Chefman TurboFry Touch Review: Cheap, but the Coating Wears

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The Chefman is the Tightest Budget Pick in my best cheap air fryer guide. It costs $57.92, has one 4-quart basket, four digital cooking presets and a HI-FRY button that pushes the temperature to 450°F for a final crisping burst. Its own user guide names it the TurboFry Touch, though Amazon lists it simply as a Chefman Air Fryer — a separate, larger 8-quart Chefman also carries the TurboFry name, so the two are easy to mix up.

Amazon shows 4.6 stars across 3,778 ratings. Filtering to this model leaves 959 written reviews, and 165 of those are critical, or 17.2%.

Owners who like it praise how easy it is to use, how quickly it cooks and how well it suits one or two people in a small kitchen. The critical reviews centre on a black coating that peels or discolors within a few months, no printed instructions in the box, and doubts about whether the 4-quart name matches the basket’s real size.

Quick Verdict

Score	Price	Rating	Buy
6/10	$57.92	4.6★ (3,778)	Check Price on Amazon

What Comes in the Box

The air fryer with its removable basket and rack. The rating label carries a QR code linking to Chefman’s warranty registration page and its user guide, per the guide itself.

More than one owner reports finding no printed instructions or recipe booklet in the box. The only manual I could find is the digital TurboFry Touch user guide, reached through that QR code or Chefman’s own site.

The warranty is one year, limited, from the date of purchase. It covers only the original buyer, excludes commercial use, and does not cover damage from misuse, incompatible voltage, poor maintenance or normal wear and tear, per the guide’s Terms and Conditions.

Specifications

Model	Chefman TurboFry Touch 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer, RJ38-4T-Black
Capacity	Marketed as 4 quarts; Amazon’s own spec sheet separately lists 3.7 liters (about 3.9 US quarts) for the basket
Controls	Digital touch panel — TIME-TEMP button plus + and – buttons, four cooking presets, START and STOP/CANCEL; there is no dial
Presets	Meat 18 min/375°F, Chicken 22 min/400°F, Fish 10 min/375°F (flip, don’t shake), Fries 18 min/400°F, per the user guide
HI-FRY	Raises the temperature to 450°F for 2 minutes at the end of a cook, for extra browning
Power	1,500 W, 120 V
Dimensions	13.82″ D × 10.04″ W × 10.24″ H, per the listing
Material	Metal-and-plastic housing; nonstick basket and rack, both top-rack dishwasher safe
Safety	Automatic shutoff when the basket is removed or cooking ends; error code E3 means overheat protection and clears once the unit cools, E1/E2 mean contact Chefman support
Warranty	One year, limited

What the Touch Controls and Presets Actually Do

Everything runs off the touch panel. The TIME-TEMP button switches the display between time and temperature; the plus and minus buttons adjust whichever is showing. Holding TIME-TEMP switches between °F and °C. There is no mechanical dial anywhere on the unit.

Four presets cover the basics. Meat runs 18 minutes at 375°F, Chicken 22 minutes at 400°F, Fish 10 minutes at 375°F with a flip instead of a shake reminder, and Fries 18 minutes at 400°F. The guide calls these averages and says to check food for doneness rather than trust the timer alone.

The guide describes overriding a preset by pressing TIME-TEMP and then plus or minus after selecting it. At least one 3-star reviewer reports being unable to move the temperature off 400°F in practice and returned the unit over it, so test this yourself before relying on a preset override for a specific dish.

HI-FRY is a separate, timed push. Pressing it near the end of a cook, or just after it ends, raises the temperature to 450°F for 2 minutes for extra browning; it is not a sustained high-heat mode.

The Shake light is a reminder, not a lock. It comes on halfway through each preset’s cook time. Ignoring it simply turns the light off after about 60 seconds and cooking continues unchanged.

Who It’s For

• Anyone testing air frying for the first time on a tight budget. At $57.92 it is one of the cheapest air fryers in my guide.
• Singles, couples or a parent cooking for one child. Several owners specifically call it right-sized for one or two people rather than a family.
• Small kitchens and tight counters. At just over 10 inches wide and 10 inches deep before the handle, more than one owner bought it specifically to replace a bulkier air fryer.
• Anyone who wants a dishwasher-safe basket and rack for quick cleanup; both are top-rack dishwasher safe per the guide.
• Gift buying and casual, occasional use rather than a household’s main cooking appliance every day.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

• Anyone who uses cooking spray on the basket. The guide explicitly warns that aerosol spray can cause the nonstick coating to chip, and coating wear is the most common complaint in the critical reviews.
• Anyone who wants a printed manual or recipe booklet in the box. Reviewers report finding neither; the guide exists only as a PDF, reached through a QR code on the unit.
• Families of four or more planning a full meal at once. Chefman markets the basket as 4-quart, but the spec sheet’s own 3.7-liter figure and more than one owner’s side-by-side comparison to a larger Chefman model put the real usable space closer to a 1–2 person portion.
• Anyone who wants a 2-year-plus warranty. Chefman covers this model for one year, shorter than some pricier rivals in the same guide.

