Nostalgia Classic Countertop Cotton Candy Machine, Manual, Retro Vintage Candy Maker Includes 2 Reusable Cones & Scoop, Aqua

Was nervous about the many poor reviews, particularly recent ones, so put it together carefully, read the instructions, and watched some YouTube videos about cotton candy machines. After making our first set of batches, my overall take is it's a great little unit. I had no trouble getting it going, waited the full 10 minutes for it to heat up before using it, and used candy floss sugar bought separately (unit doesn't come with any). Spun up into floss in about a minute, and was relatively easy to spin out onto cones (came with the flossing sugar), or a straw / chopstick we had around. We made about 6 'batches' consisting of about a tablespoon of sugar (the max for the unit), and they got eaten very very quickly (faster than I could make them). I set it up outside because of the reviews saying the sugar got sprayed 4 ft in every direction. I did not notice any sugar spraying out of it at all for me; my next batch I will try inside. I did however, find some perhaps 25%-50% of the sugar in the batch fails to make it into the floss, and is flung as small particles onto the walls of the bowl in a ring (where the spinning disk is). I collected it afterward (the pieces snapped off easily) and tried putting a couple big pieces in to re-melt and have less waste. That turned out not to be such a good idea, as the weighting wasn't distributed evenly for the spinning disk. The solution is to crush the hard candy into little pieces first, so that it can spin out more evenly, which I'll try next time. I stopped the machine due to the odd rotation that was occurring, and let it cool. The sugar in the head all hardened inside and looked like a fairly nasty mess to clean up. Good news is it's sugar, so it dissolves in water. After cooling for 20 mins I popped the head off and ran it under hot water and dissolved out all the sugar that had hardened inside. Took a good 10-15 mins to get it all out, so I won't be in any hurry to re-create that situation. But all in all it's straightforward to clean and looks like new again. In sum, does what it's supposed to do (makes delicious cotton candy), is easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to clean. 5 stars. Just know it's small batches, you may want to make some ahead of time if you have a bunch of kids / people that want to eat it.

I tried my hardest to come up with anything bad with this product and I just can't. It's awesome! We bought this for my sons birthday party this year (which hasn't happened yet) but of course had to try it out sooner. We LOVE it! We've used both hard candy and the cotton candy floss (sugar) and I have to say that the floss works better. It produces much more candy and it's much fluffier and lighter. That is not to say that the hard candy option is a bad option. It isn't! It's great, tastes wonderful, and gives the illusion that you're eating more than just two tiny pieces of candy! I agree with everyone when they say that you MUST let this warm up for the correct amount of time! It is so important to get the best results and for the life of the machine. The machine will spin out sugar onto the sides of the plastic around the machine and it looks as though it would be hard to get off. I was a little feverish over the potential hard time I would have cleaning this unit but it is a non-issue. Clean up is much easier than it looks and that sugar "stuck" to the sides is very easy to get off. I do have to say I wouldn't trust it to make multiple cones for a large party all in a row. I would definitely let it cool after every 5 or so cones. Maybe more? We are making the cotton candy ahead of time for my sons party. We LOVE this. Also perfect for date night! Pop in a movie and make cotton candy and enjoy eating it together! :)

I bought this cotton candy machine for my granddaughter for Christmas, and she loves it. She's 11 years old, and it is simple enough for her to put together and use. We read the directions, and she understood that it is important to allow enough warm-up time in order for the sugar or candy to melt properly (3 minutes). I bought a set of the flossing sugar bottles and a large box of the paper cones to go with it. She and her friends had a great time experimenting with the different flavors of flossing sugar and then trying out hard candies, which worked equally well. It took a little time to master the art of how to hold the paper cones and how to gather the "cotton." At first she kept dipping the cones vertically into the spinner, but it was too easy to bump the heating element and then melt the ball of candy on the cone. She also found that the candy gathered too tightly around the cone and ended up in a heavy ball instead of the traditional cottony fluff. After reading some reviews, we found that starting the cone inside the bowl and then holding the cone above the bowl allowed the "cotton" to very lightly wrap around the cone, thereby producing a huge and fluffy cotton candy, just like at the carnival. Although the machine does work very well, there are a few issues I wish the manufacturer would address. The machine vibrates so much that you really need a second person to hold it in place. Putting some rubberized shelving material under it helped some, but you still need a second person to help. This vibrating also shakes the plastic bowl loose. Clean up is easy with the exception of the heating element. Once the heating element has cooled, it needs to be removed for soaking/cleaning. This is NOT an easy chore. I am a pretty strong person, but I had a very hard time removing it. When you push the unit on, you will notice that it goes on VERY tightly. So once it is coated with sugar, cools, and hardens, it is even harder to get off. I actually am concerned that I will break it or bend the post it is mounted on. Be sure there is an adult to do this step of the clean up. I read a few other reviews that addressed these issues, so I know it isn't just the one I bought. But I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned these things in their reviews. Perhaps not all of these machines do this. Once the heating element is removed, clean up is easy. Everything is soaked in hot water for a short while to melt the remaining sugar. No scrubbing is needed. This is a fun machine for a small group of kids (and adults), but I wouldn't plan on using it for a huge birthday party of children; it takes too much time for each cone...maybe 4 or 5 minutes. It's a good idea to read the directions well and some of the reviews here on Amazon before using your machine. Some people have already tried all the different candies that work and will tell you what does not work. This is good information. Overall, we are happy with this purchase.

