It can be tempting to not use the lid if you’re just doing a quick touch-up or a minor blend job. If you do, realize that you are entering the danger zone. First, if the switch and knob are not on the variable/lowest setting you could send the contents of the pitcher all over the kitchen. Second, if you happen to be tempted to use the tamper when the lid is off, it’s game over. The length of the tamper and the hole in the lid are designed to allow the tamper to reach very near the blades without hitting them. If the lid is off, there’s nothing to stop the tamper.
NEVER USE THE TAMPER WITHOUT THE LID!!! NEVER!!!
If you do, and even if you try to be careful, once the tamper touches the blending mixture, there is quite a bit of suction that can pull it down into the blades (this is how the Vitamix keeps things circulating). The tamper is designed to break before the blender does, so at least you don’t ruin the Vitamix, but the tamper is toast, and whatever you were making is also ruined because it’s full of tiny bits of plastic. I’ve tried to pick them out, but with the Vitamix’s shredding power it’s a lost cause.
I keep this destroyed tamper behind my Vitamix to remind me of the perils of running the machine without the lid.
All that said, this was pure user error. As long as you use the lid there’s no problem. The lid and tamper are a pretty clever design, since the lid lets the tamper get close to the blades without hitting them.*
If it happens to yours, you can easily order a replacement.
Update: There are now three different Vitamix tampers, so make sure you order the right one for your container. If you have the tall/narrow classic 64-oz container that comes with the 5200 and similar models, you want the Classic Tamper. The Classic tamper can be used with the 32 and 48-oz containers because it has a secondary flange. Or you can use the smaller Mini Tamper with the 32 and 48-oz containers. For the short/wide 64-oz G-Series container, the S-Series 40-oz container, and Ascent containers, you want the Low-Profile Tamper.
Also, check out this tamper mishap on TV:
(source)
*I’ve heard stories of people who managed to blend their tamper while the lid was on by pushing on it too hard. I’ve never seen that happen first-hand, and I imagine that you’d have to push really hard. So don’t push on the tamper with all your weight. You can push on it pretty hard without any problem though.
Launching the pitcher contents ceiling-ward and all over the kitchen is, indeed, a memorable event — but not so memorable that it can’t occur again within a year or two.
For whatever reason I’ve never had a major ceiling launch, but I’ve destroyed two tampers. I guess we all have our own susceptibilities. By repeating these stories I hope it will help us all remember to double-check the lid before starting.
I can truly relate to a destroyed tamper. My daughter was making a delicious smoothie as she always does, but forgot to place the top of the blender on trying to get a little more spinach in. Well this was our first major event with our vitamix. We thought for sure everything was destroyed but the blade was so sturdy that it remained in tact. We were still able to use our vitamix and ordered a new tamper. CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK!!
I’m so disappointed.. I took the lid off my Vitamix to mix the last of my favorite ingredients. I had peaches, strawberries, ice, soy milk, flaxseed, and Greek yogurt and was ready to drink it up! I push my tamper down without the lid and there it goes and my tamper is chopped up in minutes with little black pieces in my smoothie….forget about picking it out! No go!
I, too, have a ruin-your-tamper & smoothie story…I used it the other night while blending frozen berries, almond milk, etc. into a wonderful smoothie; however, I was using my shorter blending container and while the lid was on, somehow, the tamper connected with the blade and alas! what a sad tale…had to throw the whole smoothie out as there were bits of tamper in it…yuk!
I am glad to see that I am not the only fool who grabbed the tamper and put it into blender without the lid. I was SO worried that my blender was broken too and would void my 7 yr warranty. But it’s only the tamper that is ruined and I have ordered a replacement already. A real lesson learned for me…..slow down and check and re-check that the lid is always in place even with a small amount of ingredients. I figured there was so little volume in container and grabbed the tamper when stuff got stuck that I just zoned out and thought the tamper would stop away from the blade. I got sucked in alright! Be careful!!
Too funny! I too did this mistake, and it scared the heck out of me when it happened. Because the Vitamix was an anniversary gift from my husband, I have not confessed to my crime and will order a tamper in secret!!!
