My Microwave Caught on Fire Using the Chip Maker!!

[esavvymom]

I've used mine quite a bit and haven't had any problems, so I was surprised to read all of this. But because I almost burnt the first batch, I cut the times way down on the rest and all has been fine. Maybe they're being cooked too long which is what's causing the problems?

But if folks who are having the most trouble aren't burning the chips, then it can't be "too long" in terms of the food results. Yes- I can see if they were burning them.
I know for mine, it takes right around the 5 minutes - just as the U&C guide said. But by the time I got to the 3rd or 4th tray (one potato worth of slices), my microwave was REALLY hot inside....hotter than I've noticed it with other things (like DCB cooking for 30+ minutes).

 

[mountainmama74]

When I called in my claim the guy told me that with the new instructions, there shouldn't be any problems. He also said that our customers will be getting the new instructions, not the ones we got.

 

[esavvymom]

Ok...so I just compared the previous times with the new times. I don't know that it would even work in mine. 2 minutes for a single tray. When I cooked my potato chips - single layer (and these were SUPER thin) - took 5 minutes to get them perfect, which was the original time set. I'll be surprised if 2 minutes does enough....but I'm willing to try.But I'm a little confused by this statement referring to Double-Racks:

Rotate top to bottom after recommended cook time and microwave in 30–second intervals until desired crispness is reached. Rotate trays as needed for even doneness.

Any ideas what that means? Do you cook them double for the minutes recommended (so 3 minutes for potatoes), then 30 second intervals till done? Or do you have to rotate them every 30-seconds the whole time? If it's the whole time, no thanks! It's a pain to rotate those trays every two minutes, let alone every 30-seconds. (haha- I know. Complaining.)

 

[babywings76]

Ok...so I just compared the previous times with the new times. I don't know that it would even work in mine. 2 minutes for a single tray. When I cooked my potato chips - single layer (and these were SUPER thin) - took 5 minutes to get them perfect, which was the original time set. I'll be surprised if 2 minutes does enough....but I'm willing to try.

But I'm a little confused by this statement referring to Double-Racks:


Any ideas what that means? Do you cook them double for the minutes recommended (so 3 minutes for potatoes), then 30 second intervals till done? Or do you have to rotate them every 30-seconds the whole time? If it's the whole time, no thanks! It's a pain to rotate those trays every two minutes, let alone every 30-seconds. (haha- I know. Complaining.)

I hear ya! It just doesn't seem worth all the hassle for a few chips.

 

[Nanisu]

I made a bunch of different chips today, some with our spices, some with Mrs. Dash and Spike (my dh loves Spike). I did one tray a time and just switched them out. got over 130 chips with one large russet potato. Average cooking time 3.5 min. Did 3 min and checked, then 30 sec more if it needed it. I will be pre-making chips before my shows and taking them with me in the glass storage thingy. My family's favorite was the parmesan ones, added a little salt. No oil on any of them.

 

[jbondr]

I finally tried the chipmaker and was under impressed. I felt like it was a lot of trouble for just a few chips. One batch burned and made the whole house smell awful. I am not sure I will even try this product again. Not sure what went wrong since I was watching it the whole time. I don't see this being a product I even want to talk about with my customers at this point.

 

[wadesgirl]

You have to start out with the shortest cooking time and then go up from there. Mine took over 5 minutes with two trays. It's like blaming the pan you are cooking a cake in for overcooking your cake.I made a batch today and they cooked up perfect. No overheating, no problems with my microwave!

 

[jbondr]

I did use the new cooking times and tried to pay close attention but they went from light to burnt in seconds. I am not saying it is the products fault but just didn't seem like it was worth all the trouble. I might give it a try in the future after I have had time to forget the awful smell it made my house. I am afraid I would have the same result at a show. Yikes, that would be a memorable show for all the wrong reasons.

 

[raebates]

I've had a few people ask if I was going to use this at shows. No. Microwaves vary too much, and you really need to play with the timing the first few times you try anything.

