I get about 2/10 balls to come out as one solid piece. All the rest split in half while freezing and come out of the mold in half. Any suggestions?
63710
I have been using distilled water (don't know if that would make a difference). I hold my hands round the outside for a minute or so then push the grey bit out, the sphere is still stuck inside the grey bit at that point. Then I run it under warm (not hot) water for maybe 30 secs and using one hand squeeze the grey bit to loosen the edges, run it under more water if necessary and it usually pops out.
63711
what I did was to fill the water under the fill line as I think the fill line is way to high and when the water expands it has no choice but to crack. The other thing I found was that if you left them in the freezer for several days they did crack into pieces as well. If I did not use them after about two days in the freezer I took them out and put them into a larger container in the freezer and then filled the molds again. This seemed to help and gave me a few spares if I needed them. They really seem to work best if you use them right after they freeze, which is easy for a restaurant but not at home. But if you take them out at that point they are as close to perfect as you can get. Hope that helps!! what I did was to fill the water under the fill line as I think the fill line is way to high and when the water expands it has no choice but to crack. The other thing I found was that if you left them in the freezer for several days they did crack into pieces as well. If I did not use them after about two days in the freezer I took them out and put them into a larger container in the freezer and then filled the molds again. This seemed to help and gave me a few spares if I needed them. They really seem to work best if you use them right after they freeze, which is easy for a restaurant but... » Read More what I did was to fill the water under the fill line as I think the fill line is way to high and when the water expands it has no choice but to crack. The other thing I found was that if you left them in the freezer for several days they did crack into pieces as well. If I did not use them after about two days in the freezer I took them out and put them into a larger container in the freezer and then filled the molds again. This seemed to help and gave me a few spares if I needed them. They really seem to work best if you use them right after they freeze, which is easy for a restaurant but not at home. But if you take them out at that point they are as close to perfect as you can get. Hope that helps!! « Show Less
63712
I over fill it and then carefully press the top down, then cover the hole and flip to dump the excess. I always get a perfect ball. I will try the hot water method and see if it freezes clearer..........
63713
I found the cause of that to be running the water over the mold to loosen it up to peel it off. I use the cold tap water now, which has helped stop that most of the time. I also now let the mold sit out on the counter for a bit, say 5 minutes or so, so the mold can warm up. This is fine if you have time to do it, but, it has prevented the ice ball from splitting or cracking. As for splitting inside the freezer, no ideas there. Hope this helps.
63714
I remove tops before completely frozen, rotate cubes in mold. It allows cubes to expand?? I've had good results keeping the sphere in one piece.
63715
I find that happens when the mould is overfilled. Also, try running it longer under warm water prior to pulling it apart.
63716
I get the best results by slightly over filling then putting my finger over the hole and flipping them over onto a small plate, then as they freeze from the clear part down it forces a little more water out and they come out much better with very few cracks.
63717
Most of the time, mine seem to crack when they freeze too fast. I use hot water to fill molds, then place the molds into a small soft cooler which is then closed and placed into the freezer. The combination of the hot water and extra insulation slows down the freezing process. The results wont be perfect, but it vastly improved the quality of my ice spheres.
63718
Start with very hot water. This slows the freezing processes and has the side effect of producing very clear ice. The hotter the better, but not so hot you melt your trays.
381123
I guess you could just unmold the balls and put them in ziploc bags or wrap them in waxed paper so they dont stick together while they are still wet from unmolding. After a few hours you can probably just put them in any bin or container
132463
I never actually measured the amount I put in. I fill them up and pour some out. Sometimes the balls crack, but I've never had one crack apart. I use filtered water. Maybe that might make a difference.
967460
I just work it around, prying out a little at a time & in short order it can be popped out. The warmth from my hands helping as I go. Also, try not filling it all the way to the top before freezing. The water will expand while it freezes. Full to about 80% to 85%. Hope that helps.
548161
I put them under hot running water for a few seconds on all sides and around where the top of the mold meets the cap. Then I firmly hold the mold while gently wiggling the top as I pull. If it doesn't release immediately (don't force it), I run the water over them again for a second or two on all sides again, and that usually works. Then I use the hot water to rinse out the mold, and it's good to go for next time. P.S. I've had mine for almost two years using this method, and have never had one break.
