Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro

Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro Review

JACK LALANNE POWER JUICER PRO REVIEW

MSRP: $149
PRICE RANGE: $130-$150
Best Prices: Amazon, Ebay, Bizrate
Measurements: 16"x12"x15.5"
Type: Centrifugal
Motor: 250 watt
Colors: Stainless steel
Weight: 15 pounds

RATINGS

1-5 Limes possible
1 is the lowest
5 is the highest

Overall Rating:


How we rated different factors:

Ease of Use Rating:


Juicing Performance Rating:


Durability Rating:

JUICING CAPABILITIES

+ = Yes
x = No
* = with difficulty

+ Citrus
+ Fruits
+ Soft Fruits
+ Soft Veggies
* Hard Veggies
x Wheatgrass
x Greens

PROS AND CONS

PROS:
Looks: Modern stainless steel

CONS:
Motor: 250 watts is inadequate
Durability: Too many consumer complaints
Juice Yield: Average

WHAT YOU GET WITH THE JACK LALANNE POWER JUICER PRO

* Stainless steel body
* Surgical quality cutting blade
* Stainless Steel mesh filter
* Pulp container
* Recipe book
* Owner's manual

Ease of Use

The Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro looks so easy to use on those t.v. infomercials. With stainless steel looks, surgical quality blades, and a large feed chute it looks like a juicing dream come true.

So what's it like when the infomercial is over and the box arrives at your doorstep? This 1 speed juicer doesn't match up to other centrifugal juicers in the same price range. A lot of it has to do with it's miniature 250 watt motor. You won't find the motor strength mentioned on the website sales page or in the infomercial. There's a reason!

For a centrifugal juice extractor 250 watts just isn't enough to provide a comfortable, easy juicing process.

Yes, it's easy to add the produce into the juicing feed chute and with a flip of a switch your juicing, but.... That's where the process starts to show results of the poor design and functionality that went into the making of this product.

With difficulty handling most hard juice vegetables such as carrots, beets and ginger, this juicer is essentially designed just for fruits.

Some pluses include the large feed chute for less chopping and prep time and dishwasher safe parts. But those pluses are available on many other centrifugal juicer models in the same price range, without the pitfalls.

There are a few particular issues that come up with the design that just can't be overlooked. The "no-drip spout" is placed in an awkwardly low position. Most glasses won't fit underneath it, and it doesn't come with an included juice collector, so you will need to use a low bowl or measuring cup to collect the juice and then transfer it to your glass for drinking.

The collection basket also has a tendency to clog with juice pulp, meaning frequent stops to clean it out before resuming with your juicing project.

So what about cleanup time? Clean up time actually isn't so bad. Being a centrifugal design means there are very few parts to clean, and they are all easy to set up and break down. Like most centrifugal juicer models, the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro does pretty well in the clean up department. Additionally, parts are dishwasher safe, so there's no need to wash anything by hand if you don't want to. With a stainless steel body, the juicer won't stain over time and will continue to look beautiful on your countertop.

Our final tally for ease of use? We give the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro a one lime review rating out of five possible. It is counter-intuitively designed, clogs easily, has an unfortunate juice spout location and it's only plus is the stainless steel body and easy clean up time.

Juicing Performance

So, how does the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro match up when it comes to performance? With a 250 watt motor, a person shouldn't expect much. That way they won't be disappointed! Considering there are centrifugal juicer models in a lower price range like the Breville Compact Juicer the Juiceman Jr with 700 watt motors it makes no sense to even consider a Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro purchase.

That small little motor and lack of multi-speed functions means the juicer often binds up at the first sign of a hard juicing vegetable (think carrot). It really is designed as a fruit juicer and should be advertised more clearly in such a way.

As a fruit juicer it does perform fairly well. There isn't enough friction from soft fruits to cause motor strain and it manages to extract an average amount of juice when left to what it does best... citrus, fruits and berries.

