Tefal ActiFry - Any Good ?

I have a actifryer paid around £140 for it little over a year ago and mines blown up i've not got onto Tefal just yet but i do plan on doing so though im expecting to get just told well its out of Warranty line and offered some expensive repair price.

I would use it a couple of times a week and although its not as good as proper chips if used for chips it was much better than the likes of Overchips taste yet £140 for little over a year of ownership is very poor imo so id personally not recommend buying one too anyone :thumbsdow
 
I have a actifryer paid around £140 for it little over a year ago and mines blown up i've not got onto Tefal just yet but i do plan on doing so though im expecting to get just told well its out of Warranty line and offered some expensive repair price.

I would use it a couple of times a week and although its not as good as proper chips if used for chips it was much better than the likes of Overchips taste yet £140 for little over a year of ownership is very poor imo so id personally not recommend buying one too anyone :thumbsdow

I'm not 100% sure but I think that all electrical items sold in the EU now have a 2 year warranty. In any case you should expect more than just over a years use out of an appliance. The term "fit for purpose" comes to mind.
 
Our's has just done the same, had it 14 months, blew up, will start the paperwork of complaint to all suppliers and manufacturers (over the channel..?) will keep you informed.

To anybody interested..'beware'...!!!
 
My parents bought one from John Lewis about 16 months ago, the other day it went haywire with smoke coming out. They were going to put it down to bad luck as its outside the 12 month date and Surprise Surprise Tefal dont think theres a problem with it.

I told them to go back to John Lewis and play merry hell with them. They took it back expecting a fight but to their credit the store took it back no trouble at all. Accodrding to the manager they have had a new batch sent through which has had no problems so far. Only time will tell but hopefully other stores will be as good as John Lewis.
 
Hi Everybody,

Actifry update, Tefal has offered a repair and carriage free of charge as a 'goodwill' gesture..or a replacement at a reduced price, as there is a possibility of defective units still being available, I've settled for a repair,...I think that mine was a motor failure !! Will keep you informed..:hiya:
 
My parents bought one from John Lewis about 16 months ago, the other day it went haywire with smoke coming out. They were going to put it down to bad luck as its outside the 12 month date and Surprise Surprise Tefal dont think theres a problem with it.

I told them to go back to John Lewis and play merry hell with them. They took it back expecting a fight but to their credit the store took it back no trouble at all. Accodrding to the manager they have had a new batch sent through which has had no problems so far. Only time will tell but hopefully other stores will be as good as John Lewis.

dont all lecy appliances sold in the EU have to have a 2 year warranty now?

The EU Consumer Rights Directive sets a minimum 2 year limit on claims by consumers for faulty goods; in the UK this legislation is enforced under the Sale of Goods Act and the limit is actually 6 years. Where goods are found to be faulty within 6 months of purchase, there is a presumption that they were defective at the time of sale and a full refund or replacement are normally offered. Many retailers, including Tesco extend this period to 12 months. However, the right to a refund or replacement is not automatic and faults due to mis-use or damage are not counted as defects.

If goods that are over 12 months old are found to be faulty because they were defective in manufacture, the consumer is entitled to a range of potential remedies which may include replacement but also repair or partial refund depending on the circumstances. As the consumer has already had 12 months' use of the product, it is unlikely that a full refund or replacement will be appropriate and an alternative remedy is more likely, this being determined by the retailer on the basis of the fault involved and the practicalities of effecting a repair. Different types of goods have different expected lifetimes and price paid may also be taken into account when making this decision
 
I vaguely remember the 2 years thing yet sure says 1 in the book yet obviously want it says in the book doesn't mean it actually true so i'll send them a letter tbh id just turned my head of at getting something done about it.

I'll try the contact us from the Tefal site and if i have no luck from them or response within 14 days i'll get something sent in writing about it :smashin:
 
I vaguely remember the 2 years thing yet sure says 1 in the book yet obviously want it says in the book doesn't mean it actually true so i'll send them a letter tbh id just turned my head of at getting something done about it.

I'll try the contact us from the Tefal site and if i have no luck from them or response within 14 days i'll get something sent in writing about it :smashin:
Throttle, your rights stem from whoever you bought it from, not the manufacturer.

