The case of the insanely designed air fryer

[Horace]

We use our air fryer so much, that even though our current Cosori was fine, I wanted to get a new and maybe better one. I like Instant for their pressure cookers, and their Instant Vortex air fryers rate highly, so I got a six quart Vortex Plus from amazon, which was delivered a couple days ago. My first cook went fine, but after it ended, the touchscreen was dead. I found that the steak wasn't as done as I'd like and wanted to cook it for another couple minutes, in the already-hot fryer. No dice. The only way to reset the fryer, was to unplug it. I figured this had to be a bug. So I called Instant, and the person told me it was intended behavior, because the oven had to cool down first. Ok, so I figured I was talking to a developmentally disabled person on the tech support line, no biggie, I'll just email support and talk to someone else. I clearly explained in the email exactly what I was seeing, and they responded, asking me to take videos of the behavior. I spent like 30 minutes preparing this stupid evidentiary email which showed exactly what I described, and this morning, they responded that the product is working as intended.

So 1 star review on amazon, here I come, and hell is coming with me, in the form of links to these stupid videos Instant asked me to make, and which I had to upload to youtube because of the email attachment size limit. So now nobody is going to buy your stupid product because of this insane design, which, if I am piecing things together accurately, is a new design in a new version of the product, which those idiots are going to quickly and quietly redesign.

[xenon]

That can't be the design - those idiots are probably just trying to close their support tickets.

Speaking of Cosori - I just picked up this one. We're new to the Air Fryer game - but pretty good so far:

6.8 qt heats from above and below

[Horace]

@xenon said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

That can't be the design - those idiots are probably just trying to close their support tickets.

I thought so, which is why I was patient enough to get that same answer from two different support people. The touch screen comes alive after a 7 or 8 minute wait, consistently. I fear that, indeed, this is the design. My suspicion is that behind the scenes, Instant R&D for new product development is a hot mess. Unlike their air fryers, which don't work when hot.

[Axtremus]

Got an air fryer from Costco with similar behavior … there is no button to “reset”, you have to unplug the power to “reset.” No biggie.

Air fryer is a very simple idea. I just think of it as aiming a hair dryer at food. So an air fryer being simple/stupid is fine by me.

[Horace]

@Axtremus said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

Got an air fryer from Costco with similar behavior … there is no button to “reset”, you have to unplug the power to “reset.” No biggie.

Wait, your Costco fryer doesn't allow you to re-use immediately after cooking, without unplugging?

[Mik]

I'd just return it and post a one star. They pay attention cumulatively. If enough people don't like it they'll change.

[Horace]

@Mik said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

I'd just return it and post a one star. They pay attention cumulatively. If enough people don't like it they'll change.

Yes, I am returning it. I don't think there's any "if" as to whether people will or will not like this design. My only question is to what degree this was intended. It is not documented, and the reviews on Amazon, for previous models, indicate that this is a new 'feature'. I suspect this feature was invented by liability lawyers, if I had to guess at anything resembling reasoning behind it.

[Mik]

I sure wouldn't like it. I can see there being a timer if no food can be detected in the fryer, or it is not touched for an hour or two. But to extend cooking time? Nah. We have lots of sensors that can do that.

[Horace]

This is clearly in a grey area between insane feature which may as well have been a mistake, and actual bug. I posted the behavior to the Amazon product page Questions and Answers section yesterday, and Instant replied just now:

Q: How long do I have to wait to use the fryer again, after a program ends? It stays on the "end" screen, and no button is functional except "light"

A: Thank you for your question! When using the Instant Vortex Plus 6 Quart 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook, the display will read END when a program has ended. Once the basket has been removed and then replaced you will then be able to select the functions. If you are unable to select any functions, please reach out to our support team via the Instant Home website and we will be happy to assist you.

Instant Brands Support Manufacturer · April 27, 2022

Meanwhile, this is the response I got from tech support:

Thank you for sending the requested information, it is appreciated.

