Tower T17088 9L Dual Basket Vortx Air Fryer

Where to get real advice for this machine

Does it genuinely air-fry?

Genuine air frying

Assessed by architecture: two independent deep drawers with element and fan above the food, and grill plates that elevate it so air passes underneath. Fast air and air reaching all surfaces are met by construction. The published temperature ceiling of 200°C is at the lower end for the architecture and is recorded because it limits what the machine can be asked to do.

• Air moves fast, not just around
• Air reaches every surface of the food
• Recovers temperature quickly after loading
• Fat and moisture drain away
• Reaches genuine browning temperatures

What we know about this machine

Read from Tower T17088 9L Dual Basket Vortx Air Fryer — Safety and Instruction Manual (PDF), retrieved on 2026-08-13.

It has 2 independent drawers, so two foods can cook at different temperatures at once — which buys variety rather than volume. It runs from 50°C to 200°C, and the low end is genuinely useful: it is enough to dehydrate, prove dough or hold food warm. On preheating: has a preheat programme. It is sold as 9 litres, which measures the whole drawer including the space above the food that you must not fill.

The figures above are the manufacturer’s. What they mean for cooking is AirfryerHQ’s reading of them, not a measurement — nobody here has run this machine.

In the manual’s own words: The appliance has a dedicated Pre-Heat button that runs the drawer at 180°C for 3 minutes. The manual separately instructs the cook to add 3 minutes to the cooking time if the appliance is cold, which is the same adjustment expressed the other way round.

Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 409/6137.

What each setting actually does

Read from the manual. The first column is the name printed on the panel; the second is what that setting is in plain terms, so you can use advice written for somebody else’s appliance.

• French Fries: A preset rather than a mode: it sets a temperature and a time, both adjustable.

Questions owners ask about this machine

Answered from this model’s own manual (Tower T17088 9L Dual Basket Vortx Air Fryer — Safety and Instruction Manual) and nothing else. Where the manual does not address a question, it is not answered here from another machine’s.

Before the first cookWhat do I do before using it for the first time?

Remove any stickers or labels, but not the rating label. Wash the grill plates, baskets and drawers in hot water with washing-up liquid and a non-abrasive sponge and dry them thoroughly, then place the grill plates on the bottom of the drawers before use. No empty run is described.In the manual: Before First Use.

Where it stands, and the space it needsHow much space does it need around it?

At least 10 cm of free space to the top, back and sides, and not against other appliances.In the manual: Important safety information.Why the clearance matters, and where not to stand one

The parts, and how they go inWhere do the grill plates go?

On the bottom of the drawers, before use: that is the manual's instruction. They are loose rather than fixed, and the manual cautions that a grill plate may move when a drawer is tilted.In the manual: Before First Use, step 6; caution under Using Your Appliance.

Opening it while it cooksWhat happens if I pull a drawer out while it is cooking?

The unit stops working and the indicator lights go off; putting the drawer back resumes cooking on the last settings. When nothing is cooking, it turns itself off after ten minutes without the panel being touched.In the manual: Removing the Drawer; The Auto-Off Function.

Settings the panel does not explainHow do the temperature and time keys behave?

Each touch of a temperature key moves 10°C, and the display wraps: one more touch at 200°C goes round to 50°C, and one more at 50°C goes back to 200°C. The timer moves a minute at a time and wraps the same way between 60 and 01. The chosen figure flashes three times to confirm. Smart Finish is selected after both drawers are programmed. Match Cook is for the same food in both: select it, programme one drawer and start.In the manual: Using Your Appliance: Setting the temperature; Setting the timer; Smart Finish; Match Cook.

How much goes in at onceHow full can I fill a drawer?

To the max fill line and no further: the first step of the manual's preset instructions is a caution not to exceed it. The troubleshooting table gives the symptom, a drawer that will not slide in, and the cause as too much food in the basket.In the manual: Pre-Set Menu Selection, step 1; Troubleshooting.

Error codes and display states

Only what this manufacturer publishes, and only for this manufacturer. A code means whatever the firmware author decided it means, and reading one across from another brand is the commonest way to misdiagnose a fault.

Cleaning this model

The parts this machine has, what collects on each and how often it needs doing. Full methods and prohibitions are on the cleaning pages.

Clean after every use, once cool; keeping the drawers open cools it faster. The drawer, basket and grill plate are washed in hot water with washing-up liquid and a non-abrasive sponge or brush, and the manual warns that metal utensils and abrasive cleaners may damage their non-stick coating. For stuck residue it suggests soaking for a few hours or overnight.

Faults the manual documents, as printed

Only what the manufacturer publishes. AirfryerHQ does not invent the meaning of an error code, and where a manual documents one undifferentiated fault state that is what appears here.

• The air fryer does not work

  Three causes are printed: the appliance is not plugged in, the start key has not been pressed, or the drawers are open and the selected function is paused.

