Air Fryers

Smart Finish ensures both baskets complete their cook cycles simultaneously, even when running different foods at different temperatures and times. Set each basket independently — for example, chicken at 180°C for 24 minutes and chips at 200°C for 18 minutes — and activate Smart Finish. The T17088 delays the start of the shorter cook so both finish at exactly the same moment. This eliminates the most common dual-zone cooking problem: one basket finishing early while the other catches up.

Smart Finish is for cooking two different foods that need different temperatures and times but must be ready simultaneously. It calculates and applies the necessary timing offset between baskets automatically. Match Cook is for cooking the same food in both baskets simultaneously — it mirrors identical settings from one basket to the other with a single press, used when doubling batch volume. Use Smart Finish for different dishes finishing together; use Match Cook for the same food in double quantity.

The Tower T17021 (4.3L, £49–£69) is a single-basket fryer with manual analogue dials — simple, proven and excellent value for households of 2–4 cooking one dish at a time. The T17088 (9L dual basket, £69–£99) applies the same Vortx technology across two independent zones with more than double the total capacity, digital presets and Smart Finish coordination. For families of 5–6 who need to run two dishes simultaneously, the T17088 is the natural upgrade. For smaller households, the T17021 remains the better-value choice.

The 10 one-touch presets are: Chips, Chicken, Steak, Fish, Shrimp, Bacon, Sausage, Vegetables, Frozen Foods and Pizza. Each sets the optimal temperature and cook time for its food type automatically. All settings can be manually adjusted after a preset is selected — experienced air fryer users can use the preset as a starting point and override defaults as needed.

The T17088 draws 2,600W when both baskets are running simultaneously. At the UK average electricity rate of 28p per kWh, running both baskets at full power for 20 minutes costs approximately 24p. Running a single basket draws proportionally less. For context, this is the same dual-zone wattage as the Salter EK4548 — the Tower's 9L total capacity means a lower energy cost per litre of food cooked compared to smaller dual-zone alternatives.