Author
Stephen V.
Editor, Preheat Club
I write Preheat Club as an enthusiast — someone genuinely interested in kitchen gear, not a chef with a test kitchen or an engineer with a lab. That's the honest framing, and I keep to it deliberately.
What I actually do is the unglamorous part everyone else skips: read the manuals, compile the manufacturers' published specifications, check what each machine is really made of, and — the thing that started this site — work out what an air fryer costs to run, in cents, from its wattage and the national electricity rate. I'd rather show you a reproducible calculation than tell you I "tested" twenty machines I haven't.
You won't see me claim a credential I don't hold — no food scientist, no engineer, no test lab — because inventing one would be both dishonest and the easiest thing in the world for a competitor to disprove. The method is on the how we review page, in full, so you can check my work rather than take my word.
Recent work
- The best air fryers of 2026, ranked honestlySeven picks from compact to 8-quart family, ranked on capacity, materials and running cost — with the one to buy first and the one to skip.
- The best non-toxic air fryers, chosen by what touches your foodSix coating-free picks — glass, PFAS-free ceramic and stainless — ranked on the material claim, capacity and value, led by a true glass model.
- The best air fryers for beginners, ranked by how hard they are to get wrongFive forgiving, easy-to-use picks ranked on simplicity first — from the simplest budget dial-model to a see-through basket that teaches you timing.
- Air fryer vs convection oven: the honest comparison, with the running-cost mathSame technology, different size. Which crisps better, which is cheaper to run, and which you should buy — with the electricity math worked out.
- Air fryer vs toaster oven: the overlap, the differences, and whether you need bothThe closest fight in the kitchen. What each does better, the running cost, and why an air-fryer toaster oven might replace both.
- Air fryer vs microwave: two different tools, not rivalsDifferent jobs entirely — crisping vs fast reheating. Which reheats better, which is cheaper, and why most kitchens keep both.
- Are air fryers toxic? The honest, sourced answerA sourced look at the PTFE coating question — what's actually a risk, what isn't, and the glass/ceramic/steel options if you'd rather skip coatings entirely.
- What does it cost to run an air fryer? The math nobody else publishesThe running-cost math in full — a typical cook is pennies — plus a live calculator that takes your machine's wattage and your electricity rate.
- How to use an air fryer: the six rules that actually matterThe handful of habits that make any air fryer work — preheat, don't crowd, shake, oil, clearance — plus the foods that go wrong in one.
- Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1 (AF141) reviewThe 5-quart, 1,750-watt Ninja that tops our roundup — reviewed in full, with the running cost worked out and the case for who should skip it.
- Cosori TurboBlaze 6 Qt reviewA 6-quart, PFAS-free ceramic air fryer with a wide 90–450°F range and a quiet fan — reviewed in full, with who should step up to it and who shouldn't.
- Ninja Crispi glass air fryer reviewA glass air fryer where nothing coated touches your food — reviewed in full, including the real capacity trade-off and who it's genuinely for.