Unless you actually bought it from Tefal, then you have to pursue your claim through the shop and/or the credit card company. Get on to them, not Tefal.
 
Companies that stock these are starting to discontinue them because Tefal have risen the price and therefore the companies that sell them feel their customers won't pay the extra £100 price increase.
 
dont all lecy appliances sold in the EU have to have a 2 year warranty now?

The EU Consumer Rights Directive sets a minimum 2 year limit on claims by consumers for faulty goods; in the UK this legislation is enforced under the Sale of Goods Act and the limit is actually 6 years. Where goods are found to be faulty within 6 months of purchase, there is a presumption that they were defective at the time of sale and a full refund or replacement are normally offered. Many retailers, including Tesco extend this period to 12 months. However, the right to a refund or replacement is not automatic and faults due to mis-use or damage are not counted as defects.

If goods that are over 12 months old are found to be faulty because they were defective in manufacture, the consumer is entitled to a range of potential remedies which may include replacement but also repair or partial refund depending on the circumstances. As the consumer has already had 12 months' use of the product, it is unlikely that a full refund or replacement will be appropriate and an alternative remedy is more likely, this being determined by the retailer on the basis of the fault involved and the practicalities of effecting a repair. Different types of goods have different expected lifetimes and price paid may also be taken into account when making this decision

Sorry for not getting back in touch for a while. The 2 year thing could well be right but I doubt it will stop shops trying the 12 months only approach.

On a brighter note, John Lewis initially didnt have any in stock to replace my parents faulty model but they now have new stock and my parents have told me that it is a new model (of sorts). There is now a big air vent on the back of the unit by the motor so hopefully this will stop the thing overheating.
 
The 2 year EU thing is the retailler warranty. The UK decided to opt out so this is why our retaillers are still 12 months.

Your rights, fit for purpose, Sales of Goods Act operate in addition to this - and this provides for fault free operation for longer periods (say up to 6 years) depending on the type of goods - for example a domestic applicance is expected to last for 6 years or more so a judge might deem that suitable but a 50p can opener might only be deemed to last a yer or two.

The 2 year EU thing is the warranty that the store must give unquestionably without you having to resort to additional legal position. In the UK this is only 12 months because we adopt all the rubbish from the EU but opt out of the good bits.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Right the Actifry has come back repaired, there is no rectification sheet, so we don't know what the problem was or what has been replaced, it has been tried and it does work ok (howlong ....is a :mad:), however, the rubber feet are missing !!!! I've e-mailed the company so we await the outcome...

I'll keep you informed.. Regards........T
 
We bought ours in February 2009, and up to last night, it was fantastic, we cook all sorts in it, chips, wedges, roasts, chicken, sausages, and the chips ARE fantastic.

with the stories about safety on here, I would say beware. Ours actually went up in flames last night, we put in 3 medium sized potatoes, in to wedges, the oil and set it going for 35 minutes. Our smoke alarm sounded in the hallway, and we thought it was the oven, but there were flames coming out of the metal protector over the heating element, inside the back of the clear plastic lid.

the fuse DIDNT blow, and it continued to spin. I unplugged it and threw it out of the back door. Our kitchen is a right mess now, as there are small particles of burnt plastic all over the place now. We have contacted Tefal by Email, and are awaiting a reply, we may be taking this one up with trading standards as WHICH magazine had raised issues with 221 people saying that the Actifry was unsafe, but none had say they had caught fire, until now !!

It is a fantastic machine, but we don't want a replacement, we want our money back and think the product should be recalled for more testing.

heres the link from Which Magazine from November 2008 ....

Tefal issues advice over Actifry fire concern - Which? News

I hope some of you find this helpful and I shall post more on here when I get a reply from Tefal, whether sattisfactory or not !!
 
Hi Actitifry Users,
Sorry for the delay with update....since my last message, I've received the rubber feet which were missing and the cooker is back in use. So far there appears to be no problems..BUT, I have reason to believe that the power has been reduced confirming this is the cooking times appear to have lengthened slightly...?

With reference to OddballQPR, this does seem to be the inevitable result once the cooker fails, in my case my wife was present at the time of failure otherwise fire would have been next. In our case the cooker started to smoke and immited a "funny" sound and the stirer arm was not moving..?

