Dangerous Deep Fat Fryer

Mysticalman

Hello I am looking for some advice. I bought a deep fat fryer from a leading retailer. I had a very close call when I used it for the first time. When I lowered the chips slowly into the hot oil it overflowed all over the kitchen counter, into the drawers and cupboard and all over my shoes. Luckily I was not scalded and the only pain was the clean up afterwards. Even a few weeks later I can still feel the residue in the drawers. I am a stickler for reading instructions when I buy any new item and as usual I followed the instructions exactly as stated. After the incident I wrote to the manufacturer explaining what had happened. I was asked to return the item to them so that their quality assurance team could analyse the item. They received the item on the 14th of November. I have enquired numerous times as to the progress of their investigation. Whilst the girl I am dealing with has been polite she has not been very informative. She just keeps saying that it takes time to check it out. I bought this fryer in good faith and only got to use it once. Should I have gone to the retailer first or am I doing the right thing ? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

gebbel

Not being smart but it sounds like you had way too much oil in the fryer. With mine it's not meant to be filled above halfway. This is to allow for displacement of oil when food is added, and frozen food into 190 degrees oil causes it to boil up....so space is a must.

I cannot imagine a manufacturer defect that explains what happened here.

Fuzzy Clam

A wrong mix of oil can cause this. Highly unlikely to be a fault with the fryer.

Cabaal

Sounds like
- Too much oil
- Alot of water/ice on the items you were putting into the very hot oil

Either or both things will not go well

The only defect I can think of is if the oil was heated far higher then the thermostat allowed, but then if this happened it would normally start to burn and you'd very much notice the smell of burn't oil
]

Mysticalman

Thank you for all the replies. I am a stickler for reading instructions on anything whether it be a packet of soup or a rocket to the moon. I followed the manufacturers instructions here exactly. It is a 3 litre fryer and I put 3 litres of oil in as instructed to do so. I used freshly cut chips and dried them on a paper towel and lowered them in slowly. I set the temperature as instructed and allowed the oil to heat until the green light went out. The oil overflowed everywhere.

dilallio

This will always happen with freshly cut chips if they have been parboiled beforehand. It doesn't matter how long you leave them to dry.

You are better off freezing them before deep-fat-frying, or lowering them really really slowly into the fryer.

rubadub

Were there lots of chips? there is often a weight capacity listed too.

Like this 3L one says 1kg capacity
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=60-15-FR1014

Mysticalman

rubadub wrote: »

Were there lots of chips? there is often a weight capacity listed too.

Like this 3L one says 1kg capacity
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=60-15-FR1014

No I didn't put many in as it was my first time using it. The instruction was to use a maximum 200g of chips per litre of oil. I used less than this.

Mysticalman

dilallio wrote: »

This will always happen with freshly cut chips if they have been parboiled beforehand. It doesn't matter how long you leave them to dry.

You are better off freezing them before deep-fat-frying, or lowering them really really slowly into the fryer.

Well if thats the case then this fryer was not fit for its purpose.

L1011

This really sounds like a case of not reading the manual to me. And on a device that's widely known to be very dangerous when incorrectly operated.

Mysticalman

MYOB wrote: »

This really sounds like a case of not reading the manual to me. And on a device that's widely known to be very dangerous when incorrectly operated.

Maybe just read the post again. I stated that I am a stickler for reading the instructions so how could this be a case of not reading the manual ?

username123

I dont understand why people are doubting the OP here. Can we not just take at face value what the OP has said, ie, that they read and followed the instructions and had a deep fryer disaster?

OP - to address your original query, it is my belief that you should have contacted the retailer first as that is who your contract was with.

However, the matter lies with the manufacturer now. I would advise you to contact the National Consumer Agency and speak to someone regarding where you need to go from here.