This seems like it is going to be great. I got it for my daughter for Christmas so I have only used it once to test it out and make sure I had the instructions down as I am sure she will want to use it right away. I read a few reviews that said it didn't work properly or well. I believe if you read the instructions and do as it says you will have good results. I used a candy cane crushed up to make the first batch. I will say that the cotton candy was more brittle than cotton candy I have ever had before and it didn't stick to the reusable sticks that come with the unit very well. It did however make a nice ball of what was easily identifiable as cotton candy and I am certain my daughter would have enjoyed it. I also have confidence that when our cotton candy sugars arrive that they will have an even better result. Crushed candy cane worked great and I trust it will do a great job if you follow the instructions. It was easy, fast after the recommended warm up time and will be a thrill to my daughters. If you have the ability, you may want to use it outside because the guard does not keep all of the floss from rising out of the top. I caught most of it, but if I were to make multiple batches (for a party or to make more than a small amount) I would consider doing it outside to prevent getting things sticky. It really was minimal flying of sugar string but I would prefer it was outside. Of course, if you live in MN you would likely not have good results outside in winter because it needs to be very hot. AND if you were to use it outside in humid weather it would probably not turn out well since humidity melts cotton candy. Regardless I am pleased and in a scientific curiosity sense for kids this is a really neat and fun appliance. The candy didn't stick to the plastic cones included with the set, I will attempt to put a dot of syrup or VERY small amount of water on one side next time to see if it sticks better. A paper cone or straw may work better.

I held off writing this review until I had the cotton candy machine for a while. I've had it for a few months now and the machine is still working great! I'm perfectly pleased with it. I make sure I clean it properly, as described in the manual, after each use, and I haven't experienced any issues with it. I saw other reviews when I was considering buying it warning that the machine stopping working after a while, and it *could* be that those machines weren't being cleaned properly. The part where the flossugar comes out is VERY small (it has to be so that only the melted sugar comes out, not whole granules), so if you neglect to clean it and let anything build up in there, it probably would stop it working properly. However, take care of the machine as you're supposed to and it should continue working for you as it's supposed to! :D A few tips on operating: 1. Have patience! As other reviews have stated, yes, it IS slow. This is a smaller model, it can only heat up and spin the sugar so fast, so you will have to have a bit of patience. You're not going to produce mass quantities in a small amount of time, but for what it's designed for (small, personal use) it's perfect! 2. Take the instructions rule to let it warm up first seriously. If you don't let it warm up it'll just take even longer to start making the flossugar into cotton candy, so again, see tip #1. 3. On occasion when I'm making the cotton candy it stops shooting it out but I can see there's more in it. I think this happens because the force of the spinning holds a lot of the sugar fairly high in the machine. When this happens I flip it off for a second and after it stops spinning I knock the sugar back down and turn it back on. It only takes a second and usually speeds up the cotton candy process! 4. If you're using hard candies, yes you *can* just stick the whole candy in there. However, as other reviewers have mentioned, it'll come out better if you mix in some regular sugar to soften it up. To that end, I recommend crushing the candy if you can and premixing it with a little extra sugar. I find that the cotton candy comes out not only smoother but faster than waiting for the whole solid candy to melt :D Again, I highly recommend this product! I've been having a delicious blast with it ^_^

