Gelmatic Twin Flavour Ice Cream Machine HV 253 Questions & Answers

No idea. But they fixed the machine and last one more year then both pump ceased to work again.

No luck with ACCC, they referred me to small business Dispute Resolution, but no result. I am taking Majors to Court. First session on Tue 3/1..but i do suggest you file your case with ACCC then at least they aware not an individual case. Heard that Wendy's Ice-Cream had a few issues with Majors too and now they don't use their machines anymore..but a settlement out of court might prevent Wendy's to release further details. I am planning to share every details i had. Major's CEO Tony is an arrogant guy & rather rude in his emails to me..really looking forward to meet him in person on Tuesday.

Hi Jasmoonee, Had the repair jobs completed yet, everything okays?? They did not appear during Pre-trial conference so we are going to trials...long & painful & costly process with this company, i really wish i did not buy the machine at the very begining!!!!!

Sue, I appreciate your reply but missed the first one until now. Short answer no. F&R tested the machine before Christmas, some noise in gearbox. Just kept it running to try and recoup some investment over summer.

Have been going to draft a letter re refusal to return it to base, thanks for the bump.

So you are going to trial!! Majors would not come to the party?

I am not feeling confident of our situation.

After letter to Majors, my next stop is our fair trading tribunal.

I wish you luck.

Please keep me informed.

No doubts it produce nice quality ice-cream, mine one is pump system. But the problem raised when the machine needs service: They only authorised one company to service/fix the machine in Aus. To change a few internal seals after 15mths of use..cost around $1300 (parts under $80, the rest are 10hrs labor charges + courier cost to send the machine to n from the service center). Less than 24mths now the pump, gear boxes n seals need replacement again..quoted me more than $3000. With no other company can get the service manual from Gel Matic in Italy meant no comparative/ Competitive quotes. I have pass the case to ACCC for investigation. I kept having problems with my machine n i suspect it is the manufacturer faulty but they will not admit. I will definately go for another brand which have an open market in Australia that can get techical helps/advice from various service companies. Their gravity machine can not produce same texture soft serve as their pump style according to my experience. Call up companies that fix soft serve machines to get some advices on reliability n suggestions of brand n models of machines..not companies that sell the machines.

Thanks, will take your advice and keep searching.

Hi Jasmoonee, I have can only give you similar feedback. I would suggest you contact Cafequip in Sydney (offices and techs in every state). They have a new unit which is really good and much cheaper and are a major supplier and service agent to McDonald's. JL Lennard is the importer for Taylor units, the main supplier to McDonald's - I have had a very long relationship with both Taylor units and JL Lennard. You get what you pay for, but in my mind, it is well worth it.

Carpigiani are another reputable brand but supplied by the fore mentioned company, so be very wary.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the replies. We are purchasing a SMALL machine which is why the gelmatic sr 150 was the only one that suited our requirements. We also found the gbg softy serve, but this has a 3 month lead time.

As we are located in regional NSW, Coffs Harbour, Sue's comments were a concern regarding sending machine back, technician costs etc.

Discussions with Majors have allowed me to purchase from a highly reputable local dealer, Faircloth & Reynolds, well experienced in refrigeration. So I have taken my chance.

Impartial, thank you for the reply. as you can see I am now committed. I did look at the Cafequip site. It has no information of their products except for some of their clients and to request a consultation. Suggests, to me, they are into corporate supply or very expensive and out of our league.

Thanks anyway. Wish us luck.

I thought the same re reliability being Italian made as normally Euro products are far more superior... My gelmatic HPC 135C was purchased about 4 years ago from Perth area from new, it has sat in my newly transformed Toyota Coaster waiting for completion of my 3rd food bus project to be put to use... I used it for the first time 2 weeks ago and was highly disappointed with a few things including the consistency of the ice cream...I am aware it's highly likely that my preference is for the non aerated product, and the advertising for these pump machines is all about the air and the profit we make...I would prefer to have a quality product than air, plus the gravity machines are easier to clean with little to no wasted product etc!!! I LOVE soft serve, as many do, and have been known to sit in my other food vans on many many many occasions scoffing on the product from the basic gravity fed Taylor 150, which was in use for about 8 years with very little to no issues. Since this machine has been up and running I have had a few ice creams from it but I most certainly don't crave for the stuff like that from the trusty Taylor!!! I have the Taylor machine sitting in my shed and IF it was easy enough for me to pull the Gelmatic out and put the Taylor in I would do it in a FLASH, infact it would have been done that day!! Also feel I am going to have issues with this machine sooner than later, as it's cycles on and off far too often...Done a search for info but nothing out there...Tayors techy's were always so helpful over my 15 years dealing with them, hope the Perth Gelmatic mob will be the same should I need to call re techy assistance/advice....Should it need to be removed for service and or repaired I will be considering the purchase of another like the Taylor...don't think they do the 150 anymore though...

kylie, thanks for your views, but as you probably guessed is too late. Not having the position of being able to compare the 2 side by side, we have been very happy so far with the gelmatic. For a small machine it has proved very capable and power efficient.

It's interface and controllability have, so far, been really good.

Thanks for your input, but as mentioned in the start, nothing was close to the compactness of this machine.

Time will tell.

We use it for yogurt, so maybe the difference is not so defined. i can't help but having a little every morning when I freshen it up. LOL.

Thanks again.

If we could have a real blog or something about real owners and experience that would be excellent, but beyond me.