Cuisinart ICE-50BC 1.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker

Pros: Compressor system, relatively affordable, works well, you can make as many batches as you like.
Cons: Some parts are cheap and flimsy, loud.

Over the past few years, I have been teaching in a far remote Native community in Northern Quebec. It has a population of about 600 and we are about 8 hours drive from the closest city. There is one store and we are lucky if the store receives any fresh ...

Pros: Easy to use. Fill it and go.
Cons: Loud operation. Somewhat flimsy parts.

The ICE-50 works as it's supposed to. It makes making ice cream, sorbet, and ices a mostly effortless operation. Simply mix up the ingredients, pour them into the freezer container, attach the dasher and lid, snap it on to the motor arm, drop it ...

Pros: Works great, easy to use, fairly compact.
Cons: HEAVY, a bit spendy, moderately loud.

After years of using the Cuisinart ice cream maker with the freezer bowls I was ready for a self-contained freezing unit ice cream maker. I drooled over the crazy expensive Italian models, but lacking a trust fund, I had to consider some less expensive ...

Pros: Works well.
Cons: One hour is too long to wait.

I love pistachio ice cream but don't find it too often in the grocery so I bought myself this machine. It had good reviews from the internet shop I bought it from so I chose this brand and model. It's very easy to use and very easy to clean. The only ...

Pros: 5year warranty in the UK (not needed when you don't use it)
Cons: NOISE, flimsy attachments , expensive unit sitting in a cupboard unused

This machine promises much but delivers very little.
The freezer unit works very well chilling down quickly,what lets this unit down is the motor and paddle attachment.

The mixing paddle is all but useless, only moving on the outer with the inner paddle sitting still in a thick mix, the paddle assembly comes to a complete stop before you attain a nice texture,the paddle,lid and motor seem very flimsy.

I've left the biggest failure of this unit till last....NOISE !!!!!! this must be the noisiest unit on the market, my wife and kids hated being in the kitchen when I was using it.

This unit is now no longer used.

Pros: Fairly cheap for a machine with a compressor freezer.
Cons: Badly/cheaply made. In my experience can't churn firm-ish ice cream without damaging the machine.

This machine is not well made, and difficult to put together. The "arm" is awkward, and is very hard to attach properly to the plastic lid. You can't fill the container without having the arm attached, which means you can only pour in the ice cream mix through the small hole in the lid. In the end, I didn't spend much time struggling with it, because when the ice cream got the slightest bit firm (and not really that firm at all) the little catch on the plastic lid broke, rendering the machine useless. Basically, the whole machine depends on a very small and weak piece of plastic, which can't stand up to the pressure required to churn thick/firm ice cream. Oh, and also, it's pretty noisy. Needless to say, this baby is going back to the store. And I'm going to invest in the Musso Lussino.

Pros: Solid machine; good ice cream
Cons: Flimsy plastic parts

The company implies that this is a "commercial" machine because it has a built-in compressor. However, as other have noted, the plastic parts are very flimsy.

The inside part of the paddle broke on the third use. After replacing it, a plastic tab on the lid snapped off as I assembled the paddle and the lid for the fourth use.

It does make very good ice cream.

Pros: Fairly quiet. Looks good.
Cons: Doesn't freeze adequately. Mixing arm pops off when mixing becomes difficult.

Maker did not freeze adequately. Ice cream was a very soft soft ice cream. Mixing arm kept detaching when mixing became difficult. Plastic cover difficult to attach and I almost cracked it

Pros: BEST SELF CONTAINED ICE CREAM MAKER UNDER $500
Cons: UNIT COULD BE QUIETER

GREAT ICE CREAM MAKER WHEN YOU DON'T OVER FILL
THE CANISTER, ONLY FILL TO THE HALF WAY MARK
OR THE ICE CREAM WON'T FREEZE PROPERLY.
YOU NEED TO GIVE THE ICE CREAM ROOM TO
FOLD IN AIR, IF YOU OVER FILL YOU WILL
STOP THE UNIT BEFORE THE FREEZING IS COMPLETE.
TO STOP THE MIXING ARE DRIVE UNIT FROM LIFTING UP
AT THE END WHERE THE MIX GETS THICK, I PUT A
SMALL WEIGHT ( MEDIUM SIZE CAN ) ON TOP.
HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH ANY PARTS,
AND I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SALT, ICE
OR FREEZING A CANISTER!