What is the deal with toasters?

glatt · 03-23-2007, 12:50 PM

What is the deal with toasters? Does anyone here have a toaster that still works that they bought more than oh, 8 years ago? If so, what kind is it?

I've tried spending just a little money on them or spending a lot of money on them, and they all break after 2-5 years. Cheap $15 toasters last 2 years, but $70 ones only last 5 years. Do you have to buy one of those $200 toasters to get one that will last ten years or more?

Our (extended) family has a summer cottage. In that summer cottage is an old toaster with a cloth insulated cord. Must be from the 1940s. It is slow, but that thing still makes perfect toast. So I know it can be done.

Does anybody make a decent toaster that will last?

jinx · 03-23-2007, 12:54 PM

Sounds like my luck with dvd players.

I've had my DeLonghi convection toaster oven for more than 5 years I guess... I don't like regular toasters, too limiting.

Sundae · 03-23-2007, 12:59 PM

The toaster I bought when I moved out of London packed up late last year. I will celebrate moving back to London by buying a new one.

My ex husband got our Dualit toaster. I have no idea if it still works, but let's face it, it outlasted our marriage.

wolf · 03-23-2007, 01:01 PM

My last toaster, one of those German quartz element ones ... a Krups or a Braun, I forget, was phenomenal. Lasted 10 years before it decided that the level 7 setting was for lukewarm mildly yellow toast. Up until then, it was Der Toastmeister. After that one, I went for the "emergency until I can get a real one" toaster. $6.99 at K-Mart. Lasted for another five years or so. Only problem was that it was made to toast perfectly even squares of Wonderbread, and the larger slices of today's pretending to be good for you breads required a flip halfway through the process to toast the end that hangs out of the toaster. Very workable.

When the K-Mart toaster became an obvious fire hazard I replaced it with a $30 shiny stainless steel altar of toasting.

Lemme tell you something. The mid price toasters are all about the same ... and the only difference between it and the $6.99 toaster is that the $30 toaster has extra buttons you never use.

If I had it to do over, I would have gotten this baby.

I really want another quartz element toaster, but I wasn't able to find one. I have a sneaking suspicion that they were burning down houses in their spare time or something. They make awesome toast, though.

glatt · 03-23-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx

I've had my DeLonghi convection toaster oven for more than 5 years I guess... I don't like regular toasters, too limiting.

Well, maybe I should transition over to a toaster oven. But I like regular toasters. This review of toasters gave the standard DeLonghi toaster it's highest praise. But $130 seems a little more than you should have to spend for a toaster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

My ex husband got our Dualit toaster. I have no idea if it still works, but let's face it, it outlasted our marriage.

Was your marriage long? Nevermind, it doesn't matter. I see that the Dualit is $320 through Amazon. I'm willing to pay a bit more for quality, but not that much more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

If I had it to do over, I would have gotten this baby.

I really want another quartz element toaster, but I wasn't able to find one.

That one got good reviews in that link I posted above. And $60 is reasonable for such a simple device. My last toaster, before this Philips that just died, was a Krups quartz element, and it was awesome. They put a cheap plastic knob on it though that seemed to actually be designed to break after a specified amount of time. Built in obsolescence. It was made from a different type of plastic than the rest of the toaster, and I was unable to repair it. Even after drilling out the tamper resistant screws to get inside the thing.

DanaC · 03-23-2007, 01:07 PM

Quote:

My ex husband got our Dualit toaster. I have no idea if it still works, but let's face it, it outlasted our marriage

I didn't know you'd been married. For some reason I thought you'd just lived over-the-brush like me and my ex.;P

wolf · 03-23-2007, 01:38 PM

Toaster ovens, despite their versatility, take up too damn much counter space. I already have appliances that don't get daily use that I have to keep in closets and therefore use even less often than I would otherwise because it's a hassle to extricate them.

Flint · 03-23-2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

Our (extended) family has a summer cottage. In that summer cottage is an old toaster with a cloth insulated cord. Must be from the 1940s. It is slow, but that thing still makes perfect toast. So I know it can be done.

You're describing the toaster I want (but can't find): a metal box with one lever for lowering the toast, and one light-to-dark adjustment.
Do they even make these anymore? Instead, this seems to be all there is out there:

glatt · 03-23-2007, 03:07 PM

That's funny. Did you see Wolf's toaster recomendation? It actually got decent reviews, but the reviewer said he needed to read the owner's manual to figure out how to make toast with it.

Flint · 03-23-2007, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

...the reviewer said he needed to read the owner's manual to figure out how to make toast with it.

Fuck. That. The toaster is one item that doesn't need any "new, improved features" - it needs to do one thing, and one thing only.

wolf · 03-24-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

That's funny. Did you see Wolf's toaster recomendation? It actually got decent reviews, but the reviewer said he needed to read the owner's manual to figure out how to make toast with it.

The reviewer is clearly lame.

Like any toaster you set the doneness, and push the lever. Interesting features on that one include a muffin warmer (those grids on the top), a bagel setting that actually works, and a soft eject, so that your toast doesn't go flying across the kitchen when it's done. The doneness is assessed based on humidity rather than temperature, so you can toast multiple slices in a row and get them right every time, rather than progressively lighter toast with the same setting.