That said, the jicama chips were good.

 

[mountainmama74]

I wondered how jicama would do! What did you season them with?

 

[sherri lynn]

Ok, I called HO, and they said I needed to clean my microwave first!! I did not clean it first, not that I thought it was that dirty or anything, but they said if there is one small piece of food left in there it will get too hot and cause it to overheat or catch on fire. They were very nice about it

 

[islandgurlchef]

My Microwave Chip Maker will never leave my house. I don't know what it's made of - some kind of plastic maybe - it doesn't say on Use and Care. I personally don't eat anything cooked in a microwave and am certainly not going to put others at risk of having a fire in their homes. I think the point of having unattended teens using it is a really good one. Bad product and I bet they'll pull it sooner than later.

 

[islandgurlchef]

I just read Sherri Lynns post.....HO response was just plain rude! You can certainly see a young teen getting out the 409 to clean the splattered spaghetti sauce before using it! That was a ridiculous response!

 

[esavvymom]

The chances of an unattended teen using the microwave chip maker and doing all the steps (slicing, blotting, etc), and that teen NOT being responsible enough to wipe the microwave out first....slim. If they are taking those other steps....they'll likely be more responsible in nature. It's the ADULTS you have to worry about! haha. I opened my SIL's microwave to heat something up at a family dinner.... I was thankful she was not facing me, because my immediate reaction when I saw her microwave was horror and disgust. My BIL (not her husband) saw me and just grinned. It was DISGUSTING!!! I was afraid to touch it or put my food in there. I can only imagine what the chip maker would do in her microwave. I'm picturing this:

 

[pamperedlinda]

Ok, I called HO, and they said I needed to clean my microwave first!! I did not clean it first, not that I thought it was that dirty or anything, but they said if there is one small piece of food left in there it will get too hot and cause it to overheat or catch on fire. They were very nice about it

is that on the use and care instructions?

Did you talk to the Test Kitchen or Customer Service? If Customer Service, I would sent the Test Kitchen and email about this, it is unacceptable.

 

[sherri lynn]

I talked to customer service, not the test kitchen. I'm not sure how to send the test kitchen an email, does anybody know so they can tell me? I would sure appreciate it so my information gets to the right people

 

[esavvymom]

I talked to customer service, not the test kitchen. I'm not sure how to send the test kitchen an email, does anybody know so they can tell me? I would sure appreciate it so my information gets to the right people

Go to CC -->Managing your business --> Home Office Contacts -->Email the Pampered Chef. Then you can select the appropriate contacts.

 

[pcdawg]

After reading all of these messages, I was very hesitant to try mine, but I did anyway. I started with 3 minutes for 2 (russet potatoes) and increased it at 30 second intervals until crisp. It ended up being 5 minutes. Now I was wondering if the make and model and the wattage has anything to do with the problems people are having. I bet when they are tested, they don't test various amounts of microwaves. My microwave is a Maytag over the range vent micro 1000 watt. It doesn't have a turn table but it has a sliding tray which worked just fine. These fine details of what works and doesn't work need to be ironed out. The chips were actually really good and my family loved them.

 

[byrd1956]

my SIL placed an order at my website last week (surprise!) and she ordered one. I sent a little thank you and extra info. I got from cs...now I wonder if I should tell her to clean her microwave before she uses it......
I really doubt if her's needs cleaned, but....I've not looked in it since last Thanksgiving...

 

[esavvymom]

Honestly, I think it has little to do with a dirty (a.k.a. NORMAL) microwave. I think that was a customer service rep who didn't know what else to say.
Now, the SERIOUSLY filthy...that's another story! LOL

 

[wadesgirl]

Honestly, I think it has little to do with a dirty (a.k.a. NORMAL) microwave. I think that was a customer service rep who didn't know what else to say.
Now, the SERIOUSLY filthy...that's another story! LOL

Okay I'll admit, mine's dirty and I had no problem!

