DASH Tasti-Crisp™ Electric Air Fryer Oven, 2.6 Qt., Aqua – Compact Air Fryer for Healthier Food in Minutes, Ideal for Small Spaces – Auto Shut Off, Analog, 1000-Watt

My oven was improperly wired at my apartment complex when I moved in. Management, who handles appliances, refuses to fix it while I am in residence (eg they’ll fix it for the next person but I can suck it). This has required adaptation over the years to my cooking habits.The stove has two hobs that work, two that don’t, and if you keep things to half the oven, it MIGHT cook if the stars are properly aligned. I got an Instant Pot one Prime Day, and it’s been the best dang thing. But, as someone who doesn’t cook with a lot of oil, and loves french fries, that has been the biggest thing I have missed, and often have spent way too much on fast food fries as a result (ew).So thus began the hunt. The hunt to find an air fryer that was small enough for my very limited counter space, without needing too much attention during the cooking process. I didn’t want the one my mother has because it aggravates even her, requiring preheating and, unfortunately, a lot of adjusting times. It became such a source of frustration for her that I put off finding one for myself for quite a while.Alas, finding something that met all the requirements I had, plus fit my limited budget was a bit of a pain. My mother had purchased hers for under $50, and I felt surely I could do the same! But that happened to be the sale price of the one she had purchased. Yikes.And then one day my rice cooker decided to go kaput. So I was scrolling Amazon in annoyance at having to replace multiple appliances in less than half a year (I wound up having to replace three, in addition to my purchase of an air fryer. When it rains, it pours!)– and I looked up the air fryers. So many different options, vast variety of sizes, styles, colors…and PRICES.Finding this air fryer I could only hope that it would work well enough and that the rating was on par with reality. The temperature is by dial, and the power is by a dial, as well, that you turn to the number of minutes you wish to cook your food for. It’s very simple, fairly idiot-proof, and worked great right out of the box.I’ve had the timer glitch out once, getting stuck at the 5m mark, and kept cooking while not counting down. I caught it. Nothing caught fire. It was fine. It hasn’t done it since. It’s pretty simple to clean, but you want to be thorough and careful. Don’t leave behind soap scum or whatnot, which is a little tricky. You CAN just wipe it clean with a paper towel a few minutes after use once the tray has cooled down.It’s not loud to my knowledge, but I am hard of hearing and wear hearing aids. It’s nowhere near as loud as the microwave. It cooks things very evenly, it hasn’t given me any problems outside of the one glitch.The limitations you have are temperature control — you don’t know the exact temp you’re setting as it’s not digital, it’s just a dial, so you can turn it, but, without digital temp tracking– who knows.Overall, if you are looking for one decently small and easy to use for your chicken nuggets and fries? This foots the bill very simply. Not high-capacity, so best for a single person, or two people who don’t eat large portion sizes.