Popcorn Machine. What do u guys think?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0047Y...dir_mdp_mobile here you go 100 dollars cheaper here

rhino I very seriously considered this machine. It does have a lot of the features you want (old maid drawer, deck warmer, etc). I believe it is basically the same quality as the Great Northern machines. A lot of people have them and are happy with their purchase.

After a lot of going back and forth I went with a Gold Medal machine because it is a higher quality, heavy duty machine. It was more expensive (the machine was $249) so I bought the popper first and then got the cart later ($165). My reasoning was that if I am going to spend $200 on a popcorn machine I want one that is going to last a long time.

This is not to say that the Elite & Great Norther machines won't last because there are some people that have had them for years. But if you compare the Elite & Great Northern machines you will see a great difference in construction (especially the kettle) from the higher end machines like Gold Medal, Paragon, Star, etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide -- a popcorn machine is a great addition to a home theater and game room.

I have a great northern machine just like the maxi matic. i've had it for about 6 months and it is a nice machine. I know two other people that have had there great northerns for 1 and 3 years and never had any problems,so i look at it like if you have the extra money buy a more expensive unit if not the cheaper ones are still pretty good quality. i bought mine here http://www.discounttommy.com/c-116-f...with-cart.aspx oh and that maxi matic you are looking at doesnt say how many watts it is i would check into that.

10oz is a lot of popcorn. I also bought my 8oz unit from discount tommy and have been extremely pleased. Overall quality was great.

I got my Gold Medal from webstaurantstore.com. They also sell the cart. This particular machine has a 4oz kettle that is larger than some 6 oz units. Look in the other popcorn machine thread for a comparison on the GM kettle to some other kettles.

I love our Paragon Cineplex popcorn machine. Pargon's 4 oz. machines have a LIFETIME warranty if you are using them for home use. Plus, they are made in the USA (Iowa).

FYI, there are a couple of Star Wars models out there on the web that are selling for about $299 + shipping/handling. That is for a Paragon machine and cart. Not sure if the Star Wars theme is your cup of tea or not, but you get a MUCH better machine for just a little more money.

If i was looking at the great northern machines i would look at the roosevelt or lincoln as they are about 5 inches wider.it doesnt sound like much but makes a big difference. In the end it is up to you the paragon doesnt have a deck warmer,but it is supposed to be better built. I dont know because i've never owned one but if it just for regular movie nights not for commercial use i think either would be a good choice. It pretty much comes down to how much you want to spend. The carts look nice but are pretty much jusy decoration because you really cant store anything in them. Sorry for the long post.

The Paragon machine has a built in deck warmer (50 watt). So does the 8 oz. Gold Medal unit.

A deck warmer keeps the popcorn in the bottom of the machine warm. Some people also keep popcorn in the machine for a few days and reheat it each night before they are ready to eat it. Popcorn can even taste better the next day after it dries out a little bit. You'll see comments on the forum about this if you search around a bit.

You may also want to look for an "Old Maid Drawer." It makes cleaning up the unpopped kernels (old maids) a heckuva lot easier. It's a perforated area in the bottom of the machine that allows you to sweep the old maids into a tray that catches them from below. It's a lot easier to clean them up this way than to try to pick them up or sweep them into something.

Warms the deck...

It's a small heating element under the 'floor' of the unit that keeps the popcorn warm after popping. It's what allows corn to stay fresh and tasty for hours, if not longer. If you're going through the trouble and expense to get a machine vs. a Whirley-Pop, IMO it's a requirement...

Jeff

You should get decent performance from the Great Northern but if you can afford it go with the Gold Medal. The heart of a popcorn machine is the kettle and there is a big difference.

Just take a look at the cord going to the kettle on each machine to see an example of the difference in quality.

rhinomike,

reject tray is the same as old maids drawer.

THe comment about the cart & storage is not completely true on the great northern machine. I find that it can hold the bars, salt, measuring cups, paper towels and the pouches. The side ledge holds the buckets.

Parts can be bought and I believe the kettle is $58.

Again, if you have money and want to spend it then the paragons/gold medals etc are highly regarded.
For me and some others, I don't make popcorn more than once a week and once a month a back to back batch. The price is right for it all.


And to clean it, I use baby wipes and then a quick soapy sponge and towel dry

I had a buddy that was getting me free popping oil but his company no longer carries it so I am now buying it online. I prefer making popcorn measuring out the corn, salt and oil myself than using prepackaged corn. You get better control to make the corn the way you like it and it is much cheaper buying it that way than prepackaged. I buy my supplies from Snappy Popcorn.

A lot of people prefer using prepackaged corn though. The brand that has the best reputation is Mega-Pop (or Fun-Pop) from Gold Medal. You can buy it online easily (check Amazon, stargatecinema, mypopcornmachine). I think Sam's Club also carries it.

If you're going with a Great Northern machine you might want to check out their prepackaged popcorn packs. I've never tried them but they're supposed to be good.

Anyone have this popper? Great Northern Popcorn Pop Heaven 12 OZ Commercial Bar Style Popcorn Popper? http://www.discounttommy.com/p-581-g...rn-popper.aspx

Spec's on it look really good and it would be nice to have the extra Watt's this unit provides.

Thanks,
JD

I purchased the popcorn machine in the first thread at Sam's Club.

It does the job and looks good in the home.

It is just the right size for a family home theater.

You know your needs better than I but 12oz is a huge popper. I would be more inclined to spend a little more on a higher quality smaller popper.

Appreciate the feedback. 12oz would be overkill for most of my needs but I was under the impression that larger kettles were fine for smaller batches and my thought was that the higher wattage means faster cycle times with fewer unpopped kernels. Looking at the Paragon machines even the smaller kettles have very high ratings (1200W).
Thanks,
JD

Depends on the scale of your entertainment area but that size commercial machine is going to look very large in an average home theater owners space.

Besides just looking big and possibly out of place, the machine has a lot more surface area to clean every time you use it than a 6oz machine would have. Even if you don't make a full 12oz batch, you still have to do the same cleaning.

I have a 4oz machine at home, we have a 12oz machine here at work. I'm glad I didn't buy the larger one for home use. Just my opinion, you linked to a nice looking machine, if you have the right space for it, it would be cool.

The dimensions are about the same or smaller than the Paramount 6oz I was looking at:

Great Northern 12oz: Dimensions: 15 1/2"L x 17 3/4"W x 30 1/4"H
Paramount 6oz: ACTUAL DIMENSIONS: 14 1/4"D x 19 3/4"W x 26 1/2"H