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toaster recommendations...

This is off-topic (sort of), but I have to ask.

The first toaster I ever owned (31 years ago) * was a classic GE "Toast-R-Oven" -- you know, the one with the front door that swings down and the tray that pulls out. It lasted 11 years, with one repair. (The technician botched it and left the side panel live.) When I moved to Seattle in 1988, I replaced it with the identical Black& Decker model. It has lasted

20.5 years, ** with no problems.

Until yesterday. It appears that the "toast" switch has become so stiff that the electromagnet won't release it. *** The electromagnet stays on, and its insulation starts burning. This _might_ be fixable with a cleaning and readjustment (and I could still toast bread by using the unit as an oven), but I think, if only for safety's sake, I need a new toaster. ("What do we say, kids?" "We need a new toaster!")

So I started searching the Web, **** beginning with B&D, as they "inherited" GE small appliances 25 years ago. I wasn't pleased with the reviews. I then looked at other brands, including expensive stuff like Krups and DeLonghi. Not many good reviews there, either.

If I'm to believe the user reviews, _all_ toasters -- including pricey products -- are junk. They're poorly designed and/or manufactured, fail prematurely, and service stinks badly. (DeLonghi got some very black eyes on this.) Price is no guarantee of quality.

I looked at Consumer Reports, but their judgement is of little use, because they don't test for reliability or longevity.

So...

I don't need a toaster "immediately", and I might be able to make toast (in oven mode) if I stand by the toaster and keep an eye on it. ***** Does anyone out there have any recommendations? I don't want to spend more than $50 (and would prefer to spend less), but I'm willing to buy something "expensive" (I consider $50 to be a lot of money for an elctro-mechanically operated toaster) if it's likely to last until I die. (I'm 61.)

My Spanish aunt.

  • My father worked for GE for many years. We owned the original Toast-R-Oven, and a few other toasters, none of which I remember giving any particular trouble.

** Some on-line reviewers consider 4-5 years a reasonable life for a toaster. I don't. Ten years is on the short side, and 15-20 is to be taken for granted.

*** This happened "overnight", as the unit was working fine Thursday.

**** You can find customer reviews for just about anything. A few minutes' searching can save you a lot of money on a bad purchase.

***** I always stay in the house when the toaster is on. I've had several small fires from English muffin pieces. I'm not as afraid of a fire as I am of the sprinkler system going off. I saw it in a neighbor's condo. You don't want it to happen.
Reply to
William Sommerwerck
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I recently bought a B&D TRO-620 toaster oven and threw away my Sunbeam

2 slice toaster.

I give it a 7 out of 10 for toasting bread (4 slices at a time) and a

9 out of 10 overall for it's abilities to bake/broil/toast/reheat.

I enjoy an occasional bagel and it does them perfectly. I also like to take a slice of sourdough bread from a Boule cover it with hot pepper jack cheese and toast it until the cheese browns. It is great for warming leftover pizza and broasted chicken. And don't forget French Bread pizza.

Reply to
Meat Plow

Ummmm.... French bread pizza... Ummmm....

When I was a kid, my mother would make bologna and melted-cheese sandwiches in the GE Toast-R-Oven.

Thanks for the suggestion, though I'm already more or less prejudiced towards the B&D. (S&M, I don't know about.) The issue isn't so much whether they toast evenly (my current B&D is fairly good), but whether _any_ brand is well-made and reliable. None seems to be.

A few minutes ago I took a second look at the B&D. No question about it... The solenoid is jammed. It won't pull in and release the power switch. (It's so badly jammed, I can't even force it to move.) Even if I could get a replacement part, I'd have to weld the wiring. That's ridiculous, for a

20-year-old toaster that cost less than $25 and has given good service.

I will start looking for a new one tomorrow, mostly at Fred Meyer and the hardware chains (Home Despot, Loewe's).

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

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Before I would give up, I would try fixing it, especially since you generally seem to know your way around things like this. What is it that has become "Stiff"? Maybe the contacts/switch that energize the electromagnet have become a little dirty and so the full voltage/ current is not available to energize the electromagnet. Have you tried energizing the electromagnet directly, bypassing the contact(s) or switch to see what happens?

Bob Hofmann

Reply to
hrhofmann

I appreciate your confidence in my skills, but I'm pretty certain it's not repairable in any practical sense.

Basically, the solenoid shaft is frozen. It simply won't.move (I've tried pushing it), and therefore will not release the mechanism that opens the line switch. As a result, what should be a brief "pulse" of AC when the coil is energized becomes a steady current that overheats the coil and burns off its insulation. I've actually watched the coil overheating and smoking.

The unit "went bad" literally overnight. To replace the solenoid would require snipping away the wires, then welding in the new coil. It just isn't worth the trouble for an inexpensive toaster-over that's lasted more than 20 years.

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

About a year ago I bought a new toaster at Wal Mart.Brand new out of the box, the push down handle thingy wouldn't stay down. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

The B+D toaster we bought a while back is a heap. The Darkness Selector knob is..well,useless. You either get "white" or "black" toast,depending on which broad range it's set to.It's almost like the knob doesn't work,and it's either MIN,or MAX..with nothing in between.

The B+D hand mixer we got is..well,It's powerful. The lowest setting will cover the entire kitchen with cake batter,if you're not careful. I don't think we've ever had it's speed setting above "2".

The Panasonic microwave we got ~15? years ago is still working well.

Reply to
PhattyMo

Toaster ovens don't toast evenly because they all have protection under the heater to preven stuff splashing up and down on them. My B&D has them and I have thought about removing them but eventually the quartz tubes would get contaminated from grease and crap. I suppose that stuff could also make the tubes fail.

Reply to
Meat Plow

Yeah, by overheating.

My old B&D had Calrods. I'll keep an eye out for what you suggest.

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

I am about sixty eight years old/young.I have been a junk collector all my life.I like all kinds of very old antique junk.I own a few antique electric toasters, they all work too, hinged swing gates, that kind of stuff.Back in those days, they built them GOOD. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

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Is the solenoid jammed with old food??? If you can get it out, you could always pop rivet it back rather than rewelding it..

Bob Hofmann

Reply to
hrhofmann

It's the electrical connections that need welding. Almost everything in this unit is welded, not soldered.

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

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