Hamilton Beach 68050 Icy Treats Ice Shaver, White
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 68050 Icy Treats Ice Shaver, White
Customer Review: Does the job, but it takes way too much work
Summary: 2 Stars
I've had this shaver for 5 months (July 2010 to November 2010). I had low expectations - $30 and all plastic except the one little blade? Yeah, something is bound to happen. And it did. Yet for a summer I had shaved ice. It took some work though.
This is not a run-it-and-leave-it machine. You need to monitor it. I've shaved ice using ice from a store-bought bag. I've used ice from the freezer ice maker (medium half moons). I've used ice from an ice tray (large to smaller rectangles). Invariably, the ice does not catch the ice cube pieces at the end of the opening on either side of the rotating tray. This is the cause of the monitoring. I've found that sliding medium-sized pieces on their side (the longest one) helps the blade to catch on the ice. Also, keeping ice pieces from standing straight up on their shortest end helps. Otherwise, the sound heard is a clink (meaning the cubes are just spinning like on a merry-go-round) rather than what you want to hear -- crunch. Seeing the ice shoot fast into the bowl is the main confirmation that things are back on track.
NOTE: It takes me 20 to 30 minutes to shave 4 trays of ice due to the delays. I continually have to use a small spoon to redistribute or turn over the ice.
The machine is shaving ice. Sound is to be expected. Yet the sound is VERY LOUD. You can't have this in a small or medium-kitchen without the TV volume being to its highest levels. It's hard to have a conversation. It's noise pollution if you live with other people. As you can see by the picture, the appliance is not a sealed unit. Even the bowl rocks a bit.
I add Torani syrup (sugar free and not) after the ice is shaved, but you can put snow cone syrup in the bowl with the ice and the turning paddle. I often use the shaved ice to create frozen margaritas and daiquiris with an immersion blender.
I wouldn't recommend this machine to friends. I just needed a quick fix for shaved ice, since my fridge's crushed ice function stopped working. Plus, I like the shaved version better than crushed. If you are looking for 7-Eleven slurpees, it's not happening with this machine. If you like old-fashioned snow cones and some old-school slushies, then this does the job - albeit not well. After two months, the turning shaft broke in half. I called Hamilton Beach and they sent a free part replacement quickly.
THIS PART UPDATED: When I get tired of this nonsense, my next purchase will likely be the Waring Pro WPB80BC Professional Bar Blender with 48-Ounce Jar, Brushed Chrome. Target might be selling it (or a similar model) for $30 on Black Friday, so it's worth trying as opposed to another mostly plastic appliance, which will likely end up breaking down sooner.
Customer Review: Change of Heart about this machine - Read to the End!!
Summary: 4 Stars
REVISED REVIEW - PLEASE READ TO THE END!!!
I was very excited when I first received this machine! After all it is a Hamilton Beach, which is supposed to represent high quality and it did for the first month. Then it broke. I used this machine every day a couple of times a day for a month before the middle section of the stem broke. Hamilton Beach apparently uses a little plastic pin to hold together the entire rotating device, so if you get ice cubes that catch up on the blades, after a time it will break and render the machine useless. I gave this machine the benefit of the doubt the first time it broke and since it broke after the warranty was up with Amazon, I decided to buy another. It does shave the ice like fine grain snow, which is what I wanted for slushies. I purchased another one, and Amazon was nice enough when I called to complain about the first machine breaking, gave me an additional 15 day warranty. But, to no avail, the second machine broke 2 months after I had it.... again, after the warranty expired. I am contacting Hamilton Beach to complain about this design flaw with the tiny plastic pins...I am now on the hunt to find a heavy duty slushie machine that won't break 2 months after purchase. Please beware of these plastic machines. They are not meant to hold up to regular every day use.... 12/12/09 - Ok, I am revising this review because I contacted Hamilton Beach and I have to tell you they were great. I explained the problem and told them that I was very disappointed that these machines didn't work. I didn't expect them to do anything, because 1)I didn't purchase the machines from them and 2)my warranty had expired. But I was very pleasantly surprised when the very nice customer service rep asked me to give her the serial number on both of the machines. She said as a curtesy she would send out 2 replacement parts. She was very surprised that I had this problem and would make a note of the issues I had been having and she would pass them along to the tech dept. approx. 3 days later I had both of the replacement parts and my machines are working better than they did when I received them new. I am thinking that there was a bad batch of these machines that were sold. I am happy to say that I can now give this machine a 4 out of 5 rating and a rating of 10 to the Hamilton Beach company for doing the right thing by their customers.
