Small-batch (1~2qt) ice cream machines anyone? Good ice cream recipe sites or forums?

[BeeZee]

I did read a comment on the Wirecutter site (NYT) about potential issues with blades scraping the plastic, so it's apparently not an uncommon problem.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On 7/16/2024 at 12:03 PM, Sid Post said:

With this ice cream machine scoring the jar, it suggests the blades were allowed to wobble with the shaft.  This could be caused by flex in the underlying motor mount or wear between the shaft and motor allowing some "flex" and wobble, hence scoring the jar.

 

Mounts on both sides of the shaft allow a lot more support to prevent the wobble.

 

I still don't see how any lateral force applied to the shaft would be greater when the container is partially filled rather than full.

 

[ElsieD]

I have been back and forth with Ninja about the gouged pint.  In the first instance, I was told that if it was still under warranty, they would send me the newest version and two extra pints.  Unfortunately, I discovered it was way past it's warranty date, so so much for the upgrade.  I'm now at the point where they have offered two new pints for half price and in another conversation a new bowl at half price.  The downer is that I have to pay for shipping.  If they are offering both, it may be worthwhile.  I need to talk to them again.  Since that happened, I have made blueberry and chocolate but we haven't eaten enough of either to be able to tell if those pints have been damaged.  Meanwhile, I'm no closer to understanding why that happened, which is what I really want.  

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Meanwhile, I'm no closer to understanding why that happened, which is what I really want. 

I think that either they don’t know, or there are too many different possibilities that they can’t clearly diagnose individual cases remotely or they don’t want to say. Early on, they tended to blame it on non-level freezing but that’s certainly not true in your case. 
I found this in the Ninja Creami Facebook group:

 

Spindle Grinding into the Paddle/Blade

Sometimes the paddle disconnects from the spindle when the ice cream is processing.  This could happen for many reasons, none of which have been confirmed by Ninja.  Without more info from Ninja as to why this happens, no recommendations can be given to prevent it.

The paddle is connected to the spindle with a tiny magnet.  If the paddle gets off center or knocked loose from the spindle while processing, for any reason, the spindle can start to drill down into the paddle.  This can cause issues with the machine. 

1.    The paddle can get damaged

2.    The spindle can get damaged or bent

3.    The magnet that connects the spindle to the paddle can get damaged

4.    The motor can get damaged- can cause the machine to smoke or start on fire

5.    The containers can get scraped 

You will need to reach out to Ninja directly to resolve this issue. Contact Ninja through their customer service phone number or through their Facebook page.

Warranty number: 1-866-826-6941

Customer Service US: 1-800-365-0135

[ElsieD]

@blue_dolphin. Thanks for that info.  I have been speaking with a Ninja Canada customer service rep and you may well be right -  that they don't know what causes the issue.  I am calling them again when I can check the last couple of batches for gouges  .  It's really hard eating all that ice cream (snicker) but we should manage within the next couple of days.  Depending on the state of my pints, I'll decide how I want to approach them.  I'll post my result.