Does anyone pop their own popcorn?

[Mainer]

I would like to make popcorn in my home using a hot air popper. Now, here is the catch. I brought a hot-air popper in my bag this trip, thinking I can just plug it into my step down transformer that I had bought to recharge my old Sony camera battery. Looking at the popper, it says it is 1300 Watts..... and the transformer is 100 Watts. Drats !

Now, I am thinking, because it is simply a heating coil, would the 220 volts do the job on a 110 Volt heating element? Or would it burn up? As I understand it, 220 Volts house wiring uses smaller wire than 110 Volts. Would that same theory pertain to a heating element?

The popper also has a 20.5 vdc, 1.78 Amp motor that spins a fan that stirs up the corn as it is heating and popping... It is rectified with 4 diodes to get the dc but I have no clue as to how it gets the 20.5 Volts from the 110 Volts input, but I can supply a drawing of the wiring, if there is an electrical guy on the forum.

15 baht for a cup of salted corn at 7-11 is breaking me... I like a BIG bowl of the stuff.

[banpaeng]

I would wire it this way.

Get a pot, insert a little oil and popcorn. Put over burner, presto have poped corn.

sorry I can not answer your question!!!!

[farang]

easy

half cup(small) of corn, mix with ,
1 or 2 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
put in a brown paper bag( fold top of bag to seal) make a few small holes in bag.

put in microwave(2 or 3 mins ,ish)

when its stopped popping its done ,add salt etc to taste.

[mackayae]

The DC motor will burn up. It will run at 41 volts dc and its current will doubled.
Also the heating coil would burn up. It would be operating at 5200 watts instead of 1300 watts.
However, you could buy a 1.5 or 2 kva step-down (220/110v) transformer locally.

[Mainer]

Farang, that would be an option should I get a Microwave. Oh, then I would need a table..

Mackayae, I understand your logic and may look locally for a transformer. What does 1.5 kva do for me? I have seen on places like eBay transformers rated in Watts. KVA compared to Watts.... pls explain..... or buy me books and send me back to school

Banpaeng your solution seems like my best solution for the short term. That is how I used to make it for many years, but trying to keep my cholesterol down, I had gone to hot-air poppers. But I can assure you the artery clogging palm oil I consume every day is, by far, much worse than a tad of vegatable oil now and again.

[Bump]

Or you can buy microwave porcorn at lotus, Robinson tops. Big C or Nissan market. Not nearly as challenging, nor as healthy as hot air popping. But it works guess it depends on how long your going to be here. Yuo mihgt check out Robinsons applianace I woudln't be surprised if they had a hot air popper there.

On the elctrical side of things I don't think I would try what your talking about

[Frankie 1]

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

[mackayae]

Watts = VA X Power Factor
In this case you can assume the power factor is 1 and therefore watts and va are equal.
Look for a transformer that's rated at 1500 va (watts).

[TJ]

Robison's appliance section does not stock a popcorn popper. I've checked there and many other appliance shops. There is a double shophouse kitchen supply store in Pattaya on Second Road across from the Royal Garden that said they stocked large and small popcorn poppers, but were out of stock. The sales lady pointed to an empty shelf with a popcorn popper price label. Don't remember the prices, but they were not cheap.

I think Tops has popcorn kernals.

[Bump]

Time for the microwave and Orville Rickenbackers (wonder how you spell that)

[ISSAN_NISSAN]

God I love this web site

Popcorn poppers Vrs. 240 volts

Love it

I learn something everyday here. Keep up the good thought process gentlemen and others.

[parrot]

"half cup(small) of corn, mix with ,
1 or 2 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
put in a brown paper bag( fold top of bag to seal) make a few small holes in bag."

Where do you get paper bags in Thailand? And, wouldn't the paper bag absorb the oil before the corn pops? The idea sounds good, but I'm skeptical.

Also, wasn't there something recently in the press about a guy almost dying from the fumes of microwave popcorn (I'm not making this up!!). He admitted having an addiction to the stuff.....and loved to inhale the fumes of a freshly popped bag.

[beer monkey]

when i was a wee lad i always used to love the old style method in the saucepan on the hob what me mum made, i remember the excitement of the first 'pop' and was counting down to the moment of very last dying 'pop', Happy days..... now its the nuke style in the microwave if we have any.

