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One of the biggest complaints by consumers using vertical masticating juicers is its tendency of ingredients to jam up. Especially with hard ingredients like carrot or beet.
This usually happens when you feed too much at once. But some extractors jam up more often even if you don’t feed too fast.
Granted most vertical auger juicers have a reverse function that un-jams it, time is still wasted.
The Omega VRT400HD does not jam as much as other juicers like the Tribest or Omega silent juicer.
It is because of the auger design.
It has a single blade on top that is sharp (but not sharp enough to cut your fingers) and it has loads of space between the blade and auger body – this means it can take in more produce without getting stuck.
Features of the Omega VRT400 HD
- 150-watt motor
- Auger rotates at a nice and slow pace of 80 rpm, so there is minimal oxidation
- Great for making juices and soy milk
- 15-year warranty
- 15.5″ tall
- Feed chute size is 2.5″ x 1.5″
The good
- Easy to assemble & disassemble
- Comes with a strainer
- Equipped with a juice tap prevents drips
- Ultem strainer & auger (8x harder)
- Long warranty
The Bad
- Will struggle juicing purely leafy greens
- Expensive
- You need to pre-cut fibrous greens to avoid clogging the pulp ejector
What To Expect from the Omega VRT400?
The VRT400 is an updated version of the Omega VRT350 I reviewed earlier. Aside from the aesthetic, feature-wise, there are only a few differences between the two:
First, the VRT400 comes with a strainer that you can put on the juice catcher that’ll separate excess pulp – this will result in a virtually pulp-free juice.
Vertical slow juicers tend to yield pulpier juice so this is a great addition.
Second, the juicing bowl in the VRT400 does not need to be twisted to lock in place.
Just line up the dots and place it on the motor body – no need to twist.
Third, the juicing bowl in the VRT400 comes with a juice tap/stopper that prevents drips.
This also allows you to keep the liquid inside the juice bowl which is great if you’re making fruit infused sorbets or almond milk.
Fourth, the pulp ejector port is a bit larger in the VRT400 – this will be less prone to clogs as compared to the VRT350.
Lastly, the 400 comes with a 15-year warranty, five years longer than the 350.
Here’s a video comparison made by John Kohler
This will work best on…
…A mix of hard, soft and fibrous vegetables and fruit as well as leafy green vegetables.
If you juice a lot of leafy greens, then go with a horizontal juicer like the Omega 8006 or NC800. Both of these will be more efficient in juicing leafy greens.
Just remember when juicing leafy greens that you have to follow it up with a harder ingredient like carrot or beet to help push down pulp.
Make sure to chop up fibrous stuff like celery into inch long chunks, so it does not clog.
Can it juice wheatgrass?
Yes, it can juice wheatgrass, but it will not yield as much as a horizontal auger juicer.
Remember, when juicing wheatgrass follow it up with a harder ingredient like carrot or even cucumber to help push it down.
Can it make sorbet and nut butter?
Yes, even it does not have a blank plate attachment you can use this to make sorbets and peanut butter without voiding the warranty.
Remember to soak the peanuts overnight in water when making nut butter.
How long can you store juice?
Since it only spins at 80rpm, minimal air is sucked into the juice which means less oxidation.
You can prepare a large batch and store it in the refrigerator for a few days. Remember to store it in a glass container like a mason jar overfilled, so there are no air pockets.
How much preparation is needed?
You’ll have to pre-cut ingredients so that it fits in a chute measuring 2.25” x 1.25”, and based on experience that means cutting cucumber vertically into fours and cutting an apple into eights.
For fibrous greens like celery, you’ll need to chop them into small 1/8” to 1/4” to prevent clogging.
If you’re not juicing too much celery, you could get away cutting them into a larger inch to two-inch chunks.
Remember always to rotate ingredients you put in a vertical slow juicer like this one to maximize yield and minimize jamming and clogging which two of the most frequent complaints by consumers.
How much juice can it extract?
In terms of volume, it won’t be able to match horizontal slow juicers when juicing leafy greens as it’ll produce 25% less on average, but for a mix of leafy greens, hard and soft vegetables, and fruit, this will hold its own against the best juicers out there in the market.
Based on tests, it did not yield as much as the slow star juicer, but on the plus side, it didn’t get jammed as often as the slow star juicer that had a twin blade auger system.
