Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne PJE Review

Model Notes

The Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express (PJE) are the exact same juicer except for a few aesthetic differences. Both juicers have exactly the same parts and all parts are in exactly the same shapes and dimensions. Both juicers are also manufactured and distributed by exactly the same companies (more on this later in the review). The only differences between them are the following:

1. The Jason Vale has a stainless steel finish over its main body while the PJE’s body has a plastic finish
2. The Jason Vale has a clear plastic filter bowl while the PJE has an opaque black plastic filter bowl
3. The Jason Vale’s filter basket has a clear plastic shell and trim while the PJE’s filter basket has a black plastic shell and trim
4. The Jason Vale has black plastic trim pieces while the PJE has chrome trim pieces around its power button, around the top of its main body, and around the handle of its food pusher
5. The Jason Vale has the Fusion Juicer logo on its filter bowl while the PJE has its respective logo on its filter bowl

Otherwise, both juicers are identical. They have the same overall design, the exact same 800 watt motors, and so on and so forth. For this reason, the following review applies to both juicers. Where applicable (such as in the cleaning section where the color of certain parts makes a difference with regard to how difficult they are to clean) we will differentiate between the two juicers. Otherwise, any and all comments we make in this review apply to both the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express.

Pros

• Relatively simple to assemble and disassemble
• The same food preparation requirements as most other centrifugal juicers – in other words, barely any at all because of its wide feed chute
• Well above average performance juicing grapes
• Introduced very little pulp into the juice it extracted from grapes, carrots, and celery
• Single speed functionality

Cons

• Poor performance in most of our juicing performance tests
• Introduced a lot of pulp into the juice it extracted from oranges and apples
• Does not come with a juice container
• Requires that it be run for 5 to 10 seconds before produce is fed into its feed chute
• Several design flaws that make it uniquely less durable than many other centrifugal juicers
• Comes with only a 60-day warranty on all of the juicer’s parts except for its motor

Category Scores

Assembly Diff.	4.5
Food Prep.	5.0
Soft Produce	4.0
Hard Produce	2.5
Pulp Free	2.5
Overall	3.0
Cleaning Diff.	3.0
Ease of Use	3.0
Versatility	3.0
Durability	2.0
Value	2.5
Cumulative	35

All category scores are out of 5.

Assembly

Parts List

• Food pusher
• Juicer cover (with feed chute)
• Filter basket
• Filter bowl
• Motor base (the main body of the juicer)
• Pulp container

This juicer is assembled in much the same way as most other centrifugal juicers on the market. Its filter bowl fits onto its main body. Its filter basket fits inside of its filter bowl. Its cover is placed over both parts and secures both parts when the juicer’s safety locking arm mechanism is moved from an unlocked horizontal position to a locked vertical position in which it fits over grooves notched into the cover. A more unique feature of the Power Juicer Express (and also the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer) is the fact that a plastic pedestal extends from its main body. The juicer’s pulp container is place on this pedestal. Most other centrifugal juicers do not have such a pedestal extending from their bodies – the pulp container is normally fitted onto the juicer in such a way so that the container itself sits on the kitchen countertop. The Power Juicer Express’s container sits on top of this aforementioned plastic pedestal instead. Another unique feature is the fact that there is a plastic pin on the bottom of the pulp container that presses into a switch in a hole inside of the pedestal. The juicer will not turn on unless this switch is pressed by the pulp container’s plastic pin. This additional safety feature (it’s a safety feature because it ensures correct assembly before the juicer can be used) is unique to the Power Juicer Express and Jason Vale Fusion juicer.

The third unique feature we need to discuss in this section is the juicer’s removable juice spout. Most other centrifugal juicers have filter bowls from which extend permanently attached juice spouts. The PJE’s juice spout can be removed from the filter bowl to which it is attached. The spout is removed by flipping the filter bowl upside down and rotating a plastic clip that holds the juice spout in place. The juice spout can be reattached to the filter bowl by reversing the process by which it was removed. The photos below show how we removed the spout to clean it during testing.

Finally, it would be remiss of us not to mention that both the Power Juicer Express and Jason Vale Fusion juicer do not come with a juice container. Most other centrifugal juicers come with a gradated container that is specifically designed to be of the correct diameter and height (usually with a specialized lid that fits around the juice spout) to fit underneath the juicer’s juice spout and collect juice from the juicer as efficiently as possible. The PJE not having a specialized included juice container means that you’ll have to use a glass or container you already have to collect juice from this juicer. We used a container included with a Hamilton Beach masticating juicer we had lying around for all tests conducted with this juicer.

