I noticed that the Juiceman 2 has a 690 watt motor and the Ultramatic has a 450 watt. Would the Ultramatic tend to lug down more under a load than the Juiceman? They are both rated at 1/2 h.p.

Wattage is the amount of power the motor consumes. Horsepower is the amount of "power" or work that the motor can produce. To make a motor cheaper and keep the same work capacity, a company will be less rigorous in the motor construction yielding a less efficient motor.

I have owned a juiceman since 1995, and it has worked flawlessly. Although the white plastic has and does tend to stain, which would not be a problem with the ultramatic. Also the 3 year warranty on the Ultramatic should tell you something. There is only 1 year on the Juiceman..