HungLikeJesus · 05-03-2007, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

That's funny. Did you see Wolf's toaster recomendation? It actually got decent reviews, but the reviewer said he needed to read the owner's manual to figure out how to make toast with it.

The Cellar is a crazy place. I just spent, what, 10 minutes?, reading about toasters, then felt compelled to respond. Toasters? What do they put in the Cellar water?

I have this same toaster (where did the picture go? See reply #9), but in the 4-slice version. The only problem with it is that it is very slow. I have to start the breakfast toast before I go to bed, then hopefully it will be ready when the eggs are done the next morning.

Plus, it uses more energy to toast 2 slices than did our old cheap toaster (I measured it using a Kill-A-Watt).

Of course I read the toaster manual. But I didn't have to. I just like reading toaster manuals.

BigV · 03-23-2007, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

What is the deal with toasters? Does anyone here have a toaster that still works that they bought more than oh, 8 years ago? If so, what kind is it?

I've tried spending just a little money on them or spending a lot of money on them, and they all break after 2-5 years. Cheap $15 toasters last 2 years, but $70 ones only last 5 years. Do you have to buy one of those $200 toasters to get one that will last ten years or more?

Our (extended) family has a summer cottage. In that summer cottage is an old toaster with a cloth insulated cord. Must be from the 1940s. It is slow, but that thing still makes perfect toast. So I know it can be done.

Does anybody make a decent toaster that will last?

I know that sometimes it's the machine, and sometimes it's the operator, and sometimes it's the bread. Maybe your bread needs some help.

Griff · 03-23-2007, 06:16 PM

We use a toaster oven. We just don't eat that much toast. Pete actually mentioned the condition of our toaster oven this morning, "What do you call it, racking, when a frame looks like a parallelogram? Check this out." The thing is a little loose in the stays.

elSicomoro · 03-23-2007, 06:20 PM

I got a Hello Kitty toaster for Xmas. We use it sparingly, and if it lasts 2 or 3 years, I'll be satisfied.

03-23-2007, 12:50 PM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	What is the deal with toasters? What is the deal with toasters? Does anyone here have a toaster that still works that they bought more than oh, 8 years ago? If so, what kind is it? I've tried spending just a little money on them or spending a lot of money on them, and they all break after 2-5 years. Cheap $15 toasters last 2 years, but $70 ones only last 5 years. Do you have to buy one of those $200 toasters to get one that will last ten years or more? Our (extended) family has a summer cottage. In that summer cottage is an old toaster with a cloth insulated cord. Must be from the 1940s. It is slow, but that thing still makes perfect toast. So I know it can be done. Does anybody make a decent toaster that will last?

03-23-2007, 12:54 PM	#2
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	Sounds like my luck with dvd players. I've had my DeLonghi convection toaster oven for more than 5 years I guess... I don't like regular toasters, too limiting. __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

03-23-2007, 12:59 PM	#3
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	The toaster I bought when I moved out of London packed up late last year. I will celebrate moving back to London by buying a new one. My ex husband got our Dualit toaster. I have no idea if it still works, but let's face it, it outlasted our marriage. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac Last edited by Sundae; 03-23-2007 at 01:05 PM.

03-23-2007, 01:01 PM	#4
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	My last toaster, one of those German quartz element ones ... a Krups or a Braun, I forget, was phenomenal. Lasted 10 years before it decided that the level 7 setting was for lukewarm mildly yellow toast. Up until then, it was Der Toastmeister. After that one, I went for the "emergency until I can get a real one" toaster. $6.99 at K-Mart. Lasted for another five years or so. Only problem was that it was made to toast perfectly even squares of Wonderbread, and the larger slices of today's pretending to be good for you breads required a flip halfway through the process to toast the end that hangs out of the toaster. Very workable. When the K-Mart toaster became an obvious fire hazard I replaced it with a $30 shiny stainless steel altar of toasting. Lemme tell you something. The mid price toasters are all about the same ... and the only difference between it and the $6.99 toaster is that the $30 toaster has extra buttons you never use. If I had it to do over, I would have gotten this baby. I really want another quartz element toaster, but I wasn't able to find one. I have a sneaking suspicion that they were burning down houses in their spare time or something. They make awesome toast, though. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-23-2007, 01:38 PM	#7
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Toaster ovens, despite their versatility, take up too damn much counter space. I already have appliances that don't get daily use that I have to keep in closets and therefore use even less often than I would otherwise because it's a hassle to extricate them. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-23-2007, 03:07 PM	#9
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	That's funny. Did you see Wolf's toaster recomendation? It actually got decent reviews, but the reviewer said he needed to read the owner's manual to figure out how to make toast with it. Attached Images

03-23-2007, 06:16 PM	#14
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	We use a toaster oven. We just don't eat that much toast. Pete actually mentioned the condition of our toaster oven this morning, "What do you call it, racking, when a frame looks like a parallelogram? Check this out." The thing is a little loose in the stays. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

03-23-2007, 06:20 PM	#15
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	I got a Hello Kitty toaster for Xmas. We use it sparingly, and if it lasts 2 or 3 years, I'll be satisfied.

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