The Dormeyer "Fri-Well" Deep Frier 6000 (Early 60s)

[scoots]

My mom had one of these units in the early 60s. I remember it being heavy as a tank (I mean for a 6 year old) but don't remember her cooking in it. I suppose being what is was, I was kept out of the kitchen for safety reasons.

Are these good machines? I have no deep fryer and naturally it's crossing my mind. They seem to run about $50 on eBay at the moment.

I also had completely forgotten about the "Dormeyer" line of small kitchen appliances. Any comments on them?

Mom said her biggest issue was the volume of oil needed to fill the tank. Unless you were deep-frying fiends and cooked that way often, she felt the whole thing frankly wasn't worth the effort and oil.

Comments would be welcome.

 

[norgeway]

Very Good!

I have one NIB,really a heavy quality unit.

 

[turquoisedude]

I had one that looked a lot like the Dormeyer, but it was badged a 'Dulane Fry-Ryte'.  It was the best deep fryer I owned!  However I have heard that the drain spout of the Dormeyers can get clogged up with food residue (like breading or other coatings), so bear that in mind.   Otherwise, I am totally biased and would not hesitate to snag a Dormeyer appliance like this... LOL 

 

[danemodsandy]

We Had One....

In the early '60s; my great-aunt Aena gave it to my mom, because she found she didn't use it.

It was a very capable fryer, but it was a total, total PITA to clean - heavy, non-immersible and with the tendency to spout-clogging already mentioned upthread.

Mom found some excuse to buy a new, immersible fryer (which I still own) and rid herself of the Fri-Well. Nobody missed it, not even me.

And I was fascinated by Truman-era stuff even then.

 

[danemodsandy]

About Dormeyer:

As a rule, I like Dormeyer appliances; the company was Sunbeam's chief competitor for quite a while there. Up through the mid-1950s, the company's products were extremely solid quality.

In the later '50s, competitive pressures and some changes in ownership caused Dormeyer to begin frequent restylings and to decrease quality just a little bit - which was also happening at Sunbeam. Still, you could not go wrong buying Dormeyer.

 

[cuffs054]

Grew up with one. It lived in the garage and was used for fries and fish. Plenty of newspaper was always layed down.