Air Fryer Blowing Fuses or Tripping Your Breaker? 6 Steps to Fix the Issue

Is your air fryer blowing fuses or tripping breakers? The reason may surprise you. Here are 6 steps to fix the issue.

Air fryers are amazing pieces of equipment. Ever since they were invented, they have revolutionized the way in which we prepare our food and created substitutions for unhealthy meals.

Whether you use yours on a daily basis, or only on special occasions, it’s undeniable that they are an essential part of your kitchen. So, what happens when, out of nowhere, your air fryer starts blowing fuses and tripping breakers from left to right?

These appliances are made up of intricate internal components that are responsible for regulating their temperature, preventing damage from external factors, and making sure your food turns out the way you want it. They’re much more complex than they seem.

This is why, I’ve prepared the list below to help you identify the culprit behind the situation as soon as possible, so you can get back to normal and forget all about constantly having to replace your fuses and reset your breakers.

Are you ready? Let’s dig in!

Fixing a Malfunctioning Air Fryer

As stated above, there is a myriad of reasons that could explain why your air fryer is blowing fuses or tripping breakers. From a faulty power source to a failing internal component.

And while you might be tempted to think that a technical issue is to blame, you’d be surprised at how often, the simplest suspect turns out to be the right one.

Your air fryer could be giving you trouble due to:

• A bad outlet
• An electrical overload
• A damaged cord
• A broken chamber
• A faulty heating element
• A fried circuit board

#1 You Have a Bad Outlet

Let’s kick this list off by looking at a factor completely unrelated to the air fryer itself. The wall outlet.

This is one of those things you probably would have never thought to consider because it’s too obvious, but you would not believe how many times people look high and low for technical explanations, only to find the answer to their problems in their power sources.

If your air fryer is blowing fuses and tripping breakers, chances are your wall outlet is in bad shape. This would not only explain your problem but also provide you with a quick and easy fix.

Solution: Test a different outlet.

Carefully unplug your appliance and let it cool down. Once the temperature is low enough, try carrying it to a different section of the house and plug it back into another outlet. If this resolved the issue, mystery solved!

Are you feeling adventurous? You can try to test the suspicious outlet with a multimeter to confirm that it is, in fact, in bad shape. This is optional, of course, but I would recommend doing it, as a faulty power outlet could be the first symptom of a much larger problem in your home’s electrical layout.

#2 You’re Overloading Your Power Source

Did your wall outlet turn out to be fine? Maybe you’re putting it under too much stress.

I’ve never been an advocate for multi-contact plugs, and there’s a good reason for that. While they are great for solving a power outlet shortage in your home, overloading them is very easy.

You should never plug several kitchen appliances into a single power source. Outlets are designed to withstand enormous amounts of electrical stress, but they’re not perfect. 

This issue is even more likely to happen if your air fryer is very large, as it will need to draw more power to function.

Solution: Try to distribute your electrical load evenly throughout your house. Avoid using multi-contacts to power big appliances like your air fryer or your microwave, and dedicate a single outlet to each one.

This will not only prevent further blown fuses, and tripped breakers, but also extend your appliance’s lifespan significantly.

#3 Your Power Cord Is Damaged

Moving down the power supply chain, the next thing you want to look at is your power cord.

You’d think that being so thick and seemingly resistant, these cords should be nearly indestructible, right? Well, they’re not. Not even close!

In fact, even small bad practices, such as keeping them tangled, improperly stored, or pressed against a wall, can cause extensive damage to them.

This is a problem for two reasons.

Number one, your air fryer will struggle to draw enough power to function, and number two, partial damage to the cord results in a short circuit that could cause your fuses to blow, and eventually, damage your circuit board.

It goes without saying, that you should avoid using your air fryer if your cord is damaged.

Solution: Test a different power cord.

If you don’t have one lying around (and I don’t expect you to), you can do a quick Google search on your air fryer’s make and model to find the right replacement. You should have to spend $20, at most.

#4 Broken Chamber

This one’s honestly a stretch, but hey! We want to cover all bases here, right?

As you know, for your air fryer to be able to do what it does, it has to recirculate hot air inside its chamber throughout the entire cooking process.

If you’re cooking something crumbly or with a runny consistency, like hot sauce wings, some tiny bits could float in the air and seep through tiny cracks in your appliance’s chamber, which could expose its internal components to elements that should not be there. Ever.

As I said before, this is highly unlikely, as your air fryer’s chamber would have had to sustain some significant damage to crack, but it’s never a bad idea to check it now and then. Better safe than sorry.

#5 Your Heating Element Is Faulty

If none of the potential causes above solved your air fryer problem, it’s time to get technical and explore the internal components of your air fryer.

Let’s start off with the heating element.

In case you’re unfamiliar with what this nifty little component does, I’ll be happy to tell you. Your heating element is a big metal spiral coil at the top of your air fryer, which transforms the electrical energy it draws from your outlet, into heat.

When this component fails, your air fryer could be generating too much heat, causing overheating, or none at all, causing other issues. More often than not, the former will result in a blown fuse as your appliance tries to protect itself from heat damage, or catching on fire.

Needless to say, this is one of the most worrying faults your appliance can exhibit, and the issue should be addressed immediately.

Solution: To fix a faulty heating element, please follow these steps:

1. Carefully unplug your appliance and let it cool down, if needed

2. Remove the screws at the top (or the bottom, depending on your model) with a screwdriver

3. Remove the top plastic lid covering your appliance’s guts

4. Expose the heating element and the fan

5. Gain comfortable access to the former

6. Use your multimeter to test the component for continuity

If you’re a visual person like me, there are tons of online videos you can consult to disassemble your air fryer and follow along step by step.

#6 Your Circuit Board Is Fried

If your air fryer is blowing fuses and tripping breakers constantly, and none of the previous points seem to have fixed your issue, it’s time to think bigger. There’s a chance that your circuit board is fried.

For this to happen, your appliance must have had to experience an enormous amount of electricity caused by a power surge or extreme overheating.

Normally, the fuse inside it would prevent either factor to reach the board, but there’s always room for failure. If you suspect this to be the issue, you’ll have to make some tough calls.

Solution: It depends…

If you’re still under warranty coverage and your policy accepts damage from external factors such as a blackout, you should go ahead and send your appliance in for repairs.

However, if this is not the case, you’re better off buying a new model. The cost of a circuit board is not very high, but the cost of labor and a technician’s visit certainly can be.

By all means, try and get a quotation, but if the price you’ll have to pay is equal to or greater than 60% of the price of a new air fryer, I would advise that you go shopping.

Conclusion

Having your air fryer put you in a situation where you must constantly make trips to the hardware store to get new fuses, is a nightmare. An appliance designed to make your life easier should not be doing the exact opposite.

Fortunately, fixing the most common culprits responsible for this situation is very simple, and, in most cases, you can do the repairs yourself!

That being said, if you ever feel doubtful about the steps to follow, please do not hesitate to call a technician. Your safety comes first. Always.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found the solution to your problem. If you found this article useful, why not check out our other wonderful resources below?

I wish you nothing but the best!