After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )

Dualit.

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

:-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!


Not a suggestion but a request for the benefit of your experience. As
I'm sure you'll have tried it, may I ask what was wrong with, say, a
Bosch GWS 24-300 and 180 grit disc

--
Robin

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:00:00 UTC, Huge
wrote:

On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't going to
like it. )

Dualit.

Hear hear.

After similar experiences to yours, plus exposure to many, many consumer
toasters in rented cottages (*) we finally swallowed hard and bought a
Dualit. Except the other day when a small piece of cottage loaf fell under
the tounges of the toast extractor leading to burned fingers, much cursing
and cold toast, I've never regretted it.

One good thing is that there is no pop-up mechanism to jam, the elements
being controlled by a clockwork timer. So, a jammed piece of toast
doesn't start a fire.

Slots are nice and wide and there are sandwich toasting racks to fit in
them.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )

Dualit.

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

:-)


Lets face it - he first posted about single cup heating elements some
while ago and wasn't interested in replies which didn't fit his expected
answer

a terminal dickhead


--
geoff

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:27:03 UTC, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )

Dualit.

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the spec
for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they ever go,
and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not that one has
ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Lol - I'm going to say a dualit toaster too. Probably over-built, with
a ludicrously simple clockwork timer and no pop-up. But I tried the
others, and they all break.

What I'm looking for is a kettle with the same work-ethic (the dualit
kettle didn't impress me - just a lifestyle product).

I might get a secondhand russell hobbs k2 http://www.74simon.co.uk/k2.html

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:14:42 GMT The Medway Handyman wrote :
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

Back in the UK I bought a mid price Tefal. Only toasted half a standard
slice - needed to turn it over and toast the other half. But it looked
nice and no doubt some designer is really proud of his work.

--
Tony Bryer, 'Software to build on' from Greentram
www.superbeam.co.uk www.superbeam.com www.greentram.com

In message
,
RubberBiker writes
Lol - I'm going to say a dualit toaster too. Probably over-built, with
a ludicrously simple clockwork timer and no pop-up. But I tried the
others, and they all break.


Me too :-)

got as a wedding present in 1997, though I have had to replace the
clockwork timer, which was probably the price of 2 or 3 crappo ones from
Argos.

but it works, it keeps on working and if there is a fault (not much to
go wrong though) spares easily available - and it's more satisfying to
repair something than to chuck and replace.

Though beware the cheaper Dualit ones, not the 'proper ones', they
aren't as dismantable as some bits seem riveted and not so repairable
(you can just unscrew all the various bits on our)
--
Chris French

The Medway Handyman wrote:
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Not going to help much since the model range has been revamped (and
reviews on the new ones don't seem that good), but the current 4 slice
Tefal Avanti we have at the mo has been in service now for a number of
years without too much irritation. Toasts well enough and consistently.
The slots auto adjust in width and will take up to about 3/4 bagel
thickness each. The only crap bit was the extra lifters - it has a
second set of sliding knobs that are supposed to lift the carriage
higher than normal to make retrieving shorting things like buns or
muffins (English style!) simpler - but that seemed to fail after not
that long.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 11 Apr 2009 12:44:12 GMT, "Bob Eager" wrote:

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:27:03 UTC, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )

Dualit.

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the spec
for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they ever go,
and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not that one has
ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

I've only had a Dualit (a chrome 2-slice one) for a year or so. It's
really well constructed - none of your fancy auto browning stuff
(which always seems to go wrong on other machines, so I would
recommend it, and as you said, Bob, you can readily obtain spares.
The only thing is does lack is provision for keeping the bread upright
between the elements, but that doesn't seem to be a problem.

