Side by Side Comparison of: Whynter vs Workman Publishing Company vs Sweet Bliss Containers vs Tovolo vs SUMO

Purchased this unit about 6 months ago from Amazon and am very pleased. It works as-described. I have had no problems. Have made many batches of ice cream with it. I just press the start button and let it churn at the pre-set time of 60 minutes, but you can add or deduct time as-desired. The ice cream is still somewhat soft after the 60 minute churning period -- a little thicker/harder than soft-serve at a Dairy Queen, for example. If you want your ice cream to be harder/firmer -- more like the consistency of commercial half-gallons from the grocery store -- then at the end of the churning/freezing cycle use a spatula to transfer the frozen custard from this machine's mixing canister to a 2 quart container and place in your freezer for 2-4 hours.

This Whynter ICM-200LS is very identical to The Ariete - DeLongi Ariete - DeLonghi Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker with Built-in Compressor, LCD Digital Display, 2.1 Quart and the Gourmia GSI400 Gourmia GSI400 Stainless Steel 2.2 Qt SleekServe Automatic Ice Cream Maker - Gelato, Sorbet and Frozen Yogurt Machine - Built-in Compressor and LCD Digital Display- Includes Free Recipe Book . Side note: I'll briefly compare these units to Cuisinart ICE 100 Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker and the Breville BCI600XL Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker and the Lello Lello 4080 Musso Lussino 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker, Stainless toward the end of the review. The Whynter ICM-15LS and the Knox 1.5 are also identical with their smaller capacity of 1.5 Quarts (though the stickers say litres which I guess is technically about 6% more volume than the Quarts advertised) All these Chinese made units have the same company bringing the UL listing, specs, and design to market from the company Intertek. The lids are also identical as are the plastic paddles as are the mechanisms that attach to the bottom of the bowls/paddles. Regardless of the specs listed, I had access to a couple of these machines and they all weigh about 26 pounds according to my calibrated shipping scale. The dimensions are about 16 5/8 inches length x 11 1/16 inches width by 8 7/8 inches height. Since they seem to have the same motors that spin around 25 RPMs, the same refrigerant for the cooling action and the same interchangeable aluminum container that houses the mixture, what are the differences you ask?Well, the difference is mostly cosmetic with some differences with button controls on the LCDs. All the 2+ quarts makers (Whynter ICM-200LS; Ariete-Delonghi & Gourmia GSI400) feature a power button, a start/pause button, and a menu button. The Whynter ICM-200LS has two additional buttons to increase or decrease time. The two others (Ariete-Delonghi & Gourmia GSI400) have a round knob that you turn to incrementally increase or decrease time. Otherwise the built-in software and the LCD readouts are absolutely identical. You can toggle between the 3 modes of "ice cream" ; "cooling only" ; or "mixing only." When you power the units on, they all default to 60:00 minutes which you can toggle down if you prefer less time (either by turning the knob on some models or pressing the buttons on the Whynter) They all go to automatic cooling mode for 10 minute increments after the ice cream is finished churning for the prescribed amount of time. They all have the safety function to shut the motor off in the event of an overload should the machine not be able to muscle through the mixture if it freezes too hard while churning. The "Cooling only" mode is good if you want to pre-chill the bowl before pouring in your mix which could lessen the total contact time and make for a creamier end result... of course you could also throw the bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to achieve this effect if you get a machine without this feature.A word about the warranties. They all seem to have a one year limited warranty except the Knox which is as unknown as the company itself. The real issue is that the warranty covers against manufacturers' defects. It is important to realize that these units are mini freezers which mean they have a compressor with sealed oil. If the units travel on their side or upside down, they need to be place right side up for at least 4 hours and preferably 24 hours to make sure all of the oil drips out of the sealed housing. If it is run with oil in it, it will break and though make noise like it is working, it will not cool a thing. This also means that if you store the unit on it's side or back, you have to wait many hours with it right side up to safely turn it on. If you turn it on and it doesn't get cold because there was oil in the compressor, it probably wouldn't be covered as a manufacturer defect.These units all make excellent ice