Paramount 8oz Popcorn Maker Machine - New Upgraded Feature-Rich 8 oz Hot Oil Popper [Color: Red]

Great machine for the price.An earlier review commented on the thinness of some of the metal. Yes, it is thin, (other than the cabinet and frame) but the deck has enough support that it does not seem to matter for normal use. The door handles are thin enough that they could be easily bent if you were careless. Of greater concern is the sharpness of these handles, and a few other metal parts such as the kettle lids. Absent a modicum of care, you could cut yourself - not a pleasant prospect if your hands are covered in salt.Another earlier review complained that the kettle could not be tipped far enough to empty. The kettle can be tipped past 90 degrees. When you tip the kettle the stirrer is disengaged from the drive motor. It is easy to give the stirrer a gentle twist or two to knock the remaining popcorn out of the kettle. More expensive models offer a magnet to hold the lids open. This model does not have that feature so the task of emptying the kettle is slightly more difficult.This unit comes with a plastic scoop. The rounded edges of this scoop make it difficult to get into the corners of the cabinet. I made the mistake of buying a more professional level scoop, but found that it was too big for the smaller confines of this machines cabinet. However one of those flat blade-like kitchen tools, intended for scooping up chopped veggies, works really well in conjunction with the included scoop. It gets into the corners and works really well in helping clear out the unpeopled kernels.The LED bulb is fun for a short while, or if you are into that sort of thing. Its default mode is to flash through every color in 1 second bursts. I found this got annoying very quickly. You can set this light to a steady on mode of 15 different colors, plus white, or into 4 different color changing modes including the flashing mode that I dislike. I took out the LED and replaced it with the included heat lamp. This task was a little difficult due to the confusion caused by the presence of a metallic looking bezel on the LED light. Note: the bezel is part of the LED bulb and unscrews with it. You may have some difficulty getting a grip in the bezel in order to unscrew this LED bulb.In operation, using frozen cubes of coconut oil, and from a cold kettle start, I could cook up a full batch of popcorn in about 6 minutes. I have been turning the kettle off once the popping gets to the point of forcing the kettle lid open. In doing it this way I end up with about 1/4 to 1/3 of unpeopled kernels - but nothing gets burnt.I have tried using a Caramel corn, or Kettle Corn glaze, but find that it is difficult to regulate the kettle heat properly to avoid either unpopped kernels, or burnt sugar in the kettle. (Note: I attempt to regulate the temperature by turning the kettle on and off. ) Maybe I will get better with practice, but at this point, the leftover sugar in the kettle makes it impractical for making more than one batch of sugared type corn at a time. If you do decide to make a sweet popcorn, watch out for the melted sugar! It can spit (and STICK!) as you dump the kettle - OUCH!The deck warmer works and gets too hot to touch. The heating element is in the center back of the deck. Can't think of much more to say about it other than it is nice to have, if you want to keep a supply of popcorn hot. It also helps keep the popcorn "dry" on humid days.Cleanup is relatively easy. Once the kettle is cool, it is fairly simple to tip and remove. The stirrer mechanism and lids is removed by loosening a couple of barrel headed screws. Likewise the kettle brackets come out with 4 similar screws. (mind the sharp edges!). The doors come off easily provided you open them wide before lifting. The Tilting panel comes out with minimal persuasion - but mind the sharp edges and be careful not to bend it! Everything mentioned can be removed without the need for any tools other than your fingers.The most "difficult" part to clean is the cabinet itself since it cannot be disassembled and washed in a sink. I think a glass cleaner is recommended, but I am not sure how good that is on a food contact surface. A paper towel (dry or damp) does a pretty good job of cleanup.In summary it is not a perfect machine - I would love to have a temperature regulator on the kettle, and I do not like the sharp metal edges. Regardless I give this machine 5 stars based on value and features for the price.

My popper just arrived and it is unpacked and assembled. My first impression is "why build some things right and then cheap out on essential materials?". I guess my biggest gripe is the incredibly thin gauge stainless they used for the bottom of the popper and the bottom metal door, while at the same time they used real glass in the doors and surround. My engineering sense tells me this is where the user will be interacting most with the machine, banging away with the scoop to empty the popcorn load. Everything else seems to be of nominal strength but I see the bottom of the machine eventually being highly dented. (it was dented when it arrived from the force of the assembler stuffing the box of parts inside the machine for shipping) It's almost paper thin. About the thickness of a soft cover book or even less. I suspect I'll hit the scrap yard for a heavier gauge stainless and replace it eventually as it would only require removing two screws. The bottom door could also be re-fabbed from some scrap stainless. If they ever upgrade this machine again, it would only require beefing up those two items.The LED lights:Totally useless for the popper, but the entire "LED" light system is a screw in LED module with a standard bulb base, so you can remove it (use a pair of wide plumbers wrench to carefully remove the bulb) and use it in another area, like a lamp. I use a 40watt red spot light. The light they sent me lasted exactly 1/2 second after applying power. poof!The batch quality:I ran a quick test batch. I typically use a tablespoon of coconut oil, and 1/2 cup of white popcorn and popcorn seasoning.For the break in batch I used some older yellow corn which I intended to toss anyway.Heat:The kettle seems to heat fine, in fact, the coconut oil started to smoke lightly and it usually smokes at 350F. Idea temp is just over 400F.I'll verify temps later with a Raytek.The batch turned out fine. The kettle swing is about 90 degrees, wish it where more like 120 degrees to better empty the corn. There are some minor tricks to using this machine. For instance, to empty the kettle fully, tip it to full down the spin the agitator shaft to clear out all the cooked material.Overall a good popper for the price that should last longer than our busted down whirly pop.