Based on the video, your unit is working as intended. Please be advised that it will take a maximum of 10 minutes for the unit to cool down before you can proceed to the next food. If the buttons did not work or show for more than 10 minutes after the cooking, it means the control panel is defective.

[Mik]

Well, now. That sounds like bullshit.

[Horace]

Email support's final word on the matter:

We appreciate your thought about the matter.

We do acknowledge your opinion. The cool-down time is designed for the safety of our customers so they won't get burnt after Air frying.

Uh huh. We take the food out immediately after it's done cooking, but we can't put new food in, because we might get burnt. Uh huh. Oh god, burnt? Is Instant a British company? That would explain it. Well, more likely the support person is from India.

[Horace]

I uploaded two videos to youtube, one 15 second one where I start the fryer, and one longer one where I show the cook ending and the buttons becoming unresponsive. The 15 second video now has 1400 views and 5.5 hours total watch time, with 36 likes. It contains no context about why it exists. The longer one, uploaded at the same time, has 7 views.

[Mik]

We share a common delusion, that the world should, at least to some degree, make sense.

[kluurs]

Like you, I use the air fryer - 2-3 times a day. Of course we will sometimes restart the unit after the cycle or add time during the cycle. I would not purchase a piece of equipment that didn't allow an immediate use following the completion of a cycle for the reasons you outlined. I suspect we will replace our air fryer every couple of years based on heavy usage. it is still less expensive than using our gas grill. We're saving money overall.

[George K]

I've had mine for a couple of months now. I have the Instant Vortex as well.

Overall, it's a good, but somewhat limited gadget.

Baked potatoes? Perfect.
Asparagus? Perfect.
Bacon? Perfect, but a PITA to cook and clean up after.
Cornish Hens were good - but small. Gonna try a chicken in the rotisserie.
Frozen Pizza? Perfect.
French Fries? Put them in the rotisserie basket - perfect.
Grilled Cheese? Perfect.

It's sort of like the Instant Pot. What it does well, it does VERY well. But, for meats (steak, pork chops, etc) I'm not sure.

[Horace]

@George-K said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

I've had mine for a couple of months now. I have the Instant Vortex as well.

Overall, it's a good, but somewhat limited gadget.

Baked potatoes? Perfect.
Asparagus? Perfect.
Bacon? Perfect, but a PITA to cook and clean up after.
Cornish Hens were good - but small. Gonna try a chicken in the rotisserie.
Frozen Pizza? Perfect.
French Fries? Put them in the rotisserie basket - perfect.
Grilled Cheese? Perfect.

It's sort of like the Instant Pot. What it does well, it does VERY well. But, for meats (steak, pork chops, etc) I'm not sure.

Does yours have this "feature" where the touchscreen goes dead for 8 minutes after a program ends?

[George K]

@Horace said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

Does yours have this "feature" where the touchscreen goes dead for 8 minutes after a program ends?

Never noticed it, but, OTOH, I've not tried to cook things in sequence.

[Horace]

@George-K said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

@Horace said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

Does yours have this "feature" where the touchscreen goes dead for 8 minutes after a program ends?

Never noticed it, but, OTOH, I've not tried to cook things in sequence.

I suspect it is a recent version of the firmware. I found two complaints about it in Amazon reviews, both from the past two months. Both reviews are buried and ignored, but Instant will have to address this at some point. When I asked the question about it in the Q&A section of Amazon's product page, I got two responses, one from Instant indicating it is not intended behavior, and one from an owner of the product indicating that they often re-use it immediately after a program ends. So, I suspect this a recently unveiled 'feature', encouraged by liability lawyers. I can't think of any other possible reason why. This 'feature' makes no appearance in the user manual.

[Doctor Phibes]

It's possible that they had a problem with it overheating if used twice in quick succession, and this was their solution. Pretty nasty engineering, if it is the case.

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in The case of the insanely designed air fryer:

It's possible that they had a problem with it overheating if used twice in quick succession, and this was their solution. Pretty nasty engineering, if it is the case.

Yes, I suspect a fear of lawsuits is behind this.