I had my doubts when I started looking into buying a juicer. I saw some other reviews stating that the chute was too small and it took too much time for little reward. so here we go.

1. Prep time.
This juicer is an auger, not a blender. All of your produce is being crushed, then pressed into a screen so the nutrients in the juice dont become destroyed by too much oxidation. Having said this, there is a certain amount of cutting you will need to do beforehand. The chute is not big enough to put whole vegetables into. I get my chef knife out and cut my produce to about the circumfrence of a golf ball. This doesnt mean they cant be long pieces, for example....
I cut celery stalks in half lengthwise then feed the two long pieces into the chute. Zucchini and cucumbers I cut into quarters lengthwise. Apples, take out the core. Leafy greens, bunch a handfull together and use the plunger that comes with the juicer. If you have young kids you may want to let them do that part. It's a fun way to get them involved.
I dont spend more than 7-10 minutes cutting up food to get it ready, and even that is on the long side.

2. The juicing goes fast and for two people, will be done in less time than it takes to prep. If something gets stuck in the chute that the plunger does not reach, stack something hard on top of it, then push it through with the plunger.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have a large household you are juicing for, you will be at it for a while. I juice for two people in 10 minutes. If you have 6 or more, you are looking at atleast 30 minutes of just juicing. I believe its worth it but others may not.

3. Clean up.
Cleaning is a breeze if you do it before the pulp inside the juicer dries out. You have plenty of time to drink what you make, but dont wait much longer. There is one main unit that comes off the motor that you take apart to clean. It brakes down into 3 pieces. Very easy to clean, just run the components under hot water. The screen on the nose end of the juicer needs a little more attention. Use the scrub brush they include with it, but be sure you get all the fibers out of the screen. For me, this is probably the most annoying aspect of the whole thing. Even still it only takes 2 or 3 minutes to scrub it clean.

I love this juicer. It is easy to handle and maintain. My daughter is drinking vegetable juices with me, so I couldnt be happier with the results.

Something I forgot to mention...........
Since this juicer is white it will stain depending on what you juice in it. If this bothers you, save some more money and get the model in black and chrome.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer back in March of 2012. After seeing 2 different segments on 2 different morning news programs about cancer patients juicing and have success I took to the internet and found a documentary film about juicing. That convinced me that this is what I needed to do to help in my cancer fight. I first started with a Jack LaLLane Power Juicer. I used that for a few weeks. After doing an enormous amount of research I realized that as a cancer patient I need to have at least a masticating juicer so it doesn't destroy enzymes like a centrifugal juice does (the fast spinning creates to much oxygen and that is what destroys the enzymes). As a cancer patient I need all the enzymes I can get. After watching a few reviews on youtube, reading reviews here and seeing the prices I decided to go with the Omega 8003. I have NOT been disappointed.

I've used it every day (usually twice a day) since the end of April 2012 (Its not the middle of September 2012). My wife also uses it at least once a day. It is very efficient compared to the Power Juicer. Unfortunately I've come to realize that first hand. A few weeks back I used to much wheat grass in one shot and it cracked the black juicing screen. Even more unfortunate, that particular part is on back order from the manufacturer. GRRRRR

So I'm back to using the Power Juicer and it is disappointing. With the Omega I make approx. 25-28 ounce juice at a time based on the ingredients I use. Using those same ingredients the Power Juicer gives me about 4 ounces LESS! My wife make 4 16 ounce juices each day. She does it all at one time then refrigerates them for drinking the next day. The first time she used the Power Juicer she only got 2 1/2 bottles worth of juice rather than the 4 she gets with this Omega.

So, the Omega doesn't destroy enzymes and is far more efficient than most if not all centrifugal juicers. You WILL save money using this juicer or one of its sister models compared to the cheep centrifugal juicers that are less money.

You have to ask yourself, do i want to save $50-100 up front or lose hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the life of your cheeper juicer. The choice is yours. I'm desperately waiting for the part to start shipping. We're now easily spending an extra $25 a week for produce because of the poor performing Power Juicer.