1267257
Two halves of a piece to be melted together later. I made one half then when making the second half, I put the already made half on top and let that harden together. It saved the putting them together later step. It worked well for me. Good luck! :)
1199823
Great question.. Give it a try with the mixture of water for the Epsom salt to freeze in a mold. Post your result please!
1643774
I have not done this yet, but plan on it. Apparently having clear water, boiling it, etc. does not matter that much in the big picture. Controlling the freezing from the top down...where water essentially pushes the "not-clear-parts" downward...is the most crucial part. So if you fill a pot of water, submerge this style of mold then turn it upside down, and pull it out of the water with the opening still in contact with the bigger body of water, and finally use a wire to keep it in that position while freezing...you should get a clear sphere. If you need a visual of this, search "alcademics" where I saw this and you can get a step by step.
2208734
My wife had same problem when she loaded each side and then presssing the two sides together. She solved it by not loading the two halves and then pressing it together. It came out perfectly when she assembled the two halves and then pressed the butter in from the slot on the bottom!
1700438
I find this mold a bit more fuss than the Norpro Ice Pop maker. It will work well however. First remove the lid. This is much easier if you have not overfilled the mold as the lid will freeze to the excess as it swelled during freezing. The other obstacle is if your sticks are frozen crooked, that will make it harder to remove the lid as well. Let the mold stand till you see frost forming at this point dip mold in warm to hot water up to the lip of the mold and hold for up to a minute. take mold out of the water and remove the pops. If your sticks are so crooked that the lid cannot come off dip in water with lid on and then all pops will pull out with the lid. Hope this helps. I find this mold a bit more fuss than the Norpro Ice Pop maker. It will work well however. First remove the lid. This is much easier if you have not overfilled the mold as the lid will freeze to the excess as it swelled during freezing. The other obstacle is if your sticks are frozen crooked, that will make it harder to remove the lid as well. Let the mold stand till you see frost forming at this point dip mold in warm to hot water up to the lip of the mold and hold for up to a minute. take mold out of the water and remove the pops. If your sticks are so crooked that the lid cannot come off... » Read More I find this mold a bit more fuss than the Norpro Ice Pop maker. It will work well however. First remove the lid. This is much easier if you have not overfilled the mold as the lid will freeze to the excess as it swelled during freezing. The other obstacle is if your sticks are frozen crooked, that will make it harder to remove the lid as well. Let the mold stand till you see frost forming at this point dip mold in warm to hot water up to the lip of the mold and hold for up to a minute. take mold out of the water and remove the pops. If your sticks are so crooked that the lid cannot come off dip in water with lid on and then all pops will pull out with the lid. Hope this helps. « Show Less
2207719
I filled mine to about 1/8 inch from full....this seemed to give me more uniformly round balls. Hope this helps. I was really nervous with my 1st batch....but don't be.....it's really fun and easier than you think. Good luck. Let me know what flavored you do and how they were.
1971179
Tammy, I figured out after that happened to me was to get the motor running and pour the mixture in using the slot in the top. I haven't had any more trouble with it sticking. It does seem to freeze up quicker than the time it says in the booklet. I scrap it out with a rubber spatula and put it in a container to finish in the freezer. I got a good hint from another web site to put a little acholol ( rum or tequila)in it to keep it from freezing rock hard. Hope this helps
1321142
I make sure that the 2 halves are together and fill through the hole at the top. I leave about a 1/2 inch free at the top for expansion. I let them freeze for approx. 4-6 hours.
876996
1 rinse 2 fill bottom half almost full. 3 press top half into bottom half gently. 4 slowly fill spheres through the small holes if needed. 5 pick it up keeping it level and cover small holes with fingers and spill excess water. 6 place on level surface in freezer. 7 when removing frozen ice balls, rinse first to make removal easier.
408225
It sounds like you received a defective ball. The distributor (Plasmart) will replace it - they are good to work with. You can contact them through the website at perplexus.net and explain what happened.
234330
I have no problem all balls stay in net. I removed the target because I was wearing a hole in it? Try removing the target to see if this resolves the problem.
984174
I think we had to either chissel the mold or rip the mold apart to get the finished product out, u get two tries