Hi Andrew,

Andrew Erickson wrote:
In article ,
"David Farber" wrote:

This is an old waffle iron. Maybe over 20 years old. It heats up, but there
is some indicator light which I think means the waffle is done. I am not a
waffle type person so I have not personally had any experience using it. I
have been told that the light sometimes will stay on when it is supposed to
be off, and other times, won't come on at all. There is a control knob
underneath the handle. Here is a pic of it.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...f/Waffler.html

I can't find any make or model info on it. There are some logo-like wavy
lines that look like a scripted, lower case "L" on the top of it. There is
some writing toward the front of it but some of the letters are faded away
and I can't figure out what that is either. Is the light just a switched
temperature sensor?

On my waffle iron, a pretty old model, the "light" is just a little
window thingy through which you can see the heating element's glow.

Exactly. Little more than a plastic "jewel" (mine is faceted
enough that you can't really "see" through it -- like the
textured glass of a bathroom shower door)

Hence, it's on when the heating element is on and vice-versa. The
control knob adjusts the setpoint for a thermostatic control. I suppose

My pizzelle iron doesn't have a temperature control. Hence, the
"indicator" is essential to getting things right!

You don't start using the iron until the indicator (coils) have
turned off. Otherwise, all of that "cooking mass" is too cold
to do the job.

And, if you manage to cook too many pizzelles too quickly and
steal too much heat from the iron, you learn to watch the
indicator to ensure it is back at temperature before continuing
(pizzelle batter is very thin -- 30 seconds to bake. So, extending
bake time by 5 seconds can leave you with *toasted* wafers. OTOH,
if the iron isn't up to temperature, the 30 seconds may be 5 seconds
too *quick* -- leaving you with mush!)

more modern ones may be a bit fancier and have an actual neon bulb or
other separate indicator for the light, wired with the heating element;
it would certainly be a bit brighter and easier to see.

For a pizzelle iron, you never venture far from the iron
(since its a 30 second "event"). So, the indicator is
always staring you in the face.

How long does it take to bake waffles? I am sure their
hefty thickness must dramatically increase cooking time.
But, is it really long enough to venture far from the iron?