Mmmmm. Home-made ice cream! Okay, it's not hand cranked--it's turned by a motor--but the result is still delicious. Many of us have an ice-cream maker somewhere in the garage or storage that needs to be repaired--or at least dusted off--and put back to work. Soon!

How Does It Work?

An electric ice-cream maker is a tabletop appliance for mixing and freezing ice cream at home. A small electric motor drives gears that turn the canister filled with the ingredients for ice cream. The canister is surrounded with ice and rock salt to freeze the contents. Alternately, a hand crank on top replaces the motor.

What Can Go Wrong?

Although durable, ice-cream makers can require a few repairs. A common problem is damage to motors or gears from mixing too large batches of ice cream or from neglecting a jammed mixing paddle. The electrical cord can fail and motor bearings can dry out.

Fix-It Tip

Your ice-cream maker's owner's manual will tell you what and how much of each ingredient to put in the canister for a single batch. Putting too much in it can make it overflow and possibly damage the motor or gears.