I've had mine for a month now,and it used to make ice that was"softer",easy to crunch. All of the sudden it is making ice that is really hard. Why?
1442852
How often do you empty the ice? If you empty it as soon as the basket is full,the ice is more firm. If you leave it for a while, the ice is "easy to crunch". I make the larger, but if you use the small setting, that might help you also.
1282869
We've had this for a month or two - and so far with our experience it seems to depend on the recipe of ice cream you use. The "cook" recipes where you prepare something on the stove top the day before then refrigerate it and mix the following day in the maker seems to be very hard like store-bought ice cream after it's in the freezer for a night. But the ice cream we've made that does not require any cooking has stayed relatively soft in the freezer even after several days. We've only made maybe 3 or 4 different recipes though so it may just be the recipes we're using.
278678
Mine is brand new, and it does not grind finely at all. Everything is coarse, even when it's on the finest setting. I am going to return this.
1469021
Maybe the liquid in the container isn't freezing (ahead of time, in the freezer) like it should. I'd contact Cuisinart directly.
33846
We only made a couple of batches of ice cream before the Edgestar machine quit turning the paddle. We returned this machine and purchased a Cuisinart with the motor turning from below the bowl. The new machine has a separate paddle for gelato. Haven't tried the gelato paddle, but have had great success with ice cream. We get a nice volume increase and smooth consistency. My research after the first purchase was that others had problems with the "motor on top" type of design. Cuisinart had the same design and changed it. We are using the Cuisinart a lot and so far it is holding up well. We only made a couple of batches of ice cream before the Edgestar machine quit turning the paddle. We returned this machine and purchased a Cuisinart with the motor turning from below the bowl. The new machine has a separate paddle for gelato. Haven't tried the gelato paddle, but have had great success with ice cream. We get a nice volume increase and smooth consistency. My research after the first purchase was that others had problems with the "motor on top" type of design. Cuisinart had the same design and changed it. We are using the Cuisinart a lot and so far it is holding up... » Read More We only made a couple of batches of ice cream before the Edgestar machine quit turning the paddle. We returned this machine and purchased a Cuisinart with the motor turning from below the bowl. The new machine has a separate paddle for gelato. Haven't tried the gelato paddle, but have had great success with ice cream. We get a nice volume increase and smooth consistency. My research after the first purchase was that others had problems with the "motor on top" type of design. Cuisinart had the same design and changed it. We are using the Cuisinart a lot and so far it is holding up well. « Show Less
1349311
I LOVE this ice crusher. The ice comes out hard for me b/c I use my own frozen ice cubes. If you go to the gas station and buy their ice, it's softer and smaller cubes. I love this machine, it has a five star rating from me. As another person said in a review, not to over stuff it w/ ice cubes. If this should happen just rock the machine side to side gently. I hope this helps you.
41883
Sounds like it froze too fast. Try turning the handle the other way until you get good movement, then reverse direction again. I find that some very rich ice cream batters will be much stiffer than sorbets or batters with a little alcohol added. When I made maple bacon bourbon ice cream a couple of weeks ago it never really firmed up, but the pistachio I made last weekend got firm and hard to crank right away.
1311967
Yes! I have had mine for about a year and a half - my ice cubes still get crushed into a snowlike consistancy! We make smoothies all the time.
2220901
Mine never froze. And it has the mildewy looking brownish blackish stuff floating in the water. I dont know if the seal was not sealed on some or if this has anything to do with why mine wont freeze, but I wasted 30 bucks on two of these after extensive research on youtube, thinking that it would actually work. It doesnt. I am hesitant to throw it out in case I ever get a deep freezer or something. BUT mine never froze:( I was looking forward to it too.
1187994
I also discovered the base comes apart when I got water in it after cleaning. I am also curious to know if freezing water inside will help ice cream solidify a little more quickly. I don't see the harm in trying it, so if I do get around to trying it, I will do my best to post a response about it.
1425396
It may be freezing up. I only put 2 scoops of ice in at a time. When that has been crushed, I put I. 2 more scoops.Also, don't push the ice down. That causes the blade to get packed with ice.
1165861
I didn't have much luck with mine - it made more of a cucumber slush than slices. I ended up returning it and getting a food processor, which handles that and everything else much nicer.
1886910
I have not experienced that problem at all? Are you certain it is closing properly. I have even used a mix of course and regular grind and pour from the Takeya over ice.
785375
I ended up returning mine. It worked well on smoothies for a week or two then it wouldn't crush up the ice in the smoothies. I hope this helps.
204200
Mine doesn't seem to be affected by freezing temps/frozen water in it (Michigan). I imagine it will eventually get more brittle with exposure to sun, snow, etc., and of course it will get damaged if you try to chip the ice out & miss the ice though.
1024923
This is not a freezer so the ice continually melts and new ice is formed. The drain pump is getting all the melted ice out of the unit to avoid ice blocks, etc.Tthe ice is always chewable and super fresh, just like with commercial ice makers.
63717
Most of the time, mine seem to crack when they freeze too fast. I use hot water to fill molds, then place the molds into a small soft cooler which is then closed and placed into the freezer. The combination of the hot water and extra insulation slows down the freezing process. The results wont be perfect, but it vastly improved the quality of my ice spheres.