--
Frank Erskine

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" writes:
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

My parents' Morphy-Richards model TU1D (chrome steel version) is
doing very well, although only 2 slots. I think you'll struggle
to find anywhere with stock though, as it was last manufactured
in 1965, although theirs was bought nearer 1955. I have had to
repair it a couple of times, but one of those was due to someone
sticking a knife into it.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

John Rumm wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were
kin useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time
setting of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale
shade of magnolia. Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a
standard
slice of bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced
down. Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Not going to help much since the model range has been revamped (and
reviews on the new ones don't seem that good), but the current 4 slice
Tefal Avanti we have at the mo has been in service now for a number of
years without too much irritation. Toasts well enough and
consistently. The slots auto adjust in width and will take up to
about 3/4 bagel thickness each. The only crap bit was the extra
lifters - it has a second set of sliding knobs that are supposed to
lift the carriage higher than normal to make retrieving shorting
things like buns or muffins (English style!) simpler - but that
seemed to fail after not that long.

THat mechanism was the demise of ours. Otherwise, it was a good toaster.

I've replaced it with a four slice Kenwood which works .....slowly and the
additional lift for small items is a PITA. I'm continually using a sharp
knife to carefully remove small items.

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:04:43 +1000, Tony Bryer wrote:
Back in the UK I bought a mid price Tefal. Only toasted half a standard
slice - needed to turn it over and toast the other half. But it looked
nice and no doubt some designer is really proud of his work.

Ours is like that (not Tefal - I don't remember the brand). Plus
everything apart from the last 5% of the dial is useless for making toast.
Worse still there's no separate cancel button - cancel is done* by turning
the dial all the way back to 0 (frustrating when you've just got the dial
set to the exact position that you want it!)

* I've taken to just yanking the cable out of the wall now, which works
nicely :-)

(Although I've never found a toaster / grill that can do toast as nicely
as that done over an open fire or - at a push - held over one of the
burners/rings on top of the cooker, though)

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Never bother with a toaster and always use the grill.
Toasts to whatever shade you like including flaming

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:
Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )



I have every sympathy - they are probably all built in the Tulip Toasters
for China factory around the same element design which was passed to them 30
years ago.

Gripe over.

"John Rumm" wrote in message
et...
The Medway Handyman wrote:
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Not going to help much since the model range has been revamped (and
reviews on the new ones don't seem that good), but the current 4 slice
Tefal Avanti we have at the mo has been in service now for a number of
years without too much irritation. Toasts well enough and consistently.
The slots auto adjust in width and will take up to about 3/4 bagel
thickness each. The only crap bit was the extra lifters - it has a second
set of sliding knobs that are supposed to lift the carriage higher than
normal to make retrieving shorting things like buns or muffins (English
style!) simpler - but that seemed to fail after not that long.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

I also have a Tefal - not too bad - but slot size is a bit limited. However,
I have found that sometimes after giving it a good shake to get rid of
crumbs the lifter thing won't stay down to engage the element. Crumbs get on
the pole piece of the magnet. I have become deft at taking it apart to
remove the offending crumb.

I hope this helps if anyone else has the same problem.

Remember the days when a manufacturer would be interested and would take
steps to improve things..................?

"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:14:42 GMT The Medway Handyman wrote :
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just
over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

Back in the UK I bought a mid price Tefal. Only toasted half a standard
slice - needed to turn it over and toast the other half. But it looked
nice and no doubt some designer is really proud of his work.

--
Tony Bryer, 'Software to build on' from Greentram
www.superbeam.co.uk www.superbeam.com www.greentram.com


Not a designer - but a Stylist.

"R" wrote in message
...

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Never bother with a toaster and always use the grill.
Toasts to whatever shade you like including flaming

Not sure about the energy efficiency of trying to drive heat downward
though. A toaster does bring the heat source close to the target.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?


I'm not sure how seriously people take Which? reports, but and and the 4
slice toasters didn't come out as well as 2 slice. Of the 4 slice
Breville TT33 and Cuisinart 400U best buys. 2 slice Krups Toast expert
FEM 231 came top.

Rob

In message , Owain
writes
The Medway Handyman wrote:
So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Doesn't your cooker have a grill?

