The presets time and heats are subjective and should be used as a guideline. Other than that it’s a quick cook air fryer that for the price does the Job also easy to clean.

The air fryer is small but still big enough to put loads in the tray. The settings are easy to use. You can alter the cooking time and temperature while it’s cooking.

I have hung on a long time before getting an air fryer, I’m so glad I bought one now which I use every day. It is so easy to use and cooks beautifully! Everything has come out perfect, not much mess to clean up! I am also very happy with the price I paid.

I’d been dithering over this for half a year, not knowing which type of air fryer to go for; the choice was bewildering. I read hundreds of reviews of many models and was repeatedly put off by comments about the burning plastic smell filling the house, but I didn’t see that in the comments about these Russel Hobbs ones, and the brand is one I’ve trusted for decades, so I kept coming back for another look. I watched a wide variety of air fryers being used on a shopping channel too and learned how to use them from there, as well as getting a feel for which type and capacity might suit my needs, but I still didn’t believe that they could be as good as the hype. The price of this four litre model gradually came down to a level where I felt it was worth the risk of giving it a go. If I’d known sooner what I know now, I’d have bought one months ago at a higher price. Right enough: no burning plastic smell, so I’m really happy about that, and I was stunned at the taste of the food that came out of it.

I wanted to try cooking chips first to see if they were as good as people claim, but I also wanted to cook a piece of sockeye salmon, so I hit the “fries” button, then adjusted the temperature down from 205 to 200 as a compromise for when the fish would be added half way through the process. I also adjusted the timing up to 22 minutes, but with the intention of checking and stopping the process early if necessary. I found that I could adjust the temperature and time during cooking too, which means you can make changes along the way if your inspections suggest you need them. After 11 minutes it beeped, I turned the chips over, then set the fish on top of some of them to keep it off the metal plate in case it tried to burn onto it, but I needn’t have worried as there was no danger of that happening – I’m used to cooking fish on a grill pan on a ring where the heat is transmitted to the fish through contact with the metal, but in the air fryer the heat comes from above and all round, while some conducts through the plate but without risk of anything burning and sticking to it. I opened the basket early a few times to check progress (including before half time) and ended up eating the content two minutes early, but I also opened it early to remove the skin from the side of the fish that had it, this being on the top. I didn’t need to turn it over as the underside was fine and it was the newly exposed top surface that wanted most exposure to the heat. The fish tasted twice as good as it does in a pan on a ring: it was astonishing. The chips tasted like the ones you get in good chip shops, although with some burnt bits here and there and some bits still pale. If you want perfection it might be worth using an air fryer with a rotating cylinder to put the chips in, but I wouldn’t bother going to all that trouble. I simply picked out the ones that looked as if they were likely to burn and turned them over or ate them at that point.

One thing that I wasn’t sure about was the holes in the side of the basket. I haven’t seen any other types of air fryer that have those, but it had no negative consequences beyond a drop of oil getting through and leaving a slight mark on the internal wall of the fryer. You want to keep cleaning that anyway, so it wasn’t a problem, and it likely provides an advantage when you stuff the basket full by aiding the circulation of hot air to those surfaces up against the walls. The fan makes a bit of noise and I had to turn the television up a bit – yes, I did the cooking in the living room to make it easier to monitor the process, and then I ate the food straight out of the basket. Nice not to have to cook in the kitchen, and it’s light enough to carry around and cook with it anywhere in the house. This will completely change the way I do cooking, and I’m really happy with this fryer. It could easily cook enough for two people and maybe three at a push. I’m now tempted to buy the 5 or 8 litre version as well to handle situations where I need to cook more and might need to use significantly different temperatures at the same time, but I’ll stick to using this one for a while first to learn more about using it. This is a great machine and I’d be very surprised if it disappointed anyone.

Edit:-

I’ve bought a second one of these (4 litre version) as I’m now satisfied that I don’t need anything bigger, while two of them working together on occasions will give me all the flexibility and capacity I need. If I ever want to cook for a big crowd of people, I can just get them to bring another air frier or two along to help out.

The new machine has an issue with the removable plate: it’s a tight fit and very hard to get in and out (particularly out). Comparing it with the older machine reveals that the metal plate is identical, as is the tray/basket that it goes into, but the six black silicone parts which contact the walls of the basket have a thicker end wall. It’s only a small thickness difference, but it has a substantial impact on utility. If you get one like that you should ask for replacement silicone parts. I wouldn’t try to modify the plate as that might cause cracks in the non-stick coating that spread from there, and sanding the silicone parts could lead to small particles of silicone rubber ending up in the food, so don’t do that either. What I’ve done is switch two of the silicone parts with a pair from the old machine’s plate to make the new one perform better and the old one worse (it was perfect before). Both are now acceptable.