[The Guvnor]

Should you decide not to try & modify your existing Popper machine & would like to find one here in Udon, i can tell you that Makro sell Popcorn Poppers (I bought one there) Although it's not a well known brand name I'm afraid (House Worth I believe) it has worked flawlessly whenever required!

In fact i used it tonight a few times whilst watching the Aussie rules footie......Perfect!

Cant remember exactly how much i paid for it, but it was cheap as chips!

Hope this helps in your quest for Popcorn mate!

Regards
The Guv

"Just trying to live a Hugh Heffner lifestyle on a Bart Simpson Budget"

[Mainer]

Hi Guv,

Can you tell me what kind of popper it was that you bought? I mean, as in hot air, oil, wire basket, or ___? I will go to Makro in a day or two. I was there 2 days ago and looked and not see anything, but did not ask anyone either.

Yes, it is difficult to watch a movie here at home without popcorn. I have found a tiny can of kernels at Tops, but wondering where you buy yours.

Anyone remember "JiffyPop?

[The Guvnor]

Hi Guv,

Can you tell me what kind of popper it was that you bought? I mean, as in hot air, oil, wire basket, or ___? I will go to Makro in a day or two. I was there 2 days ago and looked and not see anything, but did not ask anyone either.

Yes, it is difficult to watch a movie here at home without popcorn. I have found a tiny can of kernels at Tops, but wondering where you buy yours.

Anyone remember "JiffyPop?

Hi Mainer,
It is a hot air popper.
Actually it sounds almost identical to the one you currently have going on your description of it!

I have no idea whatsoever re the electrics diodes etc etc so can't help you there i'm afraid

I have found a picture of an identical one to mine albeit badged with a different brand name! the only difference between the one below & mine the colour of the top cover this one is yellow where as mine is blue!

As i said i find it works adequately enough, although almost inevitably with this type of popper you do get a few kernals that haven't popped each time!

As far as the Popcorn kernals i use!
I also bought them from Makro!
the brand is "McGARRETT" american popcorn! 1 kilo bags! Sorry once again i can't remember the price mate!


I have also seen popcorn kernals for sale in Tesco Lotus.

Good luck

Dave
aka
The Guvnor

[Mainer]

Guv,

You made my day. Thank you for that. I will shuffle on down to Makro tomorrow. That is IDENTICAL to the one I brought with me (except for the voltage), thinking I couldn't buy one here. They are so easy to use. No washing after each use, no mess and almost 1/2 the fat as when cooking with oil.

Wahoo.... It don't take much to make me happy.

Interesting facts:

The ancient way to pop corn was to heat sand in a fire and stir kernels of popcorn in when the sand was fully heated.

In 1945, it was discovered that when popcorn was placed under microwave energy, it popped. This led to experiments with other foods, and the birth of the microwave oven.

It is believed that the first use of wild and early cultivated corn was for popping.

[The Guvnor]

Glad i could be of assistance!

Don't forget the brand name is "House Worth"
When i bought mine it was tucked away near the blenders & toasters etc!
Although they have had a major change around in store since i got mine, the electrical dept is now near the entrance to the store on the left as you enter!
It may also be of help if you either take yours with you or print the photo i posted on my previous post to show the staff exactly what your talking about!

Anyway hope they fix you up Mainer!
Good luck bud!

The Guv

[beer monkey]

wondered what made them kernals pop...

As with all cereal grains, each kernel of popcorn contains a certain amount of moisture and oil in its starchy endosperm.

Unlike most other grains, the outer hull, or pericarp, of the popcorn kernel is both strong and impervious to moisture, and the starch inside consists almost entirely of a hard, dense type.

As the oil and the water are heated past the boiling point, they turn the moisture in the kernel into a superheated, pressurized steam, contained within the moisture-proof hull. Under these conditions, the starch inside the kernel gelatinizes, softening and becoming pliable. The pressure continues to increase until the breaking point of the hull is reached: a pressure of about 135 psi and a temperature of 180ฐC. The hull ruptures rapidly, causing a sudden drop in pressure inside the kernel and a corresponding rapid expansion of the steam, which expands the starch and proteins of the endosperm into an airy foam. As the foam rapidly cools, the starch and protein polymers set into the familiar crispy puff