West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popcorn Popper

An electric popcorn popper is essentially a motorized version of the ‘old’ stovetop poppers.  Those were essentially ‘soup pots’ that have a handle connected to a stirring rod that you turn to mix the popcorn while it is popping – the Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper, which is a highly rated electric popper, instead has a motor to turn the stirrer for you.

West Bend 82306X Stir Crazy 6-Quart Popcorn Popper

Chances are you remember using your stove top popper for making popcorn with your children; I know that we still have our Whirley-Pop Popper, and it still makes great popcorn.

But over the years that got replaced with microwave popcorn – a very fast way to make popcorn at night, if you don’t mind the added expense and all the popcorn that burns or doesn’t pop.

But home popcorn poppers, like the electric popper or stovetop popper, are just so easy to use, and are able to make such good tasting popper.  Couple that with microwave popcorn bags being so expensive, very inconsistent in the amount of kernels that actually pop or burn, and a health concern from the chemicals and additives that can be abundant in them – and it is certainly no wonder that the new and very much improved electric popcorn poppers continue to become increasingly popular.

When looking at the best electric popcorn poppers in terms of customer reviews and ratings, it is clear that the Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper is the most popular – here is a West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popcorn Popper Review.

West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popper Vented Lid And Butter Well

As you can see from the picture, the West Bend Stir Crazy Popper looks just like a wok that has a plastic dome as a cover, which was designed this way so this could also be used as a serving bowl.

The top has also been made with vents in it to allow steam and moisture to escape and keep the popcorn from getting soggy.

The top also has a well where you could put some butter to melt into the popping corn – there is a plastic cover that that you put over the top before you flip it over that will keep any of your ingredients from dripping out.

Note:  Although this is an available feature and works fine as a way to melt butter into your popcorn during popping – a number of the reviews mentioned that by doing this, it became extra messy to clean-up after popping.

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper Features

The West Bend Stir Crazy popper has taken the classic ‘crank and stir’ popper design, and made this an automatic function, by changing this with a stirring rod that is motorized.  With this new design, you will be ensured that the stirring will continue during popping, which will help pop all of the kernels and eliminate any burned popcorn.

Here are some additional features that add to the popularity of the Stir Crazy:

  • Very simple to use
  • Powerful 1000-watt popcorn popper can make 6 quarts of popcorn in around 5 minutes
  • Economically price that is currently only $29.88
  • Non-stick popper surface cleans up easily with a sponge
  • Heat resistant handles and base
  • Plastic cover can be put in the dishwasher for better cleaning
  • Automatically stops when the popping is done

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper Reviews

When going through the West Bend Stir-Crazy reviews, it became very clear just how popular and highly rated this popper is – with just how much better the popcorn is compared to microwave popcorn probably the most frequent comment:

  • Makes popcorn that is much healthier than the microwave bagged popcorn, since you have control of the butter, oil, and seasonings included.
  • You can your favorite popcorn kernels and popping oil to make great tasting popcorn.
  • The Stir Crazy is extremely easy to use and cleanup.  Just pour in your oil and kernels, put on the lid and turn it on – and then when the popping is done, just wipe out the popper’s non-stick surface with a sponge to clean it out.
  • Consistently pops virtually 100% of the kernels, with no burned popcorn.
  • Comes with a clear and thorough instruction book.

In total there a currently 701 reviews, with an overall rating of 4 stars, and 420 of these received a 5 star rating – here are a few of those ratings:

“Love this popcorn popper. It uses less oil than popping in a pot on the stove. There are virtually never any unpopped kernels. Nothing burns. Popcorn is never soggy. Great popcorn every time!”

“This is the second electric popcorn popper by West Bend that I’ve ordered. ( I lost the cord to the last one in a move) I LOVE this product! We don’t like microwave popcorn: I’ve always cooked it the old fashioned way, but this product does all the work for you. It takes about 2 minutes and you have great tasting FRESH popcorn. I love it.”

“Once we learned about all the poisons in microwave popcorn, bag, butter flavor, etc., we had to find something better. Over the years we have used about every kind of popper available…this is hands down THE BEST!!  Quick, easy, delicious, and simple clean-up. If this popper failed today, I would have another by evening. We also bought each of our children one and they also love it.”

Not All Of The Reviews Were Positive

As in all product reviews, they are not all positive, with some being quite negative.  I always go through the most negative reviews and try to determine whether this is a flaw in the product, or whether it more unique to the individual.

For instance, one review said their popcorn was “small, hard, and inedible” – but one of the overall most favorable comments was how “big, light, and fluffy” the finished popcorn was.  So, in a case like that, I really couldn’t worry about this person’s review when trying to make a buying decision.

Another complaint was the plastic dome breaking or scratching.  This is something I can understand, it is thin plastic that you will have to be careful with – but this didn’t seem to be a frequent problem, and you would always wonder whether people were dropping the top or placing it on hard, abrasive surfaces?

There were a some things that were negative that were mentioned too often to ignore – the most serious being issues with the Teflon coating on the base of the popper being scraped by the stirring bar, which would result of pieces of the Teflon being in your popcorn if this happened.

This was apparently a big enough problem that the manufacture made some design changes – here is one of the most recent reviews that commented on this:

“Previous reviews had complained about the stirring bar scratching off the Teflon coating in the popper base. I checked that first thing and found that West Bend must have addressed that problem because there was plenty of clearance.  Another complaint was a short power cord. Again no problem. The cord furnished is approximately three-feet long.”

West Bend Stir Crazy Popper Review Conclusion

The West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper Reviews show that this is a very economical popper, but also one that is well designed and that will consistently give you very good tasting popcorn.  Sure, there were some negative reviews, but with its 420 5 star ratings, it was clear that this is a highly rated and popular popper.

If you are looking for an electric popper that will give you those light and fluffy kernels that we all love, and especially as an alternative to microwave bagged popcorn, then the West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper is an excellent choice.

 

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper Video Review

West Bend Stir Crazy 6-Quart Electric Popcorn Popper

 

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