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Juicers that use gears to extract the juice from fruit and vegetables are called masticating juicers.  This literally means they chew the food.  This page looks at Single gear juicers, but if you are stuck and really do not know what type of juicer is best for you, please read our free guide called Health Benefits of Juicing and Choosing the Best Juicer to Buy first.

Masticating juicers can have a single gear, or auger, or twin gears (double auger), although twin gear juicers are more often called triturating juicers (triturate means to grind or pulverize, which is obviously a little more extreme than merely chewing).  Masticating juicers run at much lower RPMs than centrifugal juicers, and this has an added bonus of not generating heat during the juicing process (a problem with centrifugal juicers).  This helps preserve the enzymes and nutrients in the juices.

Masticating juicers are exceptionally good at removing juice from soft, leafy vegetables like wheat-grass, herbs or alfalfa sprouts.

Another benefit is that you don’t get as much foam produced in your juice.  The foam increases the surface area of the juice causing faster oxidation of the juices – and that’s not a good thing .

Another benefit of masticating juicers is that they can be used to prepare other foods, like baby purees, pâté, peanut butter, pasta and some can even be used to grind your coffee beans.

Masticating juicers are typically more efficient than centrifugal juicers and can get 20 – 30% more juice out of the produce than a centrifugal juicer.

The biggest disadvantage with single gear juicers is that they are more expensive than centrifugal juicers.  They can also be a lot heavier than centrifugal juicers.  However, I am sure that the benefits of this type of juicer far outweighs the negatives.

NOTE: You can jump to any part of this review page using our table of contents:

What to look for in a Single Gear Juicer

#1 Choice – Aicok Slow Masticating Juice Extractor

#2 Choice – Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer

• What is a masticating single-gear juicer?
• Describing the Omega J8005
• Assembling the Omega J8005
• Using the Omega J8005 for other functions
• The Omega J8005 Cones
• The Omega J8005 Nozzles
• Tips on Using the Juicer Our Favorite features?
• The Dimensions of the Omega J8005
• Many people like these type of juicers because …
• What have people said about it?
• The upside
• The downside
• Where to Buy

#3 Choice – Omega J8004 wheatgrass juicer

• Where Does The Omega J8004 Really Shine?
• As a Wheatgrass Juicer
• Some Interesting Features
• What Have Other Customers Said?
• Positive Comments
• Negative Comments
• The Final Analysis & Where to Buy

Before we look at out top recommendation – the Omega J8005 single gear masticating juicer, let’s see what you need to look for in this type of juicer.

What to look for in a Single Gear Juicer

Whatever type of juicer you buy, there are certain things you are going to want to look for.  Without a deep knowledge of juicers, this can be difficult so here are a few pointers:

1. The appearance of the juicer is important if you want to leave it out on your work surface.  You don’t want a white juicer if all of your other appliances are metallic.
2. Juicers extract the juice from the pulp, and the very best juicers extract the maximum juice possible leaving the pulp dry.  User reviews and opinions are great to decide if the juicer is efficient.
3. Chute size.  How wide is the chute of the juicer?  The smaller it is, the more preparation time.  Bear in mind though that If a juicer is extremely efficient, it can be worth putting up with a smaller chute.
4. These juicers can be heavy, so if you need a very portable device, these may not be the most practical.  Look at the weights of these juicers when making your buying decision so you are fully aware how much it will weigh.
5. It’s always handy if the juicer cleanup time is short.  The longer it takes to clean the juicer the less inclined you will be to use it.  Look for Dishwasher safe juicers (at least the main cleanable parts).
6. Finally a good juicer will last a long time.  Look at the guarantee lengths and also read comments from users to decide if the juicer is durable and can withstand frequent use.

#1 Choice – Aicok Slow Masticating Juice Extractor

This Aicok juicer is an excellent single gear juicer at an amazing price.

Features of this juicer include:

• Low speed masticating juicer that presses the juice out of the fruit and vegetables, without the heat associated with a centrifugal juicer.
• Minimal oxidation means higher yields of vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
• Easy to assemble and take apart for cleaning.
• You can reverse the gear if something clogs the mechanism.
• High yield of juice which is evident when you feel the dry pulp.
• You won't believe the price for this juicer, especially when you see the reviews!

