Hey all,

I just got the costco popper delivered yesterday and tried to make a batch of popcorn tonight and I am having some problems. The first 20 or so kernels pop and the rest just sit there unpopped and burn, and the kettle never starts to have popcorn popping out.

I have tried multiple times and with both corn oil and vegetable oil to no success. Do I have a bad machine or am I just missing something really stupid?

I let the kettle warm up and gave each batch 10 minutes to complete and got nothing but burned corn and unpopped kernels.

My first foray into popcorn poppers has been less than stellar :(

Sounds like stale or dryed out popcorn. If the kernals have no moisture inside, they will not pop.
Coconut oil usually provides good results.

Is the stir rod turning?

I would have to agree, you have some bad corn. Once the popping starts, your kettle is clearly hot enough to pop corn. If it isn't popping the most likely problem is that the corn is stale as mentioned above. Another indicator would be if the kernels that did pop are rather small also indicating that there was not a lot of moisture left in the corn. Life is too short to mess with stale popcorn. For a quick fix go to the store and pickup a fresh jar of Orvilles to checkout the machine. Once you know everything is working right you can refine your process by getting prepop packs with oil, corn and seasoning. Or using bulk corn and a better popping oil. Lots of options that have been discussed here once you get the popping squared away.

..Doyle

Is the stir rod turning?

The stir-rod is turning, but rather slowly.

I guess I'll go buy some new popcorn and give that a shot tonight.

From what others have said it seems that the best results are obtained using a coconut oil based popcorn oil. I just purchased, but haven't yet used this same model as yours (Sam's Club) and to be honest I'm really hoping that you get good results with your vegetable or corn oil. I'd really like to enjoy my home theater past age 50 and I understand that a large serving of coconut oil based popcorn is the same as several big macs!

I've got the same popper (from Sams) and it works wonderfully. I did, however, have some of the same problems--my popcorn was el cheapo and old. I got some new stuff and it works great. I let the kettle warm up for 5-10 minutes and then go nuts.

I use pure coconut oil. I'll probably die in a few years, given how much popcorn I eat, but I'll die with a smile on my face. :)