I just bought one this past weekend. I, like others, never had ANY inclinations towards feeding "these people!"
But... threads like this got me thinking. I mean, the roller costs a few bucks, but once its paid for, the hot dogs/buns are a pretty cheap way to make a lot of people happy, add value to my games etc.
The roller came on Sunday. I assembled it. I did get the model with the sneeze guard (which seemed really important at the time I ordered it, and quite useless now...). I had already ate dinner on Sunday night, so I had to wait. I wanted to utilize it prior to poker night, to ensure I know how it works, what I am doing,etc.
Monday night and last night, I came home from work... quite excited. I plugged in the machine, dropped a few dogs on it. And waited the pre-requisite 20 minutes. Hot damn, those were some good freaking hot dogs. I am partial to the hebrew dogs, but decided to just grab a pack of the uber basic "Farmer Johns Beef Franks" They were delightful, I am certain a better brand will be even better.
I had done my research here, on this thread, so I had some good intel on the do's and don'ts of hot dog rollery. I will provide my $0.02, based on two nights of using it:
a) I kept the temp very low, just barely on... yes, it took longer, but it seems the idea of this particular type of machine is "slower is better".
b) I did put a light coating of canola oil on the rollers. There was not even discoloration of the rollers from my franks. Clean up was remarkably easy.
c) I have not attempted sausages or brats or links on it... hoping that it stays clean with my low temp/pre-oiling.
d) I will be buying a scrub daddy just in case.
e) For poker night, which can get big, I plan on putting all of the franks in a crock pot with a little water and putting it on "warm" setting. I "think" that this will get the dogs warm (or... close to hot) so when I have to reload the roller the dogs are essentially ready to eat.