Tefal Clipso Control Plus

TEFAL PRESSURE COOKER TIMER UNIT KAPUTSKI – BEST appliance in my kitchen, .....love it, had it for about ten years, knocks 'em dead to tell people that you can make a cheese cake in a pressure cooker, OK that is the good bit. Within two months or more after purchase the battery at the time went leg up. Replacing the battery was AOK until one tries to lock the plastic cap over the battery,… Read more ·  1

the lugs on the cap are either damaged by the heat from the lid or the plastic is crap quality.

so this is where i am at: .............

My email to TEFAL Australia

Hi Folks,

What an unbelieveable jerking around I have had.

I bought the above product from Pressure Cookers Australia some time back.

Within the first month of operation the battery died. Put a new one in and the lid could not be secured, the lugs on the cap would not line up.

So for all these years I secured the cap with DUCT tape.

The timer now has gone leg up as it shows only one of the digits, it is basically KAPUTSKI

Firstly I emailed P C Australia and sent a photo of the timer.

Then I was given a phone number .... what an insult the female I was speaking with knew as much English as I do Russian ....bloody hopeless and an insult, i gave up trying to explain what i was on about.

I asked where she was and she replied BULGARIA, any wonder it was a wasted call.

I rang again and this time a male voice (a bit better at Anglias) he sent me a list of service centres in Australia.

Now this is the pathetic part.

Your email says "take it to a service centre for repairs" ??? are you serious ??

can you not comprehend the fact that this item is "STUFFED", "it don't work", "him bugga up" none of the service centres are any help...... it is buggered, shot !!!!

So what good is service or REPAIR ???

The service centre says "TEFAL" is a good product but its beyond TEFAL to be able to handle warranty or service, their market is so big that it is in fact pretty hopeless at service". Nice to know.... was going the buy the GERMAN Pressure Cooker when i bought this.

The best response, if you can call it that is "Well leave it with us it will take about Six week to find out if TEFAL has the bits and or whether they may consider replacing the timer"

I said "stuff it" if that is TEFALs policy just get me a new bit and I will pay for it"

Stunningly I was told "well the same thing exists, it would take them about 6-7 weeks or more to tell you if they have the item available for purchase.

"But I am pretty sure there is NONE of that item available in Australia, and you are NOT the first one who has had a problem with that timer".

Ah ....... you jest ?? This is not service .....never ....never again another TEFAL product fro this turkey ....

OK I await your words of wisdom !

What a joke !!!!

Great PC, but need a new timer – Love the cooker but as some of the other reviewer have to complain about the timer. After few years for use, the little screw holding plastic thing cracked, and now I have to press the timer from the top just to see what the numbers are saying. Tried looking for a replacement, but the only ones I could find were like $60-$80! Crazy

Can't live without it it is so safe – I love it and have used mine continually, my Dad made the "Steam Queen" so long ago and I have hardly been without a pressure cooker since. I like this so much that I bought one for my daughter years ago. Fab on induction plate, and its marvelous for chicken soup or broth one of the great healers of any age..  Show reply

The Cooker is OK, the timer is unbeleivablye fragile and intolerant of any water/condesate – This cooker does seem to take a long time to seal the exhaust valve after simmer point has been reached - It relies on a LOT of steam to be produced to close the valve initially and therefor begin to generate pressure, and that can result in foods drying out and more sticking to base than most because both higher heat is needed to seal it, and the… Read more

delay means lots of steam and heat escapes the cooker before it seals. This makes it much better at steaming type applications as it is easier to get the base water below the steaming basket to boil faster than the rest of the ingredients heat up.

Being used to a more traditional weight based seal, this impacts greatly on your pressure cooking with this cooker.

When ingredients are submersed within the liquid, the delay for the floating seal to activate is even longer: it basically requires all the ingredients to get near boiling temperature to generate enough steam to seal, creating a bit of a 'why didn't I just boil this food?' scenario - the heating times and time to get to pressure are extended substantially as a result because so much heat and steam (and fluid) escapes before the floating seal activates and the cooker begins to generate pressure.

The timer device is still present on newer more current tefal items, still costs just under $100 to replace (where I imagine production landed cost would be <$5 for Tefal), and is an incredibly fragile and not at all water resistant cheap plastic - this will break very quickly under normal use, and takes only one accidental 'I didn't take it off before rinsing/spray cooling the cooker' to result in goodnight the best feature of the cooker.

The timer is neat, and nice, and the simple lever to select your pressure level is lovely, as is the locking mechanism itself: big buttons and no alignment of lid/base needed - pretty easy and pretty good for arthritic hands. but the problems greatly overwhelm the cooker's benefits. It results in a 'not really fit for purpose' product.

To be honest, I use it as a large pot without pressure most of the time, and occasionally will accelerate soup/stock making in it by engaging the pressure function where maximum capture of vitamins is not my primary objective.

It is unfortunate: I remember a time when I greatly revered the Tefal brand name and trusted their products very highly. This cooker is a lot of swankery with a large price tag: If fails to maintain the primary needs of a pressure cooker in favour of bells and whistles.

Overpriced, ovI can honestly say that this is the worst pressure cooker I have used. The valves and – I can honestly say that this is the worst pressure cooker I have used. The valves and seals are complex, delicate little flowers and most of the time you either boil the food dry before it seals or have to hang around fiddling with it to get a decent sea. They are overpriced and underperform. There are simpler more effective designs out there. In this case, more is definitely less.

love it and still getting the hang of it – I love using the cooker as it is so easy and food tastes great cooked in it. The recipe book is not a good one at all so I have had to look to other books and on line for help. The only thing I have found wrong is the timer fell apart during cooking last time I used it. The screws were loose and the top casing fell to the floor and broke :( makes food taste great timer fell apart and a new one is $85:95 !!! Show reply

After 5 months....steam leaking everywhere and no pressure......food boiling dry – Initially I loved my pressure cooker. 3 months in it began to leak but was still OK to use. Last 2 months has been leaking so much that it takes ages to pressurise and as so much fluid is lost as steam, food is burning and drying out. Have used pressure cookers for years. Waiting for Tefal to help (a little slow). Would not recommend you buy… Read more

this. If the problem is the rubber gasket....then it should last at least 12 months not 3 months. Very Very disappointed.

DO NOT BUY. It looks pretty. The timer is good It leaks steam - despite being new. Tefal not very responsive to complaints....have to constantly write to them to get help.

Tefal Control + – A wonderful purchase. I bought it because it was cheap and I wanted to make stock. Now I use it for lots of soups and stews following recipes online. By the way Miss Vickie's Pressure Cooker Recipes site is terrific. Only problem with the cooker is the difficulty in finding parts. Mine doesn't have the internal baskets. This doesn't matter a… Read more ·  3

great deal but I haven't been able to source a supplier in Australia for them. The timer gadget is a wonderful idea but I would also like a pressure gauge to make adjustment of heat easier. everything! the timer, the fold down handles, easy to clean.

Excellent – Great overall pressure cooker with healthy steamed meals ready in one third normal cooking time and using less fuel than in more traditional cookware. Time savings are great until we tried to get the replacement gasket - this has come to a dead end each time. Finally gave up due to living in the country and settled for a dripping pressure cooker!… Read more ·  2

Sales should include a spare gasket on purchase of original item. We purchased this because it was a very safe unit and extremely well designed. Generally very robust and easy to use. Obtaining replacement gaskets on the recommended 12 month replacement schedule is difficult and no doubt pricey going by United Kingdom prices available on-line. There doesn't seem to be an Australian distribution network for parts, only the original cookers.

Excellent – i love this pressure cooker. it has timer included and it;s easy to use. it's good for stew and steaming food, and within seconds meal is ready to serve! fully recommended busy people to buy this product as you will feel the value is there! easy to use and recipe included a bit pricey

Fan bloody tastic – Bought one online for $249 with $10 delivery and haven't been happier. I love the fact that the lid has a one push button to both open and close. It's easy to clean and use. The timer is a great idea and you can keep it with you while it times down - then it beeps to let you know to release pressure.(see cons though) I put a whole chicken in… Read more

with some stock, done in 30 mins.. then add veges - another 4 minutes. Quick and easy.

Highly recommended. economical, large capacity, easy to use the timer on it costs $80 to replace. Bit steep in my opinion, so don't lose it!!!

Great for busy cooks – Very reliable unit. Handles fold and timer is removable so both lid and pot fit in the dishwasher, main reason I bought this particular model. Cooks a beautiful curry in 20 minutes, same amount of time it would take me to order & collect take away. So yes it is a bit pricey but you quickly recover the cost from not buying take away food! Cooked… Read more

lots of healthy stews & soups all winter, borrowed cook books from library for more ideas. All in one cooking, easy as and very healthy food. Easy to clean, reliable, excellent quality A tad expensive but worth it

functional quality product – this is a sturdy design that is obviously well made, is heavy and feels like a quality product, performs exceptionally well, i just love it. I use the basket to steam a family's worth of veggies in only 6 minutes from flame on to served on the plate, just what a busy working mum needs. can still manage to cook whole foods to keep the family… Read more ·  1

healthy rather than opting for fast frozen versions. timer is excellent idea (when I remember to set it) most everything timer is a tad quiet ~ once the cook time is up, the unit is usually expelling steam and this can sometimes be noisier than the timer going off. could be teamed with a more elaborate cooking book as the guides for lots of foods end up being trial & error (which can get expensive~ if you get it wrong)

A real timesaver in the kitchen! – Anything under pressure scares me! But I find this cooker impossible to fault, safety-wise! I like to cook quick curries in it and I can do the meat and sauce quicker than the rice cooker takes to steam the rice!! It has a foolproof pressure relief valve so when I forget to turn down the heat, which I do, it will kick in and avoid a nasty… Read more

accident from occurring.

It makes cleaning up afterwards a breeze - I can sear the meat and stir fry the onions in the same pot before I add all the other ingredients - one pot to wash is good news to me! Safe, sturdy, effective and easy to use The instruction manual was poorly written and I had to use trial and error before I worked out how to use it.