I bought this juicer after reading several reviews. Omega J8003 is my first masticating juicer. I love that I don't have to worry about the pulp mixed up with the juice. It juices almost all fruits and vegetables. However, time is the biggest problem. It works very slowly; unless it is given time to crash and juice the fruit/vegi, it will send the pulp with the juice. I didn't enjoy smooth and pulp free juice until I realized that it was supper slow in masticating each slice. Even though I read that one of the cons of this juicer is being slow, I didn't expect it to be that slow. Anyone who can stand next to the juicer and feed the narrow mouth with pieces of fruits/vegi one by one, this is an excellent addition for a healthy life. However, it is very hard to get a quick juice for breakfast unless it is juiced the previous evening. After realizing that the juicing process of this item is supper slow, I decided to juice every evening before I go to sleep and use the juice throughout the next day. It tests fresh; and very much better than the canned juices. As long as this juicer is used slowly, it will produce commercial standard juice of almost all fruits.

Pros:

* Works for almost all vegetables/fruits
* Extracts dry pulp in many fruits
* Cleaning is extremely easy
* Assembly is like snapping a finger
* It relatively is very quite
* Doesn't need much space
* Multifunction

Cons:

? A very small feeding mouth which mandates fruits and vegetables to be cut into small pieces
? Relatively slow that makes quick juice making hard
? Unrealistic functions combined together. I don't think combining grinder, pasta maker, and juicer is a good idea. I mainly use this machine for juicing, and I wish they could make the grinder & pasta maker optional with some price difference.
? It heats up faster. The manufacturer warns not to use this juicer for more than 30 minutes at a time. But it takes more than 30 minutes to get one pack (3lb) apple juiced. This is a serious problem considering the slowness of the juicer; the manufacturer should have thought about extending the time limit.
? Besides the 30 minutes time limit, cleaning in the middle of juicing may be needed when working on mushy fruits because the holes of the juice extractor may get clogged which makes juicing more slower and messy.

Overall this juicer is a very good product for a family of two regardless of the above mentioned flows. But it may be small and slow for a big family that wants to enjoy juice daily. If Omega can eliminate the unrealistic other functions and use the resource to enlarge the feeding mouth and strengthen the motor so it won't heats up faster, this will be an ideal juicer.

My wife wanted to start juicing fruits and vegetables more, so at first we tried the Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain because I could buy it at Best Buy. It juiced quickly, had a wide input spout that could fit a whole apple, and only had a few large pieces that had to be cleaned. Since it's a centrifugal juicer, it gets kind of loud when it's running. It works great with soft fruits like kiwis, but hard produce like carrots always tend to get thrown past the strainer at the last inch, and leafy things like spinach has to be sandwiched between other produce if there's any hope. The end result with the juice that it made was good, though slightly thick and a little gritty/pulpy.

We decided to try something completely different and give this Omega juicer a try. First thing I noticed when I turned it on is that I can hold a conversation while it's running. It's a low to medium hum that's produced while on, and that was a nice change when we juice at night because before I was always concerned about the neighbors. The input tube is much smaller (only about an inch and a half), so most everything has to be cut into pieces first, which means that initial prep does take a little longer. Interestingly, the juicing is opposite with this one when it comes to the type of produce: carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, and the like are juiced incredibly well, and so is spinach. But kiwis just get pumped right through the system, with almost no juice at all. But the first time I tried the juice that I got out of my mixture, I was really surprised; the juice is much more flavorful than the Breville made, and with significantly less thickness/pulp. The cleanup was also basically the same amount of parts, but they were all much smaller and easier to handle.

So here's the pros and cons of each.
Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain
PROS:
- Fast process
- Little to no food prep before juicing (large opening for produce to be dropped in)
- Effective juicing of soft fruits
CONS:
- "Thicker" juice
- Larger parts to clean
- Not great at juicing the entire harder produce (i.e., carrots)
- Kind of loud
- Need to scrub the straining screen pretty thoroughly
- Produce waste has to be scraped out of container (tool comes with juicer)
- Practically spits out berries and leafy greens

