Top
Rating: 4.6 Reviewed by Susan
The GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer was extremely popular a few years ago when air fryers were brand new and choices were limited. Today, it is still selling quite well and now comes in a variety of sizes (click to see them all on Amazon). This model air fryer gives you a 3.7 quart cooking capacity, timer, adjustable temperature with auto shut-off, and most other features you find on the leading brand.
This model ranks high for consumer satisfaction for producing good results, and it’s noted for being simple to use and easy to clean up. If offers all the features and performance that most people want in an air fryer, and the price is still very reasonable.
Features
- 3.7 Quart Capacity
- Timer (up to 30 minutes)
- Automatic Shut-off
- Adjustable Temperature Control
- 8 Cooking Pre-sets
- 1500W – 120V, 60Hz
- 1 Year Limited Warranty
Note that you can extend the warranty for an additional 60 days if you go to the manufacturer’s website after purchase and register it. Details about this are in the owners manual.
As you can see, the GoWISE offers all of the best “bells & whistles”. Its timer includes an alert that will beep when the cooking cycle is complete, and then the unit will automatically shut itself off.
The manufacturer no longer states that the parts are dishwasher safe, but the cooking basket does have a non-stick coating that makes it easier to clean.
Note that the pot itself is not meant for cooking. If you plan to bake or cook liquid foods you’ll need to buy the baking pan, which is sold separately (see the baking pan under Optional Accessories below). For the most part the mesh basket is designed for solid foods. However, something like meatballs will also work fine, and the basket allows excess grease to drain off. Your food items just have to be firm enough to stick together and not sink down through the openings in the basket.
The digital control panel allows you to select the exact time and temperature settings you want, or for convenience you can use one of the 8 pre-sets. You can also first select a pre-set and then adjust either the time or the temperature up or down. The pre-programmed settings are:
- Warm-up (for preheating the air fryer) – 5 minutes at 176°F
- Chips (for all us Southerners, that’s “fries”) – 20 minutes at 392°F
- Chicken – 25 minutes at 356°F
- Steak – 15 minutes at 356°F
- Shrimp – 20 minutes at 320°F
- Meat – 20 minutes at 356°F
- Cake – 30 minutes at 320°F
- Fish – 20 minutes at 392°F
It’s always helpful to take a look at the owner’s manual before you buy: See instruction manual here. It isn’t huge by any means, but it does give you a close-up look at the parts as well as a brief section with a cooking guide and tips.
Among all the questions and reviews on Amazon there are several complaints about defective or broken units. In every case I found, there was a response from the manufacturer requesting that the unhappy customer contact them. The fact that the company is monitoring online reviews*, and responding, seems to indicate they want their customers to be happy with purchases, and the company is being proactive in trying to address and resolve problems.
Note: As of October, 2022 I no longer see much evidence of the company monitoring online complaints and reaching out with offers to help resolve issues.
Overall, most consumers are very satisfied with the results they get with this air fryer. You will find some complaints, but in many cases that may be due to mistakes by the user. Unless you’re already experienced at air frying, you should expect at least a small learning curve, but the manual provides a number of helpful tips. For instance, if your food is cooking unevenly, you may need to stop and shake or turn it halfway through the cooking process. You also may have overloaded the basket, and it may take a little trial and error to learn the difference between “full” and “too much”.
There is also now a very small recipe booklet available from GoWISE at Air Fryer Recipes Volume 1. Don’t get too excited because it only contains 14 recipes. However, it’s a nice variety of dishes – fries, sandwiches, meats, fish, desserts, appetizers – so that gives you a good guide to help you adapt your own ideas and recipes. You’ll also find extra tips in the “trouble shooting” section.
(Back to Top)No matter which brand or model you choose, all of the recipe booklets provided by the manufacturers are quite small. For best results you really should invest in a good quality cookbook with tips and recipes especially for air fryers. For help see our Air Fryer Cookbook & Recipe Guide.
We highly recommend: The Air Fryer Bible: More than 200 Healthier Recipes for Your Favorite Foods
Size & Capacity
Exterior Dimensions: Approximately 11″ wide x 9.5″ deep x 12.5″ high (according to customers)
Interior Capacity: 3.7 quarts
Weight: 13 pounds
Like all airfryers, the GoWISE is a large appliance that makes a pretty big footprint. Of course it’s all about your priorities, but keep that in mind if you have very limited space or a tiny kitchen.
