Otis Classic 304 Stainless Steel Whipped Cream Dispenser, 500ml w/ 3 Decorating Nozzles 4 Injector Tips and 6 Colored Grips - Commercial Grade Quality Made of Food Grade Stainless Steel for Home Chef

It all started with $4 can of Reddi-Wip. We eagerly waited all year for the one week when Hood strawberries are in season. My mother, a certified chef, makes the best strawberry shortcake you've ever had and she insists on real whipped cream from scratch. My complaint is that whipped cream does not hold up well unless it has been stabilized with gelatin or other proteins(yuk). For home(didn't want my mother to know) I bought a can or Reddi-Wip for $4 and it only topped 4 shortcakes before we ran out, leaving me with liquid dregs. This is when I decided to research Whipped cream dispensers. I did a lot of web research before deciding on the Otis Classic whipped cream dispenser. Things I required were that it must be made of Stainless Steel (from stem to stern). I want absolutely no aluminum, reactive metals or chemical coatings coming in contact with our food. I wanted a quality product that will last and not leak the NO2. My intent is to store the cream charged and ready to go in the refrigerator like one would with say, Reddi-Wip. I also wanted something that uses the standard 8gm NO2 for availability and economy. I decided on the pint size because that is what you use for a standard 8gm NO2 charger. A quart will require 2 chargers or a special charger. On several web review sites Otis Classic kept showing up as the number 1 or two best creamers to get. The number 1 was often a different brands and I believe that is likely due to the site pushing their particular brand. But only Otis Classic kept showing regularly in the top 5 on most all sites. In the end I was on either ISI or Otis Classic v2. The Otis Classic v2 came with additional tips that you have to buy separately for ISI. However, ISI uses 18/10 stainless steel which is better than the 18/8 used on the Otis Classic. You can put 18/10 in the dishwasher. Otis classic uses a SS charger holder(ISI is plastic) which is a little I difficult to twist on, but I just lubed the threads with Vaseline per recommendation and it works fine. Note: the Vaseline in no way contacts the whipped or your hands, you never know it’s there. This is an external part that you take off after charging. I ended out ordering the Otis Classic, for me the price was not a concern, the best quality, performance and longevity is what I was looking for. ISI is about $20 more but it had a higher percentage of negative reviews. Once I received my Otis dispenser we immediately put it to the test. The whipped cream was fantastic, even chef mother approved. We put mountains of whipped cream on everything, including the scales :-o . On our first can we had some cream left in the can when the charger ran out. I was concerned the gas may had leaked so I cleaned it up added the cream, weighed the full dispenser(1289 gm) added the gas(8gm) then re-weighed (1297 gm). I then weighed it daily for the next 3 day and it never lost a single gram. As we used it I weighed the dispenser both before and immediately after use. I confirmed that the dispenser never lost any gas or cream on its own. What I did discover is that you need to give the creamer 1 or 2 hard shakes upside down before dispensing and don't turn it upright until you are done. The reason is that the cream can stick to the bottom of the can an you want this cream at the nozzle end when you are dispensing it so no additional gas is expelled. Also, little ones tend to want to spray it sideways instead of upside down and this expels the gas as well. By not expelling any gas I have found it will last the entire contents of the can. I'm using the ISI 8gm chargers which I got off of Amazon for only .70 cents each in a pack of 50. That should last us years. We like a littler sweeter whipped cream using 1 pints cream, 4 Tbl powdered sugar(C&H seems to have less corn starch) and 3 tsp of good quality vanilla. Stir it all up until dissolved, pour it in the creamer, add a charger and you are set for the best real whipped cream served at the peak of perfection each time you pull it from the fridge. It’s exactly the same 2 weeks later as it was the day you added the cream to the can. All the convenience of Reddi-Wip with vastly superior quality and taste. Keeping it in the refrigerator long term and using it slowly does not affect the quality, but I would not keep it past the expiration date of the cream and make sure you sterilize the canister to ensure long self-life of the cream. Final note: $1.82 pint cream +.70 cent charger =$2.52 for 8 cups whipped cream. Reddi-Wip = $4.00 for 2 cups whipped cream.The bad...having to go on a steamed broccoli diet.

Love it, works like a charm! Easy to use.

Ok- my 3 ladies, love their whip cream. Wife wants it on her coffee, kids want it on their pancakes, mouth, berries, hot chocolate- whatever. I admit, its great in my coffee. I had a gift card and decided to get something bougie. This hit the mark. I can make my own whip cream, and it tastes amazingly better than anything you get at the store you literally just toss it in, shake it and let the gas do its magic (vanilla and maple syrup do the trick). I also can make thicker stuff for cupcakes. Easy peazy. The seals work great, and hold the gas for a long time. My only complaint is that I wish it held more. Doesn't really bother me, though. The whip cream is so good, I am sure everyone is eating it more than they did out of the store cans. My family of 4 crush it every 3-4 days.

[Update] Despite getting the "Mailbox is full" mail delivery error every time I send an e-mail to the support address, somehow my messages ended up going through, which is good news. I was contacted by several support representatives within a day of submitting my initial request. It appears, however, that there are currently no spare parts or replacement units available, and I have been put on a wait list. Not sure whether or not this is COVID-19 related, or how long I will have to wait for a replacement unit, but at least my messages are being answered, so that is a bit more encouraging.The siphon worked great until it didn't. The only way to contact support is via an e-mail address on the website, which does not work. Any e-mail I sent was returned with a "Mailbox is full / Blocks limit exceeded / Inode limit exceeded" error, so that is charming.The issue appears simple to fix: there is a black o-ring/gasket between the cartridge holder (not covered by the warranty, apparently: read the fine print) and the head, and it looks like it has been slowly deteriorating since day one, and getting pushed out by the pressure inside. Today it finally gave out, so the siphon is unable to hold pressure at all. It looks like the holder is threaded in, just really tightly, so it may be a simple repair: just frustrating that I have to figure everything out myself and risk damaging the siphon components. For all I know, it's a left-handed thread, and I could break it by trying to remove it.That said, overall build quality appears fine. The thickness of the threads on the bottle may even be overkill. If you are not afraid to replace the rubber every once in a while, I can see this siphon lasting many years. Just don't expect support.