Find the Aicok Juicer Slow Masticating Juicer here on Amazon.

#2 Choice – Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer

Until recently, the J8005 was my #1 choice for single gear masticating juicer.  If it still an excellent machine, but the price and all-round value for money of the Aicok masticating juicer is just too hard to ignore.

Juicing is an excellent way to get a mega dose of nutrition in a glass. It is also a smart choice for people who are always on the go and find it inconvenient to consume the recommended serving of fruits and vegetables everyday.

Buying processed foods and juices will never compare to fresh, all natural juice. Vitamins, minerals, and other nutritious elements are lost during food processing. With a juicer, you get all the nutrition, all naturally. The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer can help you get exactly what you’re looking for, and being a masticating juicier, it preserves more of the important enzymes and nutrients during the juicing process when compared to the cheaper centrifugal juicers.

What is a masticating single-gear juicer?

If you’ve never used or heard of a masticating single gear juicer, then it’s a good idea to learn a little about them.

Single gear or auger juicers have a slowly turning auger against which the produce is pushed onto. The fruits or veggies are crushed against the a screen so that the juice is separated from the pulp.

When you think of masticating juicers, such as the Omega J8005 Juicer, think of slower speed juicers.

The benefit of the slow extraction process, generally about 75-85 RPM, is that it prevents excessive oxidization of the juice. Oxidation is bad for the juice because it causes a loss of nutrition. Nutrition is the name of the game.

The beauty of juicers such as these is that they let you make salsas, ice creams, and more.

Describing the Omega J8005

The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer comes with a powerful motor with a one-third horsepower! All that power helps to chew through produce fibers to provide a vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. The juicer runs at a slow speed of 75 to 85 RPM, which helps to reduce or eliminate clogging, foaming, and the building up of heat. Heat in any juicer (the centrifugal ones tend to produce more) can denature enzymes and destroy the nutrients. Since most juices you buy in the shops are pasteurized at high heat, the lack of heat in this juicer is a major reason for juicing your own produce at home.

The patented mill-like auger is manufactured from FDA-approved melamine – something that stops poisonous heavy metals from getting into your juices.

The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer is considered to be multi-purpose or capable to doing things like:

• Juicing all fruits, soft and hard, including citrus fruits which are usually better off juicing with a citrus juicer.
• Juices all kinds of vegetables – carrots, beets, celery, etc.
• Juices leafy greens like wheat grasses, cabbage, spinach, herbs, kale, even pine tree needles!
• Making peanut butter
• Grinding coffee
• Mincing spices and herbs
• Soft foods for either babies or patients requiring a non-solid diet.
• Acts as a pasta extruder allowing you to make homemade spaghetti, linguini etc. with included pasta nozzles.
• Make bread sticks.
• Fresh frozen desserts with 100% fruit.
• It can even grind flour! This juicer produces a reasonably high yield of juice while making use of a pulp-ejection system.

Assembling the Omega J8005

1. Fit the auger into the drum.
2. You can then insert the juicing screen into the drum so that the protruding screen is at the bottom.
3. The drum cap can then be screwed into the drum end in a counter-clockwise motion until it is firmly attached.
4. Once assembled, the drum can be attached to the main body by inserting the visible part of the metal shaft into the area on the body of the juicer.  This is secured with the locking clip which turns clockwise.
5. Place the hopper onto the drum.
6. Place the juice jug and pulp containers under the juicer.  The juice jug goes closest to the juicer body as the juice flow out from near the middle of the drum, whereas the dried pulp will come out of the end of the drum.
7. Plug you juicer in and switch it on to begin enjoying your Omega J8005!

Using the Omega J8005 for other functions

1. Instead of inserting the juicing screen when assembling, use the blank cone instead.
2. Insert the appropriate nozzle into the the inside of the drum cap and assemble as before.

The Omega J8005 Cones

The juicer comes with two cones:

1. The juicing screen which has a stainless steel mesh and is used for all juicing functions.
2. The blank cone which is made from polycarbonate with stainless steel rim on the inside.  This cone is used for everything except juicing and accepts one of the six nozzles that come with the Omega J8005.

