Is there really a manner in which we can offer a concise answer to the question how long do air fryers last?
I really don’t see how that would be possible. The best we can do is to either guess from personal experience or from what other people are saying.
We must also take into account that air fryers have not been with us long in the grand scheme of things.
According to kalorik.com, air fryers were first introduced in 2010 as the low-fat cooking alternative to deep frying or oven cooking. That’s really not that long ago so we can’t say for sure that they have the potential of going a long time without any troubleshoots.
In my opinion, I would say that, realistically, air fryers can last 2-3 years and maybe 5 years if we’re lucky. 5 years is a bit of a stretch but I think it’s a possible amount of time if we get a good model.
Moreover, if we pay $100 or less than $100 on a kitchen appliance, how long does each of us expect a machine to last?
In the end, it’s also a matter of personal expectations.
If I were to buy the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, I would have the same expectations as if I were to buy the Ninja AF101, which is about 4-5 times cheaper than the Breville.
If an air fryer for which I pay around $100 lasts 2-3 years, then I’m satisfied.
On the other hand, if an oven air fryer on which I spend $400 or more lasts only 3 years, then I’m going to be extremely disappointed.
How Long Do Air Fryers Last? What to Expect
I guess that people are always going to wonder how long an appliance can last. That’s why I wrote an article on how long blenders last and it’s why I decided to also answer the question how long do air fryers last.
While I could say that I can see a blender lasting for 10 years or maybe more, I can’t say the same about air fryers.
On the other hand, what really is an air fryer but a heating element with a fan and a bunch of buttons with a bunch of functions, some even including a dehydrate feature?
Therefore, an air fryer is compared to a turbo-powered convection oven, which circulates super hot air within its cavity. In order to do that, it needs a heating element, just like any electric oven.
Thus, one troubleshoot we can expect is for the heating element to stop working.
However, besides the fact that an air fryer can no longer function all of a sudden, there are also other problems that can appear.
You might be disappointed by getting an appliance that doesn’t cook the food evenly. That’s a frequent complaint when it comes to some of the models on the market.
Other air fryers have received complaints about producing a burnt plastic smell, even after multiple uses.
Thus, we can have expectations for an air fryer to last a few good years but there are other nuisances to keep in mind. I always recommend reading both a few very positive and a few very negative reviews and balance them out before making a final purchase.
How much warranty do we get for air fryers?
The general warranty is only 1 year. Ninja, Cosori, Chefman, Instat are all manufacturers that offer a 1-year warranty.
However, there are also some exceptions to the 1-year warranty. Cuisinart TOA-60 is an air fryer toaster oven that includes a 3-year warranty.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro comes with a 2 year warranty.
However, we can’t answer how long air fryers last based on the warranty period they come with. We all expect not to have to use the warranty at all and, most importantly, for the appliance to exceed that short frame of time by a few good years of constant use.
Thus, in my most optimistic predictions, I would say that an air fryer can last 3-5 years, even if we end up using it daily as some of us do.
How to make an air fryer last longer
In this day and age, many of us have bemoaned that things just aren’t made to last. That can certainly be true.
It seems that manufacturers don’t have high standards for quality control. Or they’re not using high quality materials for all pieces. Or they give the impression that they don’t thoroughly inspect their products before putting them out for sale.
All these things can certainly be true.
It’s why we cannot say for certain that an appliance will last that long. There are no guarantees. Maybe not even when we spend a lot more money than the average.
For example, if we read reviews for most air fryers at the moment, you might come across users mentioning that their model stopped working in a certain amount of months or a couple of years.
Even a few user reviews for the expensive Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro mention that their products stopped working at 7 months old. Or that it ended up displaying an error. Or that the glass door shattered and a bunch of other problems.
Is there really anything that we can do to safeguard against such situations?
I don’t think that we can make air fryers last longer.
The best we can do is to read the user manual carefully and to try to follow their instructions.
We can also use parchment paper, air fryer liner or air fryer silicone pots to preserve the quality of the basket. It will prolong the life of the non-stick coating that air fryer baskets have.
When do you need to replace an air fryer?
The first sign that you just have to buy a new appliance is if you’ve already fixed certain parts once or twice and it’s still presenting problems.
If it’s within the warranty period, the manufacturer should take care of replacing the parts that need fixing or even send you a new one. However, it’s common for companies to assess a shipping charge for replacement parts under warranty.
If you need to pay for the transport, even just sending the air fryer for fixing up can increase the total cost of your acquisition.
If you use parchment paper or air fryer liner, at least you’ve managed the worry that the non-stick coating of the basket is going to peel off sometimes in the future after multiple uses. It also makes cleaning much easier so I prefer this method.
Some brands offer replacement baskets. But that involves another expenditure and a new trouble. It’s just best to prevent at least in the areas where we can do that.
A frequent problem with air fryers is that they might not cook up the food evenly. The whole concept of an air fryer is that we add the ingredients and we can do our own thing until the timing is up and the food is done.
If the ingredients are not cooked evenly, that means that we need to attend to the ingredients. And switch them around so that every piece cooks mostly the same as the others, which is bothersome.
All in all, I would consider replacing my air fryer if I had to send it for repairs twice already. I’m usually drawing the line a third time if I have to pay transportation fees every time. But it also depends how much you’ve spent on yours.
Why is my air fryer smoking?
If the smoke smells like some plastic is melting, that means that something is seriously wrong. You should stop using your air fryer right that moment.
It might mean that some parts are melting inside.
The smell of smoke from cooked food is totally different from the smell from a wire or some part melting.
If you notice a weird smell coming from your air fryer when it’s preheating empty and the basket is squeaky clean, then you can be sure that the smoke is not coming from the food you’re cooking.
Smoke can also be attributed to:
- excess grease
- food being too crowded
- or food buildup
But that explanation goes out of the window if the smoke happens when the basket is totally clean and the air fryer is preheated empty.
The smell is totally different, too.
On the other hand, it’s totally normal to see steam from an air fryer. That’s from the food cooking. It will have no impact on how well the food is cooked.
All in all:
- properly cleaning an air fryer each time after using it
- using parchment paper/air fryer liners
- and following the instructions in the user manual are ordinary things that we should consider doing
Plus, make sure that the vents are not obstructed. That can lead to machine overheating and breaking.
Last but not least, make sure that the fan is not blocked by any small foods stuck in there.
All these things can also impact the answer to the question how long do air fryers last but, in the end, there’s not much we can do if we’re buying a defective unit.
