Customer Reviews

Waring WMK300A Pro Professional Stainless-Steel Belgian Waffle Maker

5 star:		(173)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

I have had this waffle maker for a little over a year so it is now out of warranty. It just stopped heating up last weekend. After some online research I found out what goes wrong. When I plug mine in the orange light turns on and you can hear the relay click but it does not get hot. If you are experiencing this problem and you are out of warranty please don't throw out your waffle maker. It can be fixed and the part is only $1.50. The part you need is a thermal fuse and it can be found under the round stainless cover of the lower griddle. It is a 250v 240 degree celsius thermal fuse. It is covered by a white silicon tube. Apparently this thermal fuse overheats and blows and power no longer gets to the burners. I have replaced the fuse and my waffle maker works again. This is a really great product but they either have the wrong size fuse in the unit or it was defective. Mine blew when I made a batch of waffles, turned off the unit and then turned it back on to make a second batch. It never heated back up. I kept my temperature control at 3.5. I hope this helps all you waffltiers out there. Also, the golden waffle mix is the best and you need to buy an isi brand whip cream dispenser. You add two pints of heavy whipping cream and three table spoons of powdered sugar and have the best whip cream for those tasty waffles. If you have questions leave me a comment and I will check back.

The Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker will look familiar to most people who have stayed at a hotel that offers a complimentary continental breakfast. The waffle maker is usually located next to the toaster, with cups of batter nearby. Those continental breakfasts are a huge reason why I now own this waffle maker: my husband fell in love with the idea of owning one ourselves. Note that this waffle maker is essentially the same as Waring Pro WMK300 Belgian Waffle Maker, Brushed Stainless. The only difference is a handle that folds down for easier storage -- and even that may have changed since I bought my first 300 model. Everything else is the same. Although the product description calls this "stainless steel," only the exterior of the waffle iron itself is stainless steel; the base is a gray plastic.

The operation is simple. Plug it in and wait for the iron to preheat. Brush or spray a little oil on the surface. Pour batter on the nonstick grid, close the top, rotate the handle, and wait for the machine to beep when the waffle is done. Rotate the iron back to the original position, lift the lid, and remove the waffle. The whole cooking process takes about five minutes. The only real trick to operating this waffle maker is finding a good recipe. I didn't bother trying Waring's selections and instead found my favorite recipe online.

If you use a cooking spray instead of brushing on oil, make sure that you use the kind for grilling and high heat cooking. The original Pam leaves a sticky residue since it is not meant for such temperatures. A good, flavorless oil works best.

The whole thing cleans up in minutes, if not seconds. The nonstick grids release the waffles so cleanly that I never have to clean it. Too much batter poured onto the surface might require some exterior clean-up, but the removable metal pan underneath the waffle iron can be easily hand-washed. A temperature control allows you to control the darkness/crispness of your waffles. The manufacturer suggests a setting of 4; I found that I had to set it to 5 before I got an adequately crisp result. (This may have to do with the recipe I use as well as my personal preference for a crisp exterior.)

For recipes, I suggest that cooks use those that require stiff egg white folded into the batter for the classic Belgian waffle. These recipes usually only take ten minutes or so to whip up, and are not as time-consuming as those that require yeast.

All in all, I like this waffle maker. Now, if only my husband would make waffles at home as he does in hotels, instead of waiting for me to do it.


-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

After I ordered this waffle maker, I went back and reviewed all the advice previous purchasers gave about it. I was shocked by all the disappointment people had with it, but it made me even more curious about what it would be like. I have to say that even after only one use, I completely disagree with the bad reviews this waffle maker had received!

I understand that it would be frustrating if it dies after only a few months or even a year. We all desire for small appliances to last a long time. And since I just received it this week, I cannot speak to how it will fare for me, BUT, it's performance and the pleasure of my family at breakfast this morning far outweighs my concerns about a short life span of this waffle maker.

It makes amazing !!! waffles. My mom always gave me the advice that before you start trying your own recipes, use the ones that come with the machine. So, I started out with the overnight waffle recipe from the manual. I made it last night and then added the eggs, vanilla, and baking soda this morning per the recipe. I followed the directions (which were wonderfully detailed) and made a batch of delicious waffles. I started with the setting on #4 as the manual recommended and actually preferred them a little darker (in between the 4 and 5). My husband was blown away by how light and airy the waffles were. We (my husband, mother, and I) all agreed that we have never had a lighter, airier waffle!

