OrangeX 17343 OJex Juicer, Cobalt

I allowed myself to be seduced by this juicer's unique good looks and vendor propaganda regarding its sturdy cast-iron construction.

Well, I juiced exactly _3_ 3-inch diameter oranges. On the 4th orange, a critical cast-iron piece on one of the 2 right-hand hinges broke.

Other review comments concerning difficulty of cleanup are accurate. I would add that the metal strainer has edges that seemed quite sharp, making cleanup potentially dangerous.

I would not recommend this juicer under any circumstances.

Given the reviews posted earlier, I approached this machine with some trepidation, expecting difficult operation, inconvenient clean-up, and poor juice. I am pleased to say that none of this occurred. I have had my juicer for 2 weeks now, have pressed over 5lbs. of oranges, and enjoyed a gallon of gloriously fresh juice. It was easy to squeeze and easy to clean-up. However, consider the following points before puchasing.

1. You absolutely must have some upperbody strength to exert the required force and control the lever action. While my wife had a bit more difficulty, she was able to squeeze the oranges just fine. Also, operation may not be comfortable for left-handed individuals, as the lever is on the right-side of the machine and your free (left) hand must rest on the top of the unit to prevent excessive force from jolting the machine.

2. When rotating the lever, do so SLOWLY, as rapid motion can lead to spraying juice from the orange, loss of...Read more

I bought one of these, and it was a total waste of my time and money. It looks cool, it looks sturdy, but trust me, it is horrible. Because of the way the handle is positioned, the thing tips over (or tries to) EVERY TIME YOU USE IT.

Save yourself some aggravation, and just buy the OrangeX mid-size commercial juicer. Same company, but a MUCH better product. I've had one for several months now, and LOVE it. Yes, it's bigger. Yes, it's more expensive. But it'll do what you want - juice your citrus quickly and easily, with super easy cleanup.