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slowlane

simac il gelataio the ice cream man--help, please!

slowlane
12 years ago

I posted this over on Cooking, and someone suggested I post here, too, so here I am :)

My hubby and I just picked up a used Simac Il Gelataio "The Ice Cream Man" at the thrift store for $10. It gets cold (very quickly), the blades turn, all looks promising.

Our version does not have numbers associated with the name--not Il Gelataio 4000 or Il Gelataio 800 or anything like that, just the name and the words "The ice cream man."

But I have searched the internet now for instructions to no avail, so I'm hoping some of you can help.

I have two specific questions:

First, does anyone know if the stainless steel bowl is removable? I know many, if not all, of the versions with numbers have removable bowls, but if ours is, I don't know how to get it out. Any ideas?

Second, are there any tricks we need to know to use it? Or do we just mix up some ice cream, pour it in and turn on the machine?

Any information would be appreciated :)

Comments (6)

  • antss
    12 years ago

    maybe you are missing the bowl ?

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago

    I have one, but the bowl is NOT removeable. I inherited it from DH's grandfather. I love it except having to wash the bowl in place. I make ice cream a lot. It's packed away in the garage at my house while we live in the temporary house during reno though so I can't tell you what markings are on it.

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago

    I went to the house and looked at mine. It's the 1600. I don't know what it means, but it's at least 15 years old. The sucker is heavy and large, but it does a good job churning and freezing ice cream. If it didn't I wouldn't keep it around as it's hard to store. That reminds me of something to be aware of. Mine says on the machine and on the instruction booklet that it must never be carried or stored on its side or back. It must always be horizontal. If yours came from a thrift store, it may have handled improperly.

    Like I mentioned, my bowl is not removable. The best way to clean it when you've made ice cream is to put a bit of warmish water in and let it sit for 10 mins or so. Then wipe out the water and the gunk.

    Mine came with a very stiff hard plastic spatula with a short handle for scooping out the cold ice cream. Assuming yours didn't come with one, go buy one. The ice cream is very stiff, especially on the bottom. A spatula with a softer head or handle won't be able to scoop well enough.

    The other trick is how to get the machine ready. My instructions say to turn the freezer on for 10 minutes before you put your base in to churn. Apparently it needs that much time to thoroughly chill.

    I never use the timer as a way to determine when the ice cream is done. I've found that the churning time in ice cream recipes isn't always accurate for this machine. Just watch and listen. You'll know when it's done.

    Your DH got a deal, btw, if it works. My MIL kept saying that her Dad paid several hundred dollars for the one I have.

    Hope that helped. Let me know if you have any questions! Enjoy your yummy ice cream!

  • craigssales_optonline_net
    12 years ago

    I also recently purchased this unit (used) and needed instructions. The entire booklet in pdf format is downloadable for FREE at http://gelataio.homestead.com/
    I noticed that someone mentioned about not tipping the unit and yours may have been handled improperly. Don't worry about that. It is just like any other refrigerator or air conditioner; it uses refrigerant that goes from liquid to gas and if you tip it the liquid needs to settle back down for about 5 minutes or you could damage the compressor. You also need to wait 5 minutes after you turn it off to restart for the same reason. Actually any time you move it, you need to wait 5 minutes before starting. Look at any window A/C instructions and they ALL say not to run it for 5 minutes after you install it. Seeing that yours gets cold, the chiller IS working properly. At $10 you STOLE it because these sell all day long for almost $200 on ebay!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Gelataio Instruction Manual

  • laranodari
    7 years ago

    http://www.iloveicecream.net/tools/ice-cream-and-gelato-maker-manuals/ Here the Simac Ice cream man Manual and others manuals too