cream and excellent gelatos. Since they spin at 25 RPM's per minute, you will never be introducing air into the cream like what is done with commercially made ice cream. More dense ice cream and gelato is the premium product we want at home anyway.Other differences between the units is that some user manuals are marginally better than others. Some give you more recipes than others. Some give you silly extras like a cheapy plastic scoop (with the Whynter) or a cheapy plastic measuring cup (with the Ariete - DeLonghi) or a cheapy plastic spatula.What about the Cuisinart, the Breville and the expensive 3x cost Lello?The Cuisinart is VERY similar, also built in China like the ones mentioned above, but does seem to have a slightly different motor as it spins at 26 RPMs. Cuisinart seems to have gone through their own certification and design process and did not rely on Intertek. Though if you turn the unit upside down, it is very identical in design of the rest with the exact same access points to get to the internals if need be. The interface of the Cuisinart is less robust and only has 3 buttons and very much resembles the software of the 1.5 litre Whynter and Knox. It will also default to a 10 minute "Keep Cool" cycle after mixing, like the above units. It is a 1.5 quart machine and It does not have the cooling only and mixing only functions so it is most similar to the Whynter ICM-15LS and mystery company Knox brand. It does have a different paddle design and in fact comes with 2 paddles, one for ice cream and one for gelato. This to me is a little gimmicky though as at 26 RPM's you'd be hard pressed to get any better whipping action (air injection) from the cream in the ice cream... again with the understanding that commercial units like Emery Thompson units generate RPMS closer to 200 with the intent of aerating ice cream. Gelatos are meant to be spun at low RPMs regardless so all these home units are excellent for gelato. The warranty is a whopping 3 years though I have never dealt with Cuisinart on a warranty claim.How about the Breville? It is proprietary and of good Australian Quality with it's own unique interface and software. The aluminum mixing tub is a proprietary size and is tall and narrow. It is on the smaller size of 1.5 quarts. The warranty is 1 year. The design premise is the same as the others mentioned. The proprietary motor is faster though... spinning at about 50 RPMs, so it should be able to aerate ice cream more if that's something you desire. Unfortunately there is no way to toggle the speed downward or play with the temperature... not that there is with any of these home units. The Auto interface on the Breville is really just able to reduce the time and slap a name on the adjusted time. gelato = less time; ice cream = more time. This could be such a great unit and would be worth the additional money if you could adjust the RPMs and cooling temp, but again none of these models can do that.The Lello is interesting as their design is based on a setup where there is no removable bowl. This inherently is similar to a sealed commercial setup that should allow the compressor to work more efficiently. -And in theory if you can freeze your mix more quickly, you should have less crystals and creamier ice cream. Of course commercial units also use the efficiency of gravity like front load commercial washing machines. The Lello is small and more of a pain to clean as a result and it does have an issue where the spinning pin can get fouled near the top if not cleaned very well. It is very well made in Italy with mostly metal components including the paddle and has a one year warranty.For my money, I think I would lean on the Ariete - Delonghi or Gourmia as they can be had for $199.99 at the time of this review. If the Whynter would be the same price, then it would be a toss up in my opinion. The Whynter has oscillated in price between $260 and $350 over the past year and the Cuisinart is a little more expensive with less features and smaller capacity though a better warranty. Except for the mystery brand Knox and unavailable warranty information, I do not think you can go wrong with any of the machines listed above. The machines are identical enough that your recipes will have the biggest impact, so you may be better served by being price conscious. To me the Lello is cost prohibitive at $700 and I don't care for the design overall as the efficiency doesn't do much to the end result. Similarly, I do not think the Breville which is $380 as of this writing has any advantages that warrant the price. Understand that all of these machines will make excellent tasting ice cream or gelato. You'd be hard pressed to tell a difference using the same recipe on any of the machines except in a side by side taste test where you're really trying to be picky about the perfect creaminess, aeration, lack of ice crystals, etc. Good luck on your purchasing decision.

