Juicer.Kitchen Verdict
The Omega VSJ843 is a time-tested performer, well suited for those seeking a reliable vertical juicer without moving into the latest $600+ premium models.
It handles fruits, vegetables, roots, and greens well. That said, if leafy greens are your primary focus, a horizontal slow juicer may be a better fit. Running at a slow 43 RPM — one of the lowest speeds in the vertical juicer category — it operates quietly and helps preserve juice quality. The main trade-off is the smaller feed chute, which requires more prep. For those willing to cut produce into smaller pieces, the VSJ843 delivers strong performance for its price point. If convenience is a higher priority, consider the Kuvings B6000, which offers a wider 3″ feed chute, though with a 5-year shorter warranty.If you’re looking for a reliable mid-range juicer that works well with a variety of produce and don’t mind some prep, the Omega VSJ843 remains a solid choice, backed by Omega’s 15-year warranty.
Pros
Handles a wide range of produce well.
Quiet 43 RPM operation
Low-speed extraction helps reduce oxidation
15-year warranty backed by Omega
Cons
Narrow feed chute requires more prep
Greens and celery should be cut to prevent clogging
Why You Can Trust Juicer.Kitchen: We’ve been reviewing juicers for more than 12 years and have influenced over $3M in juicer purchases. Every recommendation here is based on hands-on testing, not marketing claims.
Omega VSJ843 Detailed Review
Intro
Omega VSJ843 was one of our favorite juicers for a long, long time. It’s not our #1 pick currently — newer machines have definitely raised the bar — but the VSJ843 is still a juicer you can buy with confidence. It’s a mature, time-tested model that has performed consistently for years and costs about $200 less than many of today’s top-rated slow juicers.
Build Quality
This is an Omega machine, and Omega has been around for decades. They’re one of the most established juicer brands in the US. You’re not dealing with a $100 no-name juicer that feels flimsy or burns out in a year.
The VSJ843 feels solid in the hand and well-built enough for everyday juicing.
One big advantage: the warranty. Cheaper juicers come with 90 days or maybe a 1-year warranty. The VSJ843 is covered for 15 years, backed directly by Omega. If something fails under normal use, they’ll take care of it. With budget juicers, you often end up replacing the whole machine every few years — with the VSJ843, you’re basically set for the long haul.
What it can Juice?
Vertical slow juicers have always been our everyday go-to because they handle almost everything well — greens, fruits, and roots — and the VSJ843 is one of the most versatile vertical juicers we’ve used.
It doesn’t specialize in just one category. A centrifugal juicer might beat it on hard veggies like carrots, and a horizontal slow juicer might outperform it on leafy greens. But when you look at overall yield across all produce, the VSJ843 usually comes out ahead — and when it comes to fruit juices, it’s easily one of the best juicers you can buy.
How to prep the produce?
This is where the VSJ843 needs a little love. The feed chute is narrow — about 1.62″ × 1.25″ — so prep does matter. For most fruits and vegetables, it’s simple: if it fits, drop it in whole; if it doesn’t, cut it so it does.
- Carrots usually fit whole.
- Cucumbers (if they’re wide) can be sliced in half lengthwise.
- Apples, oranges: cut into 2–4 pieces depending on size.
Where prep really matters is with greens and celery. Vertical juicers have pulp outlet on the side, and pulp has to make a sharp right-angle turn to exit. Long, stringy fibers — from celery, kale stems, chard, collard greens, spinach, or broccoli stalks — can ball up and clog the outlet if you don’t cut them first. That’s why:
- Celery, Kale, chard, collards, spinach stems, broccoli stalks should be cut small so the fibers don’t knot up.
If you juice mostly leafy greens, a horizontal single-auger juicer (like the Sana 727 or Omega NC800) might suit you better since they don’t require cutting celery and greens at all.
Juicing Performance
Once everything is prepped, the VSJ843 is a joy to use. If you’ve ever juiced with a fast centrifugal machine or a horizontal slow juicer, you’re used to pushing produce through. With the VSJ843, you don’t do that. You simply drop each piece in and let the machine pull it down on its own. No pushing, no cramming — just drop, wait, and drop the next piece when it’s done.
We’ve used the VSJ843 for years, and for testing, we ran it side-by-side with a Breville centrifugal and an Omega horizontal to compare performance across different produce types.