Omega J8003 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer, White
PROS:
- Smaller parts to clean
- VERY flavorful juice
- Well strained juice from pulp
- Quieter than expected
- Juices harder produce very well
- Easy to dispose of produce waste
- Very effective with leafy greens (spinach)
- Ok with berries
CONS:
- Have to prep food first to fit in smaller input hole
- Not great at juicing softer fruits (i.e., kiwi)
- Takes somewhat longer overall during the entire juicing process

(FOLLOW UP REVIEW APRIL 2012)
I've owned this juicer for nearly 3 yrs and used it almost daily since i first bought it. All i can say is that I'm surprised that i don't have a single shred of buyers remorse with this purchase and i usually do with almost everything that I buy. It works the same today as the first day which i find to be rare with appliances these days. Since 3 years ago, i've continued my research in juicers and i periodically check if there is a better one out there. There are tons of juicer comparison videos online and I encourage all of you to watch them before making your purchase decision. What i've learned in the past 3 years is that there are 4 main types of juicers: centrifugal, single auger, twin gear, and hydraulic press. If your top priority is maximum juice quality and yield for the broadest scope of fruits and vegetables then you can ignore centrifugal type juicers...in my opinion. When comparing single auger, twin gear and hydraulic press type juicers i find that the difference in juice quality and yield is small. I've thought long and hard about upgrading to a twin gear and even a hydraulic press type juicer over the past 3 yrs but i just can't justify spending the extra $500-$2500 (Greenstar to Norwalk) for negligible increase in quality and yield. If money and preparation time was of no concern of mine i might feel differently. In summary, if your top priority is quality and yield then you get the biggest bang for your buck with a low rpm single auger type juicer like the omega 8003-8006.

Cons:
1. One thing the the omega 8003 doesn't do well is making nut milks like almond milk or soy milk. I don't ever make those so it's not an issue with me but if it is perhaps a vertical single auger juicer like the omega vrt, kurvings silent juicer or Hurom vertical juicer is right for you. (I would be cautious with the kurvings and Hurom brands because they haven't been around as long so they might not be around to honor the warranty.)
2. A common complaint is that the feed tube is small which requires the user to slice up the produce more than they would have to if using another style juicer. I agree that the in an ideal world the feed tube would be larger but my concern there would be that a larger feed tube would put larger chunks of produce through the machine possibly requiring a more powerful and more expensive motor. The small diameter feed tube doesn't necessarily require more prep time...it depends on what you are juicing. When juicing carrots, i find that baby carrots require no prep and provide the same yield as regular carrots. Kale, chard, celery, collard greens, etc...will fit right in the machine without any cutting. So I find that the small inlet diameter isn't a big deal to me but just know that some people complain about it.

If you're interested in buying this juicer, just know that omega has updated this design and implemented the improvements in the 8004 (white) and 8006 (chrome) models. They've updated the material of the auger to GE Ultem which is a plastic that is 8 times harder than the 8003's melamine auger. They've also improved the juicer cone design to improve it's strength and added 5 more yrs to the products warranty (15 yr total!). Less significant design changes are the design of the collection cups and shell of the motor. These updates are significant enough that if i were to purchase a juicer now i would get the 8004 with the extended warranty, updated juicer cone design and harder auger.
My goal in this review is to help the reader avoid making the same trial and error mistakes that i did with buying and ultimately returning different juicers until i finally bought this one. let my review here be a testament to how satisfied I am with this juicer. People are more likely to write a review of a product that they've had nothing but trouble with. I takes an extremely satisfied customer to take the time to write an honest review. So if I sound like I'm over selling this juicer it's only because i'm extremely proud of this purchase.
I wish you all the best in your juicing endeavors and if you have any questions please post a comment as I love sharing my knowledge and passion for healthy living.

(ORIGINAL REVIEW SEPT 2009)
I wanted to get into juicing so I started researching juicers on Amazon. I originally bought the Breville BJE200XL. This juicer is very popular on this site and received good reviews. I beg to differ. It was cumbersome, difficult to clean, and the juice didn't taste very good. I immediately returned this juicer and did more research. In my opinion, if you're serious about juicing I would highly recommend the Omega 8003. It's quiet, easy to clean, and produces great tasting, high quality juice. It's worth every penny and i'll never make the mistake of buying a centrifugal juicer again.