Fryer Reviews

I tried using this thing and it barely pumped out oil and then it fell apart in the oil. I junked it and dumped the oil. I wish it did work but it was a disaster. Eastman needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.

Congratulations to those who wrote to say this product worked two or three times for them. It worked once for me. At $30, this might be the worst purchase I have ever made.

This unit comes with only 3 filters. Now I know why, it is such a piece of junk that you will never get it to work 3 times for you. I bought it new, it worked the fist time, and although it did the job I wasn't very impressed with its performance, the second time I used it, it stopped working half way through the job for no apparent reason, new batteries and an hour of messing around with it could not bring it back to life, it was dead! Thats alot of money for an item that doesn't last through draining my turkey fryer more than once! It now is stored in its proper container where it belongs and will stay forever (my garbage can).

I had bought the battery version of this pump as gifts for other turkey fryers and bought the electric one for myself two months ago. Used it for the first time today, all was well until the pump lets out a little smoke and quit after pumping 4.5 gal of room temp oil. I called the Eastman Outdoors help line and they were very good about offering to ship out a new unit but had no advice on why the pump died or whether this has been a common problem.

I'll see how the replacement unit works out the next time I do a turkey. Now I'm wondering how the battery versions I bought for gifts worked out in comparison.

This is a must have for anyone who has trouble lifting 5 gallons of oil in a slippery cooker. The pump is the same as the ones that pump kerosene. So you can get the same thing cheap locally if you don't want to wait for shipping. Fast, self priming, easy.

*** Don't try to move hot oil *** Do turn off flames ***

Hot oil will quickly melt the plastic pump and the plastic will stick to the sides of the fryer and ruin your oil and machine.

This pump is a step backwards from the previous two battery version (this one has three batteries). The additional battery make it too heavy on the top so it doesn't sit well in the pot. It has a tendency to tip over, or at least shift from the position you set it at.

I would agree with some of the other reviews that it seems to loose power after the first use. The thicker the oil, the harder a time it has. If you heat the oil before filtering, it works much better. Note that you don't want to get the oil too hot - perhaps nothing hotter than 100 degrees. I cracked the clear tube in my old two-battery one by running boiling water through it (requiring the purchase of this model).

If you can find the older version, I highly recommend it, but the three battery version is definately a step backwards.

The plastic Eastman frying oil funnel and filter work poorly. At oil temperatures high enough to allow the filter to work, the funnel plastic deforms. Not recommended.

It's a nice looking fryer and seems to heat up fine, that is, if you can keep the cord in. The plug isn't a tight fit; rather, it's magnetically attached.

The positive/negative poles of the power are small plates (both on the fryer and the cord) about the size of hearing aid batteries held in place by a two magnets, also about the size of hearing aid batteries. The problem is that the cord is heavier than the magnets can sustain, and constantly falls out. I have to prop my cord in, and even then it doesn't always stay.

Steer clear.

Pros: Compact.
Cons: Cord is always falling out; lacks timer.
Recommended: No
Bottom Line: I've only used it once; returning to the store because the design is so poor. I had to babysit it instead of preparing the rest of my meal.

I received this fryer as a gift. I really liked the ability to removwe the bowl to clean this fryer. So far in my cooking with it, that is the only positive to it. The fryer never gets to the set temperature. The thermostat on this unit is irrelevant. It will never get above 300 degrees. I have actually returned/exchanged the one received as a gift, and the new one is just the same.

If this fryer could only walk and talk you would have a walking, talking piece of (...). The detachable handle on the metal fryer basket is a joke, almost impossible to use. A third degree burn waiting to happen. The ready light quit working a month after purchase. Stay away from this fryer.