Review · Frozen-block machine

Cecotec Gelatec 1800 Touch

It is the Gelatec 1800 with a colour TFT screen on the front. Same ten programmes, same capacity, same body: what changes is how you drive it, and the price.

10 programmes
plus RE-SPIN and MIX-IN
3 tubs
of 450 ml
24 h
of freezing
Heladera-Cecotec-Gelatec-1800-Touch-cabecera-horizontal
Heladera-Cecotec-Gelatec-1800-Touch-cabecera-vertical
The short answer

The same machine, with a screen

It works like a Ninja: you make the mix, freeze it for 24 hours in its pint, and the machine works it until it turns creamy. It does not chill: it shaves a block that is already frozen.

Only if paying for the screen is worth it to you
Buyer reviews
1 review
out of 5

Our score, after reading the reviews one by one.

What works well

The screen, which is the whole point. A colour TFT with the menus inside, instead of the buttons and dial of the 1800: you can see which programme is running and how far along it is. Its one own review says the expected: “the ice creams come out perfect, the texture is very good and it works very well”.

Ease of use

Zone control. TOP, FULL and BOTTOM decide which part of the block the blade works, and RE-SPIN runs it again when the batch has come out uneven. That is what rescues a badly frozen base.

What people complain about

That it costs sixty euros more than the ordinary 1800 for the screen, and nothing else: same ten programmes, same 1.35 litres across three 450 ml pints, same 700 watts and the same 15 cm wide body.

The real doubt

That its track record is borrowed. Underneath this machine is the same thing as underneath the Gelatec 1800, and that one carries 40% of reviews at one or two stars over jamming blades and failures within the first six weeks. Nothing says the screen fixes that.

How well it works

Four things you notice
in use, not on the box

It works with tubs, not with a bowl

It is a frozen-block machine: the mix freezes inside its pint, 24 hours ahead, and the blade shaves it until it turns creamy. There is no compressor.

A scant litre and a half, split three ways

Three pints and 1.35 litres in total, the same as the 1800. Each batch goes by the pint: three flavours, not a litre and a half at once.

Three tubs, and here that matters

Every batch needs its own overnight freeze, so the number of pints sets the pace. With three you can have three flavours ready the same day; with one, each ice cream is 24 hours from the next.

Seven hundred watts and a TFT screen

Cecotec quotes 700 W, CreamOn technology and a colour TFT touchscreen with the menus inside it. A 26 × 15 × 39.3 cm body: the same narrow silhouette as the 1800.

Heladera Cecotec Gelatec 1800 Touch horizontal 2
Heladera-Cecotec-Gelatec-1800-Touch-cabecera-vertical
And frozen drinks too

What is known about it today

Little, and it should be said plainly. One review of its own on amazon.es and a rating Amazon works out by pooling the Gelatec 1800’s. What can be stated is what it shares with its sister: the same motor, the same blade and the same pints.

10

Programmes

3 × 450 ml

Tubs included

Colour TFT

Touchscreen

1

Its own reviews, not other variants’

The balance

What it wins and what you have to accept

The best of it
  • Colour TFT screen with the menus inside
  • Zone control: TOP, FULL and BOTTOM
  • RE-SPIN and MIX-IN to finish the batch
  • Three 450 ml pints, BPA free
What you have to accept
  • A single review of its own: there is no track record to look at
  • Sixty euros more than the 1800 just for the screen
  • It shares its mechanics with the 1800, which carries 40% one- and two-star reviews
  • For a little more there is the 2100, with 750 ml more capacity
Cecotec Gelatec 1800 Touch: análisis a fondo
Specifications

Cecotec Gelatec 1800 Touch specifications

10 programmes

Plus the RE-SPIN and MIX-IN functions

3 × 450 ml

Pints included, BPA free

1.35 L

Total capacity, split up

Colour TFT touchscreen

Controls

24 h

Pre-freezing the base

TOP · FULL · BOTTOM

Blade working zones

26 × 15 × 39.3 cm

Dimensions

700 W

Motor power

Alternatives · Frozen-block machines

The Cecotec Gelatec 1800 Touch against its rivals

En su franja compiten estas tres. La Gelatec 1800 Touch cuesta hoy : these reviews tell you what you gain and what you lose with each one.

Heladera-Gelatec-1800-cabecera-horizontal
If the screen does not matter to you

Cecotec Gelatec 1800

Cecotec · Gelatec 1800
Programmes
10
Tubs
3 × 450 ml
Own reviews
55
Price today

The same machine with buttons and a rotary dial, and a good deal cheaper. That is the comparison that matters.

Heladera-Cecotec-Gelatec-2100-cabecera-horizontal
If you want more capacity

Cecotec Gelatec 2100

Cecotec · Gelatec 2100
Programmes
11
Tubs
3 · 2.1 L
Own reviews
115
Price today

The big one of the house: 750 ml more, one more programme, a touchscreen and 115 reviews behind it.

Ufesa-Gelatella-cabecera-horizontal
If you want a better build

Ufesa Gelatella

Ufesa · Gelatella
Programmes
11
Tubs
2 × 700 ml
Own reviews
11
Price today

Eleven programmes and a brushless motor, though with two pints instead of three.

Ninja CREAMi Scoop and Swirl NC701EUSTGD serving a soft-serve cone
If you want soft-serve

Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl

Ninja · NC701EUSTGD
Programmes
13
Tubs
2 · 480 ml
Two flavours
Yes
Price today
Thirteen functions and a swirl dispensing nozzle, on the most expensive and largest in the range.
The verdict

Would we buy it? No: that money buys the 2100

The screen is nicely done and zone control is useful, but that is all it adds over the Gelatec 1800, which does the same for a good deal less. And above it, at almost the same price, sits the 2100: 750 ml more capacity, one more programme, a screen as well, and 115 reviews that let you know where you stand. With a single review of its own, not this one.

Colour TFT screen

TOP, FULL and BOTTOM zones

Three 450 ml pints

Buy today
Amazon price as of
Answers to your questions

Frequently asked questions

Why do you say it has a single review?

Because the others are not its own. Amazon groups the variants of one listing, so the rating and count you see include the Gelatec 1800’s: open them and each says “Style name: Gelatec 1800”. Under the style name Gelatec 1800 Touch there is exactly one, and it is five stars.

How is it different from the Gelatec 1800?

The screen. The 1800 has touch buttons and a rotary dial; this one has a colour TFT with the menus inside. The ten programmes, the 700 watts, the scant litre and a half across three pints, even the dimensions, are identical.

What are the TOP, FULL and BOTTOM zones?

They decide which part of the frozen block the blade works: just the top, all of it, or the bottom. Useful when a batch has come out uneven, and it pairs with RE-SPIN, which runs the blade again.

Does it chill the mix?

No. Like every frozen-block machine, it works a base you froze 24 hours earlier in its own pint.

And the jamming-blade fault?

It shows up in the reviews of the Gelatec 1800 and the 2100, which share their mechanism with this one. There are not enough reviews of the Touch to know whether it happens here too, but there is no reason to think it does not.

Is it worth it against the Gelatec 2100?

Not today. The 2100 gives 750 ml more capacity, eleven programmes instead of ten, a touchscreen as well, and 115 reviews to decide on. This one asks you to trust a single review.

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