On Oct 25, 6:01*am, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:
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.

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