People, save your money. I have tried everything to make sure the unit and all the assembly pieces are perfectly installed and level. I even put a level on it and it shows level. However, once you put in your sugar, even if you carefully spread the sugar around to make sure it's evenly distributed, the extractor head will become unbalanced and extremely noisy. It got so loud and vibrating so badly, I felt the machine was dangerous to operate. Way too noisy to run the machine with guests standing around. I have experimented by taking the plastic collection bowl and rim off and it was still noisy. Only when you take the wobbly metal extractor head off of it does it become whisper quiet. So I know it's not the motor. I have also completely cleaned the extractor head and put it on by itself -- still noisy and wobbly -- with nothing in it. This makes me believe this little metal plate is designed poorly or not heavy enough material to remain balanced. On a positive note, it does make nice fluffy cotton candy and it does look nice (in a plastic sort of way). I guess if you want to wear ear plugs, you could tolerate the noise enough to make some good cotton candy. I will be returning this machine. Review of replacement product: Since I had ordered $25 worth of fancy cotton candy sugars, which are NOT returnable, I was compelled to request a replacement cotton candy maker. As usual, Amazon is super about allowing you to return the product free of charge and got another machine out to me within a few days. Unfortunately, this machine is just as noisy as the first one. I have included a video which doesn't pick up too well just how noisy it is, but you can get the idea. The dilemma I face is my grandson loves the cotton candy it makes so I will keep this one. I will just have to wear ear plugs when I make him some. If I know I want to serve some to kids at a party I will make it ahead of time because the noise is too disruptive.

Love this little machine. Cotton candy is my all-time favorite treat, and it's hard to find outside of summer fairs and the like. I literally never write product reviews but felt compelled to because of how great this machine is. This thing is fast, super easy to use, and cleanup is a breeze. I saw other reviews warning that it catches on fire, but if you follow the directions it's very safe. I've used it several times and haven't had any problems at all. Super glad I got this as a gift for myself!

Well like most of you I agonized over whether to buy this or not....I knew that it wasn't going to be a pro quality item and was not expecting results like I get at the county fair. Imagine my surprise. I purchased the Paragon Sugar Floss so I have not tried to use hard candy yet. While I was not crazy about the flavor of the Paragon the performance of this machine was top notch. Follow the directions exactly....with a twist. The directions tell you to warm it up for 3-5 minutes...yes...do that. They also specifiy that you can use 2 TWO cups of sugar but must do it in stages....yes...do that. Here is how I got the cotton candy in the photo I hope to upload. :) When it seems like it has stopped making floss....turn it off. Take a wooden kabob dowel and gently loosen the sugar still in the head. Then start it up again. It took me about 5 minutes to make that candy you see in the photo. That includes the time to add a second scoop. I'm very impressed and very happy so far. I do hope I can figure out how to upload photos for ya'll. But if it means anything...I NEVER leave reviews.....that's how happy I am with this purchase. Ok so I have had this a month now.....and I really abuse it...LOL I'm seriously addicted to cotton candy so I am running it realisticly...an hour a day or more. The only complaint I have is it's noisy as hell because the shield rattles. And of course I have already dented up the spinner....but guess what? Call the company and talk to a very nice and helpful customer service lady and for $15 including shipping they send you a new one. So my final opinion still stands.....this is an excellent and fun machine for HOME USE. I don't consider what I do home use so I will probably be upgrading to a pro model. But $40....it's really a lot of fun! ps....buy a 10lb bag of organic unbleached sugar from Amazon for a guilt free treat :) Unfortunately the Flossine flavoring is all artificial....but hey...2 tablespoons to 10 POUNDS of sugar? It's not going to kill you. :) Ok...last edit....I guess I killed it. It no longer works.....it just glazes the sugar and I tried buying new spinner heads. I went from a 5 to a 3 because I still think it is a fine machine for occasional home use. But for $40 you just can't run it everyday, several times a day.

Perfect !

Todo llegó bien, solo que uno de los dos palitos que vienen para enrollar el algodón llegó quebrado :(. La máquina si funciona

Llego en buen estado, funciona todo.

The product was in clean shape it’s easy to clean all the parts were there and we were able to creat a good amount of cotton candy.it doesn’t take a long time to heat up.Over all I really loved the product

Works great and fun to have