What’s Included with this GoWISE Air Fryer?
This model includes only the mesh basket, which is suitable for air frying, roasting, and grilling. (All of these air fryers claim you can grill in them, but to my mind, that’s a very loose definition of “grilling”.)
If you plan to bake or cook liquid or semi-liquid foods, you’ll need to also buy the baking pan. For that see Optional Accessories (the very next section).
(Back to Top)Optional Air Fryer Accessories
Air Fryer Baking Pan
For anyone who wants to get the most from an air fryer, the baking pan is highly recommended. For a complete explanation, read my post about “The Must-Have Pan”.
The key feature of these pans made specifically for air fryers is the handle. It makes ALL the difference when you’re trying to lift a pan full of hot food from your air fryer basket.
Rack, Skewers, Flat Pan
Other accessories available for purchase separately include the double layer rack with skewers, and pizza (flat) pan. In my experience these are not all that useful because they are awkward to use, especially the rack.
However, if you’re interested, check out this set to see the best price I’ve found:
Air Fryer Accessories for Gowise Phillips and Cozyna, Set of 5, Fit all 3.7QT – 5.3QT – 5.8QT
Customer Reviews
As of this update (October, 20122, there are thousands of online reviews of this GoWISE model, and percentage wise, complaints are still relatively few. The only legitimate problem I found were several reports that the non-stick coating started peeling off the basket of units that were still fairly new. This unit does have a one year limited warranty, so if you experience that or any other problems you should contact the manufacturer.
All of those complaints are in the Amazon customer reviews for this product. As mentioned before, early on GoWISE would respond to every one of them with a request that the customer contact the company to give them a chance to respond. At some point in time they seem to have stopped.
Aside from that, a few other folks complain about poor results – foods that are burned or cooked unevenly or just didn’t taste good. Most hilarious is the one guy who said this is a good product for when you run out of oil. Well, you’ve got to figure that attitude will play a role in your satisfaction. No one claims you’ll get the exact same taste as when you deep fry in grease. What you do get is a taste that’s very close and much, much better for your health.
I’d compare it to pie crust. If you’re old enough, you can remember how absolutely wonderful your grandmother’s pie crusts used to be. You’ve tried every recipe and trick in the book, but yours is never as good as hers was. That’s because back in the day, Grandma was using real, old-fashioned, 100% lard. You can still buy that stuff, and you can make a crust every bit as delicious and as flaky as the old timey kind, but knowing what we know now, do you really want to eat that?
The people who get the best results are those who keep an open mind and also take time to read the instructions. Don’t expect perfection on your very first attempts, and do be willing to experiment a little.
Over 90% of consumers have given this air fryer 4 or 5 stars and are delighted with it. It’s easy to use, and it’s easier to clean than wiping up grease spatter all over your kitchen from deep frying. You’ll find plenty of reports of successful, tasty results with french fries or sweet potato fries, chicken pieces and chicken nuggets, fish sticks and tuna steaks and other types of fish, and yes, a few have even baked cakes.
(Back to Top)
Is it made in the U.S.A.?
To my knowledge, none of the popular air fryer models are 100% made in America. That includes the GoWISE. Though that “USA” in the brand name might seem misleading, the fact is that this product is made in China and distributed in the U.S.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Many of the same features as the leading models
- Easy operation and clean-up
- Majority of users happy with cooking results
- Most reports of customer service experiences are positive
Cons
- Large, takes up a lot of room (like all air fryers)
- No cookbook included, only a few recipes on GoWise website
- Pan for baking or liquids & very soft foods costs extra
- Some users complain of burnt, under-cooked, or unevenly cooked foods
GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer Review: Summary
While the GoWISE USA Air Fryer might not be the most well-known brand on the market, it has a reasonably good reputation for quality. Its design includes all the best features plus a cooking capacity similar to its major competitors. Complaints are rare, and consumer ratings have remained high over time. All things considered the GoWISE could be a good choice.
We recommend…Before you buy GoWISE, please see our Cosori Air Fryer Review.
