Grease or liquid leaking from the appliance

What is happening

Fat that has left the cooking chamber has gone somewhere it was not designed to go, and inside an air fryer that means towards the element, the fan or the electrics. Most cases are overfilling; the ones that are not deserve to be taken seriously.

Why it happens

Commonest first. It is almost always the boring one, and a page that walks you through the exotic causes before the obvious one has given you a longer path to a fixed dinner.

1. Most common

   The pan has more fat in it than it can hold

   A large load of fatty food renders more fat than the outer pan was designed for, and it escapes when the drawer is moved. Cosori's manual warns specifically about hot oil collected in the basket and instructs draining it before replacing the basket.

   What to do

   • Drain the fat between batches
   • Cook fatty food in smaller loads

2. Common

   It is being carried out on the drawer

   Fat on the outside of the basket or the rim of the pan transfers to the runners and then to the worktop every time the drawer opens. It looks like a leak and is a cleaning problem.

   What to do

   • Clean the drawer runners, the rim of the pan and the outside of the basket

3. Occasional

   The pan or basket is warped or damaged

   A warped pan no longer sits flush and lets liquid past. Usually caused by thermal shock, and permanent.

   What to do

   • Stop using it and contact the manufacturer

4. Occasional

   Liquid has got into the body of the appliance

   Fat or water that has gone past the pan and into the appliance is near the element, the fan and the wiring. This is not a cooking problem.

   What to do

   • Stop using it and contact the manufacturer

The fixes in full

Drain the fat between batches

The published instruction is to watch for hot oil collected in the basket and drain it before replacing the basket, to avoid splashing. On a batch cook this also stops the second batch smoking.

You will know it worked when: No liquid escapes when the drawer is pulled out.

Cook fatty food in smaller loads

Bacon, sausages, chicken thighs and lamb all render more than people expect. Two smaller batches produce less fat in the pan at any one moment as well as a better result.

Clean the drawer runners, the rim of the pan and the outside of the basket

With the appliance cold and unplugged. This is where a slow, mysterious puddle almost always comes from.

Stop using it and contact the manufacturer

Stop using the appliance. Switch it off and unplug it at the wall — not at the appliance — and do not use it again until the manufacturer has advised you. An air fryer draws 1.5-2.8kW continuously and a fault in one is not a domestic repair. Do not open it, do not run it to see whether it happens again, and do not plug it into an extension lead to test it somewhere else. If there is any flame, smoke that does not smell of cooking, a smell of burning plastic or insulation, visible damage to the cord or plug, or the appliance has tripped a breaker or an RCD, treat it as a fault rather than a nuisance.

Evidence and confidence

Foods this affects

• Bacon
• Sausages
• Bone-in chicken thighs

Related problems

• The air fryer is smoking
• Condensation, or water in the drawer