Summary and Score

The Jason Vale Fusion Juicer (and Jack Lalanne PJE) comes with several unique design features, only one of which makes its assembly slightly more difficult than it is for most other centrifugal juicers we tested. We’re especially critical of its removable juice spout. The mechanism by which it attaches and is removed from the juicer’s filter bowl isn’t very user friendly. It requires careful study of the juicer’s manual just to understand exactly how it works and after understanding how it works, it’s still a tricky procedure to carry out each and every time the juicer is assembled for use and disassembled for cleaning. Most other centrifugal juicers we tested earn a perfect score in this category. The PJE receives a slightly lower 4.5 out of 5 because of its removable juice spout.

Food Preparation

The PJE’s feeding chute’s diameter will determine the size of the produce that you’ll be able to fit into the juicer. If the produce is larger than its 3 inch feeding chute then you’ll need to cut it. If it’s smaller than 3 inches wide then you’ll be able to feed it into the juicer whole. We juiced five different fruits and vegetables to test the PJE’s performance. Of those five fruits and vegetables only one needed to be cut into smaller pieces to fit into the juicer’s feed chute. Note that the same was true for most other centrifugal juicers we tested as most other juicers of this type also come equipped with exactly 3 inch diameter feed chutes. The table below lists the food preparation requirements for most of the centrifugal juicers we tested. Note that the table only lists those fruits and vegetables we prepared in order to test each juicer. Also note how all of the juicers for which the table gives data have the exact same size feeding chutes and therefore the exact same food preparation requirements.

Most Centrifugal Juicers (including the Jason Vale Fusion and Jack Lalanne PJE)

Fruit/Veg.	Size of Cuts	Time to Cut	Avg. Time to Cut
Oranges	no cutting required
Grapes	no cutting required
Carrots	no cutting required
Celery	no cutting required
Apples	quarters	NA	18
More Information
Chute Size	3″ diameter

Note: the time above is in seconds. For a comparison of “time to cut” vs. “avg. time to cut” see here.

Performance

Note that we conducted all tests using the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer. However, since the Jason Vale and Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express are the exact same juicer (outside of minor aesthetic differences), the test results for the Jason Vale listed in this table apply to both juicers.

For a breakdown of the meaning of out of juicer yield, after sieve yield, etc. please see here.

Juicing Performance Summary and Score

The Jason Vale Fusion Juicer (and Jack Lalanne PJE) did very little to impress us when we tested its performance. Before we get to its actual test results let’s first discuss an idiosyncrasy of this juicer that impacted the actual experience we had testing its juicing performance and will impact your juicing experience each time you use it at home as well. That is the following: the juicer requires that it be run for 5 to 10 seconds each time before produce is fed into its feed chute to be juiced. The juicer’s manual calls doing so “balancing the blade”, explaining that the juicer’s filter basket (the blade) needs to “balance itself before coming into contact with the item to be juiced”. We don’t know exactly how running the machine with nothing in it for 5 to 10 seconds accomplishes this task. What we do know is that this requirement is only a requirement for the Jason Vale and Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express. None of the other centrifugal juicers we tested had this requirement.

In any case, despite doing exactly as the manual instructs with regard to “balancing the blade”, we were only able to obtain mediocre yields at best using this juicer in most tests. Its out of juicer orange and grape juice yields were only average. Of note is the fact that the juicer introduced much more pulp into the initial out of juicer orange juicer yield than it did into the initial out of juicer grape juice yield. We know this to be true because its after sieve orange juice yield dropped to a below average result while its after sieve grape juice yield improved to an above average result (compared to average initial out of juicer yields).

The juicer’s performance faltered when we tested its ability to juice harder produce. Its out of juicer carrot juice yield of 8.7 oz. was the lowest such yield (out of juicer carrot juice) recorded. Its after sieve carrot juice yield was a slight improvement – an 11^th place result. The juicer’s out of juicer and after sieve celery juice yields were both bottom three results compared to the 16 other centrifugal juicers we tested. Its apple juicing yields weren’t much better. It garnered bottom six results in both apple juicing tests (out of juicer and after sieve).

The Jason Vale Fusion Juicer (and Jack Lalanne PJE) earns a below average score of 3 out of 5 for juicing performance. It was only an average performer juicing softer produce and a well below average performer juicing harder produce.

Cleaning

The cleaning difficulty of the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express is overall the same, but not the same for all of their individual parts. This is true because the two juicers have different colored parts. Let’s take a look at each of these juicers’ parts and how difficult it is to clean those same parts depending on what color or finish they have. We’ll use the abbreviation JV for the Jason Vale and PJE for the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express.