It can juice vegetables, but you will notice the engine working hard when you do. Over time this causes wear and tear on the motor and causes it to burn out.

One specific juicing performance issue that needs mentioning is that the pulp can tend to stick in the pulp discharge chute. This can cause the pulp and remaining liquid in the pulp to drip down the side of the base, because there isn't a sealing ring in place.

Pulp can also get stuck in the centrifugal basket causing pulp chunks to come through the juice spout and into your finished juice.

So what about those claims about extracting 30% more juice than other juicers? Hmmm. The best juicer reviews gives the Jack Lalanne line a finger-wagging naughty, naughty, naughty for that deceptive marketing ploy. A centrifugal design juicer is not ever going to beat a masticating, twin gear, or hydraulic press juicer for juice yield. So right of the bat, the claim is wrong. Centrifugal juicers are designed for speed and easy clean up, not maximum juice yields.

What about in comparison to other centrifugal juicers though? Is the claim true? Once again, definitely not. Compared to similarly priced models the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro extracts less juice and leaves more liquid in the pulp than its competitors. They've tacked on the tagline to generate more sales, but there is no truth to the claim.

The Power Juicer Pro is on par with.... drum roll... the cheap $30 style juicers you can find at big shopping chains like Walmart. It has around the same juicing capabilities, juice yield, foam, durablity and juice heating as those inexpensive little "starter juicers". The only difference is a slick advertising campaign, a higher price tag, and a pretty stainless steel exterior.

Can you tell we're not fans? Sorry to be so harsh, but it's better to save your money and get a good juicer than fall for an as seen on tv infomercial that hypes a shoddy "Made in China" juice extractor. Our final tally? We're going with 1 lowly lime out 5 for the performance juicer review rating.

Durability

A lifetime limited warranty on the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro means a lot right? Sorry, but it actually doesn't. This motor at 250 watts, has folks all across the internet posting about burned out motors and juicer failures happening within the first year of use (sometimes within the first month of use, sometimes within the first use!)

A limited lifetime warranty sounds great, but the reality is, if a juicer is designed to fail, it won't matter because after a while you will get tired of replacing motor after motor. These really are throw away juicers, like so many other infomercial products, designed to make short-term money for the t.v. personality and marketing company promoting them.

The problem with what sounds like such an amazing warranty is that you have to pay to ship your juicer back to the company and then pay $29.95 to have them ship it back to you... even if it dies the first time you use it.

That breaks down to around $60 in shipping fees to fix a $150 juicer. Yikes. Not cool. If it were only a few people having problems with their motors failing, it wouldn't be so bad. But when countless customers experience the same thing? It's a sure sign of a poorly designed, low quality product.

We have this question to present to Tri-star, the marketing company behind the Power Juicer line. If the motor is so incredible, and has such a show-stopping warranty... then why aren't the motor watts proudly announced on the website? It's standard practice in the juicing world for juicer motor sizes to be considered a selling point.

But I searched all over the Power Juicer website to find the information and came up blank. I took steps a matter further and called them (posing as an interested customer) to get the information from them. Then I knew why it wasn't clearly displayed. It's 250 watts! A 250 watt motor is laughable for any centrifugal juicer.

Durability is a serious issue with the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro. Check out our Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Don't Buy Warning if you want to hear about all of the issues customers are having with this line.

In the meantime. We give it a one lime out of 5 for durability.

Who should Buy It

We don't recommend it for anyone, and actually give it one of our rarely handed out The Best Juicer Reviews Don't Buy Warnings.

There are other juicer models and brands on the market that have much better durability and performance than the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro. In our opinion, there's nothing "pro" about it. Our final verdict? A paltry 1 lime out of 5!!!

Our recommendation? Check out the Juiceman Juicer line instead. Manufactured by Salton, the Juiceman Juicers have the same attractive good looks and way more kick for your money. They're like the Hyundai of the car world, packed with features and add-ons, reasonably durable, and inexpensive to boot.