Serious question, did anyone have their air fryer basket melt?

Last month, I was making frozen fries in my air fryer, the kind I've done a hundred times. I set it to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, which is normal. About 10 minutes in, I smelled this awful plastic burning smell from my kitchen in Atlanta. I opened it up and the bottom of the basket had actually started to warp and melt in one spot. It wasn't touching the heating element, so I have no idea why. I checked the manual and it says the basket is safe up to 450, so this shouldn't have happened. I've had this model for about 2 years and never had a problem before. I'm honestly scared to use it again until I figure out what went wrong. Has anyone else had a basket fail like this, and what did you do?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery5821mo ago

Superheated air from a crumb" sounds like a stretch.

sageellis1mo ago

Yeah, that "plastic burning smell" is exactly what I got with my old one. In my case, a tiny piece of food, like a breadcrumb or cheese, had fallen under the basket and was stuck to the heating element at the top. It wasn't touching the basket, but it superheated the air right above that one spot and made the basket warp. I had to really look for it. I contacted the company, sent a picture, and they sent me a new basket for free even though it was out of warranty. I still check for crumbs every single time now.

river_burns11d ago

8 years ago my first Cosori basket did the exact same thing with chicken wings at 380. @sageellis is right about checking the heating element, that's how I found a tiny piece of bacon fat had dripped down and was burning on the coil. I just bought a replacement basket from Amazon for like $25 and called it a day.