  Plug it into an earthed wall socket and press the key. Closing the drawers resumes the selected function automatically.

• The drawer will not slide inside the unit properly

  Too much food in the basket, or the basket is not placed in the pan correctly.

  Do not fill the basket beyond the maximum amount in the manual's table, and push the basket down into the pan until it clicks.

• The fried ingredients are not done

  Too much food has been added, the set temperature is too low, or the cooking time is too short.

  Cook smaller batches, which the manual says fry more evenly, and set an appropriate temperature and time.

• Fried snacks are not crispy or evenly fried

  Some foods have to be fried with oil, the wrong type of snack was used, or the food was stuck together and not in an even layer.

  Brush a thin layer of oil on the food first, use oven snacks, and shake or turn the food periodically while it cooks.

• The appliance is smoking

  Three causes: ingredients with a high oil content, for which the manual says smoking will be normal; grease left from previous use, which it says is what causes white smoke; or an inappropriate temperature.

  Clean the appliance properly after each use, and follow the suggested settings or the food manufacturer's recommendations.

• Food is burned

  Food was added before pre-heating was complete, cooked for too long, or left in the appliance after the time had elapsed.

  Add food once pre-heating is completed, check on it periodically, and remove it as soon as the cooking time has elapsed.

Replaceable parts

Read from this machine’s own documentation. Fit is stated only for the models a manufacturer names — it is never inferred from advertised capacity.

• Grill plate

  Grill plate for a Tower dual-drawer air fryer

  A removable grill plate supplied in each of the two 4.5-litre drawers. On this machine the grill plate is the standard cooking surface rather than an optional extra.

  You can fit this yourself: Removable as part of normal use. Ask the manufacturer for the grill plate for this model number — the machine takes two, one per drawer.

  The manual names the part but publishes no reference. Quote the model number from the rating label when you contact the manufacturer.

  People replace it because: the non-stick coating has worn or is peeling; it is cracked, warped or broken; it is lost, or was missing from the box.

  Tower's manual prohibits scouring pads, steel wool and any strong solvent or abrasive cleaning agent on the appliance or on its accessories, which includes this part.

  The model identifier is on the rating label. This machine's drawers are 4.5 litres each; parts from other Tower models are not established as compatible.

  Tower T17088 9L Dual Basket Vortx Air Fryer — Safety and Instruction Manual

Accessories with something documented for this model

Statements read from this machine’s own documentation. AirfryerHQ does not infer that an accessory fits an appliance from its advertised capacity, and no manufacturer here publishes the dimensions that would let anybody do so.

• Useful for a specific job

  Grill plate

  Ridges give contact marks and a different surface. If your machine came with one, use it; buying one separately is a narrower call.

Recall and safety status

No recall known to us at the review date

Checked against OPSS product recall 2503-0094 on 13 August 2026. That alert names six Tower models and this is not one of them. This is a statement about one specific alert and is not a clearance: AirfryerHQ does not hold the UK register.

No verified recall or safety notice is currently recorded in AirfryerHQ for this appliance. That is a statement about this catalogue and not about the product: AirfryerHQ holds a small number of checked alerts and is not a copy of the UK register. Check the authority's own register before concluding that an appliance is unaffected.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards publishes the UK register of product safety alerts, reports and recalls on GOV.UK, and Electrical Safety First operates a recall checker for electrical appliances. Registering an appliance with its manufacturer is what makes a direct notification possible.

Finding the manual

The document read for this page is Tower T17088 9L Dual Basket Vortx Air Fryer — Safety and Instruction Manual (PDF), retrieved on 2026-08-13. A different revision, or a booklet for another market, may not match it.

The manual states plainly that its settings are indications and that the best settings cannot be guaranteed because ingredients differ in origin, size, shape and brand. One row, thick frozen fries, is printed as '20-20' minutes and is a misprint; AirfryerHQ records it as unusable rather than guessing what was meant.

About this model

A dual-basket machine with a twelve-preset menu and, unusually for the architecture, removable grill plates rather than plain crisper plates. It is not covered by the 2025 Tower recall, which names six other models — a distinction worth stating explicitly, because 'is my Tower affected?' is answered by the model number on the rating plate and by nothing else.

Owning this machine

The questions that come after the cooking.

• Looking after itFive minutes a week and one check a month, nearly all of it about grease.
• What to clean it withIncluding which tool every manufacturer in this catalogue prohibits.
• The coating, and when a basket is finishedThe part that decides how long this appliance lasts.
• Replacing a part, and what to ask forWhere the model and serial numbers are, and why no order code appears here.
• Accessories, and whether you need themWith the verdicts first and no affiliate links anywhere.
• Repair, replace, or stop using itThe symptoms that mean stop now, and the ones that mean a part.