We have a grill, but the toaster is quicker (certainly for the first
round anyway) and I'm endlessly burning things under the grill.
--
Chris French

In message , R
writes

Never bother with a toaster and always use the grill.
Toasts to whatever shade you like including flaming


My problem is the rather to frequent achieving of the 'flaming' shade
.....
--
Chris French

Bob Eager wrote:
Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

We had two big Dualits at school. I think we only had two for redundancy
- one of them always seemed to be away for repair. Those of us who'd
been on Cadet camps kept agitating for one of the big conveyor-belt
types found in Army cookhouses - also no chance of the still-soft bread
in one slot being mangled when the owner of the finished toast in
another pounded his fist on the lever to launch it directly onto his plate.

Then again, a normal consumer cheapy probably wouldn't have lasted a day :-)

Pete

In message , Bob Eager
writes

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the spec
for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they ever go,
and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not that one has
ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

AOL:-)

Co-incidentally, the time setting for toast is the same as that needed
for soft poaching an egg. (first round only).

You can also do toasted sandwiches. Just close your eyes and buy one.

regards


--
Tim Lamb

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

For all of my childhood, toast was produced on a device like this. It never
went wrong.

http://www.force4.co.uk/643/Force-4-...g-Toaster.html

Colin Bignell

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:07:17 UTC, Tim Lamb
wrote:

In message , Bob Eager
writes

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the spec
for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they ever go,
and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not that one has
ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

AOL:-)

Co-incidentally, the time setting for toast is the same as that needed
for soft poaching an egg. (first round only).

You can also do toasted sandwiches. Just close your eyes and buy one.

Oh, and the OP wanted it to be quick. It'll do 130 slices an hour (the 4
slice version).

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:14:42 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just over
6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

6 minutes ??????





--------------
Any posting using my name and/or e-mail address
but other than by newsindividual.net is not being posted by me and should be disregarded .
Remove NOSPAM to reply by e-mail

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

And can any of these toasters produce repeatable results between burn 1 and
burn n ?

The Medway Handyman coughed up some electrons that declared:

After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just
over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?



Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has proven
surprisingly fruitful.

Think it was this one (looks about right, right price):

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4223924/c_1/1|cat_12108409
Toasters|12108580/Trail/searchtextTOASTER.htm

Not mega fast, but repeatable results, simple, no 25-leds or blue back lit
plastic ******** - and really does take a decent sized slice of bread.

I would say it's pretty much as good as the Dualit Lite it replaced, which
was stupidly expensive (but not as stupid as a "real" Dualit) and when push
came to shove, you can't replace the element on a Dualit Lite, which given
the brand and the price was a pretty poor show...

Cheers
Tim

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:07:46 UTC, "brass monkey" wrote:

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies. I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting
of just over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of
magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

And can any of these toasters produce repeatable results between burn 1 and
burn n ?

On our Dualit, burn 1 takes a little longer than burn 2-N. When making
toast in relays, it's easy to adjust for (since the setting is a
clockwork device where you rotate to the appropriate time, then let it
tick back to zero).

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:34:07 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has proven
surprisingly fruitful.

We've got one of those - useless !!!

OK for the first year but now sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Load toast - press down - sometimes it stays down and toasts, sometimes it
just springs back up. Get there in the end by keep on pressing down but am
looking at another toaster.

Seriously considering a Dualit after reading this thread.
--
Regards,

Hugh Jampton

Hugh Jampton coughed up some electrons that declared:

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:34:07 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has proven
surprisingly fruitful.

We've got one of those - useless !!!

OK for the first year but now sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Load toast - press down - sometimes it stays down and toasts, sometimes it
just springs back up. Get there in the end by keep on pressing down but am
looking at another toaster.

Seriously considering a Dualit after reading this thread.

Oh bum.

Well, have to see what happens to mine then.

In this age of supercomputers, carbon fibre, fancy ceramics and super mega
engineering, why can't anyone make a basic toaster that works for a
reasonable price?

30 years ago they were no worse than now performance wise, seemed to last
longer and a roll of nichrome wire from the local electrical shop would
sort out a fused element.

