Repairable Flatpack Toaster
283 comments
·March 3, 2025Animats
perihelions
[2] is remarkably interesting:
- "And that mechanism doesn’t just wear out after nearly three-quarters of a century of use: there’s a single screw underneath the crumb tray to adjust the tension of the wire, and it alone is enough to bring many aging toasters back to life."
edit: There's other HN threads about it,
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29342936 (232 comments)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38868753 (76 comments)
abetusk
Thanks for that video.
From the video, the heating elements look to be "flat wire toaster heater elements", maybe from made-in-china.com [0]?
I also see some flat heating elements as Waring replacements on Amazon [1].
[0] https://zgeycom.en.made-in-china.com/product/LOEGudIBnbkz/Ch...
[1] https://amazon.com/Waring-027901-Heating-Element-Toasters/dp...?
abetusk
I also found a "How it's made" clip for a Rowlett toaster [0]. It looks like those heating elements are also available for sale [1].
panick21_
You kids and your new fangled technology.
This is peak design:
https://www.moose-r-us.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/getoas...
(not my exact my model)
I inhereted it from my grandma and she still go full.
Don't walk away because that toast is burnt FAST.
sejje
In the photo of the Sunbeam, it's also got un-toasted areas
nickcw
Having mended a few toasters in my time I salute this effort. Cheap toasters are very difficult to take apart and mend. The toasting mechanism on this one looks great.
Cheap toasters only last a few years before dying. Usually because someone jams it up then clumsily unjams it while damaging the element.
After going through a few toasters in quick succession I finally bought an expensive Dualit one. It's still going 25 years later. I changed the timer mechanism once which was a joy, and you can easily buy spare parts.
The Dualit cost over 10 times more than the cheap toasters though. I don't regret that purchase though and it has actually saved me money over the years and made much less landfill.
Funnily enough the toaster in this article looks quite like the Dualit. I don't suppose that is a coincidence!
vile_wretch
Dualit "Classic" toasters are the only toasters I'm aware of with heating elements that can be replaced. Every cheap toaster I've owned has died from the wire in one of the heating elements burning out. The only two toasters I'd buy these days are a Dualit or a vintage Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster. Dualit wins for the modern slot widths though.
janfoeh
My Italian Milantoast has everything replaceable as well: https://www.milantoast.com/en/products/spare-parts/
ThePowerOfFuet
For €400 I would hope so.
Not even a bagel mode (which is also useful for baguette-style bread)!
gavanm
Having recently done a timer replacement on a Dualit, I think that might literally be a Dualit timer module. Looks identical in the packing box photo. It wouldn’t surprise me if the heating elements were the same as well (haven’t checked) though those are probably more commonly available as generic items.
hgomersall
They look the same to me: https://www.dualit.com/collections/toaster-spares
It seems slightly disingenuous to use the repair parts from a toaster on the market without crediting them.
3m
I was given a Dualit Classic Newgen 4 slice toaster as a wedding gift. It was without a doubt the WORST toaster I have ever used. I've never been so annoyed by a product before. In fact, it annoyed me so much that I ended up returning it and replacing it with a cheap toaster that is 10% of the price and functions better.
I'll list the fatal flaws with it in descending order of importance:
1) Unlike basically every single other toaster on the market, it does not have a cage or other mechanism that closes on to the bread slices and keeps them an equal distance from the heating element. This results in at least one part of every single slice of bread getting burned to a crisp, and at least one part of every single slice not being toasted at all. After using this toaster for a week, I couldn't believe how any engineer at Dualit could release this. Do they even use their product? It is a catastrophic oversight.
2) The timer is an analogue mechanism, much like an egg timer. I found that there was an extremely thin margin in which the toast is toasted. Anything under that and it's not, anything over that and it's burned beyond recognition. I cannot even count the number of times the smoke alarm in my house went off because my toaster burned my bread to a crisp. Another catastrophic oversight.
3) Because the timer is analogue, when you turn it it makes a clicking noise as an egg timer does. This means it's very easy to mistake the toaster for being on, when in fact it's not. The number of times I went to make toast, only to realise a few minutes later that the toaster was unplugged for some reason and my bread was still bread is unreal. I'd then end up ruining my scrambled eggs by waiting another few mins for toast.
