Croquade U11002 Maker Bundle, Includes Belgian, Stuffed American-Style Waffle Plate, Silver

Update: Croguade functioned until March 2021. I will try to fix the thermal whatchamacallit.You too are probably dissatisfied with the state of waffle irons in 2015 and wondering if this Croquade waffle iron is worth all the money. I don't know. I was moved to get this waffle maker after my 18 year old waffle maker needed to be retired and my subsequent frustration with its replacement -- the Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker complete with really stupid pancake plates*. I returned the Cuisinart, and plunked down 2x the money for this, but at least with the Croquade my second set of plates would actually be useful and I would have the option to become a collector of even more plates. (I passed on the Breville because of it's electronics and non-removable plates.)Thus far I've only made Liege waffles. They were a success and the waffle plates cleaned up beautifully. Changing/removing the plates is more involved than the pop-out plates on the Cuisinart. The Croquade requires a nickel to unscrew two screw, sliding two clips to release the pins, and a pull to release the plates from the hooks. The last step is a motion that I am still figuring out the sweet spot.A reservation is that a plastic piece of the handle assembly knocked off when I was taking the waffle maker out of the cabinet. It popped back on, but ... spells future trouble I am sure.Ultimately I am happy with the machine, if not the price.[*The really stupid pancake plates were the first strike - because I could only wonder how much they had added to the cost of the waffle maker. The second strike was the burn I got the first time I reflexively went to close the waffle iron. I can't help but feel it is a bad design the way the top, when open, angles away from you and thus the handle even more so. The third strike was that it only had 2 rubber inserts in the plastic feet on the bottom.]

This waffle iron works amazing for making Leige waffles, until it fails. One day I went to use it and the light wouldn't turn on. Like a few others reviewers said, the reason was because the thermal protection fuse had blown. Luckily this is a simple repair if you can use a soldering iron. I ordered SDF DF240S from Digikey as recommended by someone else. After unscrewing the plate on the side without the dial you have access to the wires and fuse. I did not need to cut or replace any heatshrink as other reviews suggested. Cut just out the old fuse and soldered in the new one. See my photos for more detail.

Actually, I love this waffle iron and all its accessories. It's worked great for 4 months. I've kept it plugged into a surge protector to keep it safe. It's never been near the sink or had anything spilled on it. Never had to clean it with anything but a paper towel at most. Today I was making chocolate waffles and it died in the middle of the second batch for no reason at all. No power surges, no burning smell, nothing. Just faded out. pfffff Now its a year later, the second one burned out and they sent me a third. I took one apart and theres nothing obvious wrong, unlike the other poster. But dead is dead. Good company service but these are lemons.

It is a good product but I was disappointed that it did not have a beep system to alert me when waffle was done. I had to check on it after a few minutes. Waffles were delicious.

Love the waffles, but... after maybe 20 uses this year the element blew up and blew a hole right through the plateCan't find any replacement elements - they are put together with security screws so likely not intended to be a user servicable part.Sad day... would recommend for the waffles, not the longevity.

Works well, but a little difficult to slide the lock to change and/or clean the griddle plate. I do like that it comes apart for easy cleaning

I used it for two weeks and it burned out. Now it is too late to return.Also, only two plates were included, not the three advertised. There was no Stuffed Waffle Plate.

Beware - the description is misleading. "Croquade U11002 Belgian Waffle Maker Bundle, Includes Belgian Waffle Plate, Stuffed Waffle Plate and American-Style Waffle Plate " There are only TWO plates included, not THREE.