Too funny. I just did the same thing today. I looked at the blades and they seem OK so it was nice to hear it does not ruin the Vitamix blades.
No, blending a tamper won’t kill the vitamix. But blending the space-age plastic middle that goes in the lid from your dry container after someone thoughtfully stored it in your wet container … yup, will freeze up the motor.
here’s a new way to destroy your tamper: This morning I was roasting some peanuts to make peanut butter. Rather than let the nuts cool down, I tossed them right in the blender.
I first noticed an odd smell (like maybe those nuts weren’t so great), then the peanut butter developed a really odd texture.
Turns out it was hot enough to melt off the last cm or two of the tamper. oops…
Thanks for sharing your experience so the rest of us are reminded not to repeat it!
The tamper melts from hot peanuts? What would it do with hot soup that he Vitamix makes?
The tamper is fine to use with hot soup. Roasted nuts straight out of the oven can be significantly hotter than a soup could ever get. That’s because soup has water that prevents the temperature from going above the boiling point, whereas roasted nuts have almost no water.
That said, you generally don’t use the tamper with soup because the more liquidy consistency makes it unnecessary.
thank goodness I”m not the only one who’s done this. It must have been too early in the morning making my smoothie, and I pulled off the lid, put the tamper in and *then* put the lid on top of that. Wow. However, and amazingly, the tamper didn’t get shredded completely, though there is a gouge in it. Ooh, I do wonder if that will be bad for the products coming out of the blender now?
If it’s just scratched I wouldn’t worry about it. But the tamper is hollow, so if the gouge goes to the inside I would replace it because otherwise it will be essentially impossible to keep clean.
Well this happened to me this morning 🙁
I did put the lid on and all I did was push down on the frozen berries that were stuck at the top and bam!!! My tamper got caught…. I did not push down too hard…
I can’t believe that it happened… Very disappointing 🙁
I’ve never seen that happen, but I have heard a few stories of it happening.
You should call up Vitamix, let them know, and I’m sure they’ll send you a new tamper. You might also ask them to send a new lid, because the lid should really prevent the tamper from reaching the blades. (That is of course assuming that you didn’t use the wrong tamper-jar combination….)
I always use the lid and my tamper is destroyed. I end up with frayed bits …im hoping Vitamix will replace. Has anyone had luck with a free replacement?
I have now entered the “Vitamix ate my tamper” club. I have always used the tamper with the lid on until today. There were a couple pieces of parsley that were not mixing into my spinach/raspberry/blueberry/mango/parsley smoothie because they had gotten caught between the lid and the side of the pitcher. So, I removed the lid, and used the tamper to push them down into the mix…. Without thinking, I began to use the tamper as I always have down, pushing down on in..until the dreaded “WHAM!” Bummer!! So glad it is easy to order another tamper!! Lesson Learned!
So relieved to hear these stories. I too, went to add a forgotten ingredient to my smoothie and totally forgot the top and apples spewed all over the place.
I am looking for the tamper but it is for the pro 750 and I cannot locate it anywhere. The others look to long.
Any thoughts??
For some reason Vitamix has not started selling the G-Series tampers individually online yet. You’ll have to give them a call. Their number is 800-848-2649.
Hello, I am thinking of ordering the Pro 750 with the lower profile and wondered if you found that you need to use the tamper a lot and , if so, does it take a lot of pressure when using the tamper to push down the ingredients? I do not have a lot of muscle strength due to Fibromyalgia. Thank you.
The G-Series machines like the 750 require less use of the tamper. If you properly load the ingredients for a smoothie you almost never need to use the tamper.
As far as the strength required, I would say that it’s usually pretty light. The only time when it requires a lot of force is if you are trying to get large chunks of hard ingredients to blend. You can avoid that by cutting your ingredients into smaller pieces.
Oh gosh I wish I had seen this earlier – what I did was much worse. I made a smoothie with spinach, frozen mixed berries, goji berries and then threw in (for the first time) some 100% dark chocolate. I ate the entire smoothie but found a few pits of “impossible to chew” pieces of hard chocolate (or so I thought!). It was only after I ate the smoothie that I realized that I actually ground up and ATE part of the tamper – sick just thinking about it. Thanks for posting this to help others..
