I bought this ice cream maker one summer, used it a few times, and them carefully cleaned, dried and stored it away for a while. Okay, quite a while. I actually forgot I owned an ice cream maker until I ran across the instruction booklet a year or two later. But when I unpacked it, I discovered a hole had somehow gotten corroded through the bowl and the gel inside had started to leak out. I had barely used this machine, I had stored it properly in the original packaging, and yet it ended up with this hole! It worked fine for the brief time I was able to use it, but there was no reason for it to develop a hole. When I called Rival about it, they couldn't even provide a replacement bowl because it was winter at the time. What??? Why wouldn't you carry a product just because it was winter? Needless to say, I threw the whole thing in the trash and will never buy a Rival ice cream maker again. Durability Not durable at all, since it developed a hole from just storing it away long-term.

WDMmom

West Des Moines, IA

I got this a few years ago when this was on a sale. Me and my boys were so looking forward to having some homemade ice cream. We followed the directions and we didnt get enough ice cream. I just think its heavy and complicated and just too much work to make some ice cream. This was not something I am happy with. I wouldnt recommend this to anyone. Its too much of a hassle to get it to work properly and the ice cream doesnt really come out the way you want.

berni3883

USA

We moved into a home that had a peach tree. A real peach tree. My first thought was Homeade Peach Ice Cream!!! Unfortunately, I had to wait for the blossoms to turn into fruit, and, of course the fruit to ripen. Finally, they were ready to be turned into frozen heaven. I always hated the thought of having to buy rock salt to make ice cream at home, so I looked for an ice cream maker that didnt need it. My Rival was the perfect choice. No rock salt, many variations of recipes and ideas, easy, easy to do. Easy directions, and easy clean up. Makes wonderful ice cream. My grandaughters first solid food was our homeade peach ice cream, fresh out of the freezer, and off of the tree!! I highly recommend the Rival Ice Cream Maker for all of your fresh peaches!!

Kareninlakecounty

Eustis, FL

Before I could use this machine more than twice, the top plastic "lid" was dropped and it developed a nice long crack. However, it's still usable, just not pretty, and it's now more fraglie. I'm planning on keeping an eye out for a used one at the thrift store, so I can get a new lid. (And having a second frozen cup would be a great thing, too.) A couple of times the frozen bowl must not have been cold enough, and the ice cream mixture never turned into ice cream. But the rest of the times, after a new spot in the freezer, it worked great! We have only made ice cream in it, but this summer we'll try making sorbet and possibly frozen yogurt. It's easy to clean and you have to admit looks pretty cool.

thesparklegirl

Seattle, WA

My husband got this unexpected present for our wedding. I had never thought of owning an ice cream maker before, but I was interested and wanted to try it out. I am a "want it now" sort of person, so I was a little sad that I'd have to wait for the bowl to freeze in the freezer overnight. It was worth it though! This Rival made really good and quick ice cream. The motor is kinda loud, but not loud enough that it would keep me from making ice cream ever. It only took a few ingredients, and I like the fact that you did not have to add any rock salt to the mix. My husband loves the strawberry ice cream, and I am a fan of the chocolate. The only real downside to this product is the precious real estate it takes up in my freezer. We have a pretty small fridge so room is already at a minimum without the bowl in the freezer.

mjtd

Stanton, CA

This little machine I got when I was brand new to ice cream making. You don't need any salt which is great. To me, I would rather freeze the bowl in advanced then to have to buy ice cream salt. Anyway, so you freeze the bowl about a day in advance. That can pose a challenge to the "right now" kind of people. What I would do though, is right after washing, I would just stick it in my freezer and keep it there till I needed it. It's small so it fit right in a little unused spot in my freezer. After getting the ingredients together, it takes only about 30 minutes to get it done. If you like it softer, then less time. There is a certain hardness that it will not pass until you actually put the done ice cream in the freezer which is kind of a downer for me. I like my ice cream harder but the frozen bowl isn't big enough to get it that cold and hard. Unfortunately, I lost a little part that goes to this and can't find it and it's useless without it. I am just saving for a Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment to my mixer instead. But, this little guy was a great starter and for the money you can't beat it.

MissMom43

Sacramento, CA

I am from a big family, and we have always had a large hand crank ice cream maker. My family received this a few years and it has been put to good use. Now that we have all moved out if we wanted to make ice cream we were out of luck. The Rival Ice Cream Maker is a nice little piece of kitchen equipment. We can now make home made ice cream when there one of us goes home. This little ice cream maker really cranks out the ice cream. We typically start it up after we have had dinner and it is finished pretty quickly. One of the cons for this is that the bowl has to be frozen for a solid 24 hours for the machine to really work. I tried it with an 8 hour freeze and it didn't really do that well, the ice cream turned out more like a malt or shake. However that really isn't too big of an issue. It has a nice slot in the top so that you can add in things like fresh fruit or chocolate chips, which is nice. Cleanup isn't a breeze, but it isn't too bad. Overall pretty good item.

df5364

Holcomb, KS

I received this as a gift for christmas one year.  My kids were very excited about the possibility of making home made ice cream.  The first attempt worked well but it made such a small batch that we all basically got a couple of spoonfuls and that was it!  After that, the container warped and I was never able to get the machine to seal.  In order to make ice cream I had to hold the top on while it ran, otherwise it would not stay in and churn the ice cream!  I even had my husband try to seal it- as I can sometimes have mechanical issues getting things lined up correctly- I think its call impatience and he was not able to get the lid on either.   We did make a few more batches of ice cream with it but it was just such a pain having to stand and hold the machine the entire time for such a small amount of ice cream.

fireflyfields

Ionia, MI

This ice cream maker is great for making a small batch of ice cream.  I keep the freezer unit in the freezer so it's always ready when I want to whip up a batch.  I don't need to have ice or salt on hand and it's a lot quieter.  It freezes quickly too.  The only downside is that it only makes a small batch, which isn't very practical for our large family.

danelleurban

Wichita, KS

I received the Rival GC9155 Ice cream maker as a birthday present last year. It is very easy to use and the ice cream I've made in it has come out tasting fantastic. There are a few problems I have with this ice cream maker. The first being that after I'd only used it twice, the seal came away and it has leaked ever since. The seal fits between the 2 bowls that attach together to make one big bowl for mixing the ice cream in. Without the seal in place, the ice cream mixture drips down inside the bottom of the machine.  Another problem is the area where you are supposed to pour the ice cream mix through is way too small and awkwardly placed. Because the ice cream mixture has to be poured in while the machine is already started, the ice cream mixture always ends up dripping down the side and making a bit of a mess. The last problem is storage of the freezer bowls. They take up quite a bit of freezer space. But they do a good job of freezing the ice cream quickly.    

mmc768

Pasadena, TX