Are Spiral Dough Hooks bad for K5SS Vintage Mixers?
I have a K5SS bowl lift mixer that I purchased as a factory refurbished unit well over twenty years ago. About 80 percent of my use has been kneading bread dough in amounts of one to two one pound loaves at a time. I’ve used it steadily since I’ve owned it, and it has served me well over the years. About a year and a half ago, I noticed the enamel coating on the dough hook and paddle beater were beginning to chip, so I replaced both of them with uncoated stainless steel implements. I couldn’t find a suitable uncoated C style dough hook, so I purchased a nifty spiral model. Before purchasing I ensured that both implements were compatible with my model of mixer.
I’m particularly pleased with the new spiral dough hook. Not only is it beautiful to look at, it kneads dough much more efficiently than the original, and it taxes the motor less than the original.
I recently had the mixer serviced. After replacing the motor brushes and a regrease, it runs like a new machine.
Just yesterday, in another Kitchenaid forum on the internet, a poster asked about getting a stainless dough hook for a K5SS like mine. I recommended this specific spiral hook. To my absolute surprise, a number of respondents said spiral hooks will ruin the gearbox on my mixer, sooner rather than later. I was astounded, not only at the number, but the intensity of these recommendations. Rather than simply reject them out of hand, I want to ask the experts in this forum if such claims can be validated.
I’ve seen nothing official from Kitchenaid about these hooks. Notably the newer, high capacity professional models come with spiral hooks nowadays. These machines have notably weaker gearboxes than my vintage mixer.
Should I continue to use my spiral hook, or should I replace it with an older style one? Has anything been documented regarding damage from these hooks, or should I reject this as hearsay based on use of improperly sized spiral hooks?