I needed a replacement for my old Orville Redenbacher popper and bought this one since the price was good. Big mistake. Not all the kernels popped and it blew the unpopped kernels all over the kitchen counter top. Plus the popped ones got stuck in the top part of the device and I had to turn it over to get the half of the kernels that did pop to fall in the bowl. Doesn't Sunbeam have any quality control? I am going back to Orville Redenbacher.
I would not recommend this popper for anyone. My husband and i bought it and returned it the very next day. Once the kernals were put in the machine the ended up all over the floor, counter, and who knows where else. Only a few of the popped kernals made it into the bowl and we quickly turned it off to prevent a complete mess.
In an effort to replace our 25 year old very reliable, but slightly annoying West Bend, I purchased this Sunbeam without first checking reviews. One use of this popcorn popper was enough for me to return it to the store.
First off, the machine seems to be very slow to actually pop the popcorn. It seems like the motor doesn't have the required power or heat (whatever it takes) to get a decent amount of popcorn popped. Our vintage popper was far more powerful. Also, with this Sunbeam, there didn't seem to be enough completely popped corn to fill our popcorn bowl, despite using the same amount of kernels that we used in our vintage machine. There were many many unpopped kernels. While I understand this is common, I expected this machine to be at the very least, just as powerful as our vintage machine, and to be able to pop a decent amount of kernels. Our vintage machine was a much better performer even after 25 years of use.
Finally, because it takes longer to get the kernels popped, the kernels end up spinning around in the machine for a longer than usual amount of time and as a result, I noticed some of the finished popcorn pieces to have a very slight burn smell and a very slight darkening of color as a result of being slightly overdone.
As far as the popped and unpopped pieces flying all over the kitchen, I found that to be the case here and also with my vintage machine. Our solution has always been to use a huge wide bowl and then stand there holding a clean kitchen towel up and around the bowl, like a curtain, while machine is in use (being careful not to burn yourself) to stop any popcorn interested in escaping.
I don't recommend this popper to anyone. Thanks!
I received this as a gift and have used it several times. I am actually surprised to see that this got so many negative reviews! So far, I have not had any issues with it and, in fact, I must say that I am quite pleased with its performance! I put in 3 or 4 tablespoons of popping corn and it pops a huge bowl of perfectly popped popcorn in just a few minutes with very few unpopped kernels. I find that all the popcorn lands in the bowl and not all over the kitchen as long as I use a large bowl with very steep edges (such as a large mixing bowl) and set it to where it is touching the popper. I am also pleased by how it finishes by blowing all the popcorn into the bowl while leaving most of the few unpopped kernels in the chamber instead of shooting them into the bowl. I am giving this five stars because, inspite of all the negative reviews, this popper works like a dream for me!
Agree with most of the other reviews - it just doesn't work very well. It spits popcorn and hot kernels all over the kitchen. After enjoying your half a bowl of popcorn you get to throw away the 50-60% of unpopped kernels. I'm going to try to return this to Target where I bought it and invest in a popper with some better reviews.
Terrible. Bought at Target...and it is going right back. Tried two batches and it was pathetic. Pulled out the old school hot air popper and it worked like a charm. Glad I saved the box and the old popper. It is a freekin hot air popper-it isn't that complex of technology. Geez.....
Bought this at Target. When I tried it it only popped 10% of the kernals no matter what I did. If I persisted in trying to get more of the corn to pop, it spit put the red-hot kernals which really hurt my feet when I stepped on them. I though it was the popcorn until I read the other reviews. I took it back and got a Presto Poplite at Kmart. Boy, that one really works great. The same popcorn works great in the Presto. The Sunbeam is so awful that I took the trouble to write a review for the first time.
I can't describe to you how poorly this model works. The kernels spin around the outside of the heating chamber as if they are part of small tornado inside the device, allowing the hot air to escape. This means it takes about twice as long for the "first" spurt of popcorn. I say first because it will take you MANY attempts to pop any amount of kernels you put into this thing. I spent 15-20 minutes with it and only popped about half the kernels. I tried this twice, and returned it.
I have always used air popped popcorn machines. This is the worst popper EVER. How did this get out of the product development cycle? There NO reason to buy this popper. NONE. If you buy it, you will hate yourself. There are plenty of other poppers on Amazon at this price level that works. Sadly this is the only model that they sell at target, convincing many generations of future hot air poppers that these are inferior devices.
WORST PRODUCT EVER. - Popcorn - Not Worth The Money - Air Popper - Popcorn Popper - Popcorn Maker'
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