Argh, just happened to me with the smaller blender. Thankfully I can buy the replacement.
I have found comfort in these comments. I just bought my vitamix last week and thought I had ruined the blade already. The first thing I said after the tamper got damaged, was that was not suppose to happen with the lid on!! My son said…but you took the lid off. I still can’t believe I did that. I’m viewing it as a lesson to be more aware. Now, time to order a new tamper.
I’m waiting for my Vitamix to arrive but this is a good tip to know before hand.
“WHERE WAS THE BIG WARNING!”
IN RED “WARNING!!!”
STOP BEFORE YOU PROCEED “ANY BLENDING!!!
“I UNDERSTAND ITS PROBABLY JUST COMMON SENSE…” BUT I MYSELF JUST MADE THE SAME HORRIFIC AND COSTLY MISTAKE!!!”
Ater making this irritable mistakenyself, ” I mean we All are just human!”NOTE” And I did try to keep the “TAMPER” As FAR FROM THR BLADES AS POSSIBLE TO BEGIN WITH!!! BUT SERIOUSLY
“IBET THOS HAS HAPPENED ENOUGH TO MAKE THE VITAMIX COMPANY EVEN “RICHER!” When yoy Pay this KIND OF DOUGH ON A BLENDER!!! WELL INTO THE $400-500 Dollar RANGE!
FOR GOD SAKES VITAMIX..
Please… PLEASE ” THINK OF YOUR “GOOD PAYING CUSTOMERS!!!”
AND ” PUT INCLUDE IN THE SHIPPING (AND IN THE PRESENTATIONS OF BLENDERS ON SAY QVC ETC.) A “SIMPLE” STANDAND
“SIZE SHEET OF PAPER”
THAT CONVEYS AND REMINDS THE WARNING OF THE “VITAMIX TAMPER”
((( IN RED !))) TO YOUR “NEW CUSTOMER’S! !!
I BELIEVE THIS IS ANOTHER
“VERY OBVIOUS!” ONGOING PROBLEM THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE THE COULD BE REMEDIED VERY EASILY!!! ” BUT IS NOT BEING DONE ” DO TO THE VERY OBVIOUS AMOUNTS $$$$$MONEY$$$$
THE COMPANY IS ADDING ON TO THEIR MACHINE’S
There WERE “ABSOLUTELY NO”
Warning LABLES “ANYWHERE!”
Hummmmmm???? We should ask Ourselves!!
Blessed Be…:):/??:/
I know it’s frustrating and since I’ve done it twice I know how you feel. There are multiple warnings in the manual and getting started guide though….
Omg Ijust googled ‘broken vitamix stick’ and this thread popped up. I’m laughing at the comments by all. Thank you for making me feel less like an idiot. lol! Mashed potatoes stuck to my wall and the ceiling was definitely a first!! Next time I need to slow down!! It literally scared me half to death! Just a small part broke off but going to purchase another. Thankful for all your comments!!
I was blending frozen fruit and bananas to make “ice cream.” The fruit was kind of hard and although it was blending well, I didn’t hear the classic growl that Vitamix makes and I didn’t see the 4 mounds. So I got the bright idea to take off the lid and use the tamper to help things along. I heard a loud snap and to my horror saw tiny black shards throughout my mixture. I tasted a bit off the top and of course it’s one of the best I’ve made so far. I’m trying to resist the urge to put it through a strainer and eat it anyway.
I just ordered a tamper from the Vitamix website. Thanks for the free shipping promo code. I’m going to be dreaming about ice cream until it comes.
I put my damper in the vitamix today. Glad to hear that my blender will be ok. Already ordered a new damper.
And I thought I was the biggest moron ever! I too put the tamper in the vitamix without the lid. I was making ice cream with frozen bananas ice cubes and chocolate coconut milk. Looks like jaws got to the tamper. Ordering another one. Thanks for keeping it real!
N, this biggest moron left the clear piece to the lid IN the blender where it was stored and just used the black lid… take it from me, it doesn’t blend and it burns out the motor…