Appliance Reviews

The rice cooker seems to overheat everytime and sends froth boiling over. This can be avoided by opening the top from time to time. The rice tends to stick to the metal after you are done. With a close eye the rice will turn out fine. However, this product fails the test for convenience. I'd rather use the stovetop with some good cookware and a timer than use this. I suggest looking for a product with better non-stick material and one that doesn't overheat.

I grew up in Japan, so I am pretty picky when it comes to how I like my rice. This was given me as a gift, and although I wouldn't have chosen an American brand of rice cooker, I was surprised at how well the rice turned out. I was using Japanese rice. The cooker gets the rice pretty perfect in less than 35 minutes for 6 cups, which is fairly fast. Unfortunately, the first time I used it, I left it on the "warm" setting for over an hour. This was never a problem with my older Japanese rice cookers, which do not have a glass lid, but whose tops are normally hinged, preventing you from seeing the contents until they have finished cooking.
After everyone had come and gone and finished eating, I could see the bottom of the pot, and noticed the yellow color of the rice that was hardened there. I soaked the pot, (which is not dishwasher-safe, by the way, as neither the lid nor utensils that accompany this set are) and decided to unplug the rice cooker immediately the next time.
I did unplug it the following night after it had finished cooking and the light automatically switched over to the "warm" setting. However, upon stirring up the rice to loosen it so that the texture would be uniform, I noticed again the same problem on the bottom of the pot. I am disappointed in this particular feature of the rice cooker, but I noticed the price was at least $100 lower than a traditional Asian rice steamer/pressure cooker, and since I didn't purchase this myself, I can't complain - but I do give it only 4 stars because of this problem, as well as the low quality of the rice scooper and paddle.

This boat motor does the job, but takes forever to get it done. Its limited power of 200 watts is a severe hindrance. Merely pureeing carrots in chix stock (quart total volume) left quite a few chunks after nearly 30 seconds of blending. It is however, easy to clean and quieter than your average blender or food processor. Do yourself a favor and get the Braun 430, with 50% more power and only a minor price difference.

I bought this product in order to prepare my special butternut squash soup this Thanksgiving. In the past, I've had to transfer the soup to a blender in order to liquify it to the proper consistency. This year preparation was SO much easier thanks to this Braun handheld blender. It works like a charm on smoothies, too. The best part is the easy cleanup--you just pull the attachment off the end and throw it in the dishwasher. It stores easily, too...as one who has grown weary of numerous large appliances taking up cabinet space, I appreciate that.

I'm new to stick blenders so maybe I don't appreciate a "good thing" when I see it but I'm just not overly impressed with this item and am taking mine back to the store. I like the extendable shaft idea (although mine didn't lock into place as they said it should) and the chopper worked well. But I'm pretty under-impressed with the blender/whipper. I tried whipping some egg whites and ended up pulling out my regular blender to do the job right.

I also found that trying to control the power with my thumb was extremely uncomfortable and unnatural.

I'm going to try the Braun. Not sure if I'll like it better or not.

PS - I got the Braun MR5550MBC-HC and love it. It costs more but it does more and works much better and is easier to hold.

Chopping, blending and grinding are a natural a part of good cooking. I am not a world class chef who can do everything as quick and neat with a sharp knife as the guys on television shows. I can use this tool from Cuisinart to prepare dishes like those chefs. I just take it out of the drawer and presto, I am finished with it quick as a snap. A quick clean up and it is ready to use again. Every kitchen should have one. It isn't bad for mixing drinks either!

This mixer has a ton of power - in fact, the drawback is it lacks a low speed. Even the lowest setting is warp speed - I can't imagine ever using the two higher speeds, except perhaps to power a small vehicle. I mixed chocolate chip cookie dough with no problem on the lowest setting. I highly recommend you use a deep mixing bowl so you don't splatter your entire kitchen with food. Given the great price, however, I am keeping this mixer. I plan to start the mixing manually with a wooden spoon and switch to the mixer once I need heavy duty power.

Agreed - this mixer has got a TON of power!!! I actually had to purchase a high-walled mixing bowl to go with this mixer. It splatters liquids all over the place with a regular bowl. However, now that I have the high-walled bowl, I find it to be a very good mixer that gets the job done. I love the new design of the beaters (no center post) - its makes it immensely easier to clean and less waste!

