Reporting back on the electric turkey fryer - a huge success! This unit is very smartly designed, both for ease of use, safety and easy cleaning.
It took about a 1/2 hour for the unit to heat the oil, no longer than it would take to preheat your oven. I made sure the turkey was at room temp, so I really didn't see much time at all for the oil to come back up to temp. Cooked an 11.9 pound turkey in an hour and 20 minutes (per the instructions), and I think I would even go a little bit less next time. The turkey was totally crispy on the outside, and wonderfully juicy inside, with the exception of the wings, which got a little overdone. It only uses a little under 2 gallons of oil, so a big difference in what you need for the 'regular' turkey fryers.
The only drawbacks were that it released a lot of steam while cooking - I would not recommend doing this in the kitchen! We had the unit on our glassed in sunporch, and had to open windows about halfway through! There was a 'fried' odor that lingered a while, but that's not always a bad thing.

The instructions recommend not using outside, but only because of the chance of rain. I would definitely use the unit outside next time,weather permitting.
So, all in all, a great find, I think! We're pleased, and it will be neat to use it for wings and things for parties. You can also use it with water, so will be great for 'boils' and shrimp!