Black & Decker BL3900 5-Speed Blender

After pretty much giving up on owning a blender - well, at least one that didn't burn out while you were making a shake or smoothie - a friend of mine brought over her blender to use. We were having a party and we wanted to make some mixed drinks and she was pretty shocked that I had given up blenders. I used hers and I liked it so much that I started looking for one the very next day. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find one and, finally after a few days searching, was able to I purchase this model from Lowe's (thank goodness for in-store pick-up).

We've had our BL-3900 for about three months now and we use it at least twice a week (mostly to make nutritious smoothies for breakfast).

There were two reasons I chose to buy this particular model:

1. Having used my friend's, it seemed very strong and durable yet easy to use.
2. I liked the look and feel of it; it seemed like an extremely heavy duty yet stylish machine.

Features and Accessories

Well, like every other blender out there, this one has a Jar, blade assembly, gasket and collar. The thing that sets this blender apart from its peers is that this model comes with not one, but two jars: a chip-resistant glass one and a stainless steel one. The stainless steel jar is handy if you are making milkshakes or frozen drinks because the steel helps keep the cold contents from melting as easily. And, quite frankly, it looks very nice as it's keeping things cold. The glass jar has very easy to read measurements on the side with cups/ounces on one side and litres/mL's on the other. The glass jar also has a flexible rubber lid that has a little insert that you can take out so you can throw more ingredients in while you're blending which is a pretty standard feature these days.

The jar and blade assembly are also pretty standard when it comes to putting them together/taking them apart. Nothing new here, really. And, so far, we haven't had any problems with the lid or the jar. No leaks or problems with the O-ring.

The base unit is a very heavy device; I'm guessing that it weighs at least 8 pounds. The base has suction cup feet on the bottom that help grip it to your counter top. Although I don't think the grippy feet are entirely necessary, they do give me a small piece of mind that the thing isn't going to go racing across my counter!

The base has five speeds: Puree, Whip, Mix, Grate and Blend. It also has an "Ice Crush" and a "Pulse" button. The Ice Crush button is pretty handy if you're making smoothies; we've found that crushing the ice up first works the best. One thing I'd like to note is that the instructions clearly state in a couple of places to keep fresh fruit in 2 inch pieces, frozen fruit in 3/4 inch pieces and never to try to crush more than six ice cubes at a time. I'm sure this has to do with blade and motor longevity, so my husband and I have followed these instructions to a "T" and have never had any problems with the machine.

The buttons aren't like the old blender buttons that you have to push in, these buttons are nearly flat and quite easy to press. The base also has little LCD display that tells you what speed you're using when the blender is in operation. I don't find the LCD screen very helpful mostly because I know what job I'm performing and, usually, making a smoothie doesn't take more than a few minutes anyhow.

One last thing to note: the base unit has a decently long cord but it is a bit awkward to try and wrap it around the base for storage purposes.

My husband and I are extremely pleased with how easy this blender is to use and clean up and I know our kids are loving the smoothies and milkshakes this thing makes.