An otherwise good product that has an
apparent quality/engineering flaw.
The timers for this product are useless.
I have had two of these grills and the timers on each item
failed on the VERY FIRST USE>
the dials were not forced, just inferior quality.
Of course, you are not supplied
with a customer service number to call for repair.
Thanks George!

There are too many great things to say about this little device: It's affordable to anybody, even if you are a student stuck living at school. It's compact, you can store it anywhere--a closet, your car, your office, the kitchen cabinet. It's powerful--I have plugged it in and in just minutes began working on an entire three course meal for six people with only this unit to work with. It's easy to clean--this is one of the few products out there that is every bit as easy to clean as the commercials show it to be on TV. It's is economical, using very little electricity to do a just that would waste electricity in a conventional oven or even an older model microwave oven. It's versatile--I have cooked everything from thin pieces of tempeh strips to thick steaks and it cooks both to perfection. You never would have been able to convince me to buy anything on TV before (and most certainly not from a former boxing champion...) but since a friend both this grill for me I have thanked them time and again (and in turn bought the same gift for many a friend of my own).

The odor eliminator does work in small places such as the bathroom or a closet. It's quiet and the filter has lasted for 6 months.

These filters fit both our models 4251/4271 and HB's TrueAir webpage indicates these filters fit all 3 of their Odor Eliminator models. Our house has a smoker, 4 small dogs and we burn candles. We need to replace filters every 6+ months. The units still work fine after 3 years but, they are small and only plug into out of the way receptacles.

my wife, Rachel, used it alot, and i mean alot! she makes lots of choc chip cookies every day after dinner 4 desert. 3 or 4 days later, she told me that something was wrong. it turned out to be the smart mix or whatever it was. it kept taking away power so it burned up the motor. we were about to get another but i decided to get a refund instead. so she bought another and she still has it so i am enjoying her cookies!lol

I just bought this mixer and I love it! The digital timer is a wonderful idea- it counts how long you have mixing for you from the second you start. The beaters and the wisk are excellent and it is very comfortable to hold. I also loved that you just push a button to increase/decrease speed. And it has 10 different speeds!
The only thing that bothered me is that when you first turn it on it is very slow to start. I thought it was broken! But it just takes a second to turn on.

The unit arrived in a undamaged box, but after unpacking I found the top & 2 inside pieces cracked, & the compressor broken loose on 2 of 4 sides, too late to refuse del. I emailed Soleus, luckly I had taken pictures as I found the problems, after I sent them the photos they sent me new parts, now the unit is working OK, but this is after a lot of work, (& not ever one would be able to do this work OR would want too) !!! I think the reason for the damage was being shipped upside down, again the shipping box arrived in good shape, so IF you buy the unit, Good luck !

I would recommend this product. It makes water very cold, and very warm. It took just minutes from placing the room-temp water bottle on, and it changing to being warm and cold. The refrigerator is not as effective. It takes a while for the fridge to cool, each time you open the door. The frige works perfectly for light use. Also, after ordering, make sure the drain cap is tightly closed, as it arrives open, and it will leak small amounts in the back. Overall good buy, and recommended for water cooling.

I'm very sorry to say that this machine has very little power. I believe the first and only thing I mixed in it was brownies. The machine struggled through that! My hand mixer is much more powerful. The glass bowl is nice which is why I gave it 2 stars rather than one. I really wish I had bought the Pink Kitchen Aide that I had been looking at.

This mixer does just fine, it has alot of power, almost 10 different speeds, can never use the highest setting, because there is no need for it. Let me tell you a little secret, it works just as good as a 'Kitechenaide' at a fraction of the price. Plus you don't have to buy 20 different attachment parts, all sold seperately from kitchenaide. This machine comes with it all, 3 bowls, 3 diiferent beater's and is not complicated at all. I love mine, I'm here online today to purchase the same one for my mother.

I purchased two of these. One of them stopped working about three weeks after I began using it. I ended up wrapping both of them up and sending them back since Amazon will not take back anything after 30 days. Maybe I just got a lemon??

This PC air ionizer may appear to be small, but it packs a major air-cleaning punch. With its 12 volts of ionization, dirty dusty air flows in and really clean air that is healthy literally blows out so fast you can feel it blow on your hand.

For the price, it is well worth it. In fact, it's a great deal when compared to those more expensive models.