Customer Reviews

White Mountain F64306-X 6-Quart Hand-Crank Ice Cream Freezer

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Don't let the high price on this ice cream freezer fool you into thinking you're getting something that's high quality. We ordered one in late November, anticipating lots of fun "cranking" together at family get-togethers over the holidays. The "trial run" in early December went fine. But the second time we got the freezer out of the box -- on Christmas evening -- we saw that metal filings had shifted out of the crank mechanism. Then, as we attempted to make just our second batch of ice cream, the crank handle broke. (The crank mechanism seems to be poorly made, which overly stresses the crank handle.) Not what we expected from a $159 ice cream freezer.

If you are looking for an old fashioned hand crack ice cream maker that uses salt and ice - this is the only choice I have been able to find. Unfortunately, I was only able to make ice cream about 5 times before I noticed the gears were stripping. I then took a closer look at the hand crank system - and it is made very cheaply. Additionally, even though I have been diligent about rinsing out the bucket when I am done, it is still rusting on the inside. This is presumedly from the salt water needed to freeze the ice cream. Still, since I very much like hand cranking, I am now looking for a replacement piece for the hand crank system and hoping it will last more than a season.
The good news is that you can still buy an old fashioned ice cream maker. The bad news is that no one has come out with one that is made to last.
My suggestion is to look at garage sales for one built years ago - when they were built to last generations. If you don't find one, then this will do.

Update 2010: I never found a way to replace the handle so we now have a very expensive wooden bucket. Since more recent reviews say that the gears are still stripping, I would stay away from this product.

Two years ago, I purchased this hand-crank ice cream freezer for $130 on the web. My wife and I loved the idea of kids taking turns cranking the handle.

But the very first time we made ice cream, we found that the crank would jam incessantly. If I pressed in on the handle in a certain way while cranking, the jamming was reduced a bit, but this was a nuisance. If one did not apply force in just the right way, the thing would jam again. (So much for friends and kids enjoying taking turns at the crank!)

The second time we made ice cream, the jamming was even worse, and we noticed that metal filings were dropping down from the gear mechanism and were making their way into the ice cream.

When I took the gear mechanism (the "crank assembly frame") apart, I discovered the problem: The gears inside are designed and manufactured badly. The gears are not held in place, but rather have about 1/8" play. That is a lot of play. When the gears drift apart, they jam. The gears in our unit were badly gouged after only two uses! (The gears seem to be stamped from low-grade powdered metal.) The entire problem could have been avoided in the manufacturing by simply using a plastic spacer on the shaft that holds one of the gears, but this was not done.

When I called about warranty service, I was told that a replacement gear mechanism would be shipped to me. That never happened. The next time I called, some months later, I was told that there was no record of my earlier call. Again, I was told that a replacement gear mechanism would be shipped to me. About a week later, a replacement handle arrived, not a gear mechanism.

The third time I called about warranty service, I was informed that gear mechanism is not actually a replacement part, so that I should never have been told that one could be sent to me. (This is rather baffling: one can buy the part on the web.) I was also informed that the unit was out of its one year warranty. It did not seem to matter to them that my problems with the unit, and my contacts with them, had begun while the unit was only a few months old. Only when I assured them that I was holding in my hand a printed 5-year warranty did they continue to work with me. (Of course the company is fully aware of their flawed product, and of course they are fully aware that the product has been sold with a 5-year warranty. It seems that they try to bluff people who call for warranty service, hoping that they might not have a copy of thier warranty in-hand.)

The result of this third call about warranty service was that the company agreed to replace my ice cream maker under warranty. But I was required to pay for shipping of my old unit back to them via UPS (an expense of $20) and for shipping of the replacement unit to me (an expense of $10). So the cost of my ice cream maker is up to $160. Luckily, they don't have any of the hand-crank models available to send out as a replacement, and so they are going to ship me an electric model instead. I'm hoping the electric one will be a better design - it does not have the gear mechanism that the hand-crank model has. But I certainly would not have paid $160 for an electric ice cream maker. My recommendation would be to buy a much cheaper electric ice cream maker of a more modern design from another company.

