VIVOBlue 1030W Electric Cotton Candy Machine, Commercial Candy Floss Maker with 20 inch Stainless Steel Bowl, Includes Bubble Shield Cover and Sugar Scoop, Easy Home Use, CANDY-KIT-1B

After using this a few times, here are a few things I learned:1. Even with the hood, sugar will get everywhere. Mostly on you. If you don't wear goggles, a facemask, hairnet and apron, you will find sugar in the darndest places. (and gloves, you want gloves)2. It is shockingly easy to clean. When I saw a bunch of sugar stuck to the sides of the bowl, I thought I was in for a fight. Nope. Wipes right out and water dissolves the sugar. Easy Peasy. The size is a big of an obstacle with the sink, but I managed.3. You don't need to use the pre-made and pre-packaged sugars and they actually perform worse in this. They are more powdery, so they tend to settle on the top lid of the hot metal circle in the middle. Once crystals form there, it will 'catch' on your new batches and messes will ensue. Regular sugar with a few drops of flavoring oil and either powdered or gel food coloring does the trick. And you can try fancier flavors this way too. (Lorann oils are great for flavoring. There are youtube videos on recipes/amounts/etc. I found that putting about 2 cups of sugar in a bowl with about 6 drops of flavoring and some food coloring had the best result. Mix in the bowl then pour into a freezer bag and use that to mix more/store it.)4. Speaking of crystals forming on the hot circle-you want a wet cloth on hand to wipe that area every few batches. Be really careful, that metal is incredibly hot and water plus hot metal equals steam, so be mindful of that too.5. Keep the machine on and heated in between cones. I don't know why i thought turning it off in between each one was a good idea. It's not.6. Have a cone in hand and ready in the machine when you pour the sugar in. The sugar starts spinning and floating up really quickly.7. While you can make it fancy by spraying edible glitter on the outside of cotton candy, it will settle into the underlayers pretty quick and the effect kinda gets lost. Except on your hands.8. Use the cones to catch the cotton candy, even if you plan on putting it into bags later. It's easy to slide off the cone. Don't try using a chopstick. (trust me).

Bought this for our church. Great for large crowds. The cotton candy is so soft and the flavor is great.

I bought this for my grand daughter's birthday party and it was a HUGE hit. Excellent quality and easy to use. Makes cotton candy for pennies and the kids go nuts for it. Definitely get the m odel with the dome as it tends to drift around everywhere.

So, for those of you who, like me, bought a novelty, in-home machine, and immediately thought, "If this one is good, obviously a bigger one would be even better!"Yes and No.This machine makes lots of cotton candy really quickly: Yes.This machine is just as easy to clean and to store: No.Pros:This thing spits out floss - literally the first ball I made ended up wrapped around the sugar-pouring scoop because I didn't get it out fast enough and I just ended up twirling it around the metal scoop like I was in a scene from an I Love Lucy episode.Heats up quickly and is super easy to use. None of this, turn it on and wait the longest 10 minutes of your 3 year old's life.Hard candy was crazy easy and delicious to do - and I didn't have to crush it up (and make a giant mess) like I did for the smaller machine. (I accept that the giant mess of that is more about my skill and technique than any machine associated.)Oh so fun with the kiddos as a constant refrain of "Let's make cotton candy" wafts through the house - much like the cotton candy itself.The wafting cotton candy is seriously diminished with the giant atmospheric globe, but again, HUGE (imagine a bad Mike Myers voice here, "It's a virtual planetoid"). But I can't imagine the flying floss without the dome.Cons:This machine is big - like my husband may make me choose between it and my 3 yo since they're roughly the same size.The amount of sugar that ends up spinning out on the side seems like a lot of waste. Granted, my cotton candy spinning experience is limited to these two machines in the past two weeks (I fulfilled my youthful carnie dreams in other ways), so maybe it's just the lot of a sugar spinner, but it seems excessive. The two machines seem fairly comparable to each other in this category, but this was one of the issues I was hoping to resolve when movin' on up.Speaking of moving... This thing MOVES. Seriously, like moving to the music, moves. I used it on granite, so I didn't have the marks that others reported, but I can see how it would be a problem on wood. I tried a few things to keep it in place, but ultimately it was just something I managed as I held to the side to rapidly spin my cone (when I didn't just use the scoop). I'm guessing I'll find a better solution to stabilize the legs, but it's a thing.Ironically, the spinning head that causes all the moving... really sticks. It is NOT easy to clean. At all. Honestly, what in the ever-loving world is one supposed to do in a tiny, yet cavernous, spaceship-shaped cone to eliminate burnt sugar? Aliens, give me a tip! How does one clean the crevice in the crevasse?Overall, realistically I'm going to find a home for the giant machine (don't worry, I'll keep the 3 year old too, but they may have to share a bedroom) because it's fun and I can see using it for gatherings and events and all things social and perhaps when I'm really down and just need an excuse to eat a vat of sugar in a really light and airy way.I just wanted to speak to my people who always think: "But if I had a bigger machine I could make more sugary goodness for all of the people around me." so that you could see the comparison pictures. One is with the dome on. One is without. The Diet Coke is for scale and sanity.Happy flossing.

My kids school has rented large cotton candy machines for years. My wife and kids have run the machines at various fundraisers. My kids wanted a way to make some extra money this summer so they pooled their money and bought this machine. We've had it for 4 months and it works great for making cones. My 8 year old can even make cones!Pros: Makes better cones than the larger, more expensive machines. Much easier to clean than the other commercial machines-just make sure to follow the manufacture recommendations on how to clean it. Great, quick customer service!Cons: You have to turn it off every 50 minutes or so and let it cool off for 20 minutes. This is not ideal at fairs, or when you have a line of customers.Caution: don't over tighten the screws (like we did) or you may strip them trying to get them out. Luckily the company now sells a replacement for just the metal head portion. Even though we stripped the screws on ours, we can still use the machine after purchasing the replacement part.I would definitely purchase this unit again.