How should basket sway be evaluated when buying a lifting noodle cooker?

Don't trust a catalogue claim of minimal sway. First check whether the two lifting arms or basket yokes are equal in length and coaxial, and whether guide-slot and roller clearances match side to side; then see how noodles or a strainer sit in a full basket, since a corner load magnifies drift. Test empty, rated-full and deliberately off-centre loads at normal lifting speed, watching for repeatable left-right deviation and logging its direction and size. Slowing the lift only hides the fault: poor mechanical centring shows up during a lunch rush even if a solo run looks fine. For acceptance, demand twenty consecutive baskets without re-centring, comparing the last basket's landing point with the first.