I have owned a hand-cranked White Mountain 4-quart freezer for twenty-three years. All freezer parts have held up extremely well. White Mountain has a reputation for quality that has withstood the test of decades.

The day before you plan to use the freezer, fill the wooden bucket with water and let it stand overnight. This causes the wood to swell, so the process is neater the next day. Empty the bucket before you set things up to churn.

If you set the churn up on a sturdy plastic stepstool, churning will be easier ergonomically. Use the recommended ice-to-salt ratio and be sure to keep the bucket topped up. As you churn, make sure the drain hole in the bucket doesn't get blocked and the brine flows out freely, or you will have salty ice-cream. It is a good idea to put the whole contraption in a shallow plastic basin to catch the brine, because the brine that drains out will murder grass, corrode metal, and stain some wooden surfaces. Churn slowly until the crank will not budge. The best way to do this is to have a small person sit on a folded towel on top of the churn while folks take turns cranking. After the ice cream is firm, remove the dasher, replace the lid, and put a cork in the hole in the lid. (You may have to buy your own cork.) Drain off as much brine as you can without letting brine slip in through the edge of the lid. Add more of the ice-and-salt mixture, mounding it over the top of the bucket. Cover with the towel and let the ice cream "ripen" for a little while in a cool place.

After serving, put any leftovers in a plastic box in the freezer. If you want to reclaim some of the salt for future use, you can turn the slurry in the bucket out slowly onto several sheets of newspaper, letting the water run off. Let the salt dry thoroughly in the sun. It is important to wash all parts of the churn thoroughly within a few hours of using them, since the salt slurry is highly corrosive.

Kids love the whole process - I frequently tease them into sharing the cranking duties by telling them they may not have any ice cream unless they help.

My favorite flavor is peanut butter! Closely followed by mint-chocolate-chip, Butterfinger, peppermint, peach, strawberry, Heath Bar crunch....

When I asked for an ice cream freezer as a gift, my husband suggested a modern style, but I assured him I wanted a "good, old-fashioned" hand-crank style. I wanted the quality of century-old manufacturing that uses elbow grease instead of electronics--that can be difficult or impossible to repair--and I also wanted the nostalgic satisfaction of working for my treat.

The quality of this product is shameful; there is no part of it that is not as cheaply produced as it possibly can be. The dyes in the wood bucket leak out; the rings around the bucket began rusting after the first use; the bucket leaks; grease and particles from the crank mechanism collect at the top of the paddle; the wood on the paddles are "hairy" with splinters; the paddle scrapes the sides of the canister, introducing particles into the ice cream (can be adjusted, but didn't realize it was mis-adjusted until the damage was already done); the metal parts of the paddle structure either rust or corrode, depending on the metal; the entire crank mechanism rusts excessively, regardless of how carefully we store it, wiped down with vegetable oil; and finally, the worst of all, the mechanism doesn't work properly. Every 3d or 4th turn of the handle, it seizes up and and has to be turned backwards to loosen it. That is UNBELIEVABLY frustrating.

A logical question would be whether we contributed to these problems with poor care, but all parts were washed and dried by hand, metal parts were put in a low-temp. oven to ensure dryness before storing, and we followed all the directions explicitly. No amount of care or maintenance could save this piece of, well, trash (literally, since after 2 years of struggling with it, I'm throwing it out today).

To my huge irritation, we could not return it because the return date was past before we realized just how bad the problems were. When I contacted the company, they were completely dismissive of my complaints, suggesting that I wasn't using the freezer correctly (I've hand cranked ice cream since I was a kid!). Also, they did not even acknowledge my request for a replacement.

The freezer works OK but the overall quality of the product appears to have slipped. The finish on the wood was poor and the lid for the stainless steel container does not fit tight enough. I do not expect this new White Mountain freezer to last as long as the one my Grandparent's purchased and used for 50+ years. For the money, I expected more.

