Amelia Ali

I had the same thing in a tiny studio & it was awful the first week. 😖 What finally did it for me was cleaning the heater area and finding a sliver of protective film tucked behind the metal shield. Unplug, flip it over when cold, use a flashlight and a soft paintbrush, then a barely damp cloth, then dry. I also washed the basket twice with hotter water than I thought was necessary. Vent game matters when you cannot throw the window open. I pointed a cheap clip fan out the cracked window and propped the fryer on the sill for the first two burn offs, then did a that model minute vinegar steam with lemon slices sitting in a ramekin. By the fourth cook the smell faded to nothing. Fries did bring a whiff back until I learned to dry the basket completely and run a two minute preheat after washing. Tiny change, big difference. Works great. 🙌

To add to that - Solid checklist - one extra step that gives a lot of info is to put a multimeter on the charger output and the pack resting voltage: if the charger isn't putting out its rated voltage or the pack is near 0V (well below its nominal) that tells you where the fault is. Also inspect the pack for swelling, smell, or heat - those are signs to retire it, and don't try to short or open the cells yourself for a "reset."