 "Popcorn maker" | 2008-06-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: ALPC4OVFJQ6BQ |
| We love this item - it was a hit at my daughter's birthday party. It is a bit of a pain to clean if you are using it frequently, but for a party or other large gathering, where you would clean once after many uses, it is definitely worth it. |
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 "This is a bottom-of-the-line machine" | 2008-04-02 |
| - Reviewed By jello_m1 |
When my first unit didn't work properly, I had it replaced, but the new unit was no better - it just doesn't pop very well.
I tried all kinds of different ideas to improve performance; I plugged the popper into different outlets, I weighted down the flip lids with quarters to prevent the kettle from spitting out unpopped kernels, I waited a long time to heat the unit, and then again to heat the oil before adding my kernels.
With all my experiments, the very best scenario still left 1/4 - 1/3 of the kernels unpopped. Also, the stirring mechanism jammed as popped corn collected under the stirrers.
There are other units available in the same price range with higher wattage that would probably work better.
This one certainly does look cool, but I will stick with my stovetop until I can find a better quality unit.
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 "Works great" | 2008-02-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A36PLFTZKB3IRD |
| I have had no probs with this at all. Also, there is a warmer built in on the bottom to help keep the popcorn warm. That is not mentioned in the specs. |
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 "After One Year Review- Jamming and Spitting Issues" | 2008-01-30 |
| - Reviewed By revampedcomplexity |
I received this product as a gift over a year ago, and have used it very often ever since. It is a wonderful product except for the defects in the design of the kettle, which make the unit prone to jamming (motor disconnection) and spitting (unpopped kernels flying out of the kettle). With a little modification, however, you can overcome these issues.
Overall I love this product. The set-up was quick and painless, the instructions clear enough. (I seem to remember having to force one of the pieces to mate.) Popping requires you to turn on the unit for a few minutes to warm up the kettle, and then pour in the contents. Popping is very quick once the unit is warmed up; popping starts around 2 minutes, and finishes around 3-4 minutes. I use the Country Harvest 4 oz Portion Packs (you can find them here at Amazon, and other places online) which produces outstanding popcorn. Cleaning the unit is somewhat of a hassle, as I assume it would be with all these types of poppers. Every now and then I take a bowl of dish-soap water and a dish sponge to the unit.
I give it only three stars because of the following issues which other reviewers have touched upon, all concerning the design of the kettle. You can correct these problems easy enough, but perhaps with other more expensive pop-corn makers you won't run into these problems.
1) The kettle is too light, and it often disconnects from the motor drive shaft. It requires its own weight to rotate the drive shaft into the motor embedded in the top of the unit. If the kettle disconnects, the popcorn stirrer stops stirring, the unit jams, and the popcorn burns. This is the biggest problem I ran into, which started a few weeks after I started using the product.
2) The doors on the kettle are too light, and when popping, the doors fly open too easily, letting too many unpopped kernels out of the kettle.
To solve (1), every time I make popcorn, I use a bent coat hanger as a spring to force the drive shaft to stay in contact with the motor. I wrap it around one of the protruding parts, and jam it against the side of the popcorn maker.
To solve (2), I added weights to each lid. I attached large paper/binder clips to keep the lids closed.
With these modifications, the pop-corn maker works perfectly, and I am very pleased with it. Just be aware when you buy this product that you could run into these problems.
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| "Love it!" | 2008-01-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2E4E1F0TAXFG8 |
| After careful research, we decided to go with this popper. For $250, its tbe best we could find. Very good popcorn and everyone that came to our house loved the look of the machine. Some parts are a little cheap, but it looks like it will hold up very well. Only took about 20 minutes to fully assemble - most of the time was unpacking the boxes. Amazon 2-day shipping was held true - arrived on time and safe. While there are other poppers that are probably a little more "substance", we didnt want to drop $600 on popcorn. Recommend the pre-measured packs. Machine is very easy to wipe out in between uses. |
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| "Good popcorn" | 2008-01-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A39M10XM8ROOV1 |
| I bought this product for my father in law and the only problem he has had with it is the stiring mechanism will sometimes get stuck which will cause the popcorn to burn. |
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| "Makes great popcorn" | 2007-12-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3J3OUIJRXTTFJ |
I purchased this machine about 9 months ago. We probably have cooked about 100 batches of popcorn and the machine has performed great - no problems.
It took us a little less than 1 hour to put together and we were ready to make popcorn. Here are a few tips.
- One batch makes a fairly good portion for 3 adults.
- Pre-heat for at least 5 minutes, then put the oil in for about 20 seconds, next put in the popcorn, and then some salt (right into the kettle). If you put the oil and popcorn in too soon you will get a lot of uncooked kernels.
- The pre-packaged popcorn/oil/salt kits are expensive. If you want to save a lot of money go to store and buy the supplies. We went to GFS and bought a big bag of popcorn, popping oil, popping oil (which was Canola oil with artificial color), and popcorn salt (Grand Rapids - Flavacol). The salt and oil will probably last us for years. We actually thought the popcorn tasted better than the pre-packaged kits.
- If you do buy popcorn in the big bag, I recommend pre-dividing it into 4 oz servings in those small zip-lock snack bags. Popcorn can become stale fairly quickly if you don't do this. If the popcorn starts to become stale a lot of kernels won't pop.
- We also purchased a bunch of those plastic white and red popcorn buckets/holders at the dollar store. These are great for serving the popcorn in.
- For the popping oil we just put some in a smaller squeeze bottle that can easily fit in the storage area. When making a batch we just skirt some into the kettle.
- The machine is pretty easy to clean. We usually only clean it after several batches.
Note if you are looking for a commercial grade popper - this is not it. The sides are clear plastic, the metal is fairly thin, the light bulb is not a warming light bulb. None the less this has been a reliable machine for us and we definitely recommend it for home use - especially for the price.
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| "Exceeded our expectations" | 2007-09-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1KDEM0UBOCQQP |
| We bought this popper as a 60th birthday gift for my father-in-law. We had seen a similar one for sale at Sam's club but missed out on buying one because they sold out. We found this one on Amazon and ordered it with a bit of hesitation since we had never actually seen one all put together and working. It had very positive reviews, though, so we took a chance and ordered it. My father-in-law could not be more pleased! He was able to put it together easily and it produced delicious popcorn immediately! It was a huge hit as a gift; something he always wanted. The price was very reasonable, we felt, and the free shipping was a bonus. A well-priced, attractive, functional item from which I'm sure he'll get years of enjoyment. It is a real conversation piece in his home. |
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| "great machine" | 2007-05-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2EI2T6G3GY47P |
| I love our machine, I put it together by myself, female here! We have made several batches of popcorn and it is great!!! I put to much in the first time to see how much it could pop at one time and you cannot put more than two cups in at a time and 2 tbs of oil...if so you will burn the corn. Very easy to clean. |
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| "Great Popcorn Maker" | 2007-05-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A12Q172SKPPRE5 |
| Not only is it cool to watch the popcorn pop...your whole house will smell great! The kids love to stand and watch! I love popcorn and this machine is wonderful! |
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