Performance

The HI-FRY Push and the Four Presets

“Easy” appears in 222 positive written reviews for this model, more than any other word I checked, and owners describe getting crisp results without needing to read a manual first.

“Quick” appears in 24 positive written reviews and “crisp” in 19. Several owners describe replacing an older, slower air fryer or their oven for small batches of fries, wings and chicken.

HI-FRY is not a separate cooking mode with its own time and temperature; it is a 2-minute, 450°F push you add near the end of whichever preset or custom setting you were already running.

Capacity: 4 Quarts on the Box, 3.7 Liters on the Spec Sheet

Chefman’s own marketing goes further still, with one image claiming the basket “fits over 1.5 lb of fries to feed the whole family.” The 4-quart figure matches the guide’s title, but Amazon’s separate spec sheet lists the capacity as 3.7 liters, closer to 3.9 US quarts.

“Small” appears in 8 critical written reviews and “size” in 6. One owner replacing a 5-quart Chefman describes this basket as about half that size; another calls it “very small” and says it “doesn’t hold much.”

Read together, the specification and the owner comparisons point the same way: plan on this being a 1–2 person basket, not the family-size capacity the marketing image implies.

The Coating: What Owners Report and What the Guide Warns Against

“Peel” appears in 14 critical written reviews for this model and “rust” or oxidizing language in 7 more, mostly describing the black coating chipping or discoloring within two to five months of regular use.

Chefman’s own guide warns against exactly the habits that could explain this: never use aerosol cooking spray on the nonstick parts, since it can cause the coating to chip, and never use abrasive cleansers, which can damage the finish. Reviewers who describe the peeling rarely say which of these, if either, they used.

The picture is not one-sided. “Years” appears in 13 positive written reviews, including one owner who reports two years of frequent use with the coating still intact and calls it “great value and very reliable.”

Design and Build

A black metal-and-plastic housing with a pull-out basket, a metal-look handle and a touch panel on top, matching the finish described in the listing.

13.82 inches deep, 10.04 inches wide and 10.24 inches tall, per the listing; Chefman’s own dimension graphic shows 13.8 × 10 × 10.2 inches, consistent with that.

The guide asks for at least 6 inches of clearance on top and in back for airflow, and separately warns never to place the unit on or near a stovetop, even an unlit one, calling that a fire hazard.

What Owners Report

Of the 959 written reviews filed under this model, 711 are five stars and 101 are one star; 794 are positive and 165 critical. The themes below each appear in more than one unconnected review.

What recurs in the positive reviews

• Easy to use. Touch controls and presets that need no manual to start cooking.
• Fast, crisp results. Quick cooking without much added oil.
• Compact. Fits small kitchens and counters, replacing bulkier air fryers for some owners.
• Quiet. Noticeably quieter than the unit it replaced, per more than one owner.
• Easy to clean. Dishwasher-safe basket and rack.
• Good value. Owners repeatedly call it worth the price for a first air fryer.
• Long service for some. At least one owner reports two years of regular, reliable use.

What recurs in the critical reviews

• Coating wear. The black coating peeling, chipping or discoloring within two to five months of use.
• No printed instructions. Owners who wanted a physical manual or recipe booklet found neither in the box.
• Capacity doubts. Owners who feel the 4-quart name overstates the basket’s real size, including a direct comparison to a larger Chefman model.
• Units that stopped working. A share of owners report units failing outright.
• Missing parts on arrival. At least one owner received a unit missing its pusher/cover piece.

Most of the critical reviews are not about how the food turns out. They are about the coating, the missing paperwork and doubts about the basket’s real size; owners whose coating holds up describe it as easy, fast and good value.

Value

At $57.92 it undercuts every other pick in my best cheap air fryer guide except the Dash Tasti-Crisp at $49.19; the COSORI Pro Gen 2 costs $72.99, the Instant Pot Vortex Mini $99.99 and the Ninja AF101 $119.99.

Against the Best Overall pick in my best air fryers guide, the COSORI TurboBlaze at $99.99, the Chefman costs 42% less but carries a critical share nearly three times as high (17.2% against 5.8%) and half the warranty length.

At $57.92, a 4.6-star rating across 3,778 buyers and an 82.8% positive written-review share is a reasonable trade for a first air fryer, provided the coating warnings in the guide are taken seriously.

Durability

The warranty is one year, limited, from RJ Brands, LLC d/b/a Chefman, and applies only to the original purchaser. It excludes normal wear and tear, misuse (including incompatible voltage), poor maintenance and commercial use, per the guide’s Terms and Conditions.

“Peel” appears in 14 critical written reviews for this model and “rust” in 7, most describing the coating chipping, discoloring or oxidizing within two to five months. The guide’s own warnings against aerosol spray and abrasive cleansers track with how some of these owners describe using theirs.

