59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works Great - Price Cant Be Beat!, June 15, 2004
This review is from: Nostalgia CCP509 Full-Size Popper (Kitchen)
I have been looking for a popcorn machine for quite a while. The lowest price (without a cart) that I could find was over $600. With a cart it can be more than $1100. Then add the shipping $65 - $100. That's why I was amazed to see this item for $349.99 - WITH FREE SHIPPING. This item was delivered in two Huge boxes. Assembly was simple... about 20 minutes. I did not expect to be a top of the line model and was surprised at the quality. The red top is metal, not plastic. The three side walls are glass, not plastic. I has a kernal catcher, some don't. I was also concerned about the wattage of this machine. It has about half the wattage of other machines I was looking at. But after cooking a batch of popcorn I found that this unit cooked the popcorn as fast as units I had rented in the past. I am extremely happy with this machine.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The "After-Three-Batches" Review!, October 31, 2006
This review is from: Nostalgia CCP509 Full-Size Popper (Kitchen)
I bought the CCP509 for my office, believe it or not. I wonder how many people have a popcorn machine that stands about five feet tall in their office? I've used it a handful of times, and so far, the machine is just outstanding. Even the very first batch came out perfect, which I was very pleasantly surprised about.
Assembly took me about 40 minutes and was fairly easy, even for me, a mechanically declined assembler of just about anything! The machine is beautiful; it actually looks elegant, and has a genuine antique appearance. Three panels of the popper assembly are made of glass, and the door is made of plexiglass.
After pre-heating the kettle for about five minutes, you pour the popcorn goodies in, and in about two minutes, the popcorn comes spilling out of it. It is genuinely exiting, and I imagine that kids would love to see it in action.
I think a big part of it might be finding where to buy supplies for the machine. I haven't been able to find Country Harvest Pre-Packs in the four ounce size here on Amazon (six ounce size is available), but I went to a website called Home Theatre Express and found two different kinds of pre-packs especially for four-ounce machines like the CCP509 (I hope Amazon carries them soon if they really don't at present). The popcorn, oil, and salt are all in one package to pour into the kettle, and it works wonderfully. Each batch makes enough for three people easily.
I have visited a website for home theatre afficianados, and they swear by the machine (they also recommend not using more than a four-ounce pre-pack so that the stirrer doesn't jam, and I've had no problems with that at all). One co-worker calls it the best popcorn she's ever had. I, personally, love making popcorn on the stovetop, but having this machine at work is delightful, and makes my office smell like the snack stand at the movies.
For the price, this is one of the best deals you can get. You may want to look at one of the six-ounce models if you want to pop in grande volumes, but all in all, I am really thrilled with this model, at a very reasonable price. It's a treat.
*** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE
One little problem I have had with the machine (after about twenty or so batches now) is that the gear that comes up from the top of the kettle often pops loose from the gear at the top of the inside of the machine. This gear assembly turns the stirrer inside of the kettle. If it pops free so that it is not at a 90-degree angle, the stirrer won't stir the popcorn inside the kettle. I've made a couple of adjustments with the power cord that leads to the kettle so that there is more weight applied to that side of the kettle, and this keeps the kettle straight and therefore the two gears together, but it is a little bit of a pain having to watch the kettle and make sure the gears are still together. I would still rate the machine closer to five stars that four, but it is a little bit of a hastle. Not a big one.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Popper for the price., July 28, 2006
This review is from: Nostalgia CCP509 Full-Size Popper (Kitchen)
I searched all over for a large Popcorn Popper. This was the lowest price. It took a little over 30 minutes to unpack it and assemble it. I moved it into the house and started making popcorn shortly after. It looks nice sitting in our living room. That's the location of where we watch movies. If you want to make as much popcorn as the show in the pictures you would need to make 3-4 batches. Like some of the other reviews I notice if you put to much oil or to many popcorn seeds then it will jam up and burn your popcorn. Yes, the little pre-measured packets are good and the taste is excellent but..... They are expensive and I am cheap. I bought a big 50 pound bag of popcorn seeds for 18 dollars and our favorite so far is a product called POP-ALL this is the best popping oil. It's around 22 dollars and I think 2.5 gallons. It turns the popcorn a nice yellow color like movie theater popcorn. The kids love watching it pop and I like the smell that it fills the house with. Any popcorn that we don't eat we put outside for our chickens that love it also. Cleaning takes a few minuets. I wipe it down with a dishcloth with warm soapy water to break up the oil on the plastic windows. Then a few more times with just warm water. The pot unplugs and you can rinse it out. The inside of my pot is now dark brown from the oil and I can't get it cleaned. It does not affect anything I guess it's like having an iron skillet gives it flavor? The manual tells you to fill it with 2 cups of water and run it for 15 minutes doing that will steam the inside of the unit and you can wipe it down. It also made the very top of the front door that is made of plastic warp from the heat. I don't recommend closing the door while doing that to clean it. The holes in the bottom make it even better. After you cook the popcorn you stir it around and the kernels fall thru the holes into a tray so when you fill your bowl up you don't break your teeth on the hard kernels. Bottom line is I love this machine and would buy it again if I had to.
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