the middle of the mason jar. 

Furthermore, the instruction manual gives no guidance on how to prep the produce for juicing except "rinse everything thoroughly" and "cut or split any hard materials such as carrots into thin slices..."; minimal instruction on how best to clean the parts, no guidance on how to avoid or remove vegetable juice stains on parts, etc.  And there will be carrot and greens stains after just one juicing.  The parts are not to be washed in a dishwasher.  Did someone forget to tell them this is the twenty-first century?  Help me out here Omega! 

Quote from the Instruction Manual VRT350.  "Troubleshooting ...  The machine shakes.  This shaking is perfectly normal.  It is a sign of the motor working properly."  What?!

I will phone the company on Monday.  They are closed today.  Why do people love this machine?  Why all the hype?  Someone, please tell me.

Perplexed and pulpy,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011  P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.