Nostalgia Hot-Air Electric Popcorn Maker, 8 Cups, Healthy Oil Free Popcorn with Measuring Scoop, Retro Red

I like this product. It is a healthier choice to making popcorn. It is easy to use. The top of the popper is used to measure the the amount of kernels you want to put into the popper. This does not have a butter well you need to melt your own butter. Clean up is easy

Grandchildren loved this

What’s important to know is that this popper is well constructed. It feels durable in every respect.So what’s the problem? Power… far more than popcorn poppers need to expel popped kernels.The popper is able to pop but unfortunately not efficiently. The vortex of hot air is so strong it propels popped kernels at an alarming rate and with so much force that scalding hot unpopped kernels are ejected sometimes popping in the bucket (I invested in a 12” tall food grade bucket to try and contain what the popper puts out. It didn’t work.) blasting previously popped kernels creating an effect akin to a bomb built with thousands of ball bearings in it!Sometimes the scalding unpopped kernels land on skin which is extremely painful, both when they land on you and again as you try to brush them off.Cleanup up of the popper is simple and easy so long as you do it well after cool-down. The cleanup of the room is another story. Unpopped and popped corn is everywhere. Compared to a silicone microwave popping bowl this device wastes easily 4x the amount of kernels.I tried adding the recommended amount of kernels thinking the manufacturer knew what it was talking about. Unpopped volume is no less than when I attempted to add more than recommended kernels. My thought was that perhaps the popped kernels would fill the air chamber and create a cover keeping me safer from escaping unpoppedKernels this only worked to a point. Unpoppable (defective corn) sometimes burned but never to the point where it wasn’t ejectable once the popped corn began to clear the machine. Most does not burn and just begins shooting out everywhere.One might suggest that the premium Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn could be to blame. Well I tried jolly time and Walmart brand too….what a mess!! The corn kernels would have to be considerably heavier to remain in the hot chamber until popped when it would be lighter and more easily expelled, but the weight of unpopped kernels seems pretty consistent across brands.My previous popper was a similar design but with less force so kernels stayed in the machine until popped at a more normal rate. Wasted kernels was considerably less as you might expect.My dog hears this device power up and gets anxious. He knows hot kernels will be flying soon after it starts up and doesn’t like to stick around. This would be a safety issue to operate near children or crowds.Now there is going to be the oddball out there who assumes I run this thing with the lid off…..and they would be wrong. Keeping the heat inside the popper is critical to popping…..running it with it’s lid off would be as stupid as operating a blender with its lid off…..Mayhem and mess would ensue.Also thinking that my issues were limited to my machine…..I picked up a second one. Both wreak havoc in the same manner. Also of note….because it’s expelling so much Unpopped corn again you might want to blame the popcorn companies….after all isn’t the rate of unpopped corn attributable to them? I wondered that too so I took the unpopped kernels from inside the bucket and poured them back in the machine. Most eventually pops when I keep putting the unpopped back in. As long as the corn stays in the machine….it will pop.Bottom line shoppers? Find something with less power unless you like wasting money on unpopped kernels, enjoy scalding your skin, and get some kind of weird thrill from chasing popped corn all over the kitchen. Look my results may be unusual but after attempting to Pop as much as as two packages of 8lbs of Redenbachers and various weights of Jolly Time, and Walmart brand corn with consistent results… I’m convinced by my results. It’s your money……I’m just sharing what happened to me. Good luck!Happy shopping fellow shoppers!!!!!

Loved the way this popper looks. Very nostalgic. Should I have gotten the version with the Coca Coke label on it, lol. The popper does work. It does pop 98% of the kernels that I dropped in. But you do have to let it heat up for a couple of minutes before dropping the kernels. For those who love air popped popcorn with a little nostalgia, I do recommend it.

EDIT:It's now September 2014, and we have used this popcorn popper 2-3 times weekly since we got it November 2012. It still works perfectly, with many types of different corn. Now we mostly use organic, to make the wife happy. She's able to operate it perfectly too.Fill atleast up to the line/circle above the airholes in the chamber, and you're golden. Works every time then. We don't bother to preheat it anymore though.I usually spray on some "Kernel seasons" popcorn butter, and that makes it somewhat more crispy. Then season to taste. Tastier than microwave popcorn. Happy with the machine, would get another if it stopped working.ORIGINAL REVIEW: I read all the bad reviews of this item before I purchased, (what where they on?) and by the sound of it this product should almost not work at all. Not so.Fill the correct amount! ( Use the top lid as measuring cup up til and including the hashed area.)Well, I tried that, and did the "burn in process" that god rid of the plastic smell first, and then I started it. It was totally perfect! Not one - not a single unpopped kernel on the first try. The sound is definatly noticable, but not a problem. Much less than say a blender or hair dryer. Actually it does sound similar to a hairdryer on a medium setting/speed.Looks great, pops Perfect! -Follow the instructions!I used the standard Walmart "Great Value" $1.88 dried corn kernels, and a 12 inch wooden bowl which became full of popcorn.<<<<EDIT:Tried it again;1. try: 2/3 of Kernel flying everywhere, unpopped.2. try, slightly less corn: 3/4 of kernels flying everywhere, unpopped.3. try, checked measurment, this time more than the 2 other times: Perfect!Have now finished and popped the whole bag succesfully, perfect every time since.>>>If the kernels is rotating inside the chamber, you are using TOO LITTLE, they will spit out unpopped! Fill to ABOVE the airholes!<<<Comment: I have noticed that on alot of cheaper amazon products where there are more unhappy customers than happy ones, it seems that the issues most have is because of wrong usage, not really the product faults itself. I do not belive I am able to get one good product after another, while most others gets faulty or malfunctioning ones, or do not work as described. I think it's a user issue. This product is such a product, it works fine if used as described.Also, someone said to barely cover the surface of the measuring cup. That is TOO LITTLE! Did you not read the separate small piece of paper that describes the measurement? It says UP TO and INCLUDING the scratched/hatced area inside the cup. If you have bad eyesight, measure up to the line inside the chamber instead.As for taste, i melt some butter, or use spray butter ( to make seasoning stick), then popcorn salt + "Kernel season's" white cheddar popcorn seasoning. Tastes great then!

Runs very hot, Soo maybe great for after labour day until end of spring , in AZ it really hears the house even more then a countertop air fryer

This popcorn maker is only good for its appearance. This little guy is beautiful but unfortunately looks doesn’t help the fact that it actually doesn’t work. Most of the kernels pop out while it’s cooking and you literally end up with a handful of popcorn. Disappointed to say the least! Will use this as decoration at this point. Two stars for the look!!