Armed with the Ben & Jerry Ice cream recipe book, you can crank out great ice cream in as little as 40 minutes. Have had this for 5 months and works great every time. Previously had one of the type that you have to freeze the bowl in the freezer prior to use and rarely used it because of the hassle. This one is so simple. Love it.

The first ice cream maker unit shipped out to me must have been a lemon because the compressor didn't work at all. The seller promptly prepared my return shipment and within two weeks, I had my replacement ice cream maker. The seller had to work with the manufacturer so I don't fault them at all. My second machine worked like a charm! It was well worth the wait and I am so happy to have this ice cream maker!

The best Ice Cream Maker for the home you can buy, I HAVE BOUGHT 4 electric ice cream makers throughout the years, this one which is the fourth is absolutely the very best, before I purchased this machine i made ice cream every now and then, but with this machine, I make it almost every week, my freezer is stacked to the brim with homemade ice cream, and it's smooth and cream like store bought but 10 times better with the freshness of high quality ingredients with no chemicals and preservatives. My relatives are going bonkers for my homemade ice cream. The instructions say 30 mins to 60 mins which is on the digital readout, but I swear my recipes take at the most 25 mins, and Whoooooooooo Boy, you talk about creamy and smooth textures for the first time in an home electric ice cream maker, I wish I could give it 8 stars I guarantee.

This is major improvement over my existing ice cream maker with an internal refrigeration unit. It is quieter (the main noise comes from the gearbox driving the dasher). The capacity is greater (2.1 quarts / 1 liter vs. about 1.25 quarts for the old unit). It freezes really FAST. If you are freezing only a quart or so of mix, or if your mix is already chilled, select 30 minutes on the time setting. It will likely freeze solid long before the default 60 minutes is reached. However, there is an overload circuit that will disengage the motor before it is damaged. If you are accustomed to using one of those freezers that relies on a pre-chilled insert, you would have to buy an additional insert (maybe two) if you wanted to make several batches in rapid succession.It is so fast and convenient that I find myself concocting all sorts of frozen goodies that I would have not considered before. Examples: Freeze two or three servings of flavored yogurt - instant FroYo! Toss some ripe avocados, heavy cream, and sugar substitute into a food processor or blender, puree the ingredients, then freeze. Yeah, it sounds kind of gross at first, but I'm a bachelor. Whatcha gonna do?I came close to deducting a star, because parts of the dasher are very difficult to clean properly. Make sure you rinse the dasher IMMEDIATELY after use. If the residual mix has a chance to dry, it is difficult to remove. Since the components are not dishwasher-safe, count on spending a little time scrubbing the little nooks and crannies of the dasher with an old toothbrush.

Pretty good machine. Easy to use and easy to clean. You need to be careful not to let it run any longer than necessary or it will whip up allot of air into your ice cream. But this is likely the case with similar machines as well. The only other complaint I have is that the removable container has a bucket type handle on it. It is difficult to hold the container in an up-side-down or slanted position to scrape the ice cream out without the handle falling in the way. But overall I'm very happy that I purchased this unit. Unit was packed very well and arrived in excellent condition. It could be they figured this out after some of the damage complaints I read about in other reviews.

love making sugar free ice cream that tastes yummy. the machine is large.and takes up quite a bit of space on my countertop. only reason I took off a star.

If your even looking for one you might as well get the best one

PROs: internal compressor, no prefreezing; good valueCONS: rather loud--makes a squeeking sound; hard to get replacement parts; bulky

Had it a week. Fantastic ice cream. First time ice cream maker, so still getting the hang of production and storage for consistency. So far, a keeper. Noisier then expected, if that is a concern (likely, I didn't know what to expect, as opposed to being noisier than others). Also, make sure the bowl is dry on the outside or it freezes to the refrigeration surface.