The Omega J8005 Nozzles

The Omega J8005 comes with a range of 6 nozzles for pastas, bread sticks and other produce.

In the picture above, the first two nozzles (the round one and the oval one) are used for mincing and chopping vegetables, making nut butters, breadsticks, etc.

The other four nozzles are for various shapes of pasta.

Tips on Using the Juicer

When using the juicer, here are a few tips to help you get trouble free use:

1. Always thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables that you process with your juicer as the skins can contain chemicals used in their agriculture.
2. If you are juicing soft and hard produce, start with the soft items and end with the harder items.  Or, you might like to try soft, hard, soft, hard, etc.
3. Use strongly flavored produce in small amounts, e.g. ginger, lemons etc.
4. Once you have finished processing your fruit and vegetables, leave the juicer running for a bit longer to allow the last of the juice to be pressed out.
5. Put small pieces of produce down the chute and use the plunger to press them gently down against the auger.
6. Leave the machine running while you process all of the fruit and vegetables for the session, though never run your juicer for more than 30 minutes at a time as this can lead the motor to over-heat.
7. Never place metal objects into the chute to try to push food down.  Always use the plunger provided.
8. Never try to crush ice with your J8005.
9. Once you have run your produce through the juicer, you can get even more juice by reintroducing the pulp back into the juicer for a second time.
10. Switch the juicer off and unplug from the wall before changing any parts.
11. If for any reason the drum gets clogged, press the reverse button 2-3 times to try to clear the blockage.  Then press on again to resume juicing.
12. All removable parts are dishwasher safe, but never put the motor housing in the dishwasher.
13. The Omega J8005 comes with a sieve that you can place over the juice jug during juicing to prevent any larger bits of pulp or foam from getting into the juice.  Personally (and unlike Joey in Friends ) I like a little pulp in my juices, so don’t use this.

Our Favorite features?

The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Masticating Juicer Commercial Masticating Juicer can also function as a food processor, grinder, homogenizer, and also a pasta extruder.

Other features of interest are:

• An automatic pulp-ejection system, which helps you to juice more without frequent stopping to getting rid of pulp.
• Low speed in addition to the high speed. The slower speed helps cut down on foam, clogs, and heat.
• Commercial grade and solid construction
• These juicers come with a ten year warranty on all parts and labor, so you can buy in confidence.

The Dimensions of the Omega J8005

Width: 7 inches
Assembled Length: 15 3/8 inches
Assembled Height: 11 1/4 inches
Weight: 15 lbs
Motor: 1/3 HP single phase induction
Auger RPM: 75 – 85.

Many people like these type of juicers because of:

• Quite operation
• Generous yields
• Ability to juice wheatgrass
• Quality and more nutritious juice
• Ability for juice storage for up to 48 hours with a minimal loss in nutrition

What have people said about it?

The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer has many different reviews – mostly positive.

There are customers that boast of having used the juicer practically everyday for over five years…and still loving it. On the flipside, a minority of customers complain about the clean up. Let’s take a closer look at the customer reviews for the Omega J8005.

The upside

• The juicer is very quiet, much quieter than centrifugal juicers
• Nutrients are preserved because of slow rotation, which keeps the juice from being heated from friction.
• The juice is squeezed versus being crushed. The different is the perseveration of important enzymes, amino acids, and other nutrients.
• It’s easy to clean up! Clean can make the difference between a juicer that is used versus one that just takes up counter space. This also makes it great for people constantly on the move and busy.
• It has an attractive design
• The pulp is dry instead of being soaked. Soaked pulp is an indication that some juice has been lost within the extracted pulp.
• The juicer isn’t very heavy and takes up minimal space on the counter top.
• It’s constructed out of commercial grade material. No flimsy material.

The downside

• The juicing screen may wear out after months of use; however, the manufacture quickly replaced it at no additional charge.
• The process is very slow. Unfortunately, the price for a higher quality juice is to give up a bit of speed.
• The produce must be cut into small pieces because a smaller chute. Nevertheless, they feed nicely and it only takes a moment to do the cutting.