So, I am truly excited about this waffle maker. There are a few other reasons (besides the waffles themselves) why I love this waffle maker. #1: There is an audible beep when it is ready to be used and it beeps when the waffle is done. This is great for a mom like me (of 3 little ones) who is always on the go and not always within eyeshot of the waffle maker.
#2: There is an on/off switch. Every other waffle maker I've ever seen only turns on and off with the plug in of the cord.
#3: The cord neatly wraps around the inside of the bottom.
#4: The measuring cup is the perfect guide of how much to put in for each waffle.
#5: The nonstick grid works great. I sprayed it each time with cooking spray (and the directions note not to spray it until it is heated and ready for use). I used regular cooking spray from BJ's. I didn't need to pay for the expensive high heat spray and it still worked great. I noticed another reviewer preferred that and I'm sure it works great, but if you don't have it, your regular spray will work fine.
#6: The removable tray that goes under the waffle maker makes clean up a snap!

I did carefully read and follow the directions which made it easy to use. Use the enclosed measuring cup (which is packed in the carboard around the waffle maker), pour in the batter, and then turn 180 degrees, and cook. At first, my batter oozed out along the edge. The main reason for that is that our kitchen is a tiny bit slanted. But, I think all houses are like that. So, make sure you pick the counter in your kitchen that is most level.

As for the cost versus the life of this appliance, I have one thought to share--For my family, it would cost $45 for us to go out to breakfast and have Belgian waffles in a restaurant. After only 2 breakfasts, this waffle maker will have paid for itself!

Happy Waffling!

I'm very happy I chose this model. It's sturdy, easy and fun to use. We made 2 baches of waffles, and all of them came out absolutely perfect ( exept first waffle)!! Kids loved those big, brown waffles. I have no expirience in waffle backing, but I did it from the first try ! No spils if you pour the right amount of batter ( I used the included cup measure ). Don't forget to spray some oil after you preheat the iron.
For the waffle mix I set 4 minutes, for the recepie 5.5 minutes. Easy to clean with wet paper towel. Those reminder beeps are so great, I can do something alse while its baking.
Me and my family are very pleased with this product !

updating june 7 . We still love our waffle maker. Works fine, waffles came out nice and crispy. Its a real treat for kids, guests and my husband :)

I wish I'd read some of the reviews here before purchasing this item at a store near where I live. We have had this waffle maker for about three weeks. The waffles it makes (or made I should say) were good, but then today, the unit would not heat up. The lights go on, but the waffle maker does not get warm. I'll be returning it to the store where I purchased it. I'm very disappointed in the quality of this item, and it seems that my experiences are not unusual. It's too bad.

This waffle iron works great 5 or 6 times, then it shorts out and quits heating. This is a major flaw in the design. I can safely say that because the same thing happened to me not once, but twice! This is the first appliance I have ever owned that I've needed to use the manufactuer's warranty. I'm now on my 3rd waffle iron in a year, and unfortunately, will no longer be able to get a new waffle iron under warranty. When this one quits heating, I will definitely buy a different waffle maker. You should too!

After a couple of years of light use the plastic hinge got brittle from heat and broke. If the hinge was as heavy duty as the rest of the unit, this wouldn't have happened.

My family got into making whole wheat waffles years ago. We went through two or three $30 Bakers before we stumbled upon the Waring Pro. I read some reviews online before purchasing it and found a review comparing it to the Kitchen Aid. The reviewer favored the Waring Pro and seemed to have legitimate reasons. We bought the Waring and have never looked back. We made loaded whole grain waffles almost everyday for weeks on end until we would burn out for a little while and start on the kick again. The Waring never once failed. The design is so straightforward and easy to use. It does clean easy as well. I eventually perfected my waffle batter so that I did not need to use any oil at all on the non-stick plates and had no trouble popping my waffles right off when they were complete. This waffle maker did remarkably well with buckwheat batters too (the stickiest stuff in the world). The adjustable heat setting and timer with light are great for multi-taskers. About the only inevitable flaw is if you overfill the plates, you'll get batter oozing out when you close it. For the price, it stands head and shoulders above it's competitors.

I purchased this waffle iron as an upgrade from a previous one. We make waffles about one time per week and wanted a waffle iron which mimicked profession quality. We are sadly disappointed. It lasted exactly 13 months. First, the heating element began intermittently shutting down and within two weeks just stopped working altogether. The lights still work, but the waffle iron doesn't. Of course the warranty has expired and repair would cost almost the full price of a new waffle iron. Do no choose this waffle iron.

My wife loves the flip over waffle makers so I bought this one for her for Christmas. What it hit it made this Christmas morning as we followed the instructions and pre-heated the unit and I brushed on some vegetable oil on the surfaces as instructed. She had the batter mixed by then and used the little batter measuring cup supplied and we had in just a couple of min's some really nice brown crusted waffles. The timer beeps to let you know when the waffle is cooked and the waffle maker wiped clean no problems at all. The wife loved it.

The waffle maker is sized just right and the pockets in the waffles are deep.
The timer worked great with the beeps that tell you when it's ready are wonderful.
We set the timer on #4 which the book recommended and they cooked perfect.
It's easy to clean and the measuring cup that came with it is thick plastic , not a thin fragile cup easily broken.
The wife loves it.