Cecotec Gelatec 1800
Ten programmes, three pints and 700 watts: it is the entry point of the Cecotec range and the cheapest of the three. Its reviews need reading calmly.
The entry of the range, with small print
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.
Our score, after reading the reviews one by one.
The ice cream. “Delicious ice creams”, “it does many textures and is very easy to use”. An Italian buyer lists what he has made — chocolate, coffee slush, stracciatella and tiramisù — and says they came out favolosi. A French buyer describes a coconut sorbet as “onctueux à souhait”.
How it splits into batches. A full pint gives two bowls: the three tubs cover six people in one sitting, which is what you ask of a weekend machine.
The manual and the recipe book. A German buyer missed instructions in her own language and had to translate everything; a 71-year-old French buyer complains that no recipe book is included and that she does not know where to look for recipes.
Blade strength and early failures. “The blades jam, it has no strength to churn the mix”, and that with the freezing done by the book. Another buyer had hers broken “after a month and ten days”, just past the replacement window. A French buyer got her first unit with dead touch buttons.
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
It comes with three pints and 1.35 litres in total. Each batch goes by the pint, so it is 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 rotary dial
Cecotec quotes 700 W and CreamOn technology, with touch buttons and a rotary dial. Stainless steel body, 5 kilos and 39 cm tall: it is narrow, 15 cm wide.
What it does best, according to those who own one
Going through the 55 reviews on amazon.es, anyone whose unit works talks about the same two things: texture and variety. The problems that come up are not about the result, they are about the machine.
Programmes
Included, BPA free
Control panel
What its reviews praise most
What it wins and what you have to accept
- The cheapest of the three Cecotecs
- Three pints included, BPA free
- Ten programmes, from ice cream to frozen drinks
- Only 15 centimetres wide on the worktop
- 40% of its reviews are one or two stars
- Blades that jam, with no strength to churn the mix
- Breakdowns reported within the first six weeks
- No printed recipe book and no manual in every language
Cecotec Gelatec 1800 specifications
10 programmes
Ice creams and frozen drinks in three steps
3 tubs
Included, BPA free
1.35 L
Total capacity, split up
Touch with a rotary dial
Controls
24 h
Pre-freezing the base
Without a compressor
It works an already frozen block
26 × 15 × 39.3 cm
Dimensions · 5 kg
700 W
Motor power
The Cecotec Gelatec 1800 against its rivals
En su franja compiten estas tres. La Gelatec 1800 cuesta hoy —: these reviews tell you what you gain and what you lose with each one.
Ninja CREAMi
Three programmes fewer and one pint fewer, but with 293 reviews and a 4.2 rating.
Cecotec Gelatec 2100
The big sister: 750 ml more capacity, eleven programmes and a better rating, 3.7.
Taurus Gelato Flow
Nine programmes and 150 ml more capacity, with a 3.8 over 213 reviews.
Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl
Would we buy it? Only if the price leaves it well below the 2100
It makes good ice cream: anyone whose unit works will sign that. The problem is how many never get that far. With 40% of reviews at one or two stars and breakdowns reported inside the first six weeks, a little more money buys the 2100, with more capacity and a healthier spread of ratings. If you buy it, try it on day one and do not let the replacement window pass.
The narrowest: 15 cm
Three pints included
700 W
Frequently asked questions
Why does it only have a 3.3?
Because 40% of its reviews are one or two stars. Not over the ice cream, which people like, but over breakdowns: blades that jam, touch buttons that do not respond and machines that stop working in the first few weeks.
What is this about blades that jam?
One buyer says the machine “had no strength to churn the mix” with the freezing done by the book. It is the same kind of fault that appears on the Gelatec 2100, so it looks like a family trait rather than one stray unit.
What do I do if it fails in the first few weeks?
Do not let it slide. One buyer had hers broken “after a month and ten days” and, by ten days, was no longer entitled to a replacement but to a repair: twenty working days. Test the machine the day it arrives.
Does it chill the mix?
No. Like every frozen-block machine, it works a base you froze 24 hours earlier in its own pint.
Does it come with a recipe book?
Not on paper, and several buyers miss it. There are also complaints that the manual does not come in every language.
Is it worth it against the Gelatec 2100?
The 2100 gives 750 ml more capacity, one more programme and a better rating — 3.7 against 3.3. If the price gap is small, take the 2100. The 1800 only wins when the gap on the worktop decides: 15 cm wide.
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