Hamilton Beach 4 Piece Belgian 26020 Reviews Summary

Waffle Quality

Pros:

• "It makes 4 square generous waffles."
• "Only used it once so far, but loved the way my waffles came out! They were crisp on the outside, soft and moist inside."
• "The waffles are done quickly; crisp on the outside and still moist in the center."
• "This iron makes 4 perfect, thick and fluffy waffles every time!!"
• "Waffles were even golden and perfect!"
• "Makes good, well formed waffles using Bisquick mix."
• "Each time it made perfectly cooked waffles!"

Cons:

• "The grids are square and the heating elements are circular. Either the waffle center is burnt or the 4 corners are undone."
• "The first 2 waffles did cook kind of uneven, but were still tasty."
• "However the longer we've had it the more uneven the waffles cook."
• "We cook everything on this, however, when we made waffles they fell apart :( they were not crispy like other reviews stated."
• "Very uneven heat distribution Preheating through several “green light” cycles made no difference — bottom consistently burned and top was uncooked."
• "It heats very unevenly. The waffles would have a very dark ring through them yet the edges would barely be cooked."
• "I ended up with a ring of scorched waffle in the center, with the rest of it being slightly under-cooked."

Design and Storage

Pros:

• "It's nice and cheap for what you get, and you can store it on its side, which means I am much more liable to use it because I can keep it easily accessible on the counter."
• "It stores upright so it takes up less space in my cupboard."
• "Like that it packs on a shelf upright."
• "I also like that it can be stored upright, saving space in your cupboard."
• "I like how it stands up for storage and the cord wraps around it so it was easy for me to fit in my cabinet."
• "I really like this waffle iron; makes enough waffles for two people to breakfast together instead of making a waffle for one like most irons."
• "I wanted one that made 4 BIG waffles at a time, and this one does just that."

Cons:

• "The closure hook broke off quickly. The ready light also stopped working within a year."
• "The only reason I took away one star is the design of the handle/latch. It is quite easy to pinch your finger when closing the waffle maker."
• "Buyer beware. This thing has a HOT spot next to the handle that WILL BURN YOU. LIKE BLISTER BURN."
• "Just be careful of little hands wanting to help. The outside does get very hot."
• "This is a great waffle iron with a major flaw: the hinge that keeps the iron closed while the batter cooks breaks."
• "The screws in the back started coming out one by one and the clip for keeping the iron closed broke, so we could no longer store it vertically because it would swing open."
• "Returning. Uneven baking. Indicates that it is done, but sticks to griddle."

Customer Service

Pros:

• "Their customer service offered to send me a new waffle maker, but only if I sent them $10."
• "I called Hamilton Beach and they are willing to send me a new one (an exactly the same low quality one) if I pay $11.50 in shipping first."

Cons:

• "I'm having trouble contacting customer service, so I'm assuming that I'm just out the $40."
• "Went through the pain of dealing with customer service and eventually getting a replacement (but having to pay for shipping) and the second unit only lasted me another 4 months."
• "It is very frustrating when you have hungry children waiting for waffles and people are crying and I'm stressing trying to scrape off all the sticky waffle parts."
• "So disappointed. I’ve used waffle irons for years and used Hamilton Beach products for years. This is one I wish I hadn’t purchased."

Cleaning and Maintenance

Pros:

• "Cleaning has required nothing more than a quick wipe down with a damp cloth."
• "It's also easy to wipe clean when done."
• "The nonstick surface makes the cleaning easy."
• "All surfaces clean easily with a damp cloth and mildest detergent."
• "Easy to clean, easy to use, some batter will spill on the sides, which require clean up & you must oil top & bottom plates, so waffles won’t stick to the plates."
• "The non-stick surface made the experience worthwhile, easy to clean, a good product for a great price."
• "If you get it just right, there's literally zero cleanup because a well cooked waffle that doesn't go over the sides cooks evenly and slides right off the griddles."

Cons:

• "When pairing it with the 'Will it waffle?' cookbook you run into the plates getting dirty from the food you are cooking and because this unit cannot be submerged in water, you have to wipe everything with a cloth or paper towel."
• "Cleans up well, INSIDE the grids... since they aren't removable the spill on the side needs worked while everything is assembled."
• "This particular wafflemaker is not easy to clean because the plates aren't removable."
• "It's impossible to clean well if any batter happens to seep out beyond the cook area."
• "The waffle plates themselves, being non-stick, are easy to clean. The rest of the waffle maker is not. There is a trench around the plate which is hard to clean plus at the front of the maker it dips and there are screws which also get covered in waffle mix and not easy to clean."
• "My only complaint... it is a pain to clean. The waffle maker has lots of small crevices, that the batter can seep into and get trapped."
• "But would have liked a removable waffle grid as it's difficult to clean thoroughly."