Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned KitchenAid Pro Line Frozen Dessert Maker

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am a pastry chef at a small restaurant and just spent countless hours over the holiday season making sorbets and gelatos in my home sized (1 pint) Lello gelato maker, which I recommend, but this makes 1/2 gallon of in 15-30 minutes ( depending on the product desired).

The upside - works well for both soft-serve/ frozen drinks and gelato/ice cream. It's easy to clean. It's made in the US, and it's fast.

The downside. IT'S HUGE. I thought the UPS man was delivering a Toyota when it showed up. It's loud...really really load, makes the washing machine sound like the toaster.

All in all, I am very pleased. Amazon's price was great ( $200 less than Kitchenaide is selling them on Ebay) and the shipping was fast ( overnight) and free.

Not up to standard set by other KitchenAid Pro Line appliances. When dessert is frozen will not dispense even with mix engaged, when thawed, dessert turns to near water consistancy. No way to remove dessert other than through dispenser. No control to modulate freezing, either on or off, manual setting. When front comes off for cleaning, retained liquid runs down the front of the machine short of the drip pan.

I've had my eye on this for a long time, but couldn't justify over one and half thousand dollars for it. Now that Amazon is now selling these "factory reconditioned" machines for a thousand less than the original price, I couldn't hold out, and I just received mine...

There is no doubt this is "like new". It was immaculate, shipped in an original KitchenAid box with a new manual, an unopened and sealed DVD, and replacement seals. The only apparent difference is that manual has the 2 year warranty crossed out - replaced with a 6 month hassle free warranty.

The freezer is either "full on" or "off", so you have to dispense the ice cream pretty quickly when you've made a batch. Not a real problem, and it is what you would expect - but if it had the ability to "hold" soft serve for a while, it would get a 5* not 4* from me.

The recipes included are good, but make sure you have a copy of "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book". KitchenAid's forum also recommends "Rival 91V Ice Cream Mix" if you are short on time.

The box arrived bashed, but my refurbished machine was packed like a newborn baby and arrived safe and sound. I unpacked it, assembled it in 3 minutes without looking at the instructions, plugged it in, scanned (literally) through the book, and let her rip! In about 20 minutes I was eating the best dessert imaginable.
See, I wanted healthy, low sugar, non-fat desserts. I got a jug of organic black cherry juice (talk about antioxidants!)from the healthfood store (for about $3!) poured some into the freezer until it was about halfway filled, added about a tablespoon of wildflower honey and turned it on. I didn't really know anything about "overrun" which has to do with adding air to the mixture. It turns out that this makes a fluffy, creamy dessert without adding butterfats and cholesterol.
Here in Santa Fe we have some swanky local ice cream that runs $6 per pint. They have exotic flavors like Lavender and Garam Masala and Chai. Frankly, I've got them beat and mine is healthier.
Some of these reviews say how loud the machine is. I don't find it so - it's about as loud as my dishwasher. And it is a soft-serve ice cream maker which allows you to eat right away or store for later. I used to have an old Simac ice cream maker which was top loading like a washing machine, and it was a devil to clean. But cleaning this is easy as can be.
Do you NEED an ice cream machine like this? Probably not. But if you love to cook and you love to eat wonderful, healthy gourmet food, this machine transforms kitchen work into a relaxing and enjoyable hobby that brings health to you and your family and friends.

For making soft serve ice cream in a personal setting, it's really hard to beat the KitchenAid maker. I learned that it can make a half gallon of soft serve in about 15-20 minutes, and frozen margaritas in 10! Just take whatever flavors suit your fancy, mix it up, pour it into the maker and viola. It is a little louder than I'd like, but that's the only downer, and not unbearably so. It's not overly heavy, and not too large either. Cleanup is simple, since it dismantles easily and all parts can be put in the dishwasher safely. Very happy with it overall, and would buy it again.

Ordered (3) 1 totally new one and 2 refurb's....they delivered 3 refurb's and out of the 3 only (1) worked and by worked I mean when you hit the switch, it turned on and makes a fairly loud noise....haven't even tried to make ice cream yet, but seesh, what a hassle and disappointment on Kitchenaid's Remanufactured products. You mean to tell me they don't test these machines before they ship to make sure they work? Mine had finger prints all over and looked gooey, plastic around bottom was cracked and broken. Now having the 2 defective ones picked up and keeping just the one. I've had a few of their refurb's and they usually look brand new when you get them.

Update: also sending back 3rd refurb as it quit working also...that makes 3 out of 3, what are the odds of that? Was having a replacement sent out, but cancelled. I'm finished with these, they are toooo much trouble. Plus I called Kitchenaid and asked about their hassle free warranty since another reviewer here said she was offered her $$ back instead of replacement. CSR said yes, that's what would happen because they have discontinued making these items and eventually will not be able to send out replacements, so a refund would be issued. Well that's all and good if the machine is for you, but if your getting it for someone else, too much trouble.

Kids and adults enjoy frozen treats from 100% juice slurpies to Pina Coladas! Haven't made ice cream as yet. Easy to clean. Love the fact you just plug it in; no need for ice or salt. Downside: It's heavy to move from one area to another area.

