Toasters have been around for decades, yet their design dismays me. Simple concept, you insert a slice of bread, it is grilled on both sides simultaneously, and it pops up all nice a crispy. But, it doesn't. The main issue is the inability to cater to different sized loaves. On a standard loaf, the top one inch is left sticking out the top so you have 90% toast, and 10% bread.

Photo of bread slice fully loaded...

In addition, if you are using a small loaf, you take your life in your hands trying to get the toast out as it is beneath the top level of the machine, making you use a knife (or similar) to dig the darn thing out.

Photo of disappearing slice, with cradle at full eject position...

These are not unusual sliced loaves, just your standard supermarket fayre.

Can it be so difficult to design a toaster that has a properly adjustable cradle that can accommodate bread? On shopping around for a toaster, none seem to have a feature on the box on what sized slices they can make, maybe they're just too embarrassed to publicly tell us before buying it and realising how inadequate their appliance is...

Fully agree on this one bread was sized long before toaster so make them fit. I learnt last week that there is an adjuster inside to reset the browning level "allegedly" yet to pull mine apart a 4 slice jobbie from Tesco thats just about on max.

11 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Can it be so difficult to design a toaster that has a properly adjustable cradle that can accommodate bread?

Well if you have 20 minutes to spare, you might find this vaguely interesting

 

I just love old stuff! What a great toaster... Makes me hate my current one even more😁

I have toast every day (one of very few things I can still eat) and this is something that irritates me as well.  So much so that I only buy the long slot toasters designed for 4 slices, then lay 2 slices horizontally each time!

All the modern toasters I've had have had a high-lift feature on the lever.  I rarely find anything too small to lift out, even the occasional muffin or crumpet.  Not sure if yours has that function, just try lifting the lever after it's popped up, might find another inch or so there.

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

... just try lifting the lever after it's popped up, might find another inch or so there.

If only, that sounds a really useful feature, who wouldn't want to discover another inch 😁

On 6/28/2024 at 8:53 AM, StephenFord said:

have been around for decades, yet their design dismays me.

Many things have been around for decades, Kettles and Toasters to name a few, however, things are no longer designed for Function, but Fashion, including free built in obselescence, not repairable, no spares availability.........

 

As usual, Stephen, you've put your finger on one of the niggling frustrations of modern life .

We're still using a Russell Hobbs 4-slot toaster and 'Quiet-boil' kettle we bought over ten years ago. As they break I keep patching them up.

This toaster (model 9379 if you want to look it up) handles the standard loaf sizes perfectly which is one reason I've clung on to it. It has the high-lift function but this isn't sufficient to get crumpets out without jabbing them with a fork. Perfectly safe as long as I turn off at the wall first. Of course this model is no longer available and I've no idea if their current mdel has the same size slots. Probably not.

I hate having to throw away otherwise perfectly serviceable equipment because of a tuppeny-ha'penny broken component. The toaster has spring-loaded 'cheeks' that close on the slice to hold it central. One by one the springs broke until there was only one left intact. I bought some piano wire and using the last one as a template made up four new ones (see attached image showing original and nearly finished replacement. Luckily not a complex shape). The only other problem I've had with it has been the lettering wearing off the control panel so I used my labeller to replace it.

The spring broke in the lid of the kettle and I bodged up a partial replacement which lasted for quite a while. In the meantime an identical kettle owned by my daughter sprung a leak which I couldn't fix so we bought her a new one and I stripped the old one for spares and replaced my bodge with the spring from that.

I thought the government was supposed to be bringing forward legislation to force manufacturers to provide spare parts but if they have it doesn't seem to have achieved much.

31 minutes ago, mjt said:

 The only other problem I've had with it has been the lettering wearing off the control panel so I used my labeller to replace it.

I laughed at this! Must be something in the psyche of people who 'label' stuff. I've been labeling things since the 70s on getting my 1st ever Dymo hand held printer! Labellers all seem to have the same ethos of getting stuff fixed, and taking care of the environment long before it was fashionable...

2 hours ago, Paulkp said:

Many things have been around for decades, Kettles and Toasters to name a few, however, things are no longer designed for Function, but Fashion, including free built in obselescence, not repairable, no spares availability.........

 

I was under the impression stuff had now to be designed and built so it CAN be repaired

14 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

I was under the impression stuff had now to be designed and built so it CAN be repaired

You are not wrong - read all about it...

https://www.thefirstmile.co.uk/the-big-picture/the-new-right-to-repair-law

 

3 hours ago, StephenFord said:

You are not wrong - read all about it...

"Sticking plaster" doesn't cover it - literally!!

The thing that irritates me is that the toast never comes out evenly browned. We have a four slice toaster, but rarely use all four at once. There is an adjustment control but the toast allways seems to be either almost white or very brown, to the point of being almost burnt. I've noticed that using the centre two slots gives the best results, but it's not perfect. Perhaps I'm being a bit picky, but you would think that in this age when they can send a rocket to the moon, they would be able to make a decent toaster. 😠

20 minutes ago, Janner7859 said:

... when they can send a rocket to the moon, they would be able to make a decent toaster. 😠

I don't think they're allowed to make toast on the space station 🤣

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

I don't think they're allowed to make toast on the space station 🤣

Why not, they have electricity don't they?

Mind you it could be a problem buttering the toast if it keeps floating away. 😄

7 hours ago, Janner7859 said:

Why not, they have electricity don't they?

Mind you it could be a problem buttering the toast if it keeps floating away. 😄

Also you wouldn't need to worry dropping the toast and landing butter side down. 

wouldnt butter side up stick to the ceiling ??????

35 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

wouldnt butter side up stick to the ceiling ??????

Is there a ceiling ?

There's no up or down in space.

There must be a ceiling on the ISS.  The equipment and screens are orientated in one direction. 🤔

Also, fun fact, the ISS isn't actually that high up.  If it was stationary, there would be enough of Earths gravity acting on it to pull your toast to the floor!  The only reason it's effectively weightless inside is because it travels 'forward' much faster than the earth rotates so it can maintain an orbit.

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Also, fun fact, the ISS isn't actually that high up...

Cars, washing machines, space stations - is there no end to your detailed knowledge 😂

Hows your knowledge on chipped windscreens, spotted one today on mine dead centre, a pinpoint and 2 legs approx 5mm across. Are the repair kits any good ?

 

Worth checking your car insurance as chip repairs may be cheaper on excess than buying a repair kit.  Professional repairers suck a vacuum on the screen to open it up and dry it before injecting the resin.  So a DIY repair will never be as good as that, but will still do the job and prevent it spreading.

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Worth checking your car insurance as chip repairs may be cheaper ...

I was going to suggest that, I got mine repaired a few months back at ZERO cost! Much cheaper for insurance company to repair rather have to replace screen...

I had a windscreen repaired some years ago on a different car. The chip was right in my line of sight, and even after the repair it was still visible and was always mentioned as an advisory on the MOT.

will run it by my insurance, just my luck for the buggers to write it off hahahahahahaha