Popcorn popper 50030178 I found this old popper like my nanny used to use. But I don't know how much popcorn or oil to use can you help me. I have the measuring cup lid all the parts with it.

Most M/W use an estimated setting based on ounces of corn. I've found that many do not tell you how much is in each bag. The bags usually have no size markings. Check the face of the box for something like "2 each 3 oz bags".
* Try to use a normal re-heat setting (at full power) and cook a bag using the a minute longer than the recommended setting. Listen to the popping sounds and stop the M/W when the pops slow to 3-4 seconds. (2-3 seconds with 'Kettle' corn) Note the time lapsed and this is your correct setting. You may try the popcorn menu to find a similar setting but really your best bet is to use the method above as it's the most accurate.
* Note; Old or stale corn will not all pop (it dries out as it gets older and there is not enough moisture in the kernnal to steam pop.)
* M/W varies from model to model and brand to brand. Only way to check is to try several settings to get the best results.
* Pop corn brands vary in quality. You will find the better name brands pop more.
* Once you find a good popping brand then stick to that size and brand. (unless they change it on you.)
* If your really stuck on getting every corn kern popped then go with an air popper. It won't come out of cooker till it pops.

Good movie, don't forget the goobers, milk duds, frosty...
Aloha, ukeboy57

Popcorn is a low-moisture food which can cause a microwave to overheat, as can a failure of the cooling fan or blocked vents.

You should always turn a paper plate upside-down on the turntable (slightly off-center for better heating) and place the popcorn container on top of that.

The paper plate elevates the popcorn for better exposure to the energy and protects the turntable from excessive heat.

Placing food off-center instead of in the center increases exposure to the energy and prevents the same spot on the turntable from being overheated repeatedly, which leads to material fatigue and cracking.

It's also a good idea to put about 1/2 cup of water in a 1-cup microwave-safe container in the corner of the oven when cooking low-moisture foods like popcorn, bacon, and potatoes.

The microwave's magnetron has a thermal protector (thermostat, TCO, or thermal fuse) attached to it.

If the magnetron gets too hot, it can be damaged or destroyed, so the thermal protector opens and disconnects the power to the whole oven.

If it is a resettable device, the power will be restored when the device cools. If it is not resettable, the device must be replaced.

FixYa does not directly notify us experts of responses, so if you have other questions, please contact me directly.

- William E. Miller, AS-EET
[email protected]
http://www.microwavecontrol.com
Microwave Oven Control Panel Repair Nationwide
"Recycling by repairing since 1982"

Make sure you don't put any dishes in the microwave with something like popcorn because they retain more heat and have nothing to transfer the heat too. If you mean the built in spinning plate that you set stuff on and you have an older model the fan might be broken. Something similar happened to my microwave as it is pretty old i just removed the panels and cleaned everything/blew it off with an air hose and it started working again. I'd check with the manufacturers also!

We can't sell you the bowl at Fixya as we only can help with instructions and so on. What I can help you with is where and who to contact about the bowl.

I believe your popper is made by WestBend. So you have a couple of choices. You can look for a repair shop that will have replacement parts. These are not that common these days but they are around. You can search on the net for them and I would talk to the store you purchased the popper from and ask where you can get parts. They may have a local repair depot that will be able to help. If that doesn't get you a source then you need to try Westbend.

Go to http://westbend.com/ and click on the support tab. Then click on replacement parts then Westbend and then popcorn popper. Select your model and it should now display all available parts. Unfortunetly the replacment parts tend to be power cords and covers so there may not be a bowl available for your model. It is still worth using the Westbend contact information and asking if they have one just in case.

Aside from other sources such as ebay or thrift shops you may not be able to find a bowl. And what you have to keep in mind is the replacement cost of the bowl plus shipping if you can find one. You may find that you will have to buy a new popper as it would cost less than getting the bowl.

I have never seen a microwave that doesn't burn popcorn if you use the "popcorn" button. Why the manufacturers keep putting them on I'll never understand. There's nothing you can do change the presets on an oven since they are built into the controller. Instead of relying on the oven, you should follw the directions on the bag. These tell you to use high power, stay by the oven and stop the cooking when the time between pops drops to 1 or 2 seconds. Stored heat will continue to pop kernels for a bit, and you won't cremate your popcorn. You'll also avoid the possibility of the bag catching fire and damaging the oven, which I have seen several times. Finally, don't expect 100% of the kernels to pop. There wil always be a few duds, and extending the cooking time just results in burned popcorn.

(BUTTER chamber thing) The little rectangular scooper-looking thing on the slope of the top is where you can put a chunk of butter that will melt from the hot air and drizzle into the popcorn popper as the popcorn is popping. My dad said you cant use oil in it

No -- it's a dry popper. Here's a link with more info.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0045ZNWBK/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1


Charlie

How old is your popcorn? If it's over a year old in the pantry and not in the fridge it tends to dry out/shrible inside. Or...note that these days instructions indicate between 2 types:
regular hot air popping method and microwave friendly popcorn. You can buy hot air poppers cheaply at many resale shops.

Popcorn is a food that has a very low moisture content, and microwave ovens rely on moisture content (water molecules) in order to cook.

If there is not enough moisture to absorb the microwave energy, much of the the energy is reflected back to the magnetron and damage it.

This is also what damages a microwave when it is run empty.

A simple solution is to add about 1/2 to 1 cup of water in a microwave-safe container in the back corner of the oven and cook your popcorn a little longer.

You'll have to experiment a few times to get the combination right for your particular model.

But allow our microwave about 15 minutes or so for the magnetron to cool down between popcorn cooking sessions.

Also, I would suggest putting a paper plate upside-down on the turntable tray, then putting the popcorn container on top of that.

This does two things: It keeps the extremely hot popcorn off the tray, reducing the chances it will crack, plus it raises the popcorn up so it will heat more efficiently.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

Sounds like the magnetron has failed. That gutteral sound is a classic symptom. I've described it to my customers as sounding like gurgling into a coffee cup. Dry popcorn is a very dry food, so not as much of the energy is absorbed. When that happens, more microwaves can reflect back to the magnetron and damage it. I'm surprised they don't mention that if and when you don't use butter. But if this is an older microwave, it may have been on its way out already. Not too many parts seem to be available for this Welbilt model, but your best bet if you want it repaired is to call their nuumber in your owner's manual. If it's older or a fairly simple counter-top microwave, then it would probably be more economcial to replace the oven.