I bought this model from another retailer, but did read the reviews on Amazon, first, and thought I'd share my comments here. Below are my tips: 1. Just about any liquid with at least 12% (11% also worked) carbohydrate (you can see this on the label of juice containers) will freeze. 2. This model (3LX2) is not designed to freeze alcoholic drinks (it doesn't get cold enough), but you can set the freeze level higher (10 - 12 worked for me) to get the non-alcoholic drink really frozen and then add alcohol to it and mix it up. I poured the non-alcoholic slushy into a glass and then added alcohol, but I'll try adding alcohol to the slushy in the tank when I have guests over. 3. Follow the instructions to use liquids with a minimum sugar content of 12-13% to avoid total freezing which may damage the machine. 4. I pour out any excess liquid or slushy using the spigot when I'm done, tipping the machine a bit to get everyone out. Then I pour fresh water to the line and run the machine on clean mode for a few minutes to clean out the slushy, and repeat, tipping the machine a bit to get the water out the spigot. I also use a clean, wet paper towel to wipe the upper parts of the tank. Then I leave the cover half-way off to let the tank dry out.