Great Northern Popcorn Top Star 12oz Popcorn Machine, Red and Yellow

UPDATING FROM 1 START TO 5!! The customer service team through the direct website is great!!! They responded within 24 hours (including the weekends), gave me options for trouble setting the kettle, and sent me a replacement kettle very quickly. It didn't matter if I ordered from Amazon or their direct website. I just had to provide the invoice from Amazon. Other companies should take note from their customer service!! It was top knotch! The kettle and machine are easy to clean up and wipe down. The popcorn was great! It worked quickly! I'll leave my original review notes below incase anyone has the same issues I had before. _________ Pro: My place of business smells like amazing popcorn. Con: I don't have any popcorn. As it stands, this item came in a box that was fully sealed but the product itself will not pop any popcorn. The kettle gets hot, the oil starts to steam, but it will not pop the kernels. I have tried 3 times, each time I have cleaned out the pot and replaced it with new oil and new kernels. I have also tried 2 different brands of oil and kernels. No popcorn. Just crushed dreams. I made sure to follow the directions for the machine itself as well as the kernel to oil ratio. I didn't pay $300+ for a popcorn oil scent diffuser. I sent in an email to customer support and they are supposed to respond within 24 hours. I'm hoping they can send me a working kettle, I can get some popcorn, and then upgrade this review.

We purchased for a church movie night (rather than renting) and we are SO glad we did. This machine is the perfect size, and can output lots of DELICIOUS theater-quality popcorn QUICKLY. It's VERY easy to operate, and the countertop size makes it ultra-portable for any venue. It fits in the car easily, and can sit on existing counter, table, or I often bring my own 2'x4' folding rubbermaid table. We use it often! Honestly, the smell of fresh-popped corn, as well as the fun visual of the theater-style popping makes any event seem extra fun! My daughter's 5th grade class was having a movie day after finishing a novel study.... I brought this machine in and made popcorn and you would have thought I was handing out $100 bills! Teachers from other rooms came running down to get some. :) I HIGHLY recommend using the Great Northern prepackaged "tri-pack" popcorn kits (that come with the kernels, oil, & butter flavored salt all in one)! This brand is amazing, and the pre-measured packs make it easy to keep the popcorn moving fastnwhen you've got a crowd. It's a little tedious to clean if you're going to do a good job, but it's worth it. Don't wait on this one... buy it!

Bought this for my family. It's a sturdy machine, with large capacity 12 ounce popping kettle. Pops quickly and consistently. I've hauled it around to volunteer events and parties and it's always a hit. And a superior popper to those I've seen in local businesses and schools. Cleans easily, and popper is removable. The real trick is to find the balance of oil and flavored sale with your batches. The 12 ounce capacity holds 1.5 cups of popcorn and recommends 8 tablespoons of oil. I use 6 tablespoons and do a combo of canola oil, a little coconut oil and Orville Redenbacher butter flavored oil. Flavacol is the other secret to good tasting popcorn. I use it moderately, and it comes out just like theater popcorn. The warming tray keeps the popcorn warm and can be heated up for days after popping. The only drawback to this machine is its weight-it's pretty heavy. No issue if you have a permanent place for it, and with the weight comes durability. It's been a great investment, and with the price of snacks these days, it's a smart purchase.

This unit came so filthy, dented and outright poorly made. I haven't even used it yet and I can't imaging it lasting very long. The inside bottom pan was horribly dented on one side. It's going to take me a long time to clean this unit out to a point I feel comfortable. I don't know how the reviews can be so high. I'm contacting Amazon with pictures to show the massive dent on the inside. It looks like the bottom pan was dented at the factory and they just through it together anyways. Now I know that the "one or two star" folks are correct. Updated 5/10/16. Even with the dents (I banged them out) and being filthy, it is working great. I will amend my 2 stars with 4. Hopefully the reliability of the kettle will prove itself (currently at 25 batches with no issues). Folks should learn to shut off the kettle heat as the popping slows, if you run it dry you will damage and/or reduce the kettle lifetime.

Finally ditched my old 22 yr old popcorn machine for this one and I am PLEASED. It was easy to assemble and I’m happy They offer a protection plan. We try to keep it as clean as possible but we know how that goes.. the kettle is a little tricky to get in and out but with 2 people (one person directing it into the latches) it’s not too bad. You’ll preserve the prettyness of it and keep it cleaner if you simply wipe it with a dry cloth when it’s done popping. I use regular vegetable oil, popcorn salt, and kernels from sams club. Update:: after a few years, we had to repair the buttons, and after a few months of that, the wires behind the buttons started coming loose again, had to bolster the buttons with toothpicks to get it to turn and stay on. The machine is not as durable as we were hoping, given, we did use it every day for customers. This machine will never last like the older machines will.. 2 yrs vs 20 yrs, is a huge lack in quality. We buy microwave popcorn now and give it to people upon request. Saves time and money.

Unbelievable quality. So, fast....can't believe I haven't gotten one sooner. I researched all the different brands and models, the comments about great northern having great customer support is what persuaded me. Well after receiving my 12 oz topstar model it isn't hard to understand how they can stand behind their product. It is so well made, with heavy duty materials. I expect I will have this popcorn machine for a long time to come.

We use it for events for a nonprofit. Works great. Easy to clean.

This popcorn machine was fun while it worked, and we were happy to see it had a 5 year warranty. Unfortunately, this company has extremely poor customer service and will not honor the warranty. After 4 years, our heater went out so that it no longer pops. When we tried use the "warranty" we were told that the "kettle" only has a 30 day warranty. Be warned that they consider the "kettle" to include the heating element attached to the side. They will however "repair or replace any components that fail during normal use."...by definition, the heater attached to the kettle IS a component. But they will not honor their warranty. They claim in the warranty, as well as on the website, that their customers are important and they will do whatever they can to keep you as a customer. All they say when I contacted them is a short "read our policy- the kettle is not covered". Do not be tricked as we were- this is what the policy states- " There is a 30 day limited warranty on all consumable parts including but not limited to glass, doors, hinges, blades, kettles and/or light bulbs as applicable" I then asked what WAS covered under the warranty- um...pretty much NOTHING. all they would say is- anything that is not those things. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?! They will NOT budge, will not help. The website states empty promises when it says- " We know that we have to earn your business and we want you to be satisfied with your purchase and the quality of our service. When you are happy, we are happy! We will do what is required to remedy the problem and make sure you are a customer for life! We know there are lots of places you can take your business, and we appreciate your decision to shop with us!" It is a ploy- do NOT buy from Great Northern Popcorn company!!!! Great Northern Popcorn 6208 TopStar Twelve OZ Machine Antique Style Popcorn Popper Machine

Only been using it a short time but so far so good! Works great, super easy to operate and pops delicious popcorn really quickly. Great looking machine, great quality and lots of cool features.

Very nice machine. Served well over 500 people with popcorn during a 3 hour picnic. Tastes just like Theater popcorn, maybe better. Used the pre-measured popcorn pouches and was perfect every time.

Works good, little expensive, took very long to deliver.

Exactly as advertised. We use for school functions like sports games, dances and spirit days. Perfect for our needs at a high school.

Popcorn thursdays are back on with the new machine...working well