If you were dealing with the retailer Id say threaten them with the Small Claims Court unless they get the finger out asap but as you are dealing with the manufacturer with whom you have no contract Im not sure you can do that.

listermint

OP.

did you look inside the frier ? There is a mark there indicating the appropriate oil level. Just because it says '3 litre' doesnt mean it takes 3 litres of oil. It could be 3 litres capacity of food space.

It sounds like you put far far far too much oil in and didnt look at the appropriate level mark.

beertons

3 litres of oil sounds like a huge amount for a deep fat fryer. Can you upload a pic of the inside of it and link the product?

keithclancy

username123 wrote: »

I dont understand why people are doubting the OP here. Can we not just take at face value what the OP has said, ie, that they read and followed the instructions and had a deep fryer disaster?

OP - to address your original query, it is my belief that you should have contacted the retailer first as that is who your contract was with.

However, the matter lies with the manufacturer now. I would advise you to contact the National Consumer Agency and speak to someone regarding where you need to go from here.

If you were dealing with the retailer Id say threaten them with the Small Claims Court unless they get the finger out asap but as you are dealing with the manufacturer with whom you have no contract Im not sure you can do that.

God .. Ireland turning into the U.S.

Reminds me of when I saw a Egg timer that had "Not for Internal Use" written on it.

Paulw

Just curious - what is the make and model of this deep fat fryer?

dilallio

What make & model of fryer is it?

L1011

Mysticalman wrote: »

Maybe just read the post again. I stated that I am a stickler for reading the instructions so how could this be a case of not reading the manual ?

Because "3 litre" fryers usually take about 1.5 litres of oil; something that its extremely easy to miss if you don't read them. They're (generally) sold by internal volume not oil level.

Mysticalman

username123 wrote: »

I dont understand why people are doubting the OP here. Can we not just take at face value what the OP has said, ie, that they read and followed the instructions and had a deep fryer disaster?

OP - to address your original query, it is my belief that you should have contacted the retailer first as that is who your contract was with.

However, the matter lies with the manufacturer now. I would advise you to contact the National Consumer Agency and speak to someone regarding where you need to go from here.

If you were dealing with the retailer Id say threaten them with the Small Claims Court unless they get the finger out asap but as you are dealing with the manufacturer with whom you have no contract Im not sure you can do that.

Excellent reply and thanks for the back up. I will take your advice.

rubadub

Mysticalman wrote: »

Excellent reply and thanks for the back up. I will take your advice.

Are we ever going to hear what make & model it was!

you might able to look up reviews and see if others had the problem, or at least warn others about it.

homemadecider

Mysticalman wrote: »

It is a 3 litre fryer and I put 3 litres of oil in

You put 3 litres of oil into a vessel with a 3 litre capacity? How did you not realise it would overflow? I remember doing displacement calculations in junior cert, this is simple stuff.

john_cappa

homemadecider wrote: »

You put 3 litres of oil into a vessel with a 3 litre capacity? How did you not realise it would overflow? I remember doing displacement calculations in junior cert, this is simple stuff.

If this is what the OP did then.......lol

rubadub

homemadecider wrote: »

You put 3 litres of oil into a vessel with a 3 litre capacity?

I doubt it, I already linked to a tefal one that takes 3L of oil in powercity, they are not that rare.

Oryx

OP, did you fill the oil to the marker inside the pan or not? (They all have max and min capacity markers)

RangeR

beertons wrote: »

3 litres of oil sounds like a huge amount for a deep fat fryer. Can you upload a pic of the inside of it and link the product?

Not really. Mine take 4 litres and it's not a huge beast.

dudara

Posters - please give the OP the benefit of the doubt here. There was been enough posts questioning their actions. Continuing to post in this vein is not furthering the discussion. Please focus instead on providing helpful advice.

dudara

Fuzzy Clam

dudara wrote: »

Posters - please give the OP the benefit of the doubt here. There was been enough posts questioning their actions. Continuing to post in this vein is not furthering the discussion. Please focus instead on providing helpful advice.

dudara

To be fair, its difficult to offer "helpful" advice if we're not told the make/model.

