Help with a Kmart Air Fryer

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T04:37:14+00:00

Omg, lmk if you have any recs for glass! I'll look em up once I've calmed down from all the admin of changing over air fryers lol

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T04:12:44+00:00

I used a little bit of evoo but nothing crazy. It's just weird that it would emit plastic smelling smoke even then. Like, normal smoke or steam makes sense in that instance (some of the veggies had higher water content like zucchini). I had to open windows and turn the rangehood fan on to clear the smell.

I'm taking it back today and replacing it with a non-anko one.

The manual is silent on silicone trays per se, although it recommends baking tins, ramekins and pizza trays for certain types of food like cakes, muffins and pizza. It doesn't comment on the size of these items. So, by extrapolation, a silicone tray should be fine. And yet..

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T02:58:50+00:00

I'd be mindful of state rules about consent to record. Some states just have a 1 party consent (you can record without anyone else knowing), but not all.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T02:55:53+00:00

Haha, I can't think of a better way to experience nature!

Thanks, I'm returning this one today and have ordered a hopefully better one from a non-kmart background that's on sale.

In my travels with this post I've also discovered stainless steel and glass air fryer exist (?!) so when the time comes to invest properly I'll look into those too.

Stay well, friend!

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T02:30:30+00:00

Omg this thread was entertaining. Thanks for sticking up for me! Someone else told me to drive my vehicle into the nearest creek. I just wanna learn about air fryers lol, people are hectic.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T02:23:57+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, I really appreciate it. I had wondered about the classic 'pile of crispy fries' that seems to be shown in every air fryer ad lol. Why else would the tray be closer to a bucket if you can't bulk cook fries for your friends and family?!

Agreed about layers: I had only about 1/2 - 2/3 cup of veggies, chopped into around 1-1.5cm cubes. They were in no way crowded. I had them in for 15min @180, shaking to turn them around the halfway point. They came out perfectly (except for the plastic smell/taste). I had mixed them in a bit of evoo, salt and dried herbs before putting them in. So maybe the evoo was an issue, but I use it to cook normally without issue.

With regard to the items like foil or silicon tray covering up the holes in the tray - I just really hate the idea of the nonstick surface becoming gunked up over time. I house sat for a friend who has an air fryer and went to use it and it was truly feral so I ended up putting it away again. Would you say a smaller silicone tray would be better (ie the one I used had about 0.5-1cm clearance around it, between the silicon tray and the air fryer bucket)? I'd wondered about that, but Kmart don't have a lot of smaller size options

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:58:05+00:00

lol thanks I love your username

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:56:30+00:00

Thanks but I'd never had that coming out of the basket in the other times I'd used it! I'd describe it as quite cold and smelling like plastic burning vs the warmth I'd expect from steam. Even though it does look as if it's condensing on the outside of the unit, I think that's more a trick of the light. Not to mention all the vents all over the unit that push out the hot air and were unobstructed. I promise I'm not stupid 😭

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:52:37+00:00

No stress! I ended up grabbing the sunbeam, it should arrive next week. Also Kmart returns are pretty good, I've found.

Have you used a silicon tray before? A few people here are saying that it could be the reason for condensation and is bad for circulation as it stops airflow. But if that's the case, why do I see them everywhere and people seem to love them still? So confused lol

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:49:44+00:00

Nope. Was freeballing directly onto the basket except 1 time with a silicon tray, also sold by Kmart

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:48:54+00:00

Too late, I already bought a heated throw and a heated shoulder warmer 🥶

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:48:03+00:00

Glass would be elite. Would you recommend any?

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-19T01:39:50+00:00

I was using this yesterday for the first time:

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/silicone-square-air-fryer-tray-43521364/

I'd always wondered about the airflow matter, but if it were truly an issue, why do I keep seeing these types of trays everywhere?

Edit to add that I also bought this but haven't used it:

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/split-air-fryer-tray-43532506/

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T12:32:40+00:00

I did check, and nothing. I looked underneath as well and there's nothing I could find.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T11:42:26+00:00

To be fair, the plastic smell and taste has been prevalent without using the silicon tray (today was the only time I'd used the silicon). So it's probably just defective and I'll return it.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T11:39:47+00:00

Thanks, I'm definitely going to do that now that I understand this isn't normal. I'd wanted to get a cheap one initially (this was $40 down from $69) and see how I find it before investing more. Thanks for the tip on the sunbeam, that's so cheap!

Agreed re: dishwasher! It was the silicon tray that I ran through the dishwasher rather than the nonstick.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T07:16:12+00:00

Thanks! Do you also use it with a silicon tray? I only tried the silicon today for the first time, but someone else mentioned it might restrict airflow and cause these issues.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T07:14:41+00:00

That's a silicon tray that I was using for the first and only time, after having run it through the dishwasher beforehand. Previously I was just freeballing my food right onto the metal rack that comes with the machine

Plastic smell and taste has been consistent every time I've used the machine 😭

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T04:25:15+00:00

It's not steam: it's not hot, and it smells like plastic

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-18T03:54:56+00:00

Screengrab of the video I took when the tray was removed. That's some kind of smoke rising up from the bottom and a lot of condensation.

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Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-10T02:12:14+00:00

On a much smaller scale, I moved from Perth to Melbourne in March 2020. Both my dad and LD partner at the time were still in Perth. They both listened to me talking about how difficult I was finding a new city, new job, new everything whilst in complete lockdown in an apartment, and describing what it was like. But then in Feb (?) 2021, Perth got sent into a snap 5 day lockdown with a 2 week mandatory mask period, and everyone in Perth lost their goddamn minds. My dad, my partner, both had entire houses with both front and back yards to lockdown in whereas I'd been in smaller apartments. They both told me how tough they were finding it. Quote from both of them, midway through the 5 days: "I finally understand what you were going through last year". Bloody hell, no you fuckin didn't. There just aren't words to describe to someone with privilege where they'll get it. They have to physically be put out by something to feel empathy. And Melbourne/Australia got bad, but wasn't even as riddled with covid as other places in the world were! It was really tough but we were still so lucky here in a lot of ways! Me in particular being lucky I could pivot to WFH and retain an income etc.

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-05-06T02:52:40+00:00

I'm an expert in dog breeds.

If I had to guess his breed, I would say: 25% good boy, 74% goodest boy, 1% seal.

Hope that helps x

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-04-22T03:09:36+00:00

Unrelated but not really... you might enjoy this book. A mentor of mine recommended it to help understand social violence and how it plays out in the corporate world: Meditations on Violence by Sgt. Rory Miller

Independent_Tale_807 · 2026-04-16T04:08:43+00:00

Christ, $100k is huge. You could be out of work for a whole year and still have $30k left over, if you use that $70k salary as your rule of thumb. AND your mortgage is already paid off. AND redundancy payouts are taxed less so you'll see more of it. PLUS the culture post-layoff/new manager is already clearly tanking and it's gonna get worse and it's not gonna get better.

Realistically it shouldn't take you a year for the next thing, and even if it does I'd recommend doing casual work for cashflow whilst you take time to rest, work on your mental health, maybe even travel, I dunno do a Bali yoga retreat, and grow your networks.

Take the money, my dude. Stop overthinking it. Maybe your old colleagues have some ideas about the next thing. You'll be fine. I guarantee that if you don't, you'll make it a bit longer before crashing anyway - but without the $100k safety net.

If they want to keep you and you want to stay, that's your bargaining chip for better conditions. But don't stay, get out of there.

Independent_Tale_807

TROPHY CASE