Comparing the Omega NC800 and VRT400 juicing cactus pears
Even if the Omega NC800 yields more juice, it contains more pulp than the VRT and the juice from the VRT tastes better.
Comparing the Hurom HH series and the Omega VRT400 when juicing carrots
Though the Hurom produced more juice, it also produced more pulp.
It also produced more pulp and foam compared to a slow star juicer, but these are minor issues because you can buy a strainer for a few dollars and separate pulp from juice.
So this is something to consider.
Is it hard to clean up?
Cleaning the VRT400 or any other vertical auger juicer will take less than 5 minutes if you wash it under running water.
Just remember to clean it AS SOON as you’re done juicing so that pulp does not harden up which makes it hard to clean.
Also, use the brush that comes with the juicer to remove excess pulp from the strainer and recess areas under the auger.
Here’s how it’s done
Take note that the VRT350 and the 400 have the same parts, the only additional part that you’ll need to clean with the VRT400 is the strainer.
What type of juicer is this?
This juicer is a vertical auger juicer because the auger sits on top of the motor.
One big advantage of this type of juicer would be the space savings. But it’ll take longer to clean, and you’ll need to do more chopping.
How long is the warranty?
It comes with a 15-year warranty on the WHOLE juicer which means if any part breaks within the warranty period (provided that it is not abused – like shoving a hard coconut shell), Omega will honor it and ship you a new part free of charge.
Omega has been in business for several years so warranty claims should not be a problem.
Is it BPA free?
Omega doesn’t mention in their website or manual whether or not this juicer is BPA free.
I’ve contacted Omega, and they said that this juicer is BPA free.
Thank you Omega for the quick response.
Noise
Vertical slow juicers rotate below 100rpm; this one rotates at just 80 rpm so it will be quiet enough to use in the morning without waking everyone at home.
Voltage
It is available in both 120 volt and 220-volt options. The 220-volt option is just a few bucks more expensive than the 120-volt version.
Motor
It uses a condenser motor that is equivalent to 2HP in terms of torque.
Dimension
- 7” x 15-1/2” x 8-1/2” (width x height x depth)
- Weighs around 22 pounds
Product specifications
Available colors
The package includes
Consumer Rating
Overall, the majority of customers were happy with this juicer, saying that it was quieter than a centrifugal juicer and yielded more particularly with leafy greens.
Assembly and disassembly were another positive because you don’t need to twist the juice bowl to lock it in place.
The juice tap was a nice touch because it prevented any dripping and allowed them to make other drinks such as almond milk.
Cleaning this will be a little bit tougher than a horizontal juicer, but it won’t take very long.
Cleaning times range from 5 to 15 minutes which isn’t bad in my opinion, once you’ve got a routine going you will be able to clean this faster.
There were also complaints of plastic to plastic friction that may or may not cause plastic shavings to go into your juice.
I don’t think this is a big issue since only a handful complained about this. So let’s say plastic shavings does go into your juice, it will be just a very tiny piece that will eventually go out of your system.
Compare this to drinking bottled water which might be sitting in the plastic bottle for months (if not years) and may have absorbed the chemicals from plastic, this is much healthier because I guarantee you that plastic used for bottled water isn’t BPA free.
The biggest complaint was the amount of pre-cutting needed particularly with fibrous greens because not doing so will clog as I’ve mentioned earlier in this article. But this is a must do because of the design of the pulp ejector port where pulp turns at a 90-degree angle to exit.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this juicer from Amazon for just a little over $420, and it’ll be eligible for their free 2-day shipping if you join Prime. Amazon also sells extended warranties of up to 4 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
The verdict
This juicer is an excellent option if you like to mix things up. That means you love to mix a variety of fruits and vegetables. The VRT400 will be able to handle both with ease. And you have peace of mind thanks to the long 15-year warranty.
It does not produce as much as a horizontal auger juicer like an Omega NC800. But the auger design allows it to be virtually self-feeding (no need to use the pusher). It is great if you suffer from any arthritis or joint pain because you don’t need to exert any effort feeding this juicer.
The motor is strong enough that it will not jam as long as you don’t overfeed it or use the pusher (yes you heard that right).
If it is too expensive for you and you don’t mind not having the tap, then get the cheaper Omega VRT350 which is around $100 cheaper.