Have been using this fryer for months. It's great!That said, yes, most everything the one, two, and three-star raters said is true.It get's hot. Yes, it's "cool touch" when compared to the original metal Fry Daddy. If you touched those, you got burned. If you touch this, it's just hot. But what do you expect...it's 375 degrees.It doesn't get hot enough. Yes, it only goes to 375 degree. I'm guessing there's liability issues at play and small appliance manufactures probably don't want to market a home fryer that's over 400 degrees for fear of being sued when someone burns their house down. If you put a truckload of fries in there, you have two choices: fries that are just done, or greasy crispy fries. I think this has to do with dropping too many frozen fries at once dropping the temperature. I opt for plan B, I fry them in smaller batches so I can have them crispy without soaking up too much grease. I think it's safe to say the same is true of every other home fryer.The door is spring loaded. Yes, you will want to release the lid with one hand and ease the lid up with the other.It generates steam. Sure enough, it's hot and when you drop a basket filled with moisture-heavy goodies it's going to produce a lot of steam. Keep you hands away!It holds oil, it gets hot, it cooks stuff. All-in-all a considerable improvement over the old Fry Daddy. (Or putting an open pot of oil on the stove!) I like the basket, the lid, and ability to clean it. I feel much more comfortable loading the basket, putting it in, closing the lid, and then lowering the basket into the oil than I did chucking things into my old Fry Daddy and hoping to not get splashed or scalded. But please, make no mistake, it's a FRYER. I think it's considerably safer than the old Fry Daddy but you still need to be careful.