Model Number: CJ525
Size: 9.5″ x 6.9″ x 6.9″
Weight: 1.6 lbs.
Basic Features:
1 liter (34 ounce) electric juicer for citrus fruit, automatic reversable reamer with stirrer, 2 cones for different citrus (lemons / limes / oranges / grapefruits), adjustable pulp controller, storage cover, and built in wrappable cord.
Review:
Although true juice fanatics will turns their noses up at “specialty” citrus juicers, this Black & Decker Citrusmate model packs a bunch of features in for very little price. As such, it’s a great value for those who don’t make juice too often, but need to make a lot of it when they do. Fairly solid construction seems to also be a plus. Many citrus juicers break after a few uses, though that’s often due to incorrect or overly heavy usage.
This model has a few interesting features that aren’t available on others similar to it. For one, the juice reamer has an automatic reverse feature that helps to get all the juice possible out of the fruit. Probably the most interesting feature (and one that a lot of people seem to enjoy) is the adjustable pulp control. Not everyone likes orange juice that has tons of pulp in it (as evidenced by the huge amount of “no pulp”, “some pulp”, “a lot of pulp” varieties of OJ at the supermarket).
I saw some reviews of the CJ525 that said people were having trouble with the motor burning out or having it strain against the weight of the citrus pressed against it. In most cases, if you press too hard down on the reamer this effect occurs on nearly all citrus juicers. One of the keys is to let the juicer do the work, and to be a little bit more patient. Gentle pressure downward should be enough to extract all the juice. Also, running bags and bags of oranges through the juicer nonstop is going to tax the motor slightly. This is a good juicer, but it’s not meant for commercial operation! You probably want to give it a rest every so often if the motor starts to become warmer.
The model comes with two sizes of “cones” for different types of citrus fruit. It seems to be fairly easy to wash, with the strainer popping apart to allow for easier cleaning. Overall a pretty good deal for a first family juicer.
