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After much research and looking at the pros and cons of which juicer to purchase, I decided to buy the Omega 8006 Single Gear, Dual Stage Masticating Juicer for $299.00. They have the same model in white for $259.00, the Omega 8004, but I read that after a while the white part would get stained from the juice so I was down with paying a little more for a black and chrome finish that would look nice forever. Seeing how I was on a budget and new to juicing, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a juicer that I might of ended up not even using that much and $300 was actually the most I was looking to spend so I officially maxed out. Thank god shipping was free haha. Personally, the top things I was keeping an eye out for was price, ability to juice leafy greens and herbs, low RPM, ease of cleaning it, low noise levels, and warranty length.
Effectiveness at Juicing Leafy Greens, Herbs, and Fruits
In my opinion, the Omega 8006 was the best compromise for these features and the only drawbacks that I’ve seen are that more pulpier fruits and vegetables may a little issue getting juiced, but it is pretty much resolved by alternating between pulpy and leafy things like apples, pears, herbs, and leafy greens with harder produce like celery, carrots, and broccoli. There isn’t that much wet pulp leftover in the collection bowl. What I do if some pulp is more wet than I would like, usually when juicing cucumbers, I’ll save the leftover pulp and reinsert it to get any excess juice out of it, along with some celery or carrots to help push it through. After rinsing produce, you should cut apples, pears, cucumbers, and fat carrots into smaller slices so that they can fit inside the insertion hole. Speaking of carrots, the single auger will self-feed itself carrots that fit in, so it does save a little bit of time when juicing.
I also chose the 8006 model over the previous models because they made the auger (the screw-like attachment inside that spins and grinds the food) 8x stronger than their previous one. This was great seeing how I know that their previous models had issues of the auger getting chipped, which is quite disturbing because who wants to have chips of plastic in their juice?! I was a little apprehensive at first when juicing carrots but it had no issue. From what I’ve read of other people’s reviews, it was when processing hard substances like frozen bananas for banana sorbet that their auger started chipping. Still, I’ve never had issues with that either, but I do recommend taking a look at the auger once in a while and inspecting it to see if there are any marks. After 2 years of frequent use my auger is unaffected by the stress I put it through. It’s great that they have a 15-year warranty on all parts as well, putting my mind at ease in the event that it broke down.
Noise Levels, RPM and Insertion Hole Size
The machine is actually pretty quiet. I was surprised. Probably has to do with the low 80 RPM so it doesn’t require as much power to operate. I like the crunch sound it makes when I put the produce inside. This machine munches through it and it’s kind of cool to watch. It is way, way quieter than any blender so that shouldn’t be an issue for you. As far as the size of the opening is concerned, the dimensions are 1.50” x 1.50”. I’ll always wish for a bigger opening so that I don’t have to cut up the produce. I wish I could just throw everything into a centrifugal-like machine with no cutting necessary, but honestly it doesn’t even take that much time to do and I’m just being lazy haha. I’d say it takes approximately 30 seconds to a minute so it isn’t really that much of an issue. I do wish that the juicer was encased in metal rather than plastic, but it feels really durable and it comes with a built in handle so it is easy to carry around.
Ease of Cleaning
This juicer only takes me around 2-3 minutes to clean which is like, nothing! Just make sure that you clean up right after juicing before it all dries up. Otherwise, it can be a big nuisance to clean, unless you throw it in the dishwasher. All the pieces are dishwasher safe. If you clean it right after juicing you only need to do a good rinse in hot water and scrub the screen with the brush that they include.
Additional Features
This machine can make seed/nut butters, baby food, and frozen sorbets. The banana sorbet tastes awesome! Also, I use the machine to grind up almonds to make almond milk, as well as using them for crusts on chicken. There are a lot of uses!
Warranty
The Omega 8006 has the longest warranty on the market, which is 15 years on all parts. This is huge and ensures that the machine will be in working condition for years to come! The warranty comes standard with the machine, so it’s at no additional cost.
Other Juicers I Was Comparing To
Norwalk – This juicer is a 2-step hydraulic Press with low RPM, which actually looks pretty amazing. If I had the money I would consider buying it, but it costs $2000.00, which is way more than I, as well as most of you, are willing to pay. There are some issues with it that might have prevented me from buying it even if price wasn’t an issue. It does have issues with juicing herbs, as well as having a higher noise level and cleaning the parts can be a time-consuming process, well over 10 minutes with some people reporting it taking them 15-20 minutes to clean. Yeah, that’s way too long for my liking!
Angel – This is a low RPM twin gear juicer made from stainless steel. This was the one that I would seriously consider getting if my budget allowed me. It costs $800 but the whole thing is in stainless steel! The noise level is a bit higher though and it does take longer to clean up than the Omega 8006 because there are more parts, but if money weren’t an issue, this would be on top of my list. Overall though, the Omega 8006 is such a huge bang for your buck and paying another $500.00 for it wasn’t worth it for me at the moment. Perhaps if I ever wanted to upgrade, this would one of my top choices. I don’t think I’ll be upgrading for along time though as the Omega 8006 has been serving me well and with that long warranty, I’m going to have it for years to come.
Omega VRT 350 HD – This is a vertical single auger juicer that caught my eye but unfortunately, while it can juice fruits and most vegetables, it has issues with juicing leafy greens if they’re not juiced with other produce. I do like the fact that the insertion opening is slightly bigger than the Omega, being 2.25” x 1.25”. The RPM is slow at 80 RPM like the Omega 8006, but it doesn’t come with the additional features as well as having no handle. There’s a 10-year warranty on it vs. the Omega 8006’s 15 year warranty, and it costs about $380.00. Cleaning is easy though and it includes an automatic cleaning system.
Green Star & Green Star Elite – These types of juicers are twin-screw press juicers. They have a 12-year warranty and can juice leafy greens and other vegetables, along with some fruits, but they cost a lot more. The Green Star costs $465.00 and the Green Star Elite costs $529.00. They spin at 110 RPM, slightly faster but not by much. They have bio-ceramic and magnetic technology to extract more minerals, something unique about these machines, but I personally don’t think that makes a significant difference. They only have a 5-year warranty though, and with ease of cleaning pretty similar and the size of the insertion opening being the same at 1.50” x 1.50”, the higher cost didn’t outweigh the potential benefits.
Champion Juicer – The champion juicer is a masticating juicer, but it spins at a high 1725 RPMs, which is significantly higher and would case more foam, heat, and oxidation in comparison to others on here. It is best for juicing vegetables that are not leafy, as well as fruits. It also has a insertion opening of 1.75” x 1.75” as well as being able to make seed/nut butters, frozen sorbets, and baby food. At about $210.00, it looked like a a possible contender except for the fact that it couldn’t juice leafy greens well and I really didn’t like the high RPM. Plus, it didn’t have a handle, took a little longer to clean, and the warranty was 10 years on parts and 3 years on the motor.
Overall, the Omega 8006 really was the best compromise for those on a budget. If money wasn’t an issue, it would still be in my top picks to choose from, along with the Angel Twin-Gear Juicer and the Omega VRT 350 HD. I’m confident that you’ll like the Omega 8006 should you make the plunge into the juicing world. I really encourage you to do so and I hope that I was able to shed some light on the wonders of juicing.
