Thursday, October 17, 2013

Health Master Elite 8-speed Jla-8wal, Black & Stainless Steel



Mixed Feelings About HealthMaster
The HealthMaster was delivered ahead of schedule and in good condition. It performs as advertised, although it is louder and takes up more counter space than my Ninja. I am disappointed in the fruit & veggie smoothies. Delicious? No way. I have experimented with a wide range of fresh fruits & veggies and have yet to hit on a combination that I can drink. I've washed a lot of food down the drain. The recipe booklet that comes with the HealthMaster has only ONE smoothie recipe in it...Montel's Green Smoothie, and I wasn't impressed by that either. I bought the HealthMaster because I was lured by the idea of getting fresh green vegetables easily into my diet. Very disappointed so far. Wish they had included more fruit/veggie recipes for me to try. I haven't yet tried to make soup. I could have saved my money and used my trusty Ninja to make my fruit smoothies. Live & Learn.





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QTY: 3 SPT ION F-4010 Exchange Replacement Filter for the Sunpentown SU-4010 Humidifier 3 Pack



I'm very pleased.
BOT this thru Amazon.
I'm very pleased with the shipper and the product. I received it on time and it was correct.
The only problem I had was the picture on the box showed the filter with a screw-down cap on it.
But the cap was not part of the order and wasn't in the box. So the part was correct but the picture wasn't.

I can breathe now.
I needed to change the filter so I could breathe better at night while I slept. It was great to sleep again.



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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Lasko 2530 40-Inch Elite Wind Tower Fan with Remote Control



Saved from the hot spell
When it came time to turn my neighbor on to this fan I was distressed to read the two reviews that were already published (both from purchasers who obtained theirs from other stores?). Last year I purchased two of these for my apartment in San Diego . . . and then the longest, hottest two weeks that we have seen in years hit. These two were operating 24/7, moved around a lot, etc. and worked flawlessly. They never got put away and I have used them to circulate air during the Winter as well and they are still cooking along flawlessly. That's not one, but two, and they work and last great!

Most Quiet Tower Fan
We purchased a Honeywell Tower Fan and this Lasko fan. We use the Lasko in the bedroom. What a difference it is from a box fan. It is very very quiet. The sleep setting is perfect because you can choose how long to have it running after you go to bed. Even if we keep it on all night, I wake up in the morning not feeling like I've listening to a fan roar all night long. We can't use it on ocillate - it makes a sound when it goes back and forth. Even so, it still gives us both (and 2 dogs!) plenty of direct air flow without the ocillation feature. I JUST bought another for my office.

Nice while it lasted...
As with the reviewer above, I purchased this fan from another store and it worked well at first. The remote was a nice touch and the fan speeds and settings worked well. However within 4 months of owning it, when we tried to have it rotate, it turns slightly, gets stuck, and proceeds to just make a clicking sound until you stop it from rotating. Needless to say it no longer rotates, so it is now just a stationary fan. I even tried taking it apart to unjam it, but came to discover that the rotating gear was already worn down and that was the problem, so without new parts it could not be fixed. Buy another fan if you want it to last, I know I am.

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Hunter 20431 Beacon Hill Three-Light 42-Inch Five-Blade Ceiling Fan, Brushed Nickel with Frosted Globes



Nice and bright; great for "older" homes
I desperately needed a new fan for my the nursery. We moved into a 40-year old house with the cheapest ceiling fans known to man. Since we don't have air conditioning, we really need our fans to work in the summer. The old fan finally broke and I went online to find something that was neutral but also bright. One thing I know I didn't want was a globe light because the chains pulls clang against the glass, especially if the fan gets off-balance even a little. The other thing I had to consider was how the fan mounted to the ceiling. Since our house was built more than 20 years ago, we don't have 9 foot ceilings--they are 8 feet. Most ceiling fans I found looked great but would hang far too low for us. And ceiling hugger fans are usually just that--fans only, and if they do have a light, it's a globe light.

Then I found this one. First, I like the fact that it has three lights to light up the whole room and not one globe "spotlight". Second, you can install the fan...

Efficient, economic ceiling fan
This is our third Hunter Fan replacing our old ceiling fans which were bought years ago. Our first two Hunter fans fit standard energy efficient bulbs but that style of ceiling fan wouldn't work in our third room. Now that energy efficient candelabra bulbs are available, we were ready for this style of fan. The Hunter quality is high and the fan installed easily (took about one hour not including removing the old fan). It really moves the air which will help our stuffy apartment a lot during the summer. This is a great value worth the extra money over the no-name ceiling fans you might find in a chain store.

Two for Three
Ordered two of these fans for my sun room to replace the existing recessed can lights. I used can converters which worked out very well but on hanging the ceiling fans I discovered that the motor unit on one fan was faulty (harsh contact between the motor and housing). Hunter promptly sent a replacement fan and all was well. Once installed I noticed that both fans were making a slight humming noise at low speed (which is not present on another Beacon Hill fan I have in the house) and with both fans in the same room this was more noticeable than if they had been in separate rooms. As a consequence I ran the fans at higher speed as the hum was less obvious. Update: I discovered that the humming noises were associated with a rheostat two-way switch that was used for the original recessed lights and replacing the switch with a standard two-way switch has resolved the issue. The fans continue to perform very well and are nice looking and well-constructed.

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0.5 Cu. Ft. Digital Convection Toaster Oven



Solid Choice
I have had the DO1289 for a month and overall I am very happy with it. The toaster is gorgeous and does a great job baking. I have cooked fish and steaks and everything has turned out perfectly. The convection fan is not too loud and does its job well. In terms of toasting, the oven is not spectacular, but certainly adequate. Getting a crispy slice of toast takes about 5 minutes. Though it takes a few clicks to do anything on the toaster, the controls and knobs are straightforward and well designed.