4) The toaster allows you to spin a dial to choose how many heating elements to use. This is a pain in the ass. It's so easy to forget about, until you go to pick up your toast and find out that only 1 and a half slices have been toasted of the 4 you put in there.
The sad thing is, the toaster looked awesome. We also have a Dualit kettle (which is great) and it matched. Unfortunately they prioritised aesthetics over function, and it shows. If you want a toaster that requires you to go through a checklist of switches to check before operating, then requires constant supervision to avoid burning your toast, and will still give you burnt sections of toast anyway despite all of that, I could not recommend a better candidate.
seu
My toaster broke a week ago. I tried repairing it and found out exactly what the post says: almost impossible without breaking it (or seriously bending parts just to take them apart). After realizing that I wouldn't be able to, I decided to buy a used one, but couldn't find any on offer around my area that looked in good enough shape. Ended up paying 25€ for a new one, which will arrive by post any time soon. I find the whole experience extremely unsatisfying and would love more of this (repairable and self-assembly-able electric appliances).
kibwen
I hope the comments here don't end up quibbling about the practicality or economics of this toaster specifically, because the point here is the process. This project involves reverse engineering, designing from scratch, manufacturing, developing beginner-accessible documentation, and performing real-world user studies. We should be encouraging people to do more of this!
josephwegner
But I am actually interested in the economics! The author mentions sending her designs out to a factory - I would expect this is astonishingly expensive for a single prototype! Wouldn’t that be thousands of dollars? Is anyone familiar how to get good factory-made parts like this at DIY budgets?
Not that that takes away from the article at all. This project has many merits, and although cost may not be one of them, it’s still interesting!
michaelt
It all depends on what you ask the factory to do.
This project seems to take its heating elements, clockwork timer and knob from a classic Dualit 2 Slice toaster - so those parts are all available off-the-shelf.
Other than that, this design needs some laser cut and bent metal, and some wooden feet. If you're able to bend the metal yourself and find some off-the-shelf feet, you could probably get the flat sheets of stainless steel laser cut and shipped for less than $100.
On the other hand, if one wanted a factory to do more demanding production processes, with more worker time or more machine setup - you're right that it would cost a good deal more.
tomgp
On the subject of Dualit toasters: I've picked several up on the street over the years, cleaned them up and replaced a few parts (heating elements and/ or timers) and for about £10 effectively had a new toaster to give away/ sell. Dualit toasters aren't the best but I wholeheartedly recomend them from the point of view of DIY repair and maintainence. Our current model is 20 years old this year.
MobiusHorizons
There are also services that can do the sheet metal bending for you if you have the cad designed. Of course shipping can get pricey, but I think it’s not prohibitively expensive.
nancyminusone
I build things like this in similarly low quantity - you are probably looking at a grand or two toaster kit there, 95% of which is the custom parts - if it was done locally. The time for someone else to do it is what your paying for. It can be done exceptionally cheap in dollars if YOU do it, but you'll still pay with your time, and you'll still need machine access.
Cheap and easy "factory" quality is probably PCBWAY or similar in China - they do more than PCBs these days. Call it "prototype" budget - several hundred dollars of parts instead of thousands.
AlotOfReading
My experience is that PCBWay and similar usually offer better quality than doing it yourself. They get their costs down by automating everything they can. They're usually competitive at initial samples than many of the big houses too for essentially the same reason.
TylerE
The other big insight here is that often making 50 doesn't cost much more than making 1, as much of the cost will be in programming and setup charges, not actually running the part. Sheet steel is pretty cheap, too.
jdietrich
SendCutSend offer surprisingly inexpensive sheet metal parts in single quantities.
LMSolar
I am super late to mention this, but we use sendcutsend also, great results. For 3D work, was surprised not to see https://www.hubs.com/ mentioned - used to be 3DHubs. US and international multi-axis machining, 3d printing, etc. Quite helpful.
