"Ninja Smoke" is very hard to see, but if you can smell smoke, it's there, doing it's magic
Depending on where you're at, the box heats up quickly and then the element turns off, leaving you with no ignition source for your chips. You can order the retro kit and see if that helps, or remove the heat shield between the heating element and the chip pan first. The retro kit does not have this heat shield.
The last thing you want to do is throw in a ton of chips and have ugly billowing smoke.....Bad Smoke!
Todd