MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 You know... you guys got me thinkin' a better way to do very small runs...4 Presto pots for $107.00 delivered to my door. Now the question is do I want to put the valve on them...Small runs... don't know if it is needed or not.Anyway -- thought I say thanks for turning me on to this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I just saw your post on the never ending Pourette "Mini Series".....about the presto pot. I finally decided to buy one after reading so many positive reviews. I use large melter's but sometimes would like to melt a little for a few candles. I got mine from Amazon....no shipping...great I thought. Well I used it the last two days and it doesn't hold the temperature at all. Is this common? I mean when I set it at 400 it doesn't even come on. I have to trick it and turn it off and then turn it back on. When I set my Weck caner at 200 it stays at 200....etc. Did I get a lemon or is this common with the presto...how in the world would you use it as deep fryer if it wont hold a high temperature? If I set it at 200 is justs turns off. Donita Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineG Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I just saw your post on the never ending Pourette "Mini Series".....about the presto pot. I finally decided to buy one after reading so many positive reviews. I use large melter's but sometimes would like to melt a little for a few candles. I got mine from Amazon....no shipping...great I thought. Well I used it the last two days and it doesn't hold the temperature at all. Is this common? I mean when I set it at 400 it doesn't even come on. I have to trick it and turn it off and then turn it back on. When I set my Weck caner at 200 it stays at 200....etc. Did I get a lemon or is this common with the presto...how in the world would you use it as deep fryer if it wont hold a high temperature? If I set it at 200 is justs turns off. Donita LouiseI use presto pots and have never had that happen. I've had them for awhile and still consistently verify the temp. It's always on the mark or off by a degree or two. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane42 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The first Presto Pot I had went bad after about a year and a half.....the temp just would not go up.I threw the whole thing out THEN realized it might have only been the cord, not the whole pot, so I should have kept it - could have had my son practice putting the pour spout on it and/or had it to keep wax in while moving onto a new project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 Hi Donita,I just found your review on epinions... sounds like you really like them!I may have to look into a few where the 150 or the 300 are too big and the Presto are too small...We've been on a "temp control" kick around here and no more commercial hot plates... everything MUST be thermostatically controlled -- which stinks. I love the crock pots for really small runs. Which reminds me... I need to make a new thread about something...Ok. Well...To answer your question.I think you got a dud. I ordered mine from Boscov.com (trust me, a sweet deal!) -- good luck,Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Pete....the Wecks hold about 30 lbs of wax and I bought nine of them. I think they are out of them at the moment. Something was going wrong with their thermostats.....but for me I didn't care....if it cooled off a little it didn't effect canning. I love them. If anyone ever wants to buy them....after I bought a few....I found out that if I bought two at a time it qualified me for the wholesale discount. They cost around $400. I am going to email Amazon and tell them of my woes. It is such a neat idea to have a thermostat controlled pot for a few pounds of wax and not have to use a double boiler that always seems to go dry on me (smile)....I am a very busy person. I just ordered some straight sided restaurant insets for steam tables. They are tall and about 8" in diameter. Perfect for the handle of a pouring pitcher to hang on and will hold a lot of water and fits perfectly on an electric hot plate. They are also the perfect size for an over dip pot and for doing the large balloon orbs that I do. I have a smaller one for the 4" size. They are stainless and I am sure will last my lifetime. I also bought a wine bucket...a large size....cheaper than the inset and has the 8" diameter top. I have so many sizes of pots and pans it is just plain stupid.....but they do come in handy. The large ones (which I bought at a thrift store for $3.00) are wonderful for water baths. I have used 5 gallon buckets, cut down a little....but the pans have nice handles for easy lifting when they are full of water. I remember the old days when I used large coffee cans.....now the coffee cans are for storing sea shells. I am a junkie for cooking equipment and candle making equipment. I need a bigger house. I use those little coffee cup warmers to keep little pots of sticky wax hot.......some don't stay hot enough, but some do. I have cords everywhere. Guess I will turn on the Weck today and wait until I find out about the Presto. I was so disappointed :undecided Donita Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I think that the thermostats on the turkey fryers are more accurate than the ones on the Presto pots. Ours holds the temp well, but we never get past "warm" 'cause we don't heat our wax above 200°...I think sometimes the safety cord disconnect magnet thingy causes hassles because it doesn't take much to dislodge it, which stops it from heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesprite7 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Donita I think you got a Lemon...I never have any issues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxSioux Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I think sometimes the safety cord disconnect magnet thingy causes hassles because it doesn't take much to dislodge it, which stops it from heating.I hate those 'safety' cords w/ the magnetic connection. I returned the last Presto I