The DeLonghi D996UX Deep Fryer: A Good Unit For The Money
Written: Mar 19 '05 (Updated Mar 20 '05)
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Pros: Fries Food Evenly, Easy To Clean, Lightweight, Safe, Quiet
Cons: Viewer Window Is Useless, The Bottom "Feet" Do Not Stay Attached To The Unit
The Bottom Line: A very good buy. Dependable, even cooking, and good safety features. Extremely easy to clean; lid and basket can be put into the dishwasher.
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| ClaireKS's Full Review: DeLonghi D996UX Cool Touch Deep Fryer |
The DeLonghi D996UX deep fryer is very easy to operate, and the least messy of all the fryers I’ve used. Although there are a few things that could be improved upon, I still give it a solid four stars for all of the pluses.
The Exterior:
The housing is a sturdy white plastic, which keeps the unit cool to the touch. This is great if you have little ones running about the house who like to touch and investigate everything. It comes equipped with a magnetic connector (electrical plug) that immediately comes away from the machine if it is tugged, which is another great safety feature. Many other brands of deep fryers have a stainless steel or brushed aluminum exterior, which can become hot, are a real job to clean, and are more heavy to lift. So I’m quite pleased with the DeLonghi’s white plastic exterior. The fryer is extremely lightweight, which was a pleasant surprise. It looked much heavier to me. The only problem I’ve had with the exterior is the unit’s little round “feet” keep falling out of the bottom of my machine. This might only be specific to my machine and not to others, however.
The Lid:
The top lid of the fryer has a built-in window from which you are supposed to be able to watch the food cooking, but this feature definitely needs to be redesigned. The window becomes so completely clouded with water vapor that you can never see through it. The owner’s manual states that this condensation will clear up within a few minutes of cooking, but so far, after many uses and cooking many different types of foods, I have yet to be able to see through the window. The lid opens by way of a large exterior button.
The Filters:
On the top lid, down from the viewer window, is a filter cover that houses two types of replaceable odor filters. They are sandwiched together; one is black and the other is white. The white filter shows through a small hole on the inside of the lid in the center of the vents. This is so that you can check its color. If the white filter becomes dark, then it’s time to replace it. The filters do indeed keep odors at bay; even fishy odors are undetectable until the lid is opened. The manual does not state how often it will be necessary to replace the filters; probably because that would depend on the individual amount of usage. In my case, after over six months of quite a bit of use, I still have not had to replace the filters.
The Oil Well:
The interior of the oil well is coated with a nonstick material, so be sure to treat it with care to avoid scratches. There are two level markers on the inside of the well, for the oil; “Minimum” and “Max.” To fill this particular model to the minimum level takes about 84 ounces of oil (about 10 and 1/2 cups). One word of caution, here: always remember to fill the well before turning on the unit. Failure to do so will activate a failsafe switch inside the unit, and the machine will permanently shut down. You won’t be able to fix this; you will have to send the unit in for factory servicing.
The Food Basket:
The basket mesh is made of stainless steel, and can hold up to 2 and 1/2 pounds of food, although I personally don’t like to crowd the items to be cooked. So I tend to put less into the basket. The basket’s handle is made of heat-resistant plastic. There is a large button to push on the handle to raise and lower the basket into the oil, which is another good safety feature. The basket is very easy to maneuver in and out of the oil well, which I like.
The Thermostat:
On the lower left front of the unit is the thermostat dial. It is also the on/off switch. Any temperature from zero to 370 degrees can be set. You’re not stuck with pre-sets. A red light will come on to let you know the unit is heating up; when the light goes out, the unit has reached the set temperature and you’re ready to cook.
(Note: This particular model does not come with a timer, but other models do.)
The Oil Container Frame, Oil Container, and Oil Filter:
On the bottom front of the fryer is a hidden oil container frame. It pulls out from underneath the machine. The frame is meant to hold a long rectangular plastic container while you fill it with the used oil. The container comes with a lid, as well as a mesh cover that acts as an oil filter. When you are finished frying, you place the container into the frame, attach the filter cover, and drain the oil into the container. This is of course, only if you intend to keep the used oil for a future frying session.
Draining The Oil:
There is an oil drainage pipe, made of a soft, pliable, rubber-like material, which comes attached to the front of the machine just above the container frame, hidden inside a compartment. The pipe has a small plug attached to it to keep the oil from leaking out. To drain the machine of oil, you simply open the compartment, pull down the drainage pipe, unplug it, and let the oil drain out into the supplied container, or into whatever you choose.
Performance:
I find that in comparison to other deep fryers, this particular unit is a bit slow to reach set temperatures. But once reached, the food fries very evenly, and seems to maintain temperature well in between basket fillings. There is no splattering, probably due to the fact that the oil well is so deep. The unit is also very quiet while cooking. The housing and lid are solid and sturdy, which probably helps keep sounds contained. I really like the idea of not being required to choose from pre-set temperatures; the dial can be set to any number. The viewer window is the only really disappointing feature. It does not serve any purpose, in my opinion. Overall, the unit does a great job.
Cleaning:
This is the best part! The entire top lid and the fryer basket can be removed and washed in the dishwasher, which is absolutely wonderful, since grease is so very hard to deal with when washing by hand. The entire top lid easily pops right off, and after removing the odor filters, can simply be placed into either the top or bottom rack of the dishwasher. The entire frying basket can also be put into either rack of the dishwasher. As for the oil well, since the interior is nonstick, it’s pretty easy to clean. After draining the oil, I just leave the drainage pipe hanging over the sink, and plug it up so that the soap and water do not flow out until I’m done washing the interior well. I fill the well with soap and water, and after washing, I just unplug the pipe and let the water flow out, followed by a good rinsing.
The Total Package:
A great fryer, overall. It has a few flaws, but it’s such a terrific improvement over the messy, dangerous, difficult to clean machines of the past.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 79.00
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Epinions.com ID:
ClaireKS
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Member: Claire (Nickname: LadyWolf)
Location: Northern Virginia
Reviews written: 62
Trusted by: 82 members
About Me:
Avid nature conservationist and friend to all living things.
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