More dual basket air fryer advice

Jan 15, 2025 Last reply: 1 year ago 24 Replies

I think it saves a fair bit. You're comparing it to a grill, rather than an oven, which probably averages 2kW, and has a 10-15 minute warm-up time during which it's probably 4kW.

We have a halogen oven, which the air fryer developed from, with a

1.3kW element which is on for about a third of the cooking time. There is no warm-up period, the element runs a bit more from cold for two or three minutes. The halogen has an 11 litre borosilicate glass bowl, which is probably a significant part of the cost, which the air fryer doesn't have. We're now on the third, over more than 14 years. We use the kitchen built-in oven about twice a year, for major cooking, and the halogen oven most days.

The big gain is convenience, particularly fairly short jobs which don't have that warm-up time added on. It's also easy to see what's going on inside, with a nice, bright 1.3kW lamp on some of the time. And while most built-in ovens are 'self-cleaning', this doesn't apply to splashes and spills, which are a pain to remove from those surfaces. Smooth glass is pretty easy to clean, usually with just a wipe with a damp cloth.

A casual glance at the smart meter (which is coincidentally next to the air fryer) shows that not only does it use less power when running, but that the period for which it runs is shorter. Presumably the smaller cooking volume keeps heat that much better by some sort of exponential factor.

Air fryers aren't magic. The usually overlong "Sliced Bread" on BBC radio did make the subtle point that whilst they are great for (say) 2 people, if you are trying to cook for a family of 5 then any savings in power would be wiped out by the need to run more than one batch for cooking.

Exactly, horses for courses. We have an air fryer (second try, much better than the first) which we use quite a bit. We also have a conventional fan oven, we use that quite a bit. We have a huge 90cm wide fan oven, we use it rarely but it's **incredibly** useful at times when we need its extra capacity.

So, chips or baked potatoes for two - air fryer.

Full Sunday roast for two (or more) - normal fan oven

Big family 'do' with food for up to a dozen people - big 90cm oven.

Too far away at the moment, cat on my lap is much more important! :-)

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required