Customer Reviews

White Mountain F64304-X 4-Quart Hand-Crank Ice Cream Freezer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My husband bought this ice cream maker for our anniversary present. We tried it out right away and made strawberry/oreo ice cream and it was delicious! The recipes included in the instruction manual surely rival Ben and Jerry's! When he first brought the ice cream maker home I was worried that it would be noisy because you actually crank it by hand. However, once you get the ice all packed in inside, it is very quiet! It's not difficult to crank and it only took us about 25 minutes from the time we poured the recipe in until the time it was firm enough to eat and enjoy! I was impressed. The ice cream maker is also nice looking. It is a reddish brown wood and it washes well inside. Once you are done making the ice cream, you can transfer it into a container of your own, or you can just place the inner container that comes with the ice cream maker directly into the freezer. We have to transfer it into a tupperware because our freezer is too small. However, most normal refridgerator/freezers could hold the inner container.

I would definately recommend this product as way to make delicious ice cream. It it a process that everyone in the family can participate in. My husband said he bought it because he had such great memories of his family making homemade icecream. I am certain that tradition will continue in our family now too!

White Mountain ice cream freezers have a sterling reputation, but mine, which I got a couple years ago, is unusable due to problems in the gear box. Once you're about halfway through freezing the ice cream, and it begins to get a bit stiff, the gears start jamming and skipping, and it's impossible to continue. Not surprisingly, this leads to metal filings dropping out of the gearbox, some of which find their way into the ice cream. I note there's a lot of play in the crankshaft, which can move in and out about a quarter inch, and I suspect this is a part of the problem.

Other than this problem, the bucket, can, and dashers appear nicely made and seem to work fine.

Because White Mountain has such a good reputation, and because I see the reviews on here of this item and the similar F64306 are a mix of positives and negatives (many of which report problems similar to mine) I'm wondering if this problem is the result of a recent design change. The number on the underside of my gear frame is 337-075. It would be interesting to know if anyone with this same gear frame is happy with the operation of their freezer.

If you just want an occasional nostalgia trip, or a rustic decoration for your kitchen, then buy this freezer. But if you are serious about making ice cream with it, you're in for a disappointment.

The part that covers the ice cream container is made of a cheap, soft metal alloy. Friction slowly wears it away as you crank it, getting black gunk on everything it touches. It even gets black specks in the ice cream - yuck!

I didn't pay attention to the advice from some of these reviewers who stated they had issues with metal filings in their ice cream from corroded parts, and now I'm regretting it!

It's true. I went ahead and made my purchase for $150.00 with high hopes for this ice cream maker. I cleaned all the parts except for the hand crank itself when I first got it, and went ahead and attempted to make a batch of vanilla ice cream. The batch ended up getting pitched because I had noticed a black powder forming on the cannister lid and when I opened it, I discovered that the powder had gone into the ice cream. I took apart the entire hand crank to clean out the black powder and dried it well. My husband even fashioned a balloon contraption to cover the gap in the lid so nothing could go into the ice cream, but on my second batch it happened again and despite our efforts, the ice cream ended up being contaminated with the metal powder again.

The hand crank parts are made of cast iron, and it has a bumpy texture and when it is cranked, and the gears turn they rub against each other causing the bumps on the metal to be scraped off into a fine powder, which then travels down the dasher into the cream. Also, after using it the first time I cleaned and dried all the parts as instructed, but when I went to assemble it for the second batch, I noticed that the dasher itself had rust spots already.

I don't know why this company manufactures this product with such sensitive and impractical materials. I called the manufacturing co. and talked to customer service, and while they were very polite and wanting to make the situation better, their response to me was that they acknowledge this problem only happening with a very old machine or one that has been used too much....clearly this product isn't tested for quality assurance.

Beware if you own or are thinking of owning this product! You may not have noticed any metal powder/filings in your ice cream, but wipe your finger around the lid of the cannister next time and inside the hand crank part to see if it comes out black. I am returning this machine for a refund and will look elsewhere for a hand crank machine.

I purchased this unit in 6/05 to replace an older model. The hand crank did not fit the bucket, and I had to make adjustments. Then the loose gear mechanism made the top of the ice cream can stick, allowing a lot of metal particles to get on the ice cream. I've written to Rival, who now makes and sells White Mountain twice, with no response. If you could buy an older model, you will be well served. This one is a clearly an inferior product where the manufacturer is now trying to sell it based off of an old brand name.

I was a bit reluctant to purchase this ice cream maker. I had previously spent about fourty dollars on a cheaper model put out by another company. The ice cream came out lumpy, and often was difficult or noisy to make.

This model, however, was well worth the money. The ice cream was quick and easy to make. Easy enough, infact, that even kids can help out. This makes it a perfect summertime activity for those kids who seem to have tried everything. It's even easy to clean up one you finish. Best of all, it tastes delicious.

We have several friends with this same model that have had no problems. We used ours only once and had metal particles in the top few inches of our ice cream. Otherwise, the ice cream was delicious. Also, we thoroughly washed and rinsed the part with the handle and top, but it is already orange with rust although we understood it to be rust resistant. I'm not sure if this is an isolated manufacturing problem or not, but we have been disappointed so far in the quality. We had hear such good things about the White Mountain reputation.

I got this for my husband for Father's Day a few years ago. Since then, he has been THE DAD of the neighborhood. Anytime we get the ice cream maker out, it seems, all the neighbors gather too! ... a sign of some good ice cream to come! The recipes that come with the maker are excellent (and easy). The directions are easy to follow. As for the review that comments on "shoddy" materials, I must say, I do remember this being made much sturdier when I was a kid, but I haven't found any black flecks getting into the ice cream. I have some concerns that we'll have to replace some parts in the next several years (we've had it 4 years and use it several times a summer and have had no challenges yet). I know that salt is highly corrosive so I'll cut some slack there. Even knowing we'll have to replace parts at some point, I would recommend this product. We think the hand crank is FUN and the anticipation of the ice cream to come only adds to the enjoyment of the final product! Get out the bowls and spoons and get ready for some all around family fun!

When I was a teenager my dad sold these freezers in his hardware store. This freezer makes great ice cream and with reasonable care will last at 30 (that's right 30) years. Once in awhile we would order minor small parts for people who had inherited White Mountain freezers from their grandparents. If you don't mind crankin' and doing things a little more slowly, this is the freezer for you.

I bought this for my son's 4th birthday party because none of my neighbors or friends had one I could borrow. I'm glad we bought it! The instructions are easy to follow - very easy - and children enjoy cranking away, taking turns, chatting, maybe even learning a little bit of science, all while anticipating ice cream. 25 minutes, that's IT. The recipe we tried over and over again was plain ol' French vanilla, but if you do not want to plan ahead (you cook and then chill the egg based recipes overnight), there are non-egg recipes you can pour together and start cranking right away. I made hand crank ice cream as a Vermont kid who attended umpteen years of camp at the marvelous Merck Forest in Rupert Vermont; this ice cream maker did bring back fond memories. We'll be using this ice cream maker for each of our birthdays - a new family tradition has begun. As for the nay-sayer who complained of soft alloy leaving black flecks; I haven't seen a single fleck in my ice cream. It might help to follow the instruction manual which states to cover the top of the canister with wax paper if you choose to harden the ice cream in the canister/bucket rather than transferring the ice cream to another container for freezing. I will agree the canister could be made of something more substantial but I am fairly positive the canister will last for years.