
How to design a good toaster with lessons from the 1940s [video] - CaliforniaKarl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLk1cjZ4ll0
======
beloch
This classic toaster design was not without it's deficiencies. The raising
mechanism was far too slow and the bimetallic strip had a tendency to get
blocked with crumbs, etc., causing unexpectedly variable toasting. There is
certainly some elegant engineering on display, but most people would probably
not want to deal with this toaster on a daily basis.

That being said, today's toasters have their own problems. Most simply aren't
built to last. My previous toaster had a mechanical lever to lower the toast
and engage the heating elements, latched down with a timed release with a nice
digital display. The timer was, unfortunately, a relatively cheap part that
was fried one day, likely by heat or a voltage spike. After that happened, the
toaster would only toast if you _held the lever down_.

I do get the feeling that a lot of people are starting to place more and more
value on reliability. Most of us don't want appliances that randomly fail
after a year or two. The trouble is that it's bloody hard to tell if a given
"premium" toaster with "excellent build quality" has an Achilles heel like the
timer in my departed toaster. You just can't tell if a toaster will last based
on its price, marketing buzz-words