Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Well, this product makes great panini!You can use it to make just about any sandwich very special.If you use really fresh ingredients, the results are as good as at any market in Italy (that is where I got hooked on these).It not only makes Panini, but can be used to grill chicken, hamburgers, sausage, etc, and then throw in the buns before assembling for a gourmet treat.
I got mine as a Christmas gift and used it at least weekly for about 6 months till I moved, and had to pack it for a while.When I got it out of storage (January the next year) it worked for only 4 times, then just stopped.It wouldn't heat; lights wouldn't come on, nothing worked!
I called the local Krups repair site, and they told me if it was over 1 year old, throw it away and buy another.I was royally upset!Appliances that cost over $100 should not fail in 6 months of use!In the old days, a repair shop could fix anything, and they would never tell you to throw it away.
Well, I went to Amazon and read the many similar stories of short life, and sudden failure and realized I was out of luck.After the one year warranty expires, the repair places (who normally would just get a new warranty replacement from Krups and have it sent to you) won't touch it.
Having nothing to lose, I removed the single Phillips screw in the center of the underside of the unit and opened up the unit.The griddle surface separates from the stainless base once this screw is removed.In here I saw a device which looks like a resistor held in place by two small clamps inside a clear plastic tube.I plugged the unit in and tested the voltage across the terminals of this device, and it read 125V.I knew immediately that this was the problem, as it was preventing the entire unit from getting voltage.I disassembled the clamps and slid the tube off, then cut the part off of the two wires.
Looking on the web, I found out the part is a simple and very common "heat fuse", intended to break the circuit if the thermostat (located in the top half) failed and the unit started to melt down or overheat.
This device does not reset once the unit cools, but sacrifices itself.When it exceeds 240 degrees centigrade, it disconnects power to the unit permanently and must be replaced.This is the reason so many people have had failures.
Either the unit runs hotter than the designers anticipated (most likely), the current is too high (doubtful as the unit draws 1500 Watts, 750W per side and the device is rated for 15 Amps at 120 Volts.1500W only draws 12.5 Amps, so that is well below the 15 Amp capacity of the component), or it was a faulty component.Considering that these components are used in a huge number of heating appliances, it is most likely that the designed temperature for this component is too high. Here is an excerpt from the manufacturers web site:
"The temperatures experienced during normal operation, including expected temperature overshoots, will determine the life expectancy of the TCO. Nuisance trips can result if the thermal cutoff rating is too close to the temperatures experienced during normal operation (this is probably what happens!). Continuous temperatures above 200