Cosori gives you a good quality, large capacity air fryer at a bargain price.
Need a cookbook? See our Air Fryer Cookbook & Recipe Guide.
Alwin says
Thank you for your very informative review about airfryers. Is it possible to ask the power rating of 8-1 gowise airfryer? If the philips xl is 1800watts, what is the go wise? I’m trying to decide which one to buy. Thank you so much!
Susan says
Hello Alwin,
Thank you for your kind words! The owner’s manual does not provide this information, but I’m calling customer service and will let you know – hopefully within the hour.
Susan
Susan says
Alwin,
The wattage for this GoWise model is 1,500. I just confirmed that by phone with the company. If you have any other questions about the GoWise before you buy, the number for customer service is 1-855-233-9199. I must say they answered quickly, and I wasn’t put on hold. I’ve spoken with these folks before, and they are extremely nice.
I’m very glad to know you found this review helpful, and thanks so much for visiting the site!
Susan
Jann Forrest says
My hubby bought me the GoWise Air Fryer for Christmas and I loved your review. I did get a GoWise recipe book with mine. Also he got the cake pan as well. Looking thru Pinterest for recipe ideas and find that most of them are for the Phillips. Wondering if there are any pitfalls to using those recipes? Also notice that they recommend not cooking extra greasy meat such as sausage but list hamburgers which can be greasy. Over all I am looking forward to trying it out.
Susan says
Hi Jann,
It’s great to hear that you found this review helpful! Though I don’t know of specific pitfalls, air frying is a completely new cooking method for most people, so don’t be surprised if it takes a little experimenting to get the best results. Based on wattage alone, all these models are very close – the GoWISE is 1,500 Watts, and the Philips 9220/56 and Philips 9230/26 are both 1,425 watts. However, other factors can affect your cooking time too. No matter what recipe you use, there is a cookbook on Amazon with some good advice. You can read this for free:
Click here to see the Air Fryer Cookbook: In the Kitchen
Then click on the “Look Inside!” feature.
When that window opens, it shows a preview of the book. On about page 4 you’ll find a “Frequently Asked Questions” section, and it includes some info about cooking times.
As for hamburgers, you’re certainly correct about how greasy they can be. For your air fryer (and for your health too!), the best choice would be the highest quality ground beef that has a very low fat content.
Thank you so much for visiting the site, and best of luck with your new air fryer!
Susan
Debbie says
I would like to know if the GoWise airfryer, being that it’s produced in the US, will have the current voltage suitable for it to be used in SE Asian countries like Thailand or Singapore?
Susan says
Hi Debbie,
This is a great question that a lot of people don’t think to ask before they buy.
The power supply on the GoWise Air Fryer is 120V, 60Hz.
If you’re looking for 220V you might want to research these models:
HAAN AF-1001 Electric Air Fryer 220V 3.5L
Electric Airfryer Smart Deep Fryer Oiless Zero Fat Crispy Latest Technology Ac220v
Philips Air Fryer White HD9220 Oilless Electric Air Frying 220V ExpressHD9220/42
All three of those models are available only from third party sellers, so before you order be sure to check details such as international shipping rates, delivery times, and the policies of the specific seller.
I hope that helps, and good luck with your search!
Susan
NOTE: To avoid any confusion please note that, as mentioned in the above review, this product is not made in the U.S.A. GoWISE USA products are designed in the U.S., but they are manufactured in China.
Gillian Brown says
No different . Cannot use.
Ameriaca 110v Singapore South East Asia and Australia use 240v Unfortunately as I too like the steel mesh basket. The teflon deteriorate quickly
Cindy says
Hi Susan,
With the Philips brand they say you can steam and broil your food. With the go Weiss USA does it also have the same function?
Thanks Cindy
Susan says
Hi Cindy,
I’m sorry, but I’m not aware of a claim by Philips that their air fryers can steam or broil foods. If you’ll send me a link to where you found this information, I’ll be glad to check it out for you.