Mysticalman

homemadecider wrote: »

You put 3 litres of oil into a vessel with a 3 litre capacity? How did you not realise it would overflow? I remember doing displacement calculations in junior cert, this is simple stuff.

Yes I put 3 litres of oil as instructed in the manual. There is a line that clearly says 3 litres. I did not fill over this line. What would you have done? Would you follow the instructions properly like me or have you got your own idea ?

Mysticalman

homemadecider wrote: »

You put 3 litres of oil into a vessel with a 3 litre capacity? How did you not realise it would overflow? I remember doing displacement calculations in junior cert, this is simple stuff.

Simple stuff indeed. It might be simpler for you if you read the post properly. I myself did reading in junior infants. This is a snippet from the INSTRUCTION MANUAL....( a booklet to help you understand the product )....."This deep fat fryer will hold approximately 2.5 litres of oil at the minimum level and 3 litres of oil at the maximum level ".

Mysticalman

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

To be fair, its difficult to offer "helpful" advice if we're not told the make/model.

I am not too sure if I am allowed to give the make and model . Maybe a moderator could help me on this. Is this allowed on Boards ? Thanks.

mikom

Mysticalman wrote: »

Simple stuff indeed. It might be simpler for you if you read the post properly. I myself did reading in junior infants. This is a snippet from the INSTRUCTION MANUAL....( a booklet to help you understand the product )....."This deep fat fryer will hold approximately 2.5 litres of oil at the minimum level and 3 litres of oil at the maximum level ".

So say a fella filled it to the maximum level with oil and then added two handfuls of chips........... at what point would the oil now sit......... on maximum or above maximum?

Tippex

Mysticalman wrote: »

I am not too sure if I am allowed to give the make and model . Maybe a moderator could help me on this. Is this allowed on Boards ? Thanks.

generally once you aren't naming and shaming a company and writing anything slanderous you are fine.
at lease with the make/model someone may have heard of similar issues etc...

xabi

mikom wrote: »

So say a fella filled it to the maximum level with oil and then added two handfuls of chips........... at what point would the oil now sit......... on maximum or above maximum?

That's fairly obvious isn't it? :rolleyes:

rubadub

Mysticalman wrote: »

I am not too sure if I am allowed to give the make and model . Maybe a moderator could help me on this.

Should be fine, I am not a mod of this forum but dudara is and would have probably warned you not to name them if it was an issue, as so many were asking you.

It will at least shut up all the people saying you did the wrong thing.

Greenmachine

Mysticalman wrote: »

Yes I put 3 litres of oil as instructed in the manual. There is a line that clearly says 3 litres. I did not fill over this line. What would you have done? Would you follow the instructions properly like me or have you got your own idea ?

Make and model would be useful. So others can research the particular model before making a purchase, if it is a known issue. If is a known issue people will be in a better position to avoid it.

whippet

Mysticalman wrote: »

"This deep fat fryer will hold approximately 2.5 litres of oil at the minimum level and 3 litres of oil at the maximum level ".

there is the problem right there.

from where I am looking at it you filled the fryer to the max level and then overfilled with food .. thus causing the oil to spill out.

I don't see how you can interpret this as a faulty product; a reasonable person would realise that the more oil that you put in the less food will fit. Usually max oil would do for a couple of sausages and not any more.

xabi

whippet wrote: »

Usually max oil would do for a couple of sausages and not any more.

Rubbish

rubadub

already covered

Mysticalman wrote: »

The instruction was to use a maximum 200g of chips per litre of oil. I used less than this.

Oryx

On the sausages thing... the fat that they add to the oil when you deep fry them can cause the oil to froth more the next time you cook. I try not to deep fry sausages as you end up changing the oil afterwards.