I grew up in a family that made home-made ice-cream at all of their gatherings. When I saw this machine and read about it's history I knew it was the one for me. There were some negative comments from other folks that have this same machine, and they actually helped me with mine. Hope this will help you if you choose to purchase one. First I lubed the gears with a white grease that wont fly off. The gears WON'T bind if you don't press in on the handle (not a problem, just the way it's made). I made a small gasket out of some very inexpensive rubber material from a chain hardware/lumber store and that keeps metal shavings from getting into the ice-cream bucket, it fits neatly around the top of the dasher shaft after the lid is placed on, similar to an o-ring. The shavings are going to happen because of the three gear action and you can't help it, BUT you WANT that action! I put three coats of spar urethane on the bucket inside and out. Not only does it look beautiful, it performs well. That is the only reason I did not give this five stars because I feel the bucket should come like that (they used to). This is definitely an awesome machine that should last a very long time with proper care. And after using other machines over the years (I was always the one recruited to CRANK) this maker is far superior and makes smoother, creamier ice-cream. I definitely recommend this to anyone that is considering a purchase. ENJOY!

I have to agree with the reviewers who were dissatisfied with the quality. My dad bought an electric 6qt almost 8 yrs ago, before we found out Rival bought out White Mountain. Our freezer seems to have used a lot of original White Mountain parts and has held up fairly well.

I have recently had a chance to see what Rival has done to cut costs when I saw new freezers that my dad's neighbor and brother bought. Needless to say, we were not overly impressed. The ice-cream cans aren't made as sturdy, and the wooden handle on my uncle's hand crank broke in less than a year, although the crank mechanism still works fine. Both freezers are over a year now and still look new.

The wooden tubs still look the same, and I wish my dad had kept the metal hardware from the freezer we had 30 yrs ago when the tub rotted away so I could have gotten a replacement tub for it. Anyway, we've been happy enough with it that I have been looking for a crank assembly for it to show my son (who is 4) how to make real ice cream.

Yes, the metal hardware on the tub is going to rust with use. The center post in the bottom of the tub will rust the most. The hardware on the top of the tub can probably be kept clean longer if you use an old toothbrush and lots of running water to clean them, but we haven't worried about that on ours. The surface rust doesn't affect the performance.

Btw - to the poster who was upset an not finding rock salt in the summer - it's not that important what salt you use. My dad's family has never used rock salt in over 50 yrs with White Mountain freezers, only standard table salt.

My mom purchased this machine for my wife and I around Sept '04. I was not aware that it cost her this much!! It worked like a charm the first time. The second time I had trouble getting the crank to turn. From the third time on it was virtually impossible to get the crank to turn smoothly. Opening the mechanism I noticed that the gears did not have enough lubrication, so I greased it. It worked fine, but the next time I tried it the gears had jammed up again. Also, you will notice metal dust in your ice cream and rust will start to form on the crank case after your first batch, even if you wash and dry it thoroughly. I thought my mom had paid around $40 for this thing, and even that would have been a rip-off. Paying $120 for a "disposable" ice cream machine is just plain ridiculous!

I purchased this model for my husband's birthday recently and I have to say it was perfect! We have used it several times since then and everytime I have been amazed with the workmanship that has gone into creating this mixer. It is rare that you find things well built these days. Most companies cut corners by using cheap materials, but not White Mountain. The wood base is solidly constructed and the parts appear as if they will last for many years to come. I will say that if you are looking for a "quick fix" you will probably prefer to go with one of the electric models. If, on the other hand, you do prefer the nostalgia that goes along with this product and are willing to work for your treats then this will be perfect. If you ask me, I think our children today have lost sight of working for what you want and maybe this will be a small yet fun way of helping them learn that lesson! Okay, maybe I went a little far with that last comment, but it does make a little sense.