In message , Tim w
writes
On 16/02/2015 18:49, Gordon Henderson wrote:
In article ,
Chris J Dixon wrote:
I've just pronounced my Russell Hobbs Classic toaster beyond
repair.

...

What should I look at?

Dualit.

The traditional one, not the newer ones:

http://www.dualit.com/products/2-slice-newgen

But the last time that I recall this question cropping up here, there
was the usual: "I can buy 5 cheapies from Argos for the price of a Dualit"
type of response, so make of that what you will.

My Dualit is relatively new. Only about 5 years old.

Gordon


A truly awful thing for the following reasons:

It is twice as big as it needs to be
The build is so heavy that you need to pre warm it by running it
empty in order to get elements evenly hot
You can't save the setting, you have to remember where to set
the timer dial
The timer is !NOISY! Click clicl cliclk click.
When the noise has annoyed you you will be outraged to find that
the noise doesn't stop when the elements do - the timer runs on a bit
so it doesn't even tell you when your toast is done.
The 1 or 2 slice switch turns off only 2 of 3 elements. You will
sometimes get bread toasted one side only if you can't remember which
slot is which.
The elements fail frequently. Because they were designed in the
19th century the element is wrapped around a sheet of mineral mica so
replacement elements cost more than a normal toaster.
It's only good for Sunblest type bread. It won't toast buns,
bagels, baguettes, Batch or bloomer which is too thick/small/thin/wide
unless carefully cut to the dims of a slice of Sunblest.

Really. don't bother. If you are even slightly irritable in the
mornings you will learn to hate it, and hatred at the breakfast table
is not good. It can affect you marriage, your work life, your health,
everything. Walk away before you waste £150.

Tim W
(Whose life was nearly ruined by a Dualit Wedding present)


I love our wedding present Dualit - now in it's 18th year. :-) (not sure
I could ever bring myself to buy one for myself though)

I've never preheated it, never had to replace an element, the noise is
useful - and it clicks as it turns off, just before the timer stops.

I fidn that I can easily set the timer to about the right amount
depending on the bread. And what I do like is that you can lift the
bread to see how it is doing with out cancelling the toasting.

True it's not great for things like teacakes etc as they are prone to
getting stuck, though crumpets are normally fine.- though I've always
preferred the grill for such things anyway. I toast all sorts of bread,
hand sliced or pre sliced in it though.

And it's great for having how far can we fire toast across the kitchen
competitions

--
Chris French