• Food pusher – both juicers have a black plastic food pusher although the PJE’s food pusher has a chrome trim piece on its handle that smudges easily and is therefore difficult to keep looking clean (since it smudges so easily). Winner: JV
• Juicer cover – both juicers have black plastic covers. The black plastic cleans very easily and is highly stain resistant. Tie
• Filter basket – both juicers have identically designed filter baskets although the shell and trim around each basket differs in color. The JV’s filter basket has a clear plastic shell and clear plastic trim compared to the black plastic shell and black plastic trim of the PJE’s filter basket and the black plastic shell and stainless steel trim of most other centrifugal juicers’ filter baskets. The JV’s filter basket’s clear plastic shell and trim stains much more easily than black plastic or stainless steel and thus it loses to both the PJE and most other centrifugal juicers in the category. Winner: PJE
• Filter bowl – the JV has a clear plastic filter bowl while the PJE comes with a black plastic filter bowl. The black plastic is much easier to clean and keep looking clean over time (in other words, it’s much more stain resistant). Both juicers have a metal juice spout with an attachment mechanism that has to be dealt with each time the juicer is cleaned. This is a negative for both in the category. Compared to each other, the winner in terms of which juicer’s filter bowl is easier to clean is the PJE.
• Motor base or body – the JV’s body has a stainless steel finish and black plastic trim pieces. The PJE has a black plastic body and chrome trim pieces. We found that the JV’s body was easier to wipe clean and keep clean overall, mostly because it has black plastic trim pieces instead of chrome, which smudges very easily and is more difficult to clean overall. Keep in mind, however, that the main body of the juicer rarely comes into contact with produce or juice and therefore how easy it is to clean, specifically, doesn’t factor as much into each juicer’s overall score in the category. Winner: JV
• Pulp container – both juicers have the exact same clear plastic pulp container. Tie

Adding up the results outlined above we have six different parts with two ties, two wins for the Jason Vale, and two wins for the Jack Lalanne. The bottom line – both juicers have their pros and cons in terms of how easy or difficult they are to clean and how stain resistant their parts are. Overall, one isn’t really any more difficult to clean than the other. The larger point that we’re about to get to is that while both juicers aren’t any more difficult to clean than each other, they are more difficult to clean than most other centrifugal juicers we tested. We explain why next.

The biggest negative for both juicers in the category (cleaning difficulty) is that neither juicer comes with a specialized cleaning brush for cleaning its filter basket. We discuss why a centrifugal juicer not including a cleaning brush is such a negative in the category in other reviews for other juicers that also do not include a brush, such as in our review of the Juiceman JM250. All things considered, both the Jason Vale and Jack Lalanne earn only a 3 out of 5 for cleaning difficulty, mostly because they do not come with a specialized cleaning brush.

Dishwasher Safe Parts

All of the removable parts (in other words, all of the parts except the main body of the juicer) composing both the JV and PJE are 100% dishwasher safe although we do not recommend that you clean either juicer’s parts in a dishwasher at home and neither did we when we tested and cleaned the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer for this review.

Ease of Use

Juicing Speeds

Both the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne PJE are single speed juicers. Single speed juicers, in general, are easier to use than multi-speed juicers for reasons we outline in other reviews such as this one.

Balancing the Blade

A unique requirement of both juicers is that they need to be run for 5 to 10 seconds before produce is fed into their feeding chutes to begin juicing. We already discussed this requirement in detail earlier in the review when we discussed the juicer’s performance. Here we simply want to reiterate this requirement because it does affect the overall ease of using the juicer as well.

Manual Quality

Both juicers come with nearly identical yet very high quality clear and comprehensive user manuals. We were especially impressed reading the FAQ section at the back of the juicer’s manual. Here, the manufacturer addresses several common questions a consumer might have about the juicer. Some example questions are “Can I add ice or liquid to the Fusion Juicer?” and “How long does the pulp last?”. These types of questions are not at all addressed in the other user manuals we surveyed for the other juicers we tested.

The PJE’s manual also goes into great detail describing proper use of and care for the juicer. The juicer’s assembly, for example, has several idiosyncrasies and these are all addressed with detailed text and accompanying photos in the juicer’s user manual.

Weight, Power Cord Length, Juice and Pulp Containers

Both juicers have the same weight. They weigh approximately 10 lb. fully assembled. This makes them some of the heavier centrifugal juicers we tested for review. Most other juicers of this type weighed between 7 and 9 lb. fully assembled. The lightest centrifugal juicers we tested weighed only about 5 lb. fully assembled.

Both juicers come with a very long 77 inch power cord. A power cord length closer to 40 inches is much more common in the centrifugal juicer category.

Neither juicer comes with a juice container. Their pulp containers have an identical volume of 40 oz. This is on the smaller side for a centrifugal juicer. Most juicers of this type came with pulp containers with volumes upwards of 60 or 70 oz.