Where to Buy

The Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer seems to be a great solution to juicing and better health. It’s easy use and easy cleaning, makes sure that it’s used frequently. Lastly, it’s commercial and heavy duty construction will make it quite attractive to many shoppers.  Read real customer reviews of the Omega J8005.

#3 Choice – Omega J8004 wheatgrass juicer

The Omega J8004 is great for wheatgrass and multiple other purposes. This use to be our top choice as a wheatgrass juicer (which is why there is a longer review of this juicer), but as new juicers are released, our favorites sometimes get replaced.  However, this is still an excellent second choice if you are looking for a single gear juicer.

It is a sturdy, easy to assemble, and easy to operate juicer. All of its pieces fit nicely into their housings; however, the feeding tube is  a bit on the small side.

Where Does The Omega J8004 Really Shine?

When it comes to wheatgrass and leafy greens, the Omega 8004 excels.  You don’t have to worry about celery or other stringy vegetables getting wrapped around the juicer’s auger.

Despite being a favorite among wheatgrass juice lovers, this juicer is often enjoyed by people looking to also juice fruits and other types of vegetables. It is an excellent choice for people who want to ensure they can juice wheatgrass, but also other types of produce. After all, with the current economic conditions, it is always a good thing to maximize every investment…including your juicer.

As a Wheatgrass Juicer

Wheatgrass comes from wheat grain’s grass shoots. The juice is popular among many people due to its high nutritional content. You might here people talking about taking a shot of wheatgrass juice. The reason being is that wheatgrass is packed with so many nutrients, that a little is a lot.

If you are a fan of wheatgrass or intend on having it regularly, the OMEGA 8004 might be what you need.

Some Interesting Features

The main features of the Omega 8004 :

• Low revolutions per minute (RPM), usually about 80, which serves to significantly reduce the build up of heat and also foam.
• The factory warranty of ten (10) years, which should give you a greater sense of peace about your investment in the Omega 8004
• Its ability to perform a variety of task without the need for attachments, which can add up in cost.
• The Omega 8004 has a built-in reverse feature to alleviate the annoying experience of clogging.
• Both the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (cUL) have approved it. These are well recognized and independent agencies that test for safety. The Omega 8004 has been approved by both agencies.

What Have Other Customers Said?

The Omega 8004 seems to be a favorite among wheatgrass juice enthusiasts. Customers also appreciate its multipurpose abilities.  Interesting though is the occasional dissatisfied customer.
Let’s see what are some of the more common positive and negative comments.

Positive Comments

Customers had many wonderful things to say about the Omega J8004. They were very positive about its ease of set up, use, and clean up.

• The Omega 8004 is easy enough to set up that even a child could do it. It’s capable of being operated by a 10-year old. The best way to describe the instructions would be crystal clear and uncomplicated. It is wonderful that everything needed is included like the cleaning brush, etc.
• Definitely, money well spent. Compared to other options, this was definitely the best choice. It seems to work well with just about all types of produce. It’s highly recommended.
• The motor is very strong and excellently designed to provide a lot of juice.
• It has very few parts and the cleanup is easy. The screen is even easy to clean, despite typically being a challenge with most juicers like this.

Negative Comments

There were a few customers who thought this juicer could be or do a little better. Their negative comments stated things like:

• The juice yield could be better and the food chute is small requiring a little more manual pushing of the produce.
• The cleanup could be easier, however the parts seem to come clean with some rinsing and disassembly…which is common with quite a few other types of juicer.

The Final Analysis & Where to Buy

The majority of users seem to love the Omega 8004.

Although the Omega 8004 is great for many purposes, its seems to rate highest for its juicing of wheatgrass.

The majority of reviews are positive with only a few negative ones. It seems the negative reviews are largely from people that might not have taken the time to choose the right type of juicer for them. It is always good to consider all reviews, however be careful that you’re not deterred from a great product by a few people with limited knowledge about juicers…especially a wheatgrass juicer.

An overwhelming majority of customers believe that the Omega J8004 has a lot to offer.   Read real reviews of the Omega J8004 juicer.