Beijinger
I have ordered stuff here: https://www.schaeffer-ag.de/en/
bruckie
OSH Cut (https://oshcut.com/) provides similar services. Their automated DFM analysis software is pretty impressive.
Perhaps more interesting to the audience here is that Caleb Chamberlain, the CEO (and a college acquaintance of mine), writes a series of articles about running the business for the trade publication The Fabricator. You can find them here: https://www.thefabricator.com/author/caleb-chamberlain. He covers both business (operations, strategy) and technical aspects of running a highly automated small job metal fabrication shop.
stevage
Whoa that looks really fun.
Great website, love the video demo of using the siet.
eitally
No, it wouldn't cost thousands. There are plenty of shops that specialize in prototypes and small pilot runs and there's nothing complicated about the design or material of this product.
rtsang1
It looks like off the shelf electronics with custom sheet metal parts.
Are far as low volume prototyping goes, sheet metal is as cost efficient as it gets for large metal parts. If you're sourcing from China, I'd estimate 500 bucks per prototype (with two sets in case one breaks).
sizzle
Isn’t this the perfect type of project/product for Kickstarter?
serviceberry
Perfect in what sense? Kickstarter is useful if you're thinking of doing something capital-intensive and need money and customers beforehand. This comes with downsides: deadlines, shipping, cranky customers, etc.
This is a hobby project and there's nothing to suggest that the author wants to get in the business of selling toasters for a living... or that it would be wise for them to do so.
michaelmior
> sending his designs out
sending her designs out
josephwegner
Thank you. It's too late to edit, but goodness am I embarrassed now. Very sorry, Kasey!
null
cogman10
The target, though, is particularly bad.
My parents literally have a toaster from the 70s that they still use. I have a toaster I bought 20 years ago. Toasters (usually) don't have e-waste. They are incredibly simple machines that are easy to buy without so much as a single diode. That's because they are really simply just a box with heating elements.
If you want to battle e-waste like the article suggests, maybe pick a product that doesn't already have a 50-year service life without the need for repairs.
hatthew
Modern toasters are generally way less reliable than older toasters. I think it is very difficult to buy a new toaster today that you can be confident will have a 50-year lifespan.
Suppafly
>Modern toasters are generally way less reliable than older toasters. I think it is very difficult to buy a new toaster today that you can be confident will have a 50-year lifespan.
On the flip side, modern toasters cost $10 and last nearly as long. Not everything needs to last forever, but I've never had a modern toaster wear out. You only think the old ones were reliable because they cost enough that people would pay to have them repaired. That and a huge helping of survivorship bias.
turnsout
Also true, but how many people are buying toasters in 2025? I would bet that air fryers and toaster ovens outsell toasters 10:1.
Still, I think this is a great portfolio piece. The designer should keep going, and amass a little collection of simple repairable appliances.
yitchelle
While not discrediting your observation, what would be an example that could be investigated by a small team?
I was thinking about an electronic toothbrush, or a kettle?
cogman10
Definitely something with parts that fall. I wouldn't do a kettle because those are toaster simple.
An electric toothbrush would be good. There are a few parts that could fall, the battery in particular.
nicbou
If you want to battle e-waste, buy a used toaster.
berkes
Another -often overlooked- benefit of buying used appliances, is that they have proven to be sturdy, and/or repairable.
Cheap temu-junk doesn't end up in thrift stores. Or, if it does, is easily filtered out. If I see a toaster that looks well used and/or aged, I can be certain it has at least proven to last a while and actual use.
It's also why I buy refurbished washing machine, refridgerators, etc: a refurbisher commonly won't refurbish stuff that's hard to repair: their economics prefer stuff that's sturdy, easy and cheap to repair. Win win win.
protocolture
I can walk and quibble about economics at the same time.
aaron695
[dead]
an_aparallel
How do you give out a mains powered toaster with assembly instructions just like that?
My experience with diy electronics is that most kit designers are super wary of even giving instruction on mains anything...so as not to be held liable.
nancyminusone
The British used to sell appliances without the plug attached - it was just bare wires. Buying the plug separately and knowing how to attach it was just a basic skill you were expected to know.
