How to Use an Air Fryer (2026): What Four Manufacturer Manuals Actually Say

The first-use-to-cleanup routine from the Philips and KENT manuals we read, side by side, with a table of where those manuals and the makers’ own blogs disagree.

Air fryers on Amazon.inFour air fryers from 4 to 6.2 litres, with the Amazon.in price on 8 Nov 2026. Examples, not a ranking.

Philips Air Fryer NA120/004.2 litre air fryer₹4,400Amazon, 8 Nov 2026★ 4.3Check price ↗KENT Ultra Digital Air Fryer4 litre, 1300W, digital display and touch control panel₹3,300Amazon, 8 Nov 2026★ 4.0Check price ↗COSORI Air Fryer 4.7 Litre CAF-L5011500W, 9 preset menu, digital touch panel₹10,000Amazon, 8 Nov 2026★ 4.6Check price ↗Philips Air Fryer NA231/006.2 litre extra large air fryer, touch panel₹8,800Amazon, 8 Nov 2026★ 4.1Check price ↗

See all air fryers on Amazon.in ↗

The short answer. Clean it before first use, give it clear space, load the basket below the MAX mark (a Philips NA120 instruction), oil the food rather than the pan, set temperature and time, shake partway through, and let it cool before cleaning. Those steps come from the Philips and KENT manuals we read. Preheating, a first-use burn-off, clearance and cleaning the heating element differ by model, so follow your own model’s manual.

The four manuals we read (read 30 September 2026): Philips NA120 (rest-of-world edition), Philips NA230/NA231 (EU edition; we found no India edition linked from Philips’ Indian product pages), KENT Digital Air Fryer 5L and KENT Classic Air Fryer. We also read blogs from Agaro, Faber and Wonderchef, and KENT’s Digital 5L product page. Blogs are marketing; a maker’s manual outranks its blog.

Where the manuals and the makers’ blogs disagree

KENT’s own documents also disagree: its two manuals give different clearances and only one gives a first-use empty run, and its Digital 5L manual and product page give different preheat times.

How to use an air fryer, step by step

1. Before first use

• Philips NA120 and NA231: “Remove all packing material.”, remove stickers or labels, then “Thoroughly clean the appliance before first use”.
• KENT Classic: “Thoroughly clean the pot with hot water and a neutral detergent with a non-abrasive sponge.” and “Make sure all parts are completely dry before you start using the appliance.”
• KENT Digital 5L: clean the basket with water, wipe the interior with a damp cloth, let it dry. Then, alone among the four manuals: “Before first use, preheat the air fryer to its maximum temperature for 10-15 minutes to burn off any residual manufacturing oils from the heating element.”

Philips NA120 says first-use smoke “is normal”, and KENT Classic says the same of “a small amount of smoke or slight odor”. Run it empty first only if your model’s manual says to.

2. Placement and socket

Both Philips manuals: “Leave at least 10 cm free space at the back, on both sides and above the appliance. Do not place anything on top of the appliance.” KENT Classic also asks for 10 cm; KENT Digital 5L asks for “at least 20cm of clearance”.

Philips: “Only connect the appliance to an earthed wall socket, protected by an earth leakage circuit breaker.” KENT Digital 5L: “please use a 10A or above socket alone and ensure that the socket is grounded before use”. Philips NA120 and KENT Classic both rule out an external timer.

3. Preheat, or not

Of the four manuals, two (Philips NA120 and NA231) say preheating is not necessary, one (KENT Digital 5L) says “it is recommended to preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes”, and one (KENT Classic) has no preheat step. The blogs split further:

Follow your model’s manual. For the two Philips models, that means no preheat is needed.

4. Load the basket

Philips NA120: do not “overfill the pan beyond the ‘MAX’ indication as this could affect the quality of the end result”, and “Never use the pan without the frying insert in it.” KENT Digital 5L has the same rule for its inner tray and advises: “Avoid stacking or layering when possible.”

Philips NA120 and KENT Classic both put a fries portion at 500 g. Philips NA120: “Larger quantities of fries tend to be less crispy than smaller portions.”

