PRIMO PR406IM
A one-litre removable steel bowl, a 100-watt compressor and three functions: ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt. Sixty minutes per batch and nothing to pre-chill.
Un litro de acero por poco dinero
PRIMO is a Benelux appliance brand that sells widely in northern Europe. This ice cream maker is its compressor model: no frills, with the steel bowl that comes out whole and three separate functions.
Our score, after reading the reviews one by one.
What you would expect from 100 watts of compressor with a litre: fine if the mix goes in cold from the fridge.
Three functions and then you wait. The removable bowl saves the worst moment, which is getting the ice cream out.
1 litro: tres raciones por tanda.
The removable steel bowl and the price, among the lowest with a compressor.
Four things you notice
in use, not on the box
How the ice cream comes out
Fine. With a litre and 100 watts it is better not to fill the bowl right up: the ice cream grows as it churns and needs room.
How long it really takes
PRIMO quotes 60 minutes per batch. It is one of the slow ones in the comparison, but nothing has to be pre-chilled beforehand.
Day to day
The steel bowl comes out whole, so you take it to the table or the freezer without decanting twice.
Weight
Almost eight kilos. It is not one to put away and get out: it asks for a permanent spot on the worktop. It is sold in Spain and across a good part of the European Amazons.
Menos trasvases, menos helado perdido
On many ice cream makers at this price the bowl is fixed to the body and you have to scrape the ice cream out from above with the machine in front of you. Here the steel bowl lifts out whole: you cover it and it goes into the freezer just as it is, or you empty it into the tub in one go. That is the difference between losing two spoonfuls per batch and losing none.
Bowl capacity
Material, y desmontable
Compressor power
Helado, sorbete y yogur helado
What it wins and what you have to accept
- Its own compressor: no need to pre-freeze the bowl the night before
- The cheapest in the compressor range
- LCD screen with timer
- Removable steel bowl
- The one that takes least worktop space
- 135 W and 1.2 litres: the lowest rung of its brand
- It falls short as soon as you want more quantity or more flavours
- It does not make yoghurt
- The recipe booklet doesn't give balanced formulas; the recipe is up to you
Especificaciones de la PRIMO PR406IM
La PRIMO PR406IM frente a sus rivales
Ströme ICE0831
200 ml less, an aluminium bowl and a display, in the same shop.
MEDION MD 10169
The same litre and the same compressor in 22 centimetres of height.
Clatronic ICM 3846
No display: a four-position dial and nothing else.
Springlane ELLI
35 watts more and 200 millilitres more bowl.
Would we buy it? Yes, if the litre of steel is what you are after
It is an unpretentious ice cream maker that does what it promises: a litre, its own compressor and a steel bowl that comes out whole. The hour per batch puts it among the slow ones, and eight kilos is a lot to put away. Its eight reviews are too few to speak of durability, and the price changes quite a bit from country to country.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pre-freeze anything?
No. It has a built-in compressor and starts cooling on its own.
¿Por qué importa que la cuba se saque?
Because the ice cream comes out in one go, with no scraping with the machine in front of you. The bowl gets covered and goes into the freezer just as it is.
¿Hace yogur o yogur helado?
Frozen yoghurt: it churns a yoghurt that is already made. It does not ferment the milk.
Is it sold in Spain?
Yes, and on several European Amazons. The price varies quite a bit between countries: it is worth comparing.
¿Una hora por tanda no es mucho?
It is one of the slow ones, yes. In exchange there is no bowl to freeze the night before, which is twelve hours of waiting.
Which would we buy instead?
The Springlane ELLI if you want more power, or the MEDION MD 10169 if the cupboard gap is low.
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