 

[KitchenSmellzSmokey]

Wow! I was really wanting to order this too. Not only am I not ordering it, I'm not going to sell it either. Until further notice. = (

 

[Kate0831]

I got mine in the mail the other day. I'm afraid to try it after reading all of the issues. We made some at our team meeting last night and nothing bad happened, but I have a cheap little microwave.This is too bad. I have a lot of customers that were really excited about this product, and I'm just not sure how comfortable I feel selling them.

 

[sherri lynn]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I sent a message to the test kitchen and PC called me today asking questions about my use of the microwave chip maker. They seemed to take me seriously, much more than customer service did...

 

[cheflorraine]

So sorry to hear about those that have had bad results with the Chip Maker, but I have to chime in and say I LOVE it... once you've figured out what times work for your microwave, the chips are amazing!! I will continue to sell it, just mention the cautions in letting microwave cool down in between batches.
It's definitely not something you can use to make a ton of chips for a large group, but for a small snack it's great.

 

[katem51]

I am not going to promote this product at all. If anyone asks me about it, I'm going to tell them the horror stories about it and if they still want it, at least I'll have warned them.

 

[esavvymom]

Ok. Has anyone else tried the chip maker with the NEW times given by HO? I just finished doing half a sweet potato worth (about 4 -5 trays). Two Minutes is NOT ENOUGH. It's taking 4 minutes minimum in my microwave.The original times worked- in my microwave. Anything less than that you just make hot/warm potato slices - still very soft, but slightly wrinkled. Customers will not be happy with that, if the U&C guide says 2 minutes for a tray of potatoes, but it takes 2x or 3x as long. I know microwaves vary. But THAT MUCH?? no. That won't sit well.Still not liking how hot my microwave gets, but I don't pay much attention when I cook other things- so I'll have to be more observant when I cook other things. I'm sure it gets hot then too.By the way- what do you season sweet potato chips with? Salt isn't a good choice.

 

[NooraK]

I am not going to promote this product at all. If anyone asks me about it, I'm going to tell them the horror stories about it and if they still want it, at least I'll have warned them.

I would discourage you from telling horror stories. Even if you stick to just one product, you're giving the company and all your other products a bad name. The logical thought pattern would be "Well, if this one is such a horrible item, but it's still in the catalog, what's wrong with all the other items?"

You are not required to promote it, and if you do have someone who asks about it or orders one, you can tell them it's one of those products, like our can-opener, that's a bit trickier and requires some special instructions. Then let them know about those instructions, and if they still want to purchase it, let them.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

By the way- what do you season sweet potato chips with? Salt isn't a good choice.

Try Cinnamon or the Cinnamon Plus and let me know how it comes out. Or, after they're cooked the Sweet Cinnamon or Sweet Caramel Sprinkles.

 

[wadesgirl]

I am not going to promote this product at all. If anyone asks me about it, I'm going to tell them the horror stories about it and if they still want it, at least I'll have warned them.

Totally agree with another poster when they said that you shouldn't talk bad about a product. You can always just tell them to make sure they watch their microwave closely while cooking this as mentioned by our HO.

Ok. Has anyone else tried the chip maker with the NEW times given by HO? I just finished doing half a sweet potato worth (about 4 -5 trays). Two Minutes is NOT ENOUGH. It's taking 4 minutes minimum in my microwave.

The original times worked- in my microwave. Anything less than that you just make hot/warm potato slices - still very soft, but slightly wrinkled. Customers will not be happy with that, if the U&C guide says 2 minutes for a tray of potatoes, but it takes 2x or 3x as long. I know microwaves vary. But THAT MUCH?? no. That won't sit well.

Still not liking how hot my microwave gets, but I don't pay much attention when I cook other things- so I'll have to be more observant when I cook other things. I'm sure it gets hot then too.


By the way- what do you season sweet potato chips with? Salt isn't a good choice.

Mine too took the original times as listed. Better be safe than sorry.