5. Oil: on the food, never in the pan

Both Philips manuals: “Do not fill the pan with oil as this may cause a fire hazard.” KENT Classic: “Do not fill the pan with oil or frying fat.”

• Philips NA120, homemade fries: “Pour one tablespoon of cooking oil into the bowl”, then mix until the sticks are coated.
• KENT Digital 5L: “Most prepackaged foods do not need to be tossed in oil before air frying.” Foods made from scratch get “a small amount of oil”.
• KENT Classic: “Brush some oil to fresh potatoes to make them more crispy.” Also: “Do not cook extremely greasy foods like sausages in the KENT Classic Air Fryer.”

6. Set temperature and time

Selected rows from each maker’s own table. Every figure belongs to the model beside it.

Philips adds: “Do not fry fresh potatoes at a temperature above 180°C (to minimize the production of acrylamide).” Both KENT manuals set French fries at 200 °C. Different brands; we record both. Even within Philips NA231, cake is 160°C in the food table and 140°C as a preset.

7. Shake or turn partway

Both Philips manuals: for larger amounts such as fries or drumsticks, “shake, turn, or stir the ingredients in the pan 2 to 3 times”. The NA231’s shake reminder says “1 to 2 times”. The NA120 says to shake “over the sink”; the NA231 says “above a heat-resistant surface for safety purposes.” Both KENT manuals say some ingredients need shaking halfway, and KENT Classic says fish or chicken need turning.

8. What not to put in

• Baking paper: Philips NA120 and NA231: “Never use light ingredients or baking paper in the appliance.” KENT Digital 5L: “Do not use plastic or paper in the air fryer.” Wonderchef’s foil blog recommends “perforated parchment paper” instead. Two makers’ manuals outrank one maker’s blog.
• Closed containers: KENT Digital 5L: “It is strictly forbidden to place closed containers in the air fryer, as this may cause an explosion.”
• Foil: none of the four manuals mentions aluminium foil. The only foil guidance among the sources read for this page is Wonderchef’s blog: “Never place foil in the preheating air fryer before adding food.”
• Oil spray: none of the four manuals mentions a spray. It appears only in the Wonderchef blog and on KENT’s product page.

9. After cooking: a short cleaning routine

Philips (both manuals) and KENT Classic say to let the appliance cool for about 30 minutes. Philips and KENT manuals rule out abrasive cleaners on the non-stick pan, and Philips says: “Never immerse the appliance in water nor rinse it under the tap.” Philips allows the pan and frying insert in a dishwasher; neither KENT manual mentions one.

The makers split on the heating element. Philips NA120 says residue “can be removed with a soft to medium bristle brush”, never a steel wire or hard brush. KENT Digital 5L: “Please do not wipe the heating tube; it will clean itself.” The full routine is in how to clean an air fryer.

If it smokes

Philips’ troubleshooting tables give these causes of white smoke: fatty ingredients (pour off excess fat), greasy residue from last use (clean the pan after every use), and splattering juices (“Pat food dry before placing it in the pan.”). KENT Classic: “Immediately unplug the appliance if you see dark smoke coming out of the appliance.”

What we could not verify

• Other brands’ manuals. We found no air fryer manual for Havells, Prestige, Agaro, Morphy Richards, Inalsa, Pigeon, Usha or Wonderchef, on the maker pages checked or on 19 Amazon.in listings covering those eight brands. For Faber we read only its blog and did not search for a manual.
• India-edition Philips manuals. Only rest-of-world and EU editions were linked. Their warranty wording is ROW/EU edition wording; we did not source India warranty terms.
• Foil, oil spray, baking soda. None of the four manuals mentions them, and none permits parchment.
• Prices. The only prices on this page are the Amazon prices in the where-to-buy section below, dated 31 October 2026.

Where to Buy the Philips Models Named Above

Amazon India prices on 31 October 2026, rounded to the nearest ₹100 (prices change often). As an Amazon Associate, HomeVerdicts earns from qualifying purchases made through these links.

Choosing from scratch? See Best Air Fryer in India (2026).