“Stopped working” appears in 8 critical written reviews. Against that, “years” appears in 13 positive written reviews, including one owner reporting two years of regular use with no issues.

Error codes E1 and E2 mean a malfunction the guide says can only be resolved by contacting Chefman support; E3 means the unit has shut off on overheat protection and will resume operating normally once it cools.

None of this is a failure rate. Unhappy owners write more reviews than happy ones, and written reviews are not a random sample of units.

Alternatives to Consider

• For the guide’s overall top picks, see the best air fryers guide and my COSORI TurboBlaze review.
• For a two-basket design, see my Ninja DZ201 review, and for a larger single basket, my Ninja AF181 review or Ninja AF101 review.
• Everything else on air frying is in the air fryers hub.

Verdict

The Chefman TurboFry Touch is a cheap, easy-to-use 4-quart air fryer with simple touch controls, four presets and a 450°F HI-FRY finish, best suited to one or two people trying air frying for the first time.

Against that, the coating is the weak point — owners report it peeling or discoloring within months, there is no printed manual or recipe booklet in the box, the 4-quart name is disputed by some owners’ side-by-side comparisons, and the warranty is only one year.

Six out of ten: marked up for the price, the simple controls and how many owners call it good value for a first air fryer, marked down for the coating complaints, the missing paperwork, the capacity dispute and the short warranty.

Check Price on Amazon

How This Review Was Put Together

Plainly: this is research-based, not a hands-on test. I have not owned or used this air fryer, and nothing here should be read as a report from my own kitchen.

What it rests on: the published specification — the capacity, controls, presets, safety features and cleaning instructions in Chefman’s TurboFry Touch user guide (model RJ38-4T-SERIES), the claims on its Amazon listing, and the warranty terms in that guide — read against the other air fryers in my best cheap air fryer guide; the split of the 959 written reviews filed under this exact model rather than the 4.6 average across 3,778 ratings; and the text of the positive and critical reviews, read for themes that recur across independent owners.

Why owner reviews are treated as evidence here: one reviewer cooking on one unit for a fortnight cannot show whether a nonstick coating and a plastic-and-metal housing hold up after months of daily use. Hundreds of owners over more than a year can. A theme is only reported above where more than one unconnected owner raised it.

What I could not establish: whether the coating wear some owners report traces to aerosol spray or abrasive cleaning, since the guide warns against both and there is no way to know how individual owners used theirs; whether every unit ships with a physical manual, since several owners report none while Chefman’s own guide exists only as a PDF; and what share of units fail outright, since unhappy owners are over-represented in written reviews.

Price, stock and ratings were read from Amazon’s US marketplace on 15 September 2026 and will move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Chefman air fryer’s real name TurboFry Touch?

Yes. Amazon lists this 4-quart model simply as a Chefman Air Fryer, but its own user guide names it the TurboFry Touch, model RJ38-4T-SERIES. A separate, larger 8-quart Chefman air fryer also carries the TurboFry name, so check the quart size and model number before ordering a replacement part.

Is the Chefman TurboFry Touch actually 4 quarts?

Chefman markets the basket as 4 quarts and its marketing images repeat that figure, but Amazon’s own spec sheet lists the capacity as 3.7 liters, or about 3.9 US quarts. Some owners comparing it to a larger Chefman model describe the basket as noticeably smaller than that model’s 5-quart size.

Does the Chefman TurboFry Touch have a dial?

No. It has a fully digital touch panel — a TIME-TEMP button, plus and minus buttons, four cooking presets, and START and STOP/CANCEL buttons. There is no physical dial anywhere on the unit.

What does HI-FRY do on the Chefman TurboFry Touch?

Pressing HI-FRY raises the temperature to 450°F for 2 minutes, either near the end of a cook or just after it ends, for extra browning and crisping. It is not a sustained high-heat setting.

Why does the coating on the Chefman TurboFry Touch peel?

Chefman’s own guide warns that aerosol cooking spray can cause the nonstick coating to chip and that abrasive cleansers can damage the finish. “Peel” appears in 14 critical written reviews for this model, most describing chipping or discoloration within two to five months of use.

Does the Chefman TurboFry Touch come with a recipe booklet?

I could not confirm one does. Chefman’s user guide exists as a PDF reached through a QR code on the unit’s rating label, and more than one owner reports receiving no printed instructions or recipe booklet in the box.

What do the E1, E2 and E3 error codes mean on the Chefman TurboFry Touch?

E1 or E2 means a malfunction that Chefman’s guide says can only be resolved by contacting its Customer Support. E3 means the unit has shut off on overheat protection; letting it cool fully should let it operate normally again.

What is the warranty on the Chefman TurboFry Touch?

One year, limited, from RJ Brands, LLC d/b/a Chefman. It covers only the original purchaser and manufacturing defects under normal household use, and excludes misuse, incompatible voltage, poor maintenance, commercial use and normal wear and tear.