Ease of Use Summary and Score

The Power Juicer Express (and JV Fusion Juicer) earns strong marks in the category because it’s a single speed juicer. It also comes with a very well written, detailed, and properly comprehensive user manual and with a very long power cord. On the negative side, it’s slightly heavier than most other centrifugal juicers we tested and its pulp container is very small. It also doesn’t come with a juice container and requires to be run 5 to 10 seconds each time before it can be used. All things considered it earns only a 3 out of 5 in the category.

Versatility

We address centrifugal juicer versatility, in general, here.

Durability

Build Quality

The Jason Value Fusion Juicer (and Jack Lalanne PJE) has three weak points:

1. The plastic pin on the juicer’s pulp container. As we discussed near the beginning of this review, this pin has to press into a hole in the plastic pedestal attached to the juicer’s main body. If it is not pressed in, then the juicer will not turn on. The problem is that this pin is made of plastic. If the pin breaks off (which it can very easily because it’s made of plastic and it’s a thin piece of plastic that juts out) then it leaves the juicer inoperable. We find it unacceptable that such a crucial component that is used in the way in which it’s used (as a safety mechanism) is made of plastic.
2. The mechanism by which the juice spout attaches to the juicer’s filter bowl. Again, we have thin plastic parts that can easily break off due to their inherent flimsy design. If the plastic components that hold the juice spout in place break off, then it would once again leave the juicer inoperable.
3. The plastic outer rim of the juicer’s filter basket. Not only does the filter basket’s clear plastic rim stain easily (only applicable to the Jason Vale), but it also is much more likely to crack than the stainless steel rim of filter baskets of comparable centrifugal juicers (applies to both the Jason Vale and PJE).

Note that all three of these issues are unique to this particular model juicer.

Brand Reputation

We tested three different juicers, all three of which are marketed and distributed by the exact same company and two of which appear to be made in the exact same factory and. Those three juicers are the Jack Lalanne 100^th Anniversary Juicer, the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express, and the Jason Value Fusion Juicer. The 100^th Anniversary Juicer is a different juicer than the Power Juicer Express and Fusion Juicer. The PJE and the Fusion Juicer, as we’ve discussed several times throughout this review, are the exact same juicer with minor aesthetic differences only (we believe these two to be manufactured in the same factory).

All three juicers are distributed by Tristar Products, Inc., a company that according to its website, takes “innovative ideas” and turns them into “branded world wide distributed products”. According to the same “About Us” page on their website they are “constantly being sought to form alliances with investors and celebrities such as Jack Lalanne, Carol Alt,” etc. Thus, Tristar Products, Inc. takes a product, whether a product by an investor or celebrity, and, at the very least, markets and distributes it. It is unknown who exactly does the manufacturing of the product, although all signs point to many of their products being manufactured in China.

One of the brands underneath the Tristar Products, Inc. umbrella is Fusion Life Brands. Fusion Life Brands include products by Eric Theiss, Dr. Ian K. Smith, Jack Lalanne, and Jason Vale. It is unclear why Tristar Products, Inc. finds it necessary to market products by these four personalities, specifically, under the Fusion Life Brands brand.

Support

The manuals for the 100^th Anniversary, PJE, and Fusion Juicer all list the same 973 area code phone number as the only means of contact although they do list a partial address and website URL also. There is no toll free number or email provided for customer support. Of note is that the URL listed in the PJE’s manual, powerjuicer.com, lists the 100^th Anniversary edition of the juicer for sale, not the PJE.

Warranty

All three juicers come with the exact same 60-day warranty. That’s correct. The warranty covers all of the juicer’s parts except for the motor (which is warranted for the lifetime of the purchaser) for a period of only 60 days from the original date of purchase. Not only that, but should a warranty claim be required, the customer has to send, along with the broken juicer, a check or money order to cover shipping costs associated with the return. For the Jack Lalanne PJE the required amount is $14.99, for the 100^th Anniversary Jack Lalanne juicer it is $24.99, and for the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer it is $29.99 (as stated in each juicer’s manual). We find such a requirement to be utterly unacceptable and we feel the same about the duration of the warranty. All of the other centrifugal juicers we tested come with a 1 year warranty, at a minimum.

Summary and Score

The Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne PJE both earn the worst score possible in the category – a 2 out of 5. Both come with several design flaws that impact their long-term durability and reliability. Both also come with terrible warranties.

Value and Recommendations

Both the Jason Vale Fusion Juicer and Jack Lalanne PJE normally retail at under $100. The truth is that we cannot recommend either juicer even if it were selling at absolute rock bottom prices in the centrifugal juicer category (close to $20 or $30, in other words). Our reasons are many: poor performance, a lack of durability, and an almost inconceivably terrible included warranty just to name a few. If you’re looking to purchase a juicer around the $50 price point, our recommendation is that you instead consider the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can’t go wrong with the Breville Juice Fountain Compact which normally retails for around $100.