I bought this product last year to replace my old lello gelato pro that was finally slowing down after more than 5 years of frequent use. This means I have a pretty good comparison of pros and cons of each, now that I've had much time to use the Whynter. The Whynter pros are that is less noisy, freezes well and has a nice sized opening on the top piece where ice cream additions are added. The pro of the larger opening is that it is much easier to make stracciatella (Italian chocolate chip, with melted dark chocolate and a bit of oil, my preference being coconut), allowing a good churn without a strong likelihood of a mess, a problem with the narrow opening of the gelato pro (was better to mix in by hand after, but didn't allow the nice even pieces). The cons involve two main issues. These are that the churning blade is just far enough away from the side of the freezing container and that the primary churning mechanism is from below the freezing bucket (lello gelato pro had the mechanism from above, allowing an ongoing churning even as the ice cream got more firm and with pieces of stuff added toward the end of the churning). With the Whynter, I have to stop churning when the ice cream isn't as quite as firm (knowing that ice cream will not be fully firm until after a number of hours in the freezer, of course), although this isn't much of a problem, as the ice cream still comes out well (more air and ice creamy than denser and gelato-like, but this is to be expected vs the "gelato" pro). The challenge of the churning blade being further away from the bucket edge is that it isn't quite as evenly mixed, a slight issue only, and that when pouring in "stuff" (ie nuts, cookie pieces, chocolate pieces, graham cracker pieces, whatever...) to add to the ice cream base toward the end of the churning cycle, it causes it to jam in seconds. This means that I now simply let it churn as a base flavor until I normally would put it in the freezer and then have have to hand mix in ingredients to the bucket after removing from the ice cream maker. This means I have to work quickly to get it mixed in fairly symmetrically, try not to make a mess and get it put into the freezer container I'm going to then use to store it in the freezer (and this includes putting plastic on the surface before putting a lid on, as air is ice cream's enemy). This isn't a deal breaker. It is just one more variable to consider depending on what each person likes. Personally, I try to look at how much easier it is to make stracciatella flavors, as this one of the main add-ins that really couldn't be done well after. Overall, it is a very good machine that I am generally pleased with. I just miss the power of the gelato pro. FWIW, the reason that I replaced the gelato pro was that the freezing process had gotten much slower after @ 6 years of regular use. The power of the churn was just as good. The problem was that I couldn't recharge it anywhere, other than sending it back in to the manufacturer, which would have meant paying for more than half the value of the machine simply to have it serviced, which didn't make sense. I was able to get a much better price on the Whynter on Amazon than I was a replacement Lello Gelato Pro, so I really can't complain. Regardless, once you start making your own, you'll never go back to store bought! Also, another tip for cost saving is to buy cream from Costco, Sam's Club, etc., as it is typically a whole lot cheaper than from the traditional grocery store.

Its ok, not great, ive used it 3 or 4 times now, ice cream freezes to sides of bowl, i have found if you pause and scrap off that works pretty good. Adding anything to the ice cream needs to be done outside the bowl, its too small if you make the 2qts to stir anything in. I tried mixing in frozen mrs richardsons drops, they just blended in, i tried toffee chips, same thing happened. Maybe nuts would be ok since they are so hard and wont disolve in any type of moisture. To pricey for but im stuck with it now.

I have use this machine a lot, but I don't know why when it's finish I put the ice cream in the freezer and doesn't freeze, its very soft, who can answer me this question???? Maybe is because I have used it too much???

