Compact or Double Basket: Choosing an Electric Deep Fryer

The Pukomc 1.5 L is the small, simple one. It has a silver stainless steel body with a detachable frying basket. It measures 10.4 inches deep, 10.4 wide and 9 tall.

That works out to about 108 square inches of counter. The brand gives no weight, so there is no number for how easy it is to lift in and out of a cupboard.

Oil capacity is 1.5 liters, which the brand's video titles also give as 1.6 quarts. The title says 1500W, and the highlights give an adjustable temperature range of 266°F to 374°F. There is one control for one pot of oil, so everything in a batch fries at the same setting.

Most of the product page is about cutting down burns and mess. The brand says the sides stay cool to the touch, to protect you from accidental burns if you brush against them during cooking. The highlights also name cool-touch handles.

The lid has a viewing window so you can watch the food without opening it. The brand says this helps keep hot oil splatter and spills down. A replaceable odor filter is meant to reduce cooking smells.

All of that is the brand's description, and no test figures sit behind it. Read it as intent, not as a measured result. The one claim you can check by eye is the window itself.

In the brand's telling, the lid exists so you can watch the food. It lets you watch the food, so you can leave the lid shut for the whole batch.

Cleanup gets a short line. The brand says the non-stick coating makes cleaning easier, and it also calls the stainless steel body easy to clean. It does not say which parts carry the coating, and it is silent on the dishwasher.

Here is what it does not do. The brand gives no basket size in food terms, so nobody can tell you how many servings of fries fit in one go. It mentions no timer and no weight.

A 1.5 liter pot is a small pot, and for a table of four you will probably fry in rounds. The brand's own video titles call it a small fryer for home use, and that is the right frame for it.

The odor filter is a part that wears out, since the brand calls it replaceable. The product page does not say how often to change it or where to get a spare, so budget for that question before you count on it.

The brand's closing line, that you can cook any food you want to fry at home, is a broad promise. We read it as marketing and judge the fryer on its stated size and controls instead.

The rating is 4.3 stars from 882 ratings. The double-basket product page shows the same figures, so the stars don't separate the two. The price is $47.99, against $99.99 for the double.

Skip this fryer if you want two foods at once or need to feed a crowd. It suits a one or two person kitchen with a small shelf and a short list of things to fry.

The double-basket Pukomc, model 130DL, is the big one. It holds two baskets of 3 liters each, 6 liters in total, and the brand says both can fry at the same time. The body is black and silver stainless steel.

It measures 16.9 inches deep, 15.98 wide and 10.27 tall. That is about 270 square inches of counter, roughly two and a half times the compact model's footprint for four times its oil capacity.

The controls are the reason to pick it. It has two temperature knobs, and the brand says each one sets the temperature for its own basket separately.

The range given is 266°F to 374°F. The brand also says recipes come with it, and it pitches the fryer at both professionals and beginners.

A heating indicator is mentioned, but the brand words it for the large basket and does not say whether each pot has its own. That is a small gap, and it matters if you run the two baskets at different settings. With two pots, you would want to know which one is ready.

The brand's bullets do not name a timer for either basket, so you will be watching the clock yourself.

The heater is a removable immersion element that comes with the fryer. The brand says its 1500W power heats food quickly, though it gives no minutes. Here the product page contradicts itself: the spec table and the bullet say 1500 watts, while the highlights say 3000W.

It does not say how the heat is shared between the two pots, and the wattage cannot be settled from the page. If the figure matters to you, ask the brand before you buy.

On safety the brand describes a lid for each basket to keep boiling oil from splashing. It also describes an insulated handle on the frying basket to prevent hand burns. The highlights add overheat protection, a viewing window and cool-touch handles.

These are the brand's descriptions, with no test figures behind them. One instruction is plain: the brand says not to wet the charging port.

On cleanup, the brand calls the stainless steel food-grade and says the removable design simplifies washing, so you are not scrubbing in place. It is silent on the dishwasher, so which parts go in is an open question.

What it does not do well: it is not small. At 12.3 pounds it wants a permanent home, and 16.9 inches of depth is a lot of shelf.

The brand gives no basket dimensions, so how much food fits in a 3 liter pot is unknown. The spec table also counts 10 items without naming them, so you can't tell from the page what ships in the box beyond the heating element.

The rating is 4.3, the same as the compact page shows. At $99.99 it costs more than the compact fryer.

Buy it for a party, a mixed menu or a house with several mouths. Skip it for a small kitchen, or if you only ever fry one thing at a time. A second pot you never fill is the most expensive part of this fryer.