Bought a $5 mini waffle maker at Goodwill, it took 8 tries to get one good waffle

So I found this tiny waffle maker at a thrift store in Austin for 5 bucks. Figured hey, perfect for single servings, right? First waffle came out as a burnt mess stuck to both plates. I tried adjusting the batter amount, adding more oil, even setting a timer exactly at 3 minutes. After 7 failed attempts over a week, I finally got a golden brown waffle on try number 8. The secret was letting it preheat for a full 5 minutes and using a tablespoon measurement instead of eyeballing it. Now the thing works great for personal sized waffles but man, was it a headache to figure out. Anyone else ever grabbed a cheap kitchen gadget that required way more trial and error than it was worth?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunashah1mo ago

found a bread machine at a yard sale once for 3 bucks. first loaf came out like a brick you could use to build a house. tried different settings, different flours, even watched like 5 youtube tutorials. took me about two weeks of bad bread to realize the paddle was loose and not mixing right. glad you got your waffle maker working though, nothing beats that feeling when a thrift store gamble finally pays off.

paul_mason121mo ago

oh man, that paddle thing is a classic bread machine trap @lunashah - i had the same issue with a goodwill find and it turned out the little plastic clip that holds the paddle on was just worn down, had to replace it with a zip tie for a quick fix until i found a replacement online. idk why they always seem to break in that exact spot.