This ice cream maker is easy to use and has effective freezing performance. With that said, the mixing drive is pretty noisy. I did have a quality issue where my mixing paddle was fused to the ice cream tub's drive mechanism and required pulling with all my strength to remove. The hex that drives the paddle apparently isn't quite right, so in some positions the paddle slips on nicely, and in other positions the paddle gets seriously jammed. The paddle should slip on easily in all positions. Also, the drive mechanism slips once the ice cream starts getting firm. I'm worried that the slipping may wear out the machine. I'd rather hear the motor strain a little so I'd know the ice cream is done rather than hearing something slip! Only time will tell if this leads to a durability issue.Overall, this will freeze a full batch of ice cream in about 45 minutes and a half batch batch in about 25 minutes. As long as you don't get a defective tub/paddle and you keep an eye on the machine when the ice cream firms up, you should be very satisfied!

have only used it a few times, so far the ice cream has been a bit "icy".

It's perfect if you want to make ice cream just a couple of times per month. But if you want to use it repeatedly on a weekend, then some of the components get damaged.It has low quality components so I've had to repair some parts more than once.

You really need this thing to run the full hour otherwise your icecream will not be creamy. It works good and is easy to use but not as quick as it states for the money I'd think it produce quicket

Wow this thing made fabulous ice cream! In the past tense. After two batches, bits of plastic started falling off. After a year, the wires were hanging out, Then it stopped working. I figure the homemade ice cream we got out of this thing cost about $30 a batch plus the cost of food. But it was delicious.

I have the smaller version and I LOVE that machine. This machine is quieter... (YAY!) but doesn't seem to be working as well. When the ice cream gets thicker, the stainless steel bowl doesn't stay put. The bowl starts spinning along with the paddle. It grabs for a second and then starts spinning inside the unit again, so the ice cream isn't churning. I'll plan to post a video of what is occurring after I attempt to use this machine one more time. So far, I'm very disappointed in this purchase.

This device didn't work. Followed the instructions meticulously, but there was no cooling or ice cream (even when we poured in chilled custard).When we put it back in the box we notice some slightly greasy spots on the inside of the box, so we think this has been returned before, a return was just superficially checked and resold. Disappointing. We have never experienced this with Amazon. this supplier should be disallowed to sell through their chain ( apparently we were not the only ones who had bad experiences).

DO NOT BUY THIS! Product was defective right out of the box. I followed all instructions including letting is sit for several hours. The paddle moved but the bowl never got cold. It churned for an hour. Had to throw out the ice cream mix I made and return. Don't waste your time. Buy something better.

Defective product. Machine turned on but didn't cool or churnbso effectively useless. I did purchase through Amazon Warehouse so it was a refurb

MY MACHINE ARRIVED DEAD. I contacted Whynter Service by email and they sent me instructions to open the machine and check for loose conections, and everything was fine, so it looks like there is a problem with the compressor, so my machine doesn't work. UNBELIEVABLE. So sad and dissapointed. I was so excited to receive it and start making tests. Now Amazon doesn't accept return/refund because we shipped it to Panamá. This is so sad for us. Like throwing money to the trash can.

The unit works OK but the lid bearing broke and warranty help was difficult to the point of just not wasting any more time as no one knew what this simple thing was. The following is important: you cannot find parts online via search engine. They are only available through an outfit called Ambient. Their part #s do not match the manufacturers' #s and they have no pictures on what is an incomplete website. They do not combine shipping so the tiniest parts add up to ridiculous money. So, the bottom line is the customer service is so bad and repairs so obnoxious that it negates any quality of the product. Buy at your own peril. PS Ambient sent the wrong parts so after three weeks of hassle, I'm back to nowhere. Again, at your own peril. PPS It doesn't freeze anymore.

Had to send it back due to loud annoying squeaking noise, onward and forward for another. Any suggestions?

Unit doesn't work. I followed all instructions including the standing time before first use and troubleshooting tips--which were worthless. It churned but did not freeze. It's heavy and noisy--but would have been worth it if it worked. This open box warehouse deal was also missing a minor part--the scoop. The box was not in good shape--no surprise--but it's going to be a lot of trouble to return as well. No more warehouse deals for me.