I wonder if there is some confusion about which appliance does what. In addition to air fryers, Philips also makes an electric multi-cooker that will indeed work as a steamer. It includes numerous other functions as well, such as slow cook, bake, and boil. This multi cooker can be used to fry foods, but only as a deep fat fryer using oil. If you want to check it out you can see it on Amazon here: Philips HD3095/87 Electric Multi-Cooker, Stainless Steel/White
Thanks so much for visiting the site, and I hope that helps.
Susan
Kenneth Keller says
Are there any plans for a rack.
Susan says
Hi Kenneth,
Unfortunately I haven’t seen mention of any such plans from GoWISE. The Philips models are more expensive (than the GoWISE), but they do offer a double grill rack – it’s included with the HD9220/56 and it can be purchased separately for either the HD9230 or the Avance XL 9240.
Sorry, but that’s all I know at this point. Hopefully GoWISE will see enough demand for the double rack to offer it as an accessory in the future.
Susan
UPDATE: Rack is now available and above review has been updated with info and options.
Judy says
I just bought the GoWise digital 4th generation model. I have been looking at cookbooks and websites but I can’t find a guide for time and temperature for simple foods, like frozen chicken fingers. I wanted a reference guide. I don’t know if I can trust the presets on the unit and doesn’t it depend on the amount you use too? We cooked two small beef fillets and guessed about time and temperature and kept checking the temperature of the meat. They turned out great but I still feel like I don’t have a starting point for most food. If you can help I would greatly appreciate it. Since it is similar to a convection oven maybe I could go by package direction and reduce the time and temperature slightly since a convection cooks faster on a lower temp.
Susan says
Hi Judy,
I have seen a few such references in certain cookbooks, but frankly I don’t find them at all useful. Your point about amount of food is exactly right. Timing also depends on temperature of food, individual air fryers, and other factors. The best approach is doing exactly what you did, test and check often. It will also help you to get a good cookbook as it helps to learn by example. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Air frying isn’t difficult, and you’ll get a feel for it faster than you might think!
Hope that helps,
Susan
Sue says
Hi: I don’t understand how you preheat with this air fryer? Also can you cook two different foods at once i.e., fries and chicken?
Thanks,
Sue
Susan says
Hi Sue,
“Preheat” just means turning the air fryer on, empty, to warm it up before you put your food in to start cooking. I think you’ll find that preheating is not required most of the time.
Yes, you can definitely cook different foods at once – that’s assuming the same temperature will work for both. Also, you may have to check more often because one food may cook faster than another.
Thanks for your question, and I hope that helps,
Susan
Sean says
I am looking for this model with the metal mesh basket instead of a non-stick basket. The picture on your page shows a metal mesh basket. But the pictures on the Amazon link you provide show a non-stick basket.
Do you know if it is still possible to get a model with the metal mesh basket?
Susan says
Hi Sean,
I don’t know for certain, and it may depend on where you buy it. I recommend that you ask the specific seller. To do that on Amazon, click on the link in the above review to go to the Amazon product page, and at the top of that page right under the price you will see “Ships from and sold by
Seller Name
“. The seller name will be a link. Click that, and you’ll go to the seller’s page where you can ask a question. To avoid confusion, I would be very clear with the seller. That is, if metal is a must for you, tell them you don’t want the fryer if you can only get the non-stick basket.
I hope that helps.
Susan
John Riessen says
We have are quite happy with our Gowiae airfryer, but the small clear plastic clip that covers the detaching button has broken. It is a safety issue in that one could too easily place a thumb on top and spill the hot pan and contents. So far we consciously simply and carefully pull the pan out so as not to depress the button accidentally. Is there a replacement?
Susan says
I could be wrong, but I believe what you’d have to do is replace the entire basket. I recommend that you contact GoWise customer service and see what they recommend.
Susan
G A van der Poel says
Would be able to use any stainless rack that fits in the basket? Or I have a rack that fits I my microwave
Susan says
For “most” air fryers you should be able to use any rack or dish that is oven proof, or that is safe to use in your oven.
However, always always ALWAYS read the appliance manual and follow manufacturer’s instructions so that you do not use the appliance in any way that might be unsafe or might void the warranty.
Al says
I have one and it is great
The only problem is that the paint start coming off the basket.
I will call them
Thanks
Al
Jack says
The black coating on the bottom of the basket is flacking off and getting on the food. I will call the company and find out what to do about it..