The KitchenAid dime test: how to adjust beater height

Why beater height matters

If the beater sits too high, ingredients stay unmixed at the bottom of the bowl. If it sits too low, it can scrape or hit the bowl, which is hard on the bowl, the beater and the mixer.

How to do the dime test

1. Use a stainless steel bowl. KitchenAid says the dime test works for stainless bowls only, not glass or ceramic.
2. Put a dime in the bowl and attach the flat beater.
3. Lock the bowl and the head in place, then turn the mixer on at a low speed.
4. Watch the dime. If it does not move, the beater is too high. If it does not move around the bowl smoothly, the beater is too low. Right is about a quarter inch of movement with each pass.

How to adjust it

Unplug the mixer before you touch the adjustment screw. KitchenAid says only a slight turn is needed: the screw will not turn more than a quarter turn either way, and the whole range is half a turn. On a bowl-lift mixer, turning it counterclockwise raises the bowl and clockwise lowers it. Tilt-head models have a similar screw, so follow KitchenAid's page for your model to find it.

With a glass or ceramic bowl, adjust without the dime, a little at a time, until the mixing performs well.

The dime test is one of the checks in my one-page care guide, which is worth doing every six months.

If adjusting does not fix it

A head that wobbles, a bowl that will not sit steadily, or a beater that still hits after adjustment means something is worn. If that sounds like your mixer, text me a photo or book a diagnostic and I will find the fault.