It is unusual for a correctly filled, correctly heated fryer to overflow like that. I hold my hand up and say that I had one that overflowed a few times (It was integrated - oh the mess), and I put the blame for that firmly on myself. The oil level and heat was always correct, but either I had cooked sausages previously (see above) or didn't keep an eye on it. The oil can bubble up unexpectedly during cooking, depending on what youve put in and how wet/frozen it is. The simplest answer is often user error and I was asking the predictable questions first, in order to rule that out. Once you do rule that out, and the item is faulty, youre into the usual sale of goods territory: repair/refund/replace. You have to give the seller a chance to check out the fault in a reasonable time. In fairness I would say that time is just about up, and you need an answer.

Mysticalman

I would ask a moderator to close this discussion please. I would like to say thank you to those who helped me and gave some good advice. The reason for closing it is there are too many smart alecs who are of no help. I took a posters previous advice (123 was the name and only just got off the phone to the retailer who is going to resolve this for me. Thank you.

zg3409

Is the deep fat fryer faulty or is it just the instructions that are not clear? Which part caused the confusion?

Should the manual say,

fill just above the min line, and once food is added be sure it does not rise above max value or it may overflow during cooking?

Can the item be no longer used now? , from what I understand it's just a pot that gets hot similar to putting a pot with oil on a cooker?

The make and model would help too, and ideally the manual scanned in.

In general any boiling oil is very dangerous. I believe chip shops have special fire systems in case the oil catches fire. I know someone who burned down their kitchen with a chip pan, the same day it had just been fitted!

emeldc

mikom wrote: »

So say a fella filled it to the maximum level with oil and then added two handfuls of chips........... at what point would the oil now sit......... on maximum or above maximum?

We might need one of the scientists to answer that one

bucketybuck

username123 wrote: »

I dont understand why people are doubting the OP here.

Because the laws of physics appear to have been violated in this case.

rubadub

So still no make & model.

So some other poor unfortunate might suffer the same thing, type in the model into google to see if anyone else experienced trouble and not find this thread, great.

Also people thinking of buying the model will not see any warning.

mikom wrote: »

So say a fella filled it to the maximum level with oil and then added two handfuls of chips........... at what point would the oil now sit......... on maximum or above maximum?

It would rise above the line stating the maximum level to fill the oil. Which is obviously not the maximum level the oil can be at during cooking. He already said the max was 3L of oil and 200g of chips per litre of oil, and he added less than this.

mikom

rubadub wrote: »

It would rise above the line stating the maximum level to fill the oil. Which is obviously not the maximum level the oil can be at during cooking. He already said the max was 3L of oil and 200g of chips per litre of oil, and he added less than this.

From reading previous fryer manuals the 200g of chips per litre of oil relates to ability to cook rather than safety.

rubadub

mikom wrote: »

From reading previous fryer manuals the 200g of chips per litre of oil relates to ability to cook rather than safety.

I would have thought its a bit of both.

You seem to be suggesting the max fill line is including food. I would expect 3 lines if there was such a line, a minimum, maximium oil level, maximium level with food.

The OP gave a snippet of the manual. I found this (it is not his, as its 4L, but an example of a manual)

http://www.breville.com.au/media/mediaappearance/12960/BDF500_IB_B11_FA_LowRes.pdf

Remove the frying basket from the deep
fryer and add oil to the bowl. Do not
add less than the minimum level mark
(2.5 litres) or exceed the maximum level
mark (4 litres).

IMPORTANT
NEVER exceed the maximum level mark
with oil (maximum is 4 litres). This
product must be filled with oil to the
exact marked level. The product will be
severely damaged if heated without oil
in the frying bowl.

So this one obviously means you can go past the 4L maximum level mark with food added, otherwise it would have said

Do not add less than the minimum level mark (2.5 litres) or exceed the maximum level mark (4 litres) -and if you do fill to 4L with oil bear in mind you cannot cook any food.

dudara

Thread closed at OP's request.

dudara