Not sure what changed, as I understand it they don't really do that anymore.
pjc50
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/1768/made mandates that appliances must be sold with the plug attached. Apparently moulded-on plugs aren't mandated, but seem to be the default now.
nickcw
After going through all the appliances in my Grandad's house and re-wiring them to have the correct mains plug pinout I can understand the reason for that law!
It is actually quite difficult to wire up a UK mains plug really well!
WWLink
I remember the mr bean skit where he buys a tv and jams the cord into the plug and somehow this works LOL.
I didn't realize they sold them that way intentionally!
jdietrich
It wasn't uncommon for people to just jam wires into the outlet in a pinch, to the extent that public service announcements warned against it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH0Kxjx0sEM
Britain had two common standards for electrical outlets (BS 1363 and the older BS 546) plus a few less-common proprietary types. BS 1363 became the preferred standard for new installations in 1947, but the other types remained fairly common for decades. Appliances were not required to be supplied with a fitted plug until 1994, by which time BS 1363 had become dominant (if not quite ubiquitous).
Terr_
> The British used to sell appliances without the plug attached - it was just bare wires. Buying the plug separately and knowing how to attach it was just a basic skill you were expected to know.
I'm having flashbacks to moving back to the US from the UK-o-sphere, and re-splicing plugs for appliances that supported both voltages.
gweinberg
My understanding is that selling appliances without plugs was done to make work for the electronic shops. People attaching their own plugs would seem to defeat the purpose.
andrelaszlo
Flashbacks to my ex's dad drilling the "missing" holes in his Ikea computer desk (pieces in the wrong place) makes me wonder if consumers are ready for DIY electronics. Love the concept and industrial look of it though.
FerretFred
Maybe a toaster made up of modular parts fitting together like Lego? They'd only fit one way so as to avoid assembly errors. Modular construction means that failing parts could be easily replaced.
andrelaszlo
That sounds like a really cool way to get both safety and maintainability!
null
debacle
You could make a USB toaster, it would just take a lot longer...
analog31
Just cook the toast from the flames of the battery.
makeitdouble
With 240W power delivery now available, you'd just need 6 ports to get near max allowed power.
NBJack
Nonsense. We just need...about 10-15 USB-C laptop charging blocks rated at 100W each. I'm sure can find a 1:10 USB charge splitter (heck, maybe we just need to get creative with a few 1:4s) on Temu.
What could possibly go wrong?
alnwlsn
Or, in the pre-USB-PD days, you do this[0]. Only 30 USB ports required. I swear I remember this being a toaster instead of a hot plate, but I guess you would need around 300 USB ports for a toaster.
[0] https://hackaday.com/2022/12/01/throwback-usb-hotplate-used-...
debacle
For starters, that USB splitter would be single use, assuming it didn't melt before your toast was done.
xp84
Brilliant comments like this make me miss Slashdot moderation. +5, Funny
mikepurvis
I have the same $30 no-name toaster that my now-ex purchased shortly after we were married in 2010. I open it up every few years to deep clean the crumbs, and I've changed the cord twice. Thing is an absolute tank.
I try to be a BIFL type of person and am willing to pay a premium for items that will last. Occasionally I hit up against something like this toaster, though, which runs completely counter to my expectations of what makes an indestructible kitchen appliance.
nemomarx
How hard is replacing the cord? That seems like it goes a long way to extending the life already, though.
dmoy
Replacing: usually not hard. Open the thing, unscrew the things holding the ends of the wire on, remove old cord, put new cord's wires in, screw down, close thing back up.
(Often "open the thing" and "close the thing" are the hardest - modern devices with plastic clipped on plastic and needing delicate shimming to pry stuff open)
Depending on the level of fix you're going for and where the break is, it can be anywhere from very simple and a few minutes, to much more involved.
If the break is actually at the plug end, you can often pop off the plug housing, trim the wire back, and do basically the same as above.
If the break is in the middle of the cord and you're not squeamish about the final fix having electrical tape on bare wire, then cut, strip, twist, tape, and ... don't fuck it up?
account42
> If the break is actually at the plug end, you can often pop off the plug housing, trim the wire back, and do basically the same as above.
