Deep Fryer Advice?

Question

Undoubtedly because I've been spectacularly good this year, Santa dropped some extra money on me this week. Sadly, the whole nut is destined for the IRS. But ... I'm toying around with carving out a bit of it to buy a desperately longed-for deep fryer. 
 
I don't need or want a fancypants Braun or TFal space-age beauty; I'm happy with your basic Sunbeam-Presto-Kenmore genre. Can Chowhounds advise me, what's a good one to buy? And features I should look for? On a quickie Net perusal, I think I'm looking in the $50-70 range.
 
Thanks very much. 
 
Cats

Answer

Have you looked at the Fry-Daddy ? Not sure of the price but think it's around there. They also make a smaller model, the Fry-Baby.

Answer

I liked one on the home shopping programs. QVC? Call them up. About $70, rectangular, the whole heating unit comes out, the rest goes into the dishwasher. The tank is good for storage. The unit resembles a professional one.

Answer

Dazey/Rival (the latter bought out the former, I think) makes quite a nifty deep fryer, complete with basket and glass lid. It SAYS it's immersible, and it will take you all the way to 425 degrees and stay there, thanks to a good thermostat. I'm sure I paid no more than $50 or $60, and it was about 6 years ago, when people were still afraid of deep fried food, so it was difficult to find. I eventually found it at Zabar's in Manhattan, that thronged, maddening mess of a store that somehow maintains a supreme selection of odd cookware. This makes the best damned fries (from Yukon Golds, twice-fried) I've ever made. Best I've had are still at Les Halles. 
 
Anyway, happy holidays and happy frying!

Answer

My sister uses the DeLonghi Deluxe Cool Touch Roto Fryer and likes it but it can go for 80 or more.
 
I've been using a very old, and featureless Rival type model, I borrowed from my mother in law some eight years ago. I love it and detach the power/temperature adjustment cord and place it in the dishwasher after use.
 
The only features I look for are depth, heating up and ease of cleaning.
 
www.servicemerchandise.com has a few which are reasonably priced. And they have that old 6qt one I have yet to return to my mother in law. Can't be all that bad if it's been around for so many years.
 
The newer ones claim to use less oil, so you might want to look into that.

Answer

I have the Delonghi roto-fryer. It's maximum temp is 370 (and is pretty accurate). It has a basket that rotates the food into and back out of the oil, which limits its usefulness, IMHO. It does use less oil and cooks very evenly, but only smaller items. I don't think I would recommend it for that reason (and obviously for the low maximum temp for you).
 
I'm curious...when would you use it at a higher temp?
 
Actually, I used it last night for sweet potato chips. Yum.

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Deep Fryer Advice?

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