Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker w/Shade Selector, Temperature Control, Mess Free Moat, Round Iron w/Nonstick Plates & Cool Touch Handle, Measuring Cup Included, Black

My review in short:Great and affordable waffle maker when used correctly! Size:This waffle maker is on the average size. The cooking plate is only about 6 inches in diameter.Disclaimer #1:Remember folks when pouring batter LESS IS MORE. Let me repeat, LESS IS MORE. Use the measuring cup that comes with the unit to pour the batter. For your first cook, pour 1/3 cup (MAXIMUM) of batter in the center of the plate, just so you can get an idea of how much the batter spreads when you close the lid. A 1/3 cup of batter will ALMOST fill the entire cooking plate once the waffle is cooked. It won't seem like a lot of batter when you pour it, but please, trust me when I say once you close the lid that batter WILL spread.I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that everyone who experienced batter overflowing everywhere, making a huge mess was due to pouring too much batter (even though it may not have seemed like a lot when pouring).Disclaimer #2I've read a lot of reviews claiming that the spill/overflow lip doesn't work. It does work, you just have to understand what the overflow lip is and isn't. The overflow lip IS simply to catch a SMALL (and I do mean small) portion of batter overflow, NOT the entire Pacific Ocean. Settings:You are able to adjust the cooking settings with a turn of a knob. This nob determines how brown the waffle will be. Turn the knob to the desired brownness and plug in the waffle maker. Once the waffle maker has reached cooking temp the light will go from red to green. I typically set mine to somewhere in the middle and it takes about 2-3mins to heat up before it's ready for the batter to be poured in. Once you pour in the batter and close the lid the light will turn from green to red (this may take a few seconds). When the waffles are done, the light will go from red to green.Cook Time:This will obviously be determined by how brown you want your waffles, but the waffles nevertheless cook quite quickly. Just be advised that this waffle maker does NOT "beep" to notify you once your waffles are ready. I do hear a slight "click" sound of the light turning green notifying that the waffles are ready but that is it, so you'll need to pay attention.Cleaning:To clean this unit I simply wipe it down with moist cloth and then a dry cloth.

The Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker w/Shade Selector, Temperature Control, Mess Free Moat, Round Iron w/Nonstick Plates & Cool Touch Handle, w/Measuring Cup Included, and in the Black color arrived in perfect new condition. I followed the simple directions as set forth in the instruction manual. I plugged in the Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker w/Shade Selector and set the shade to 3 on the dial. I immediately noticed that there is no on or off switch. It immediately starts to heat when plugged in and turns off only when unplugged. The temperature control and the shade selector are basically the only controls you have and I really have no problem with that. I just have to remember to unplug the waffle maker when I am finished using it. I purposely left it sit unplugged when I was finished making waffles and waited to see what would happen. Well, the green indicator light which tells you it is heating keeps turning off and on. The red indicator light remains on telling you it is plugged in untill you pull the electric cord plug from your wall outlet. Pulling the plug is the on and off switch. This waffle maker is only 700 watts but it heats up FAST and HOT. I found after several uses that number 2 on the dial is perfect for my taste in waffles. Number 3 is as high as I would ever use for waffles. I found that when I was in a hurry and just dumped all the waffle batter ingredients into the mixing bowl and gave it a quick stir to the correct consistancy the batter was cold and 3 on the dial worked perfectly for the first 2 waffles . Here is the deal folks. If you want your waffle to have a little moisture left in them when they hit your plate you got to take them out IMMEDIATELY or else you have tasteless-dried out- crumbling pieces of cardboard on your plate that won't even soak up butter or syrup. The baking powder recipe waffle batters turn tasteless and dry very quickly. My g-grandmother's yeast waffle batter is the best and cooks thoroughly and comes out with just the right moisture content on 2 on the dial. You will notice steam start pouring out at a very fast rate from the waffle maker just as the green indicator light goes off. Do not dilly dally around and leave the waffle in the maker as it will keep drying out and will burn and smell like burnt toast instead of a nice vanilla flavored fork tender waffle. You want crispnes but not brunt hockey pucks. The waffle releases easily from the non-stick plates. I have never used the measuring cup included with the Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker because I try to use as few cups and spoons as possible. I use a metal one half cup measuring with a handle and it fill it just to the rim to pour my waffle batter onto the waffle plate. I close the waffle maker and the lid locks into place perfectly and in less than 2 minutes the waffle is done. I found that giving the batter I just poured onto the waffle plate a quick leveling out with the measuring cup gives me a perfect round waffle with no voids and no overflowing. But if it does overflow the nice overflow rim catches it all. Folks this is a very nice easy to use waffle maker. As always practice makes perfect and just like when making pancakes you usually mess up the first one. The left overs freeze nicely and warm easily in the toaster. You just got to remember that they dry out fast. I found that it is when you add ingredients like berries or chocolate chips that you get waffles that stick to the waffle plates. I fooled around a bit and tried using this waffle maker as a panini maker and to grill cheese. You can get it to work but it just isn't worth all the mess and work involved. The Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker w/Shade Selector cleans up really easily. It also stores nicelly standing up on it's edge. The cord storage is also a nice feature. The fact that the waffle maker is small was the selling point for me. I have a large waffle iron that makes 4 square waffles at a time but unless I am having a crowd in for brunch it's not ptactical for this single empty nester. I personally have perfected my g-grandmothers yeast waffle batter recipe so that I get maybe 3 waffles from one small bowl of batter. The only thing I find wrong with the waffle maker is that the black finish which I selected because it was on sale at a huge savings is that the finish is matte and shows all of your oily or buttery finger prints, They come off but a smooth gloss finish would have been better. The Chefman Anti-Overflow Belgian Waffle Maker w/Shade Selector is a great product and a really good buy when it is on sale. It is nothing more than what it claims to be and in it's price range. Buy it and you will be glad you did. No bells and whistles just a plain easy to use waffle maker. Sorry that this is a long review but I like reviews and testimonials all wrapped into one. You wanted a review and now you got one from a classically trained retired chef.

First, there's a feature that allows the unit to be vertical when it is in storage... that's great for the kitchen cabinet garage where space is limited! Then the feature that catches - or tries to - the overfill. It does a pretty good job, but a little deeper groove would be fantastic.The Red and Green lights are really easy to tell when the waffle is ready to receive the batter, and then when to take the waffle out. At this price point, it's a great unit to consider.

Love it!! I love that you don't have to grease it at all before you use it. Read the instructions on how much batter to start with. It says 1/2 cup (use the measuring cup or comes with) as long as I never go over that amount, it never goes over and spills out. It heats up fairly quickly and cooks fast. Use the 2-3 settings in the beginning I've found certain batter is too cooked at 3 level 3, while others is perfect. Makes great waffles everytime! Not sticky, good value. Seems durable. Love the functionality. The plates don't come off, but honestly there's never anything left on them when the waffle is done so I don't have to clean it either. If you use a little too much batter the moat catches it. See pic.