I haven't seen a plug that can be opened in ages.
dmoy
I would also personally not do this with an American ungrounded toaster, even though I have an EE degree and have done a lot of wire stripping, re-assembling wires, electrical tape, soldering, etc stuff.
A new toaster is cheap. House fires are not.
brudgers
With experience, there is nothing hard about changing a cord.
Without experience, it is harder. Removing the strain release requires mechanical sympathy; desoldering/soldering requires soldering skill; etc.
If it was your job, you’d pick it up in a day or few. If it is not your job, the learning curve is spread across the time between jobs and there’s relearning if the jobs are infrequent.
jjice
The concept of things like this is excellent, and I don't think that even at massive scale that you could get the average consumer to go along with it, unfortunately. Even if this thing is 30% more expensive than a non-repairable toaster, I bet many consumers would pick the cheaper one, despite it probably not being the long term financially optimal decision. There are valid reasons for it, but even people with means would skip over this, I'd imagine.
I know so many people in my life that can afford the better quality version of something, but instead opt for the cheaper, shittier version. When the shitty one dies, they get a new shitty one. I think it comes down to the short term impact of cost,which is a valid choice if the cost is the main constraint currently, but I repeatedly see this even in cases where the additional cost isn't an issue.
My ranting aside, this is an incredibly cool project and I'd love things like this in my life. Partially for the fact it's repairable and better for the environment, but partially because it's just neat to have a modular version of your household appliances.
modriano
> Even if this thing is 30% more expensive than a non-repairable toaster, I bet many consumers would pick the cheaper one, despite it probably not being the long term financially optimal decision.
Toasters are so cheap that I can't imagine repairing them could be cost effective (ie "financially optimal") unless you assign no value to your time. A new, good-enough toaster costs in the ballpark of $30. I love taking things apart and fixing them, but if the repair involves figuring out the part I have to order or soldering anything, it will take far more than $30 of my time.
This kind of project is for people who love to tinker. The economics do not make sense.
MrDrMcCoy
Repairability is not necessarily a factor here. A better toaster may need less repair over its lifetime, and thus be more cost effective over its lifetime than a cheaper toaster that will break sooner and probably make worse toast while it works.
Tangentially related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
jklowden
If the economics make no sense, it’s only because the economics do not account for the cost to the environment. If the retail cost included reclamation, so that there was no waste at all, this kind of toaster would be the cheapest.
8bitsrule
>I know so many people in my life that can afford the better quality version of something, but instead opt for the cheaper, shittier version. When the shitty one dies, they get a new shitty one.
Where I once lived in the midwest this was called the 'Kame-apart mentality'.
But I don't why this toaster can't cost more or less the same, and it comes with that non-purchasable accessory, bragging rights.
Waterluvian
The problem as I see it is that 99% of toaster owners don’t know where to find the parts in this toaster and/or how to replace them.
That’s where I’d love to see more experimentation.
There’s a maker space in my old town where you can just take stuff and they’ll nerd out over helping you fix it. I wish there was that, but in a store format.
I want to live in a world where it’s just common parlance to say, “my toaster broke so I have to stop at the FixIt on my way home.
Yes yes, fixing it is too expensive to support this business model. I want to dream, okay?! Maybe a toaster like this makes it much more reasonable for cheaper appliances to be fixed by the summer student from high school who will learn invaluable skills for $15/hr. I would have killed to make min wage taking apart and doing basic repairs on stuff.
I mentor high school students who can CAD and fabricate plastic and metal parts. Surely we could fabricate more young people like that too.
atrus
I've toyed around with a similar idea. A pizza shop style manufacturing/fixit hub that would pick up and deliver locally manufactured items like that.
I even think that repairing items at a loss could work out, because you'd get valuable customer data on what items they used enough to break, and what parts broke, giving you an insight to make your own product lines that didn't break in that way.
camwhite
I love this because it is making a practical, everyday item more accessible.
