I love this popcorn maker! We have had so much fun using it already and have only used a few times. It is very easy to use and clean and I love that about it. It's fun because you can watch the popcorn pop. I did only 2 scoops instead of the 3 for the largest batch and both times I've used it so far, it did not turn off on it's own. Maybe if you do the largw batch it would? I just turned it off when it was done popping what I had in there, so it wasn't a big deal to me. I'd say, Don't put a small batch on and walk away though, not sure if it would burn or not since it keeps the popcorn rotating at all times, it may not burn.