Anyone who has looked around for a GOOD SOFT SERVE machine knows that there are three kinds of products out there. COMMERCIAL, CRAPPY, CRAPPIER. Commercial would be, say, TAYLOR or SANI-SERVE machines that cost thousands and take up a lot of room, not to mention weighing in at hundreds of pounds. Then you have freezer bowl machines, which are an absolute pain in the neck, and don't really work. Last you have basically blenders, which don't freeze at all.

FINALLY, there is a suitable replacement. At $1600, this machine was not exactly tempting. But as prices came down and refurbs became available, I got very very tempted. I missed out on a TAYLOR machine once that I really wish I would've won (on eBAY, about $600). I used that as my price ceiling and decided if this machine ever got that low, I'd buy it. A couple weeks back, Amazon listed the BRAND NEW unit for $675 with free super saver shipping (SSS), so I jumped on it. I hadn't seen it less that $800 to that point (new).

I was expecting to pay $600 for a refurb, so with the extra warranty, etc, I thought what the heck. Well, nothing to do with the product, but Amazon screwed up and send the wrong item...they sent a refurb. The refurb at that time was priced at $525, but the day I got it, it was on at $409.99 (free SSS), while the NEW one was advertised for $600 ($75 less)!! Anyway, I called up and Amazon told me they'd pick up the old/refurb one, send the NEW one AND would match the price to $600. I was very happy with this. But I called the next day to follow up and it looks like everything went bad. Amazon was no longer FULLFILLING orders for the NEW unit, it was Ace Hardware. And, the price shot back up to $1100. They told me all they could do was have me return the item for a refund. So, I had to bargain -- after talking with the Phillipines twice and India once, I insisted to talk with a U.S. call center. Within 10 minutes, the messy issue was resolved and I had a price match for the refurb. I am a little disappointed that I didn't just get my new machine, even at $675. But, now I could bust this machine out of the box and get busy making treats. So, that's what I did.

If you follow the operating instructions, it will do all it says, exactly how it says it will do it. There are some great tips in the book about overruns, air content, etc. Suggests that most commercial soft serve mixes allow for 40-90 air volume, so you only need to fill the machine a bit over 1/2 way for those mixes (though I personally like a thicker mix with a bit more water added for a colder, grainy effect). I'm very happy with the professionalism of the manual. It is thorough and insightful. The machine looks great, is heavy, and makes you feel like you are the ice cream man as soon as you turn it on (insert Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor growl here). My only complaint about construction are the black trim pieces used along the bottom and top -- they should've made them with a rubberized/soft plastic instead of hard plastic. There are cracks in mine (which isn't warrantable because it's a refurb).

Can the ice cream become too hard to dispense? Yes, but it clearly says that in the manual, and with practice it will become easier. I think the back of the vat stays a bit colder than the front, so expect to dispense when the front side of the mix is frozen, but certainly not solid. Compared to any other "home" machine, the dispensing is 20 times better. Should it have a "maintain" function? Sure, it would be nice, but it doesn't advertise one, so you just have to get used to it.

It is very easy to clean, but it will likely take a few applications before you keep things MESS FREE. I caught myself leaving the dispenser open a couple times, and the filling funnel is a bit small, so you need to pour accurately. I also thought you could just add mix as needed, but found I was wrong about that (it can "pop" out if you open filler cap (located at the front, above the dispensing mechanism).

Only problem with the machine for me is dispensing of ice cream when the vat is almost empty. You really have to work the dispenser to get the last bits out. I found it quite helpful to blow some air through the vent hole (at the top), putting a little positive pressure inside the chamber to dispense. I might set up a very low pressure line (like 1-2 psi) from my air compressor to dispense in the future. Don't know if this would have adverse effects on the machine, but I think it would be o.k.

You may want to note (and this was added as an ADDENDUM to the machine on a separate piece of paper) -- there is a little sensor in the funnel/filler lid. If you remove it or turn off the freeze switch during operation, the machine will disable the compressor for 15 minutes. You can still mix and dispense, but you have to wait 15 minutes before you begin to chill again. Therefore, I feel they slightly misadvertise that you can use this machine continuously (though it's probably good for protecting the compressor). Also, you MUST HAVE THE FUNNEL LID in place to turn on the machine from the get go. If you have the freeze ON when it goes into "safe mode", you MUST turn off the freeze button while you wait 15 minutes. May as well just turn off the entire machine for 15 minutes, unless you have mix ready to dispense.

It does essentially what it advertises it will do. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could, but I wasn't willing to round up to 5, so I gave it 4
I were expecting it to work like a commercial maker, I would rate this product 3-3.5 stars. But alas, it is not and is not advertised to be such. That said, this machine is WAY WAY WAY better than any other home product out there I have ever tried.

Don't waste your money on anything else...honestly. It was well worth the wait! Time to get rid of the Lello Gelato Jr. machine (though it's a nice machine for making homemade ice cream).

i like its fast making and its fun to have soft ice cream made at home

This thing is the best. Add juice and alcohol and chill til you like it. Small footprint and easy to clean.