I know the toaster is not explicitly open source but I've been lamenting the fact that such an incredible amount of energy is spent making things more accessible but most of those things are not what 'normal people' actually need.
For example I think there is a greater need for more open source couches, bikes, houses, clothing, etc than the need for, say, software that helps us coordinate containerized web infrastructure (from a social good perspective)
robertfrank
I don’t mean this in an overly judgmental way, but how much utility is there to open source physical objects for most people if they don’t also include some sort of cost benefit? What’s the utility of an open source t-shirt you can make for $30 when a 5 pack of shirts from Walmart is $10? I like the idea in concept, but how does a normal person implement open source physical good production?
rnewme
Companies pick it up and start selling the open source product. Since it's open anyone can fix it, modify it, upgrade it etc. Prices go down, both for devices and parts. Even if no new parts are available you still have giant used market.
jacknews
Look at say washing machines.
How many different models/brands are on the market?
I estimate many hundreds, if not thousands.
Each model/brand comes with some degree of custom design and engineering, documentation, etc, etc. All for fragmented production runs, all to try to gain proprietary advantage.
Why do we need so many? We really don't actually, maybe just a dozen or two to address various niches.
If companies just picked up an open source design (which would be constantly improving, just as with software), they could save many of those costs, and potentially even more by scaling up volume of production.
account42
Often the perfect item for you is not available at all. An open source version would allow you to modify the design to your specific needs and likes.
johntitorjr
Agreed on the social good of open source everyday items. I'd love to go to a build-it-yourself store/workshop where they have tools, materials, experts, and open source designs available.
The social good of open source software is at an inflection point. Stallman has always been right, but for decades it's been an 'yeah, but so what' situation. In today's consumer tech, surveillance is pervasive and manipulation getting more effective. Of course, that's only a problem if we lived in a fascist state where the government could force companies to work against our interests. Or lived in a network state run by a software company.
The only prudent options are moving to open source SW infrastructure running on personally controlled HW, or moving to an off-grid cabin in the woods. I'm incredibly grateful to the folks that create software like immich and jellyfin that allow me to degoogle w/o losing capabilities that I've come to rely on.
hinkley
The thing is with something like this, if you're clever with the design you could make a device that packs flat, but isn't entirely flat.
So imagine you make the depth of the toaster greater than the height (easy with those feet). You put a quarter inch radius on the top plate, make the front and back plate a half an inch shorter so they nest inside the top plate in the box. And in fact if you put locking tabs on the two plates to keep the front from oil canning, those would also fit in if you flip the plates the right way 'round in the box.
You can tell from the bolts in the picture that there are already right angle bends in the sheet metal. So they're already using the third dimension just not with as much flair.
cosmic_cheese
I had similar thoughts. It’s already quite handsome for a project of this nature but there’s still a lot of low hanging fruit for aesthetic improvement without negatively impacting other aspects.
unraveller
it's not just aesthetic, you don't want to encourage misuse with a large flat top surface to place things on.
hinkley
I didn't even think about that. But when I started reading your response I had a sudden flash of cutting my forehead with a falling can of beans and suddenly wishing that cans weren't so sharp.
Sharp edges on appliances aren't that good either.
rssoconnor
Can someone draw what hinkley is talking about?
hinkley
I tried to find pictures of boxes with rounded corners and they're all rounded on the vertical corners, like a box of mints. Or the polar opposite of a bread box with a lid with a >4" radius of curvature on the lid.
But look at the lid on a metal tin. The lip around the edge is often not a perfectly sharp bend. There's a small radius to it. So imagine the 'lid' was a single piece and the other sides were flat pieces that bolt together. If you size the pieces right they should fit into the 'lid'.
nancyminusone
On the subject of toasters, if you want one that lasts then grab an old toastmaster or Sunbeam (the kind with the chrome sides) and spend a weekend doing a deep clean. They are held together with screws, not bent over tabs. You might be up against decades of baked on grease, so you'll have to break out the sodium hydroxide. You should probably replace the asbestos cord with a rubber one too. The toaster will then last the remainder of your life.
The main downside is that the slots are usually to narrow for bagels.