"Tim S" wrote in message
...
The Medway Handyman coughed up some electrons that declared:

After a succession of el cheapo supermarket/Argos toasters that were kin
useless, we decided to go for a brand name & bought a Kenwood.

This is about as useful as a back pocket in a sock, worse than the
cheapies.
I happen to like well done toast. On its maximum time setting of just
over 6 minutes, it produces warm bread in a pale shade of magnolia.

Apart from taking ages to toast bread, half the time a standard slice of
bread won't fit into the piggin slots & has to be forced down.

Don't these people ever test anything they sell?

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard sliced
bread and produces toast fairly quickly?



Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has proven
surprisingly fruitful.

Think it was this one (looks about right, right price):

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4223924/c_1/1|cat_12108409
Toasters|12108580/Trail/searchtextTOASTER.htm

Not mega fast, but repeatable results, simple, no 25-leds or blue back lit
plastic ******** - and really does take a decent sized slice of bread.

I would say it's pretty much as good as the Dualit Lite it replaced, which
was stupidly expensive (but not as stupid as a "real" Dualit) and when
push
came to shove, you can't replace the element on a Dualit Lite, which given
the brand and the price was a pretty poor show...

Cheers
Tim

So, instead of watching the grill, I could insert 2 slices and press go,
then 2 more and press go, then another 1 and press go - and get 5 decent
slices of toast without thinking?
Otherwise, i'll watch the grill

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:05:29 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Hugh Jampton coughed up some electrons that declared:

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:34:07 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has proven
surprisingly fruitful.

We've got one of those - useless !!!

OK for the first year but now sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Load toast - press down - sometimes it stays down and toasts, sometimes it
just springs back up. Get there in the end by keep on pressing down but am
looking at another toaster.

Seriously considering a Dualit after reading this thread.

Oh bum.

Well, have to see what happens to mine then.

In this age of supercomputers, carbon fibre, fancy ceramics and super mega
engineering, why can't anyone make a basic toaster that works for a
reasonable price?


Really the Dualit is a basic toaster. It's not pop-up, the 'browning'
control is an electromechanical timer, there's a real switch to select
the slots you want to use, and a proper neon lamp to show that the
thing's operating.
I'm not sure whether or not most toasters now use a sheathed element
as does the Dualit - this prevents crumbs from landing on the nichrome
wire and causing hot spots which lead to early failure of the element.

The 'non pop-up' bit is useful if you like your toast warm and you're
doing multiple slices. Because the slices stay inside the machine
they're less inclined to cool off whilst you're scoffing the first one
:-)

--
Frank Erskine

Frank Erskine coughed up some electrons that declared:

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:05:29 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Hugh Jampton coughed up some electrons that declared:

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:34:07 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Recent purchase of a standard Russel Hobbs 2 slice from Argos has
proven surprisingly fruitful.

We've got one of those - useless !!!

OK for the first year but now sometimes it works and sometimes it
doesn't. Load toast - press down - sometimes it stays down and toasts,
sometimes it just springs back up. Get there in the end by keep on
pressing down but am looking at another toaster.

Seriously considering a Dualit after reading this thread.

Oh bum.

Well, have to see what happens to mine then.

In this age of supercomputers, carbon fibre, fancy ceramics and super mega
engineering, why can't anyone make a basic toaster that works for a


reasonable price?

Ahem ^^^^^

I don't disagree the Dualit "hotel version" is probably very good. They
muddied their name with the "Lite" AFAIAC though.


Really the Dualit is a basic toaster. It's not pop-up, the 'browning'
control is an electromechanical timer, there's a real switch to select
the slots you want to use, and a proper neon lamp to show that the
thing's operating.
I'm not sure whether or not most toasters now use a sheathed element
as does the Dualit - this prevents crumbs from landing on the nichrome
wire and causing hot spots which lead to early failure of the element.

