Boatblender Frequently Asked Questions
Safety First - Common Sense!!
Ok, so someone always has to spoil the party!
1. Use both hands – one on the drill, the other on the bottle handle.
2. Make sure you screw on the hard plastic cap tightly – make sure that the center of the cutter is in the center of the cap.
3. Use only the forward setting on the drill.
4. Don’t do any one-handed drilling! That bottle could just fly off and hurt someone.
5. Don’t drink and drive and use common sense!
6. Have fun!!!!
Will the boatblender work with any cordless drill?
You will need at least 1100 RPM to blend a decent drink. This will do a good job of blending but you will still get some M&M size ice pellets in the slush. Most good quality drills – 12 volts and higher, turn at around 1100 RPM. There are a few exceptions – Sears Craftsman makes several 14Volt and higher cordless drills that only turn at 600 – 800 RPM. Their recent 19.2 Die Hard models are excellent and you can typically get a 2 drill set for around $100. Makita makes a low cost 12 volt that only has 700RPM. These do not work well. Check your model to see how many RPMs it has – more is better.
We had a phone call from one guy who claimed his 14volt Dewalt was not working well – turned out his drill has a fast and a slow switch. Changing the speed to the fast setting worked great.
How well does the boatblender chop-up / grind ice?
Like the previous question, the more RPMs the better the job. With a drill that has 1100 RPM – like the 12 volt Makita and 12 volt Dewalt we use at the shows, it does a reasonable job. Occasionally, I will demo the boatblender with our 18volt Dewalt with 1800 RPM – which of course does an awesome job, but this amount of power is not required to blend a great margarita.
My blender doesn't seem to be working right, what might be wrong?
A few things to check here:
1.Check your RPMs and speed setting on your drill. The boatblender works best with 1100 RPMs or higher (see the questions above about types of cordless drills). You might also go ahead and set your speed to the highest of the settings if your drill has variable speeds.
2.Check the bit. The hexagonal end of the bid should be tightened into the drill. The ball end of the bit goes into the blender attachment. If you don’t have the bit tightened in the drill or have the wrong end of the bit in the drill you’ll feel it slip and it won’t work correctly.
3.Use more ice than liquid. As with your home blender, to do a good job blending, this is key. Filling up the bottle with liquid and adding a small amount of ice will just have the cubes float to the top. Instead, fill your bottle to about the top of the handle with ice then add liquid to about 2/3s of the ice. This will give your blender blade something to blend.
4.Give it a minute! A drill with 1100 RPMs with more ice than liquid will be nice and slushy in about a minute to a minute and a half. Just like your home blender – it takes a little time to grind down the ice and get slushy.
5.Move it around – its portable! When drilling, move the bottle around and occasionally turn it over – this will move the slush around and also get the un-chopped ice down around the blades. After you’ve blended a couple drinks you’ll have figured out the perfect angle to hold the drill and bottle to get the maximum drilling action on that ice!
