I have had this fryer for a little over a year now. I am now looking into puchasing another fryer, but will not purchase this one again.

Pros (not that many):
Self contained unit
Easy to clean lift out oil bucket

Cons (more than there should be):
Can only fry litterly a handfull of french fries at a time -- With a family of five, I have to go at least four rounds before I have enough for the whole family
Heating time for oil is long, reheating time between rounds is long
Does not have an easily removeable cleanable filter
Basket is very difficult to clean if you dont have a dishwaser.

Like everyone it seems, I used to have a Fry Daddy and I seldom used it because of all of its many drawbacks. Kudos to Presto for designing this fryer to accommodate the average home cook's wishes. I love this fryer because it is a 'closed' unit. By that, I mean that while the food is frying the lid can (and should) remain closed - thus eliminating the splatter mess and at least some of the odor. Mine came with a replacable charcoal filter in the lid which presumably aids in cutting some of the oily smell. I cannot say that there is no odor with this unit, but the tradeoff was that it didn't cost four hundred dollers either! As for the temperature regulation, I usually fill my fryer to the max fill line every time so as to achieve the maximum 'mass' of hot oil possible. By setting the thermostat at the max (375 degrees) and giving it ten minutes or so to heat up properly, I have had no trouble frying respectable amounts of french fries, cod, and appetizers to golden perfection. The only drawback to this unit is that for a family of four, the size is a bit limiting. I tried to fry four battered fish filets at once and the top two weighed down the bottom two and they stuck rather badly to the fry basket (quite a mess!).

Other than the size drawback, we love this machine. It cooks well, cleans easily, stores nicely, and the price was very reasonable. Are there better fryers on the market? Of course, but for me their price was prohibitave. All in all, I feel that this is a very servicable appliance and a good value for the money.

I bought the Presto Cool Daddy on sale at a very low cost and thought I would be getting what I paid out of it. Boy was I wrong! It was much better than I expected! The oil heats up in no time, so I can get started quicker! It stays hot (no I didn't measure the exact temp, but I didn't feel I needed to) It is very deep and larger than other brands I looked at. I must have cooked a dozen items in it my first week and have been very pleased with each outcome! I highly recommend the AFFORDABLE Cool Daddy!

The reason we bought this was because it was the cheapest amoung the deep friers. It doesnt get very hot and that gets annoying, seeing that it takes way too long to cook.