Replacing Nutone Food Center

[fulltiming]

Many of the Newells made during the 1980's and at least early 1990's had a built-in Nutone Food Center. I recently had to replace mine due to a broken switch. Nutone discontinued the 1079A switch, used on the Model 251 power unit, on September 11. 2008. You can still find used power units on Ebay.

The unit is relatively easy to replace if you know the trick.
1) The stainless steel cover is removed by putting a thin blade, such as a putty knife, under the edge of the cover and lifting.
2) When the cover is almost all the way up, about 3 inches, the springs on the side can be squeezed together to allow complete removal.
3) The inside of the cabinet under the Nutone power unit will have to be disassembled to gain access to the plug, likely under and behind the sink.
4) Unplug the unit before proceeding further.

After the unit is unplugged removal is easy, if you know the secret. This one baffled me for about 30 minutes. There are tabs on the sides of the power unit located under the counter that hold the unit firmly again the counter top. I thought of bending them or breaking them off but that seemed to be extremely poor engineering to have to do that. The solution:
5) There is a screw head in the center of the unit between the motor and the switch when viewed from the top with the stainless cover removed. Rotate this screw head counter-clockwise literally dozens of turns and the tabs under the counter will slowly start retracting into sides of the unit.
6) When the tabs are just barely sticking out past the side of the unit, you will be able to carefully lift the unit from the top and pull it out.

Replacement is the same, in reverse:
1) Drop the power cord through the hole, make sure the tabs are retracted most of the way lower it into the opening from the top. (Note: you can get the new one in with the tabs further out than the one you removed since the sides of the corian will push the tabs inward when installing the unit and will tend to jam the unit when you are removing it).
2) Turn the screw clockwise until the tabs securely press against the bottom of the counter top.
3) Insert the springs for the stainless steel cover into the slot by squeezing them together then gentle press the cover straight down.
4) Plug in the unit, check its operation
5) Reassemble any interior cabinet parts that had to be removed to access the plug.

I now have a fully functional Nutone Food Center again. For those who cook very little in their coach, it may not be a worthwhile repair/replacement other than eliminate non-functional items on the coach. However, if you do cook in your coach frequently, it is a worthwhile addition with the right accessories.

[Summersgal]

Michael

Do you have a phone number or any info on the Nutone Food Center. My Newell is a 88 and the only thing that I have with it is the blender and was going to add to it if possible and found this discussion on the replacement of one.

Thanks

[fulltiming]

Nutone ceased making the Food Center and its appliances a number of years ago. Ebay is one of the few places that accessories and parts are still available. There is a knife sharpener (Buy It Now $25) and a complete mixer (Buy It Now $55) currently listed as well as some parts. http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=Nut..._from=R8&_ipg=

[chockwald]

In May of 2008 we were travelling in our newly acquired 1982 Newell to Yosemite along HWY 41. We stopped in Oakhurst, CA for lunch. Across the street from where we parked we saw there was some sort of church run 2nd hand store having a "sale". After lunch we went in to browse, and Elaine stumbled across a complete Nutone food processing center complete with power unit, and all the accessories (blender, food processor, ice crusher, knife sharpener, juicer, mixer, etc.) for $75. When we purchased our Newell we only had the blender, and the power unit was a little flaky. Ultimately the switch broke.

Thankfully we had the foresight to purchase the used unit and accessories. As Michael notes, it takes about 30 minutes to figure out how the little metal tabs retract. Once that is figured out the replacement is pretty intuitive. I did have to widen the "notch" cut in the rear of one of the drawers so it would fit around the replacement unit which was slightly wider at the base than the old one.

As Michael said you can find a lot of the accessories on Ebay if you are patient. Elaine has used the ice crusher, knife sharpener, blender, and mixer accessories on a regular basis and loves the unit. We also recently acquired an after market coffee bean grinder that works wonderfully, and is used on a daily basis when we are travelling.

[prairieschooner]

we decided to use a slightly different Blender than the Nutone aboard the Prarie Schooner, here is a link to their website;
http://www.totallygross.com/
we do have to use it outside but what guy doesn't like the sounds and smells of a gasoline engine!

[urfreeman07@gmail.com]

I Love It!!!

[Summersgal]

I saw one a few weeks ago when we were in NE @ Cabela's!

[prairieschooner]

I saw one of these in Mexico during a Trophy Presentation and wanted one ever since. When we got our 1959 Glasspar Runabout, I decided to get one because they both run on the same 2 stroke mix.
I found ours on ebay and we used it at the River during the Spring. It gathered much attention during cocktail hour when I made Tricia her Mudslides right in front of her on the Beach. It is fun to "rev it up" just to make sure it is ready to mix and then make more noise while mixing the drink.
Some day I may have to try using it with Veggies

[Sherbby]

I have a Nutone center which I use all the time and had re-installed in my kitchen after remodeling. However, contractor lost knobs/covers so I am looking for replacements so fit pictured center. If any of you have extras you would be willing to part with I would appreciate it as I don't think I can use the center without the on/off knob. Thanks.

[fulltiming]

I don't see any on Ebay right now but have in the past. They have a couple of complete Nutone 251 units for sale but no control knobs. I would keep checking back with them.

[Querns]

I have been supplying the switch replacement pins for several years. (That's the white pin in between the knob and unit, that cracks and breaks)

Anyway I have some remnant parts and pieces. I have an old knob that has been drilled through, apparently in someone's attempt to "fix" it. It is rough looking, but I got it to work using a piece of D shaped spring steel.

Here is my listing for the replacement pin: Nutone 251 Food Center Replacement Power Switch Knob Pin Item ID: 133429680037

I'll go ahead and post a new listing for the knob I'm referring and provide those listing details for you.

[Querns]

This is the reference to an eBay listing for a Nutone Model 251 replacement Control knob and Cover

Nutone 251 Food Center Replacement Power Switch KNOB & Blank Cover(Item ID: 133636889871)