There aren't any infinite number of old toasters out there, but there's enough out there for everyone who wants to do the above.
thangalin
Technology Connections' review:
hobs
If you want that specific toaster (not a generic one, but the automatic one) its going to cost you north of 250 bucks last time I checked.
thangalin
> cost you north of 250 bucks
Shop around? eBay had at least five automatic ones for sale for less than $250 CAD:
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=sunbeam+automatic+toaste...
Kijiji had one for $35 CAD:
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-toasters-toaster-oven/winnipeg/sunbe...
Shopping for vintage automatic Sunbeams lists dozens more, well below $250 USD:
https://www.google.com/search?num=10&q=sunbeam+automatic+toa...
Washuu
I bought my Sunbeam in 2022 for $44, brand new. The secret is to buy them in Japan off the flea market sites. Apparently in my case the owner bought it have around as a piece of Americana. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
cogman10
Have you ever had one fail? Mine is the $10 plastic special from 20 years ago still toasting it's heart out.
The simpler a toaster is, the more likely it is to have eternal life. If you can buy a modern toaster that's just the knob and levers (no digital controls or whatever) then there's really no reason it won't last decades.
midnightclubbed
Tempting fate here but I don’t see any reason why my cheapo spring loaded toaster won’t give me another 10 years of life. There’s nothing to go wrong if used correctly.
Back when I was a kid in the 80s toasters would break because we shoved in hacked up pieces of bread or bagels where the food touched the elements and caught fire. And knives were poked inside to extract burnt remains from the heating elements.
I was shocked to see there are toasters with motorized lifting mechanisms. Is there any practical reason why this is better than a spring?
qiqitori
Actually toasters need to be able to switch off a huge current, which causes arcing. This arcing may slowly burn the PCB and desolder the metal contact mounted on the PCB. At least that's what happened with my last toaster after >5 years. Repaired it once, then after a year it broke again, but this time the PCB through hole was severely burned and it wasn't trivially fixable anymore.
Motorized mechanisms... hmm. Well, sometimes toasters pop up toasts too hard making them land on the floor.
masklinn
> there any practical reason why this is better than a spring?
Depends what you mean by “practical”. Motorised avoid the jump scare and don’t risk launching light pieces out of the toaster.
I’d also assume (but don’t know as I’ve never been much of a toaster person) they can have a longer movement range and limit crumbing through lower acceleration stress.
AyyEye
> Is there any practical reason why this is better than a spring?
People are propagandized to pay more money for them, then do it again when they break.
hondo77
I bought one from 1965 last year. Got it cheap on eBay. Seller said it didn't work. Seller just didn't know how to turn the knob on the side. I have to buy bread that isn't as wide as I was getting but it's totally worth it. Perfect toast every time.
convolvatron
got a 1930s toastmaster single slice for $30 on eBay. new carbon switch contacts, new nichrome wire, new cord. functions great and really looks nice. there are a lot of broken toasters in the world.
jkestner
Even other more complex appliances get tossed too easily. My spouse’s desire to get rid of our 15yo microwave was replaced a while ago by the satisfaction of being able to keep it going. I’ve fixed it twice with a few bucks of parts (waveguide cover, door switch).
slyall
When I was a kid we had an two-slice electric "Side door Toaster" when we stayed in our caravan on holiday.
It had two spring-loaded fold-up doors on each side which you put the toast on. Then they folder vertically to put the toast near the elements. Half way through you pulled down the doors, flipped the slices over and toasted the other half.
https://www.ronebergcairns.com/2006onwards/home06_026.html
Probably easier to construct that a pop-up
someothherguyy
common to see that in conveyor toasters as well
There's a video.[1]
- Toast is toasted on one end, un-toasted at the other.
- Control is just a timer, so the second time you use it twice in succession it will be hot at the start and will need a shorter time, which you have to figure out.
Check out the Sunbeam Radiant Control Toaster (1949-1980), which is still considered the peak of toaster design.[2] It's repairable, too. Now replicating that would be a good project.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKbUNDPXCWk
[2] https://www.theverge.com/22801890/sunbeam-radiant-control-to...