I’ve been watching from the sidelines. It seems that the present topic should have been discussed in the “Troubleshooting and repair forum”.

I have been dealing with Norwalk for over thirty years. Some of you know that I used to collect and restore Norwalks. I have always had a good relationship with the people at Norwalk. Even when I needed help in repairing the juicers of people in need I was given help.

Haaaapeeee… ;)

Seriously Paul, the tips in your posts helped me SO much when I bought my Norwalk and I’m here to tell ya that doing my homework by reading through all of them before I could even afford my juicer helped make my transition from the Champion virtually painless—it’s much smarter to learn from others’ experiences than muddling through on one’s own. I try follow your example by helping new owners (not that I run across that many) and letting prospective buyers realistically know what to expect. You’re always a gentleman and the entire Norwalk community is lucky to have you in its corner.

...whaddya mean, “USED to collect… ?” Does that mean you don’t anymore?

Hello karen, Thank you for your comments. I will tell you a little about my obsession with Norwalks. When I was young (14-15) I got into reading Arnold Ehret, Dr Walker and others about diet and fasting. I had circulatory problems as well as being always cold and tired. I found Dr. Walkers books very practical and started to apply his principles. I soon bought my first juicer, a Braun,a centrifugal type. I soon was juicing everything in sight and sharing the juices with my parents and friends. Within a couple of weeks using Dr. Walkers juice formulas for potassium combination and couple of others I began to feel a warmth inside me. And I felt for the first time that I was awake. Instead of sleeping in till 8am and barely being able to drag myself to school..I was beginning to wake up at 5:30 in the the morning get up right away and I felt alive!! Naturally, by this time, I had realized that certain foods were slowing me down and plugging me up. So, I discontinued dairy products and cut back on processed foods. I adopted a more raw diet with some careful fasting. I dreamed of getting a Norwalk juicer. One day I saw one in the window of a health food store. It was an old 150 model It consisted of a separate grinder in white with a hand crank press beside it. I bought it immediately for $150.00 ..my first norwalk!! Wow!! It ran just like new and I really got into juicing with it. Along the way I collected various other juicers including the Champion, ruby, Santos, Omega etc. But I could not resist the quality and beauty of the Norwalk. People started letting me know if saw one for sale. I rarely turned down a Norwalk if it was in good condition. I would take each new acquisition and disassemble it often down to the last screw to insure that I could clean it and restore it to like new condition. I have owned at least 17 Norwalks and at one time I had 12 on my shelves. But one day I was encouraged by my family to make some room and get some needed cash through selling off some my beloved juicers. And besides I realized that there were people out there who really needed them. So I sold all but 2.. 270s It was really hard to do this. I mean I owned a pair of 235’s which were brand new never used by their owners. And I had another 235 which I used at home for many years. As I listed my juicers I indicated that I would prefer that the the buyer be in true need with health issues and not just someone on a lark. I recommended that the new owner pick up so I could demonstrate it or that I could deliver in person where possible. Most of those juicers I delivered. Those two 235s I drove down to NewYork city and remarkably enough they were within 30 miles of each other..one to Staten Island and one to New Jersey. One man, an airline pilot flew in to Toronto with his old friend, who was very ill. I demonstrated the juicer and they flew out with it. Because I had so much experience buying, repairing and reselling these juicers I felt the need to write an article in the forum about the perils of buying a used Norwalk. I wanted to save others the disappointment and expense of buying and receiving a damaged juicer. I no longer collect Norwalks. I am living more simply. So I limit the number of juicers I have to what I need to provide quality juice for my friends and neighbors. That means one Norwalks plus one spare. Over the past several years I have helped connect people in need with good juicers without charge..I have acted as an adviser to help others assess the merits of buying a particular juicer. I get many emails from all over the world about juicing and juicers: people asking for advise. I do not always recommend the Norwalk juicer. Sometimes a simpler juicer is what fits their lifestyle and capacity. I make juice regularly for a group of subscribers I make up to 2 gallons per day actually now I am doing it every other day. The juice I prepare is various combinations depending on the persons illness or need. The client or their practitioner requests the various juice combinations. I find that this “hobby ” is very satisfying. I do charge for the juice but it is very reasonable and covers costs plus a little left over. I am saving for a 275!!..maybe a 280 by the time I get the cash together. I have always had a very good relationship with the people at Norwalk. They have always helped me and given me good advice. I have observed the growing business of people buying and selling used Norwalks. I was not surprised that Norwalk finally clamped down on these guys. I hope that in the near future Norwalk Manufacturing will find the manpower to again refurbish and rebuild older Norwalks I have no doubt that this is an effective solution to the problem. As I recommended to many and in my article: Norwalk has the expertise and experience to assess, repair and ship these juicers. I very much appreciate the Norwalk forum. Though the posts sometimes get pretty personal and intense, much good can come from them. These are really hard times for many people. Those who get into juicing are often trying to overcome some deep problems; they are looking for hope, friendship and faith that their lives can change and that it is worth the effort. We owe them our support and encouragement. With love and friendship to all my Norwalk juicing friends.

