POPCORN MACHINE KETTLE COMPARISON

One of the most important design elements in a new popcorn machine will be the design of the kettle. Different manufacturers offer distinctive designs with different advantages and disadvantages. A high-quality commercial popcorn machine will typically pop a batch in about 3 or 4 minutes and uses heavy-duty motors along with durable electronic components for heating elements and thermostats. Kettle design is extremely important for performance, reliability and ease of cleaning.

Kettle Designs: The two most popular designs are commonly referred to as a Twin Arm Kettle and Side Hinged Kettle. These are the two styles we will focus on. In most cases, both are fully removable for cleaning, but still can be cleaned while inside the popper.

Twin Arm: The center pivot, twin arm design supports the kettle on two sides. In most cases, there are two separate buttery-fly style lids that are connected to the top of the kettle. The stirrer blade drive-shaft is located between the two lids and it uses a gear system, which is connected to the motor in order to turn the kernels and oil during a pop cycle. Make sure the popcorn maker you are purchasing uses a metal drive gear (as every Gold Medal popcorn machine does) otherwise you will be replacing these gears frequently. Cheap models use plastic gears which strip and crack easily. Twin arm is the easiest to remove, simply lift up and out and reverse the procedure for installation.

Twin Arm (Center Pivot) Kettle

Side Hinged: The side hinged kettle is swings down and to the left to dump. There is usually one solid piece kettle lid opposed to two separate pieces like those that are used on the twin arm design. The stirrer blade and top lids are not connected to the kettle itself and remain in place when you dump the kettle. This makes cleaning these kettles easier simply because you do not have to clean around any lids or stirrer blades and drive-shafts - all of these components remain in place when the kettle is tilted. There will usually be no exposed gears since the stirrer blade is connected directly to the motor. Side hinged kettles require the removal of a cotter pin to take the kettle assembly out of the cabinet.

Side Hinged (Swing Out) Kettle

Other important factors include kettle construction and price, which will also help you in your decision making. Keep in mind that if a popcorn machine has a price that seems too good to be true - it probably is. The kettle is the most expensive component to manufacture for a popper and if the price is too low, then chances are that this is where they cut their costs. If you have constant problems with your kettle, then the machine itself becomes useless. Buy once - buy right!

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