Carrots
Carrot juice yield was great. The pulp came out very dry (you’ll see it in the pulp photo below).
- It outperformed the Omega horizontal in yield.
- The Breville centrifugal gave about 10% more juice — which is expected since high-speed machines specialize in hard veggies, even though they’re wasteful with fruits and greens.
Celery
Since this is a vertical juicer, we did cut celery into small pieces to prevent clogging — then just dropped them in. No pushing.
- The VSJ843 produced about 5% more juice than the horizontal and the centrifugal in our test.
Pineapple
Pineapple was where the VSJ843 really impressed us. We didn’t have to push anything, and there was zero backup. The Omega horizontal backed up, and the centrifugal struggled with foam and lower yield. The VSJ843 gave us about 15% more juice than the horizontal and nearly double what we got from the centrifugal.
Leafy Greens
We chopped greens small (to avoid clogging) and dropped them in. The horizontal juicer — which is a green-juice specialist — performed better here, giving about 5% higher yield. That’s expected.
Overall Yield
When we tallied all categories — carrots, celery, pineapple, greens, apples — the VSJ843 delivered the highest overall yield of the three machines. It doesn’t always win in every single category, but across everything, it consistently comes out ahead.
Juice Quality & Taste
Juice quality on the VSJ843 is excellent. It runs at just 43 RPM, one of the lowest speeds of any vertical juicer, which means minimal oxidation and a richer, more nutrient-dense juice compared to high-speed machines that whip in air.
The juice comes out less pulpy compared to competing vertical juicers, even without straining.
Batch Juicing
Cheaper $100 slow juicers usually run for 10–15 minutes before they need a break. It has a 30-minute rated duty cycle and a built-in thermal sensor that shuts the motor off if it gets too hot.
In our own batch-juicing sessions, we’ve used it up to an hour though we always recommend giving the machine a rest as the manufacturer suggests.
Noise
Centrifugal juicers can scream at over 10,000 RPM, but the VSJ843 is the exact opposite. It runs at just 43 RPM, and you can barely hear it. Our meter showed around 65 dB, which is basically “quiet conversation” level. You can comfortably juice early in the morning without waking anyone.
Assembly and Cleaning
The VSJ843 is one of the easiest vertical juicers to assemble. There are no alignment dots or tricky locking mechanisms — just drop the screen in, twist it into place, set the auger, and you’re ready. After one read-through of the instructions, there’s no learning curve.
Cleaning is also simpler than many vertical juicers because there are fewer hard to reach spots for pulp to hide. It usually takes us about 3 minutes.
(It’s not as effortless as the Hurom H400 — the easiest we’ve tested — but that’s a higher-end machine.)
Quick Cleaning Tip:
Close the spout cap, pour in about 15 oz of water, turn the juicer on, let it circulate, then drain. This pre-rinse knocks off most residue and makes cleanup faster.
What else it can make
The VSJ843 is primarily a juice + nut milk machine. It doesn’t come with any attachments for nut butters or frozen fruit sorbets.
Other Juicers to Consider
Omega VSJ843 vs Hurom H400
If you want the latest high-end convenience, the Hurom H400 is worth a look. It’s pricier, but the hopper-style design does most of the work for you — just load the hopper, close the lid, and let it juice hands-free. Like the VSJ843, there’s no pushing, but unlike the VSJ’s traditional narrow chute, you don’t have to cut and feed each piece one at a time.
It’s also the easiest juicer we’ve ever tested to clean.
Omega VSJ843 vs Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer
Another strong alternative at a similar price is the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer. The wide 3-inch feed chute means much less prep — you can drop in large slices or even whole produce. It also includes a sorbet/nut butter attachment that the VSJ843 doesn’t offer.
The VSJ843 counters with a longer 15-year warranty (vs. 10 years on Kuvings), so the trade-off comes down to prep convenience vs. warranty length.
Final words
The Omega VSJ843 may not be the newest juicer, but it’s still a solid machine. If you’re okay with doing a bit of prep, it rewards you with excellent juice quality and handles almost any produce you throw at it.
We generally don’t recommend lower-cost $100 slow juicers — in our experience, they don’t tend to last as long. The VSJ843 is stable, time-tested, and backed by Omega’s 15-year warranty for long-term peace of mind.
If you want something trustworthy and built to go the distance without spending $600+, the VSJ843 is still an easy juicer to recommend.
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