The 'non pop-up' bit is useful if you like your toast warm and you're
doing multiple slices. Because the slices stay inside the machine
they're less inclined to cool off whilst you're scoffing the first one
:-)

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
Huge wrote:
On 2009-04-11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

So, any recommendations for a 4 slice toaster that takes standard
sliced bread and produces toast fairly quickly?

Yes, but judging by my recent suggestions on this n/g, you aren't
going to like it. )

Dualit.

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the only
responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out and buy
one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem almost
proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was hoping that at
least one of you might have had a good word to say about a particular
cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all now closed ranks, so I
shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a Dualit, either!)"

:-)

Oh Dave don't be so blinkered.....I also went through various toasters
supermarket and branded (tefal being one), the branded ones I tried didn't
toast properly and the supermarket ones didn't last! some less than a year!!

I found a Dualit in the local ads and it does what it says, hasn't failed in
10+ years and (admittedly s/h though hardly used) cost me about the same as
a branded toaster. and if it does fail I can get the spares and fix it
myself*! Also saves me getting stressed in the morning if I don't get my
toast....

A mate of mine has a a 4 slot one, after he had tried other brands (mine is
a 3 slot with one side slot for toasties) he has had it for about 15 years
and has needed one element (*he fixed it himself ).. Probably the reason I
even looked at a Dualit,

For someone like yourself I would have thought that something that has
spares and can be fixed with a screwdriver and pliers would have appealed to
you, and in the past you have extolled the virtues of higher priced tools
for there longevity and sturdiness!!

Des

* sorry for the references to DIY!!

Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the
only responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out
and buy one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem
almost proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was
hoping that at least one of you might have had a good word to say
about a particular cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all
now closed ranks, so I shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a
Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the
spec for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they
ever go, and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not
that one has ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

AOL:-)

Is AOL the same as 'woosh' and if so, why?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:36:31 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , Bob Eager
writes

"Ah, so if someone asks for advice about buying a new car and the
only responses a "Buy a Bentley", you'd expect me to rush out
and buy one, yes? I find it amazing that you and a few others seem
almost proud of the fact that cheaper products are tat. I was
hoping that at least one of you might have had a good word to say
about a particular cheaper model, but I can tell that you've all
now closed ranks, so I shall withdraw. (And I'm NOT buying a
Dualit, either!)"

The point is, Dave, is it's probably cost effective. It meets the
spec for thick slices etc., you can buy spare elements etc. if they
ever go, and they even include instructions on how to fit them (not
that one has ever gone on ours).

Ours has already exceeded the previous lifespans of several toasters
combined.

AOL:-)

Is AOL the same as 'woosh' and if so, why?

No, 'me too, me too'!

It stems from AOL seeming to attract lots of brain-dead Americans who had
not an original thought between them and would merely echo someone else's
comments.


--
The Wanderer

The older I get the better I used to be!

RubberBiker wrote:
Lol - I'm going to say a dualit toaster too. Probably over-built, with
a ludicrously simple clockwork timer and no pop-up. But I tried the
others, and they all break.

We've never managed to break a non Dualit toaster. Our current one is
many years old and still works just as well as it did when we first
bought it. The only reason we have ever replaced a toaster is for its
ability to cope with large slices or to have a different colour/finish.

From what I read of the Dualit toasters they have *exactly* the same
faults as our existing much cheaper toaster. I.e. they make no
attempt to produce toast of a given brownness, they just have a simple
timer, hence different bread requires different settings and a second
slice of identical bread will end up charred if you use the same
setting as for the first slice.

--
Chris Green

Tim S wrote:

I don't disagree the Dualit "hotel version" is probably very good. They
muddied their name with the "Lite" AFAIAC though.

Dualit Lites are rubbish.

Back when they were called 'Soft Touch', we had 3 in succession. The last 2 were provided as free-of-charge replacements by Dualit.

They actually toasted quickly and evenly, but the reliability (caused by poor quality control) was truly dire.

Faults:

1. Pop-up contacts burned away.
2. Welded mains connections corroded through.
3. Connector block melted internally.

For eg: http://twitpic.com/37d5p

--
-blj-