I've searched the 'net, and can't believe I can't find the answer to this
one. I'm sure this group can come up trumps.

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The elements are
covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like they could
be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are covered in
white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear, and
I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry toothbrush
alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of using water or
soap.

Any suggestions?

-- JJ

"Blueyonder" wrote in message
o.uk...
I've searched the 'net, and can't believe I can't find the answer to this
one. I'm sure this group can come up trumps.

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The elements
are covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like they
could be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are covered
in white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear,
and I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry
toothbrush alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of
using water or soap.

Any suggestions?

I'd like to know that too!

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

Mary

-- JJ

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

It's nickel-chromium wire, and the guage of wire will depend
on the model. Often it's in a ribbon profile. I have repaired
them sometimes by crimping broken ends together, but you have
to be very careful a loose end isn't going to be able to
touch something it shouldn't. A bootlace ferrule is the
right thing to crimp with, but a folded over steel washer
lasted about 20 years before it needed replacing in a 50
year old Russell Hobs toaster. Nearly all breakages of
toaster wires I've come across have been due to poking
cutlery into the toaster, never to the wire burning out.
I've seen a small number of cases where the failure was
due to a bad connection at one end of the wire too.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Blueyonder" wrote in message
o.uk...
I've searched the 'net, and can't believe I can't find the answer to this
one. I'm sure this group can come up trumps.

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The elements
are covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like
they could be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are
covered in white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear,
and I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry
toothbrush alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of
using water or soap.

Any suggestions?

I'd like to know that too!

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

It is definately mica. It covers the elements in approx 8cm square pieces,
rivetted on, each piece slightly overlapping.

I wouldn't like to guess at the element wires themselves though. As well as
the guage, there is the material to take account of - it won't be plain
copper for sure.

-- JJ

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Blueyonder" wrote in message
o.uk...
I've searched the 'net, and can't believe I can't find the answer to this
one. I'm sure this group can come up trumps.

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The elements
are covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like they
could be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are covered
in white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear,
and I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry
toothbrush alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of
using water or soap.

Any suggestions?

I'd like to know that too!

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

Mary

The only effective way to clean the mica is to wet wash them. Its not
usually needed though. Mica should be treated as semi fragile. For the
sake of anyone thinking of self darwinating, yes you need to give it a
full week to dry out properly afterwards.

Element wire is easier to rejoin than replace, but the join is always
at risk of oxidising and refrying.


NT

On 31 Mar 2006 21:17:20 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

It's nickel-chromium wire, and the guage of wire will depend
on the model. Often it's in a ribbon profile.

There's some complex reason for the use of ribbon that I can't remember.
Anyone ?

A bootlace ferrule is the right thing to crimp with,

Agreed. It need to be long and give good contact over a decent area. If
it's only small then you get a hot spot and the joint fails again in no
time.

Blueyonder wrote:

Any suggestions?

-- JJ

Buy a new toaster.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Blueyonder" wrote in message
o.uk...
I've searched the 'net, and can't believe I can't find the answer to this
one. I'm sure this group can come up trumps.

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The elements
are covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like
they could be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are
covered in white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear,
and I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry
toothbrush alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of
using water or soap.

Any suggestions?

I'd like to know that too!

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

Mary

I had to replace an element in one of these when a currant from a teacake
carbonised and shorted the thing out.

http://www.chromekitchen.co.uk sell replacement elements, they're quite
fast at delivering them too. The new mica elements can also replace the
older style ones.

HTH

--
Sewer Rat

"We're all in it together, kid"
- Archibald "Harry" Tuttle

In article ,
Andy Dingley writes:
On 31 Mar 2006 21:17:20 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

It's nickel-chromium wire, and the guage of wire will depend
on the model. Often it's in a ribbon profile.

There's some complex reason for the use of ribbon that I can't remember.
Anyone ?

Reasons that spring to mind would be to provide some direction
to the radiated heat and it allows you to adjust the surface
area to cross-sectional area so you can adjust the operating
temperature without relying solely on the length and cross-
sectional area to get the right resistance.

A bootlace ferrule is the right thing to crimp with,

Agreed. It need to be long and give good contact over a decent area. If
it's only small then you get a hot spot and the joint fails again in no
time.

I usually unthread a bit of the element to get an overlap at
the repair site, scrape the oxide off, and then crimp. You
have to make sure the ferrule can't vibrate or sag when the
element expands such that it might touch anything. It's best
to fit it as near as possible to a point where the element
wire is supported. If the fault was caused by cutlery being
inserted (in some cases, I have found half a canteen of
cutlery still inside the toaster), I generally won't repair
it until it's covered by RCD protection.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On Sat, 1 Apr 2006 13:26:49 UTC, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

Blueyonder wrote:

Any suggestions?

Buy a new toaster.

It's a Dualit - that's 135 quid if it's the 4 gang version. New elements
from Dualit are cheaper though...

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
Avenue Supplies, http://avenuesupplies.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Blueyonder wrote:

Any suggestions?

-- JJ

Buy a new toaster.

Do you buy a new car when your ashtray is full?

-- JJ

wrote in message
oups.com...

I have a Dualit toaster, that is no longer toasting evenly. The
elements
are covered with transparent panels, as clear as glass, but look like
they
could be mica (the edges are slightly flaky). The mica panels are
covered
in white, crusty spots (probably cheese and butter splashes).

So - what can I use to clean these deposits? The panels are very clear,
and I don't want to use anything that will abrade the surfaces. A dry
toothbrush alone does not get the deposits off, and I am a bit wary of
using water or soap.

Any suggestions?

I'd like to know that too!

Also, what gauge of wire to use to replace the elements.

Mary

The only effective way to clean the mica is to wet wash them. Its not
usually needed though. Mica should be treated as semi fragile. For the
sake of anyone thinking of self darwinating, yes you need to give it a
full week to dry out properly afterwards.

Very mild soap and water seemed to work okay. I used a small bit of cloth
wrapped around a stick to get right inside, and it removed a lot of dirt
(very slow though). The mica looks as good as new now, but I'm going to let
it dry for a few days before plugging it in.

-- JJ