anyone tried a Cheaper Cotton candy machine?

[john henry]

I would like to start making some maple cotton candy several times a year, mostly for family and friends. There is quite a range of price tags on different models. For our occasional use I can't see us spending $1,000 on a commercial unit. I am tempted to try a 20" unit that sells for @ $150 - 160 on e bay... it is 1050 watts and is usually pink and says candy floss machine. Anyone have any experience with these? Or has anyone went the economy route with success? A recommendation would also be appreciated.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We bought a Vivo model on Amazon for $180. It may be the same model you are looking at but we got it in blue. It works great and spins out cotton candy very quickly. For the occasional user like I assume you would be, it should be fine.

[john henry]

Thanks for the info that looks like the same unit. What do you recommend for the white sugar to Maple sugar ratio 5:1, 4:1, 3:1?

[BCPP]

Never made it but I suspect it will be a cost vs taste trade off and may vary depending on grade of syrop the sugar was made from! At 100% maple sugar the candy's going to taste very maple. Unfortunately you're going to have to make numerous batches and get your kids to judge. I'm sure they will be willing to make the sacrifice!

[wiam]

Have not used that machine. In my commercial one I can go 1:1. Usually I do 2:1. Straight maple makes a mess. Would not recommend.

[S Wright]

I can't speak to the cheap machines, we use a Gold Medal machine (can't recall the model off the top of my head) we run a 3:1 ratio. Seems to give it enough flavor to make people happy, it is distinctly maple yet not overpowering, and aside from very humid days the ratio keeps things light and fluffy without making too much of a mess. It sounds like you're not looking to get into to make money, but for anyone else who is reading this and considering going with a cheap model for more than just occasional use....I will just say that our setup was ~$1000-1200 and I made my money back in 6-7 weeks at our local farmers market. Not just gross, actual profit which included buying my maple sugar from another producer. I honestly hate making the stuff but it is too lucrative to stop lol

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I honestly don’t know, my partners wife runs it. We just paid for it:). She uses a maple flavored floss from Amazon mixed with some of our sugar. I think it’s quite a bit more floss than maple sugar. Will try to remember to ask her this weekend. We have also found it to be very lucrative. We sell for $2 each, they are like $5-7 at fairs. Pretty sure after initial machine investment, it costs about $0.30 to make one so good profit for sure.

[john henry]

Thanks for taking the time help me on this. I plan to order one and try your suggestions on the ratio of the mix.

[maple flats]

Do bees become a big issue when making the maple cotton candy?

[SeanD]

I have the Vortex which is just above hobby level, but not quite the higher end commercial units. I've had to replace the carbon elements which weren't a big deal, but after I replaced the thermostat last year, it doesn't seem to work as well. I think I might jump to a commercial unit. This one has paid for itself.

If it wasn't so popular, I'd give it up in a heartbeat. It's a full time job when I'm at a market. I'd rather be chatting with customers about our syrup and honey, giving out samples, etc. We also sell for $2 per stick.

Yellow jackets show up in the fall, but typically bees are not an issue.

How heavy are those commercial units? Do you have to buy a cart for them? How about noise level? The bubble on ours rattles something fierce and I have to pad it with paper towels.

[DaveB]

What sugar and granule size do you guys use to for your maple cotton candy? I see that folks do a ratio of maple sugar but the only floss sugar that I see has flavors. Is the maple sugar that you use powdery or small granules?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Our sugar is pretty small and granular once sifted and we use that.

[Sugarmaker]

We use 4:1 (domino white, 4 lb and 1 lb maple sugar). Don't know about the small machines We have a commercial unit and it works very well. Good luck.
Regards,
Chris

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Just got done boiling for the day and had our family and friends over. Ratio was 5:1 in the Vivo machine. Doesn’t take much floss or sugar to make a lot of cotton candy. Do it in an open space if possible, my buddy’s wife said she got some stray floss on the cubbards doing it in the kitchen. It was only our 2nd time using, worked great.

[wiam]

What sugar and granule size do you guys use to for your maple cotton candy? I see that folks do a ratio of maple sugar but the only floss sugar that I see has flavors. Is the maple sugar that you use powdery or small granules?
You don’t need “floss” sugar. Most use white table sugar. I have used different granule size maple sugar with no noticeable difference.

[BCPP]

You don’t need “floss” sugar. Most use white table sugar. I have used different granule size maple sugar with no noticeable difference. Agreed, look on you tube and you can even throw in whole hard candies!