I spent a long time analyzing and breaking down the pros and cons of the different top quality toasters so hopefully this review can save you some time. Here are the other toasters I looked at seriously :

Cuisinart TOB-195: Generally well-reviewed, but I could not get past the fact that the toaster does not have automatic shut-off. This is a key safety feature that I was unwilling to sacrifice. The DO1289 does have auto shut-off and turns off after beeping loudly 3...

Satisfactory for an exacting application
We live in a small cabin and a toaster oven is all the oven we have room for. I'm also a raw food enthusiast, as well as anxious to preserve our harvest from the short growing season here in Alaska, and was very interested in a toaster oven that could double as a dehydrator. I was also hoping to find something with enamel rather than teflon on the inside, due to concerns about toxins. I bought it to replace the old Cuisinart toaster oven that had been in the cabin from my husband's bachelor days, and was looking for an all-round oven to bake all kinds of things, not just toast!

I was very grateful for Alexei H. Pfeffer-gillett's review comparing other highly recommended models: it confirmed what I suspected from reading about them myself and helped me to decide that this was the closest thing to what I was looking for. Experience has me in agreement with his review, and there are a few things that I would like to add.

It is very important to make sure that the...

Excellent Choice
Our old toaster oven exploded, so we decided to upgrade with this purchase. Our son-in-law is a professional chef and he recommended the DeLonghi. It may seem like a minor feature, but the interior light was also a deciding factor in our purchase of this oven. We've had it about 2 months and it's great. I've actually cooked meals in it which I never did in my old toaster oven. I use my large ovens much less often now. I have not used the toaster feature, so I can't comment on that, but I'd recommend the oven without hesitation.

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New Cast Iron Electric Tortilla maker MADE IN MEXICO. for flower tortillas , corn tortillas , sugar pancakes (gorditas) and savory christmas crispiest (bunuelos)



Presses but does not cook corn tortillas
I was looking for a tortilla press that presses and cooks (or at least pre-cooks) *corn* tortillas. This press looked intriguing, as the title indicates it can be used for corn tortillas. However, I saw the same press elsewhere with a note indicating it is *not* for making corn tortillas. Confused, I searched for more information on it. I managed to locate what appears to be the manufacturer's web site for this press. You can find it by doing a web search for "Ispasa tortilladoras"; it's at "www dot ispasa dot com dot mx" (make that a valid link). My Spanish isn't very good, but I believe the site indicates you can use it for corn tortillas only as a press, that is, not plugged in (with the heat off). You cook them separately on a griddle. I posted this information in the comments of another review, where an owner confirmed by testing that this press cannot correctly cook corn tortillas. So if you are looking for a press that can cook corn tortillas, look elsewhere.

UPDATE...

Magic tortilla press
This tortilla press is great. You put a round little ball of dough towards the back, close it, and then 10 seconds later hold it down for 5 more seconds and in 15 seconds you have a perfectly round tortilla that is par-cooked. This does not completely cook the tortilla, it is made to cook it just enough so that it holds it's shape and then you store the stacks of tortillas in the fridge or freezer and cook them on a hot griddle for a couple of seconds before serving. This press pays for itself after about 15-20 batches of tortillas. Don't forget to store it with a thin layer of oil on the plates.

Works great and heavy duty.
This tortilla maker is old school cast iron construction with very little to break. Screw Teflon, the cast iron plates work great with just a wipe of oil on them. The key to using this is to make dough balls about the size of a walnut or a ping pong. Put it on the plate a little back and close with a little pressure for about 3 seconds and then give it a bigger push down to expand it for another couple of seconds. Once your tortilla starts singing let up on the pressure because if you don't your tortilla will explode out the sides as the steam builds up. You then toss it on a griddle and put your other dough ball in. Once you get your timing down you can knock out a dozen fresh tortilla's in a few minutes. Two cups of flour makes about a dozen tortillas.

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VillaWare NDVLCB0100-SHP 600-Watt Blender



My choice after long search
I live in a large city, and looked at blenders in "big box" stores, mall stores, and many smaller kitchen ware venders. I also looked at blenders sold on the internet and read a lot of reviews. I wanted a large glass pitcher, metal or at least strong chasis, low noise, and good build quality. I did not want "touch pad" controls thinking touch pads scratch up and blister up over time. In stores I saw a lot of blenders with flimsy plastic chasis painted up to look like metal, rubber drive teeth, poor fit and finish, and other durability issues. On line I saw even mid and higher grade blenders reported to have quality control issues like leaking and motor failure. I chose this Villaware model even though earlier Villaware blenders got a lot of complaints. I reasoned that the specs published looked good, it had a 2 year warranty, and it was not expensive. Compared to everything I saw and read about, this Villaware blender seems a good choice, and maybe the best bargain. Build quality, fit...

Very good blender, but does have "air bubble issues"
I bought this blender to replace my old Cuisinart that died after 7 years.

It is not a silent blender but at medium to low speeds it is quite quiet, but it does get noisy at higher speeds.

It comes with a square container that suffers from the air bubble forming around the blades when blending things that are not all that thin. for my fruit smoothies I have to run it then stop and shake it, then run it, stop and shake it... This as not an issue with my old blender, but when mixing thinner things this is not as much of a problem.

It does not look cheap and it has the all metal drive system which is a plus. For the $100 price point it is a quality blender all things considered.

I gave it 4 stars for build quality, noise levels and looks. If it would blend thicker things without the air bubble forming I would give it 5 stars.



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