I know exactly what you mean about the Norwalk’s not necessarily being the appropriate choice for some people. It was you who pointed out in a previous post that borrowing a juicer is a practical way to determine whether or not juicing is a fit and I not only make the same recommendation now but plan to help a new friend do just that. I met her on one of the Vita-Mix forums (Enthusiasts) and was delighted to find someone of about my own age here in Midtown with whom to talk food (most of my friends are a good 20 years younger than I). Knowing my background, she recently asked me about the advisability of getting into juicing, so I offered her the loan of my old Champion for as long as she wants it (staining has rendered it ugly but it still runs like a dream). She works from her apartment and really likes to fuss with things so juicing in general might be right up her alley. I also sent her links to watch the Norwalk in action so that she has something to shoot for if she and her partner decide to stick with it (they seem pretty comfortable financially).

I make gifts of juice to people I like (as it happens, it might just end up as a profession), one of whom is the lady who oversees our composting drop-off downtown. She’s Swiss and got interested when she saw the pressed leavings from juicing; I started bringing her juice and now she’s pushing her boyfriend to buy a Norwalk of their own and of course, I volunteered to come over and teach her how to use it if and when that day comes because you’re quite right—passing along what you know is a good thing. At the risk of coming off as a “Zennie,” it’s a way of putting out goodness and as weird as it sounds, I think it improves the quality of the universe and is nice for both the giver and the receiver.

I personally have no problem with people selling their used juicers as long as they’re accurately described and nothing underhanded is involved, but expecting Norwalk to support a larger-scale endeavor is, as we say in Irish, chutzpadik to say the least. What I object to is harassing Norwalk, lying, misleading, and being a duplicitous psycho in general (not exactly conducive to developing trust). You’re right about the perils involved in buying a used Norwalk. A young woman I met here bought a used 270 (supposedly barely used) that was a MESS. Fortunately, she heeded my advice and had it overhauled at Norwalk (not unpredictably, it came back in like-new condition). And I sincerely hope that you get your 275 (Harold told me when I bought mine that another upgrade would be a LONG time coming). I just wish that you’d held on to one of those brand-new 235’s…there’s something of the collector in me, too, so I imagine it would be nice “just to have.” I’d like to get my hands on the press half of the 150 one of these days because I imagine it would be nice to press things without electricity that I don’t grind in my Norwalk.

There is always room for upgrades and improvements guys. I’m thinking all the time how to make it better. Paul it would be nice to have a site without these or this kind of happenings, but I will still help any way I can and people will do and beleive what they feel is best. Ive been found on face book. more fun

Wheew… holy smokes. Putting the new spring in is no easy thing to do. If you don’t have vise grips, don’t even try it. I tried it first by just forcing the whole construction into the hydraulic outer casing, but that crushed my first o-ring because the inner cylinder wouldn’t sit straight. So, the 2nd try I fit the rod into the inner cylinder and guide the rod through the hole in the lid. Force the rod about halfway out, use strong wise grips to hold the whole thing together, carefully holding it away from me in case it would pop, and sink it into the casing full of hydraulic oil. Spilled a little in the process, but at least this time it worked, the rod would move out when I closed the valve, perfect.

So, new bearings, new o-rings, new switch and new spring and the machine is running again.

I had to lightly sand the inner motor metal plates, because of some rust and you have to be careful not to sand the windings, otherwise your motor will experience a short and not work anymore.

So, in conclusion, would I do it again myself? Maybe, depends on my mood… the spring was definitely the toughest assignment of the whole thing and it took me nearly 3 hours to figure out a way to get the whole thing in.

Of course, now I forgot to install the small housing plate which is right next to the motor and I gotta disassemble the other housing pieces to install it, D’OH! But that’s for tomorrow. Time to hit the sack.

Thomas

Happy to have our juicer again after almost 2 years. Proud of hubby. =) Thank you, Norwalk and everyone here who helped.

Glad to have helped if indeed I was one of those who did—an informed irate customer eventually metamorphoses into a satisfied customer. :)

And as I mentioned to Thomas I hope you guys upgrade some day to the 275. It’s SUCH a wonderful juicer. And it’s nice to have another woman here—drop in often!

Hey Paul, John and Tomas…

Paul`s life history touched my heart and I believe that everybody must understand that this machine brings a real health impruvment or recovery. The simplicity of this juicer and the juice quality are the best comparable with all juicers in the market. This is just my opinion.

Honestly, Paul`s story is a real and believable tale, because I am in the same position as him, trying to recover from Cancer. Almost 6 months of taking 60- 68 oz juices a day. Yet, I haven`t seen any big impruvment but I feel different and many little problems I used to feel are gone for good. I have made many friends by recommending this machine as well as helping them to repair and reconditioning in a proper way. Also, some people now, are very concern on the real quality of the juice, butternut or flour (regarding trituration temperature) and I must emphisize that a digital thermometer attached to the triturator house is a must for Norwalk juicer. This way people could have much more control on the high quality of the products mentoined above.

God Bless You Paul and Thank You for your open heart by telling us the truth.

Somethingelse I have to say…...235,240,265,270 or 275 for a good sens person, they are all basically the same an they make the same high quality juice.

Best Regards TK