I would also agree with OddballQPR...why did the fuse not blow..? A possibilty it was too big..? And with his suggestion that Trading Standards were notified...??
 
Hi Terry, I said I MAY be sending this to trading standards, lets see what kinda response I get frlom Tefal first. Will keep you posted. :)
 
Has anyone had a problem with the lid becoming floppy and not closing squarely?

My actifry is 10 mths old and I am sure when I first had it the lid closed firmly.

I can feel heat escaping from the sides.

I have 2 months left to take it back to Comet.




dog-man
 
Hi Terry, I said I MAY be sending this to trading standards, lets see what kinda response I get frlom Tefal first. Will keep you posted. :)

I think ppl should take this to trading standards. It seems tefal know of problems but are keeping a lid on it by swapping them out.

I bought one after the watchdog report, which I hadn't seen, I then watched the report, and as one of the first posters on this thread said, I took the 200+ failures with a pinch of salt as well, Not anymore.

The numbers must be much higher, look on the amazon site, new buyers give it good reviews, as I would have, people who've used them a bit give them bad ones. Reasons are always the same, 'popped', went 'with a bang', smoke, fire, broken paddles, latches. Always the same.

The thread on amazon querying the watchdog show is littered with people who had the 'fire' problems since it was 'fixed'.

I've had two actifry's, the first died by smoke, crackling and a pop killing it in it's third month. Replaced quickly, slightly different model. Then the stirrer of that one snapped,they replaced the stirrer after two months wait with a slightly different design (strengthened where the other broke). Then on the replacements 1st birthday, 12 months after it arrived to the day it went 'BANG!'

I'm now told the replacement had only a 6 month warranty, not the 12 they originally said, this also means in total my original purchase had only a 9 month total warranty and I couldn't use it for two of those months as it didn't have a stirrer. Seems very dodgy to me.

Tefal :thumbsdow
 
Oh, in answer of the original question, Tefal actifry - any good?

No.
(in case that wasn't obvious from my previous post).
 
I am thinking of buying on Actifry only to fry chopped onions brown . Does anyone have any experience if this would be able to brown chopped onions. I live in the EU so am not worried about how long it lasts, even if it lives out its warranty for me it would have served its purpose.
 
Will it do the job ?
 
We have an actiFry which so far my other half just cooks chips in it, but more often than not they actually taste a little fatty and sometimes a little undercooked (despite being in there for awhile)

Also what else can we do in it

Anyone able to do a list of foods and how best to do them

Sausages, Bacon, Onions, Mushrooms etc
 
Have a look at the cook book supplied with the Actifry. There are some lovely recipes in there and they do work. The chicken and pineapple one is especially nice and there is a vegetable stirfry type recipe in there (can't remember what they call it - something julienne?) but if you like meat, then add in some cooked meat 5 mins before the end.

I use my Actifry for various things as well as chips/roast potatoes/cubed potatoes. You can vary the chips and potato dishes by adding garlic (5 mins from the end) or curry powder (added in the oil at the beginning) or paprika or other flavours.

With chips - (I make my own so cannot say about oven chips) make sure they are dry before you put them in. give them at least 30 mins (if you are cooking for 2) longer for more chips/portions. increase it by about 5 mins per portion after that till you are sure they are done. Maris Piper spuds make the BEST chips/roast potatoes.

I would not do sausages in it - unless I had already browned them and started them off on the grill (then you can chop them into chunks and add them in halfway thru cooking some cubed potatoes.

I have also done corned beef hash, numerous stir fry meals, and several of the recipes from the book.

You can do any vegetable in it - but don't bother trying to brown onions. Onions will cook and tenderise as will other veg.

Dont add baked beans to anything unless it's less than 3 mins from the end - (the sauce dries up really quick!) but you can throw them into corned beef hash at the very end.

I'm on my 3rd actifry - the first 2 caught fire - but I would not be without mine. I never leave it unattended EVER and have had no problems at all with this one.

If you buy one - get it from Lakeland - their customer service is excellent!

I broke the paddle on my Actifry and they sent me a new one free of charge.
 
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