Customer Review: Great design and fairly quick results!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not sure why a few other reviewers had problems with this item. It works perfectly for me.
Great design;
- Large container for collecting the shaved ice (with auto-stir).
- Very few parts to clean, and they all go right into the dish-washer.
- Uses regular ice cubes right from the freezer.
- Two settings (slushies and snow cones).
Like most ice shavers, you're going to have the occasional "jam", but it's quickly and easily taken care of. Not a big problem AT ALL! You can make enough shaved ice for two to three snow-cones in just a couple minutes.
If there was anything at all that I could see someone complaining about, it would be the noise. It does make a loud grinding noise as it shaves the ice. But hey, you're GRINDING ICE... what do you expect?
The Hamilton Beach Icy Treats Maker has the appearance of a real kitchen appliance, while other ice shavers in the same price range seem more like "toys". Keep in mind, this is an inexpensive device and isn't perfect. However, I believe the overall operation, design and end result (great snow cones and slushies) make it MORE than worth the asking price!
A note about the type of ice cubes I have used. I simply make ice cubes in a standard tray in the freezer (regular old semi-square cubes). These work great! If your cubes don't seem to work, you can pick up ice cube trays at most 99 cent stores, which might give better results. If you have really bad luck, and your cubes don't seem to want to grind, try letting the cubes set in the machine for a few minutes before turning it on. Also, if it jams, try moving the "slushies" and "snow cones" knob back and forth while the machine is running. Sometimes that will free up any ice that has accumulated near the blade.
I'm thinking about creating a few cubes from soda, fruit drinks, etc. The shaved cubes will already be flavored (and I can mix different types together)!
Lots of fun to be had with this excellent product! Also, I'm sure it has to be a lot healthier to be eating snow-cones than ice cream!
JM
Customer Review: We be jammin' mon!
Summary: 3 Stars
I am on my second Icy treats machine. The bowl on the first was damaged but the the machine is working.
The quality of the ice is not as fine as that of the Hamilton Beach Snowman Shaver but it is okay. I have found that the larger cubes make finer ice. However, ice cubes frozen in a regular sized Rubbermaid ice tray JAM after each cube is shaved. You pretty much have to stand there and stop the machine after each cube. I also have 2 trays that came with my refig that produce very small cubes, almost like the ones my stand alone ice maker produces. The shaved ice from the smaller cubes is not as fine as the ones from the larger cubes. I like mine fine.
I own a Snowman also, but the reason I bought this one is because I can use ice cubes rather than only ice frozen in a special container. I made snow cones for my child's birthday party in April. I used the cubes from the ice machine and it was a breeze. For my treats, I buy low carb beverages and flavored water. I freeze it in the trays and then shave it. Sometimes I pour a little of the beverage in to give more flavor. I have found that if you use a beverage with a small amount of fruit juice in it, or if you add a litte juice, the texture is more creamy. It is a great, healthy snack!
Finaly, the Icy Treats machine is very loud. My family complains when I turn it on (we have an open floor plan). They cannot hear the TV or have telephone conversations when the machine is in use. I often take it into the laundry room and close the door to avoid bothering them!
Customer Review: A Wonderful Product
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not sure what product some of these reviewers are talking about or even thinking about when they clam this machine jams, is loud or doesn't perform as it is supposed to. The Hamilton Beach 68050 Icy Treats Ice Shaver works very well, with the normal amount of noise that you would expect from a device such as this. It isn't silent by any means, but is your blender or food processor?
This ice shaver has worked great for me. Of course you aren't going to get the consist tiny fragments of ice that you get in your drinks made from a professional machines like an ICEE or a slurpee (do they still make those) but you can't expect that from a $20ish home machine. For the money this does a great job.
Personally I am a slushie junkie. I gotta have my fix summer, winter, fall and spring. This machine saves my family from having to run by the "slushie store" on their way home and pick me up one.
If you are expecting and insisting upon having professional style slushies, then you are wasting your time and money. Go buy a $3,000.00 professional slushie maker. If you want to have something close along with the fun your family is going to have coming up with their own style of slushie, then by all means buy this one, it works great!!!Hamilton Beach 68050 Icy Treats Ice Shaver, White