Review on 🍿 6-Quart Nonstick Popcorn Machine with Electric Stirring, Quick-Heat Technology, and Cool Touch Handles by Diane Lane

This popcorn maker is a counterfeit of the 'improved' version of the West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Maker. Alright, but they really should have ditched the original West Bend (model 82505) because it's better in so many ways. I have the original from West Bend and I eat *a lot* of popcorn so I decided to try this one to see if it's better. If you don't want to read past this paragraph, just take my advice and get the 82505. It's cheaper and way better. The "improvement" of this version is that the hob now separates from the base of the unit, which supposedly makes it easier to clean (you can throw the hob in the dishwasher) and easier to handle if you turn it upside down, to empty the popcorn into the bowl. This seems good on paper, but in practice the benefits are negligible and it creates several major design flaws (below). As I said, in practice there are no advantages. Being able to put the hob in the dishwasher is useless as it's already non-stick and you're just popping popcorn. Honestly, just wipe it down with a paper towel and you're done. I've never had trouble cleaning the original and have never felt compelled to wash this in the dishwasher. To make it easier to drop popcorn with it, the original version is also very light and I've never had a problem dropping it. I can't imagine that many people do that. And now for the cons. Most seriously, because you can separate the cooktop from the base, you now have two dangerously hot surfaces to popcorn with instead of just one (the actual heating elements are in the base). Apparently there are too many things I can't handle; I nearly burned my forearm/elbow twice with this thing. If you have young children, the first version requires special attention, but this version should not be the first. Because the heating elements are farther away from the hob, the hob doesn't get as hot either. Not only does this mean that the popcorn takes noticeably longer to cook, but also that more time elapses between the first and last popped kernel, the flakes that pop first are burnt out by the last popcorn. With the original, this was never an issue as long as you took away the popcorn immediately after the popcorn popped. TL; DR - get the original West Bend!