bought cause I hated that cord & couldn't see working around it popping off all the time. Does anyone know if it's possible to get the old school cords anywhere? Susan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The first Presto Pot I had went bad after about a year and a half.....the temp just would not go up.I threw the whole thing out THEN realized it might have only been the cord, not the whole pot, so I should have kept it - could have had my son practice putting the pour spout on it and/or had it to keep wax in while moving onto a new project.If it's anything like mine, I'd been having trouble getting the temp to go up because it kept losing power. I've always flipped the magnet off to unplug instead of pulling the whole connector out. Lo and behold, I'd managed to slowly let wax get inside the main connector. Pulled it out, wiped it down good and it works great now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGirl Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I only use my prestos for pillar, tart and votive wax now that I have my super, duper turkey fryer! I would not trade it for the world now and definatley not for a bunch of prestos! My prestos do hold a good temp though with no trouble. The only bad about the turkey fryer is that the digital ones go from 150 to 200 with no in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Pete....the Wecks hold about 30 lbs of wax and I bought nine of them. I think they are out of them at the moment. Something was going wrong with their thermostats.....but for me I didn't care....if it cooled off a little it didn't effect canning. I love them. If anyone ever wants to buy them....after I bought a few....I found out that if I bought two at a time it qualified me for the wholesale discount. They cost around $400. I am going to email Amazon and tell them of my woes. It is such a neat idea to have a thermostat controlled pot for a few pounds of wax and not have to use a double boiler that always seems to go dry on me (smile)....I am a very busy person. I just ordered some straight sided restaurant insets for steam tables. They are tall and about 8" in diameter. Perfect for the handle of a pouring pitcher to hang on and will hold a lot of water and fits perfectly on an electric hot plate. They are also the perfect size for an over dip pot and for doing the large balloon orbs that I do. I have a smaller one for the 4" size. They are stainless and I am sure will last my lifetime. I also bought a wine bucket...a large size....cheaper than the inset and has the 8" diameter top. I have so many sizes of pots and pans it is just plain stupid.....but they do come in handy. The large ones (which I bought at a thrift store for $3.00) are wonderful for water baths. I have used 5 gallon buckets, cut down a little....but the pans have nice handles for easy lifting when they are full of water. I remember the old days when I used large coffee cans.....now the coffee cans are for storing sea shells. I am a junkie for cooking equipment and candle making equipment. I need a bigger house. I use those little coffee cup warmers to keep little pots of sticky wax hot.......some don't stay hot enough, but some do. I have cords everywhere. Guess I will turn on the Weck today and wait until I find out about the Presto. I was so disappointed :undecided Donita LouiseDonita,I'm with you... We have so many containers with wax that we're actually moving things around this week just to make room to do one thing: melt, strain and slab all the crap wax. I estimate we have about a full pallet of crap AFTER we strain and slab. And this is good stuff, vybar and stearic. (naturally all in the pesky "mauve" color -- yeah you know the color.) -- anyway...I found the Wecks for about $250 -- depending on if you want the spout or the regular... it looks like the NEW style spout is metal?We do a lot of custom-color short run work... like 20-30 3x9 pillars in one-time colors... and the presto is too small... I don't think the Weck would be big enough for that... but still, might be nice to have one or two on hand.Here's my latest obsession... (which is basically a Weck in two parts...) -- I'm in DEEP search for a hotplate that isn't $500 that has a thermostat that is can be set to a certain temp (NOT OFF-L-M-H)... The chemical grade scales do it... but for too much cash.Basically then I could put the bigger pots we have right on it, set it to xxx*F and be good to go...If you, or anyone has any leads let me know.The Boscov deal for the Presto is good until the 5th -- free shipping on $50 -- so buy 2 and a tiny something, or buy 3. Heck I bought 4, and I don't even know if they're any good, but so many people here love them... What the heck. I've wasted $100 on far dumber ideas...Oh well...Take care,Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Pete...I bought my Presto from Amazon...an Amazon product and it was free shipping so it cost $27.00. I will contact them tomorrow and see what they say. I used to have a large honey melting vat.....but it quit working and that was pretty expensive for what it was. It had a water jacket. The company I bought it from, who is well known, discontinued that product. So....I guess the search goes on for the perfect wax melters...without spending thousands of dollars......and for various applications. I used to have several going at one time with different colors for hurricanes....what a PITA.....now I am semi retired....or really retired....cause I am a caregiver...but I still have to keep my fingers in the pot...ouch!!!!!!!......I love wax...what can I say. It is fascinating...I love the chemistry....I don't know much, but Alex has helped me. I like the Wecks because they melt the wax fairly quickly and keep it at an even temperature....with two pounds or 30. ps....I do know the mauve color....haven't used it for years. (smile)Donita Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredron Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'll mention this again. You folks who dislike the cords on the Presto pots should try a DAIZEY deep fryer/crock pot. I started with a Daizey (8 quart), and thought it was great. This was back in the days before I read about spigots on this website, and had a brainstorm--put a spigot in the side. It worked well, and I bought a second Daizey from E-bay. It was a little smaller (6 quart), but worked just as well. As time went on, I spotted a Presto in Wal Mart, and bought one. I HATED IT!!. The magnetic cord SUCKS. (Not to be critical)Anyway, I've now graduated to a Surf & Turk turkey fryer, but still use the Daizeys for pillar & palm waxes, and the Presto is for gels only--I still hate it.If you can find one, buy the Daizey.Fredron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I emailed Amazon and told them that I don't like this pot because IT DOESN'T WORK......(smile)....they sent me a return label to print so I can send it back paid by them. And....they just emailed me and said a new on is on the way. I haven't paid a dime in any shipping charges. I can't think of a company that I have ever dealt with that is any better than Amazon. I am frankly surprised at their great customer service. Now....the test....will the new pot work for me or am I jinxed? Donita Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judyvega Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'll mention this again. You folks who dislike the cords on the Presto pots should try a DAIZEY deep fryer/crock pot. I started with a Daizey (8 quart), and thought it was great. This was back in the days before I read about spigots on this website, and had a brainstorm--put a spigot in the side. It worked well, and I bought a second Daizey from E-bay. It was a little smaller (6 quart), but worked just as well. As time went on, I spotted a Presto in Wal Mart, and bought one. I HATED IT!!. The magnetic cord SUCKS. (Not to be critical)Anyway, I've now graduated to a Surf & Turk turkey fryer, but still use the Daizeys for pillar & palm waxes, and the Presto is for gels only--I still hate it.If you can find one, buy the Daizey.FredronFredron, I did a search on Daizey deep fryer/crock pot and got no results - is that spelled correctly? I didn't have a lot of time to conduct a search, though, so I didn't look far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane42 Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 I emailed Amazon and told them that I don't like this pot because IT DOESN'T WORK......(smile)....they sent me a return label to print so I can send it back paid by them. And....they just emailed me and said a new on is on the way. I haven't paid a dime in any shipping charges. I can't think of a company that I have ever dealt with that is any better than Amazon. I am frankly surprised at their great customer service. Now....the test....will the new pot work for me or am I jinxed? Donita LouiseDonita,Amazon.com has great customer service...other companies could take a lesson from them! I have no qualms at all buying from them...they exchange and pay the shipping charges, no questions asked!Glad it worked out for you.Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane42 Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 Fredron, I did a search on Daizey deep fryer/crock pot and got no results - is that spelled correctly? I didn't have a lot of time to conduct a search, though, so I didn't look far.I searched forever myself...I believe I finally found it under "Dazey".Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredron Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 Hold the presses. Write this day down. I made a mistake.The correct spelling for the crock pot/deep fryer I use is Dazey, not Daizey.A Google search still shows them.Fredron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane42 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hold the presses. Write this day down. I made a mistake.The correct spelling for the crock pot/deep fryer I use is Dazey, not Daizey.A Google search still shows them.FredronSorry, fredon...I just read my response and realized it did not sound very nice...:embarasse I had been searching on Ebay for it....looked around the last time it was mentioned on these boards and couldn't find it...then "googled" it myself and realized what the spelling was. I just quickly responded without thinking..please accept my apology.Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 I have my four Prestos...I haven't tried them yet. I will say this:1) I like the thermostat control idea...2) Should be nice for tiny runs3) The element on the outside-bottom should be protected from drippings, etc.4) Keep in mind, it is basically a HOT PLATE with a thermostat. So treat it as such.5) The magnet cord "thing" is trash. I see me taking all four apart and hard-wiring a plug on each.6) Judging color in a black pot is something I personally don't like... but that's just me.That's about it from me until I use them.Let's hear from Donita next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feffanoose Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I have a Dazey, whish is awesome by the way. I got it at BJ's wholesale club, the only place I've ever seen them. Best thing I've ever bought. And if you set it at a smidge below the "simmer" setting it holds a constant 170* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 Did you get it recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feffanoose Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Not too horribly long ago, around Christmas. You could call to see if they have them anymore, and not waste a trip. I never saw them on their web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 I just got my replacement Presto from Amazon today. I will try it tomorrow with just water and check the temperature. I don't like the magnet connection because it comes apart so easily. But....tomorrow I will judge it again.....I want a small pot for just a couple of candles....because I don't have the room I did in Virginia....I had room for several 30 pound Wecks....just not enough electricity .......tripped the circuit breaker all of the time. Donita Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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