Popcorn Machine Troubleshooting help?

[Scott John]

Hey folks,

We are close to reviving an old single screen main street Art Deco theatre from 1938 (started as a live dance hall in 1929 before being converted). We took it over officially at the beginning of August and are opening in a week.

At the end of a very long week I was ready to test the popcorn machine for the first time, hoping for it to be a triumphant end to the week filling the space with the smell of popcorn.

It didn't work...

It is a pretty old Cretors 20 ounce Diplomat, and the pump doesn't seem to be drawing oil up into the kettle. It was right at the end of the day and I didn't have time to do much troubleshooting but figure folks here could save me a bunch of time trying to figure it out.

Does the oil have to be really warm in the bucket to me more easily pumped? Maybe I didn't let it heat enough? It was definitely not solid and was liquid.
Maybe I have to prime the pump somehow to help get it going? I took off all the hoses and just tried to press the oil button to see if any came up and didn't get anything after a few tries.

Not sure what to check first, maybe will confirm next that there isn't a blockage in the metal tube that goes into the bucket.. but will just be trial and error after that to nail down the problem.

Lots of heart, but no experience running a theatre

I can take pictures of the set up tomorrow when I am in there again if that helps folks see what I am looking at.

[Frank Cox]

I can't tell you much about your popcorn machine, but...

"Say Merry Christmas with a Gift of Happy Hours." I think I'll use that line to flog gift cards this Christmas!

[Mike Blakesley]

If your pump is working, your problem is almost certain to be oil frozen somewhere in that metal tube. It doesn’t take much oil to clog it up. Find a space heater and aim it into the insides of your machine for an hour or so. You don’t need to get things hot, just warm. That should soften any oil that’s solidified in the lines. If you are using coconut oil, it has the best taste and highest flashpoint BUT it does freeze up easily. We have this problem every winter.

[Martin McCaffery]

I think Mike is right. However, when was the last time this popcorn machine was used? Old oil may have solidified in the pipes and hardened, which may be harder to get out than just heating.
FYI, you don't NEED to use the pump. A ladle in the can and just hand deliver the oil to the machine. Pump is obviously easier, but if it's busted you can still make popcorn.

[Mike Blakesley]

Yeah, if we're talking decades, it might require taking the whole thing apart.

Some pics might help us out a little, but I think that pipe is a pretty easy thing to get at and clean out. You might check with Cretors to see if they have online documentation for servicing the machine. All you need is the serial number.

Our machine is a Diplomat from 1996 and we've only ever had to replace one part on it (the heating element in the storage area).

[Marcel Birgelen]

Pure coconut oil melts around 80 degrees F or 25 degrees C. The oil we're using is solid at room temperature and I don't want to heat it, as it will go rancid faster that way, so we're not using a pump but ladle it into the popper. Maybe a heavy duty pump is able to still pump it, but I'm used to doing it this way.

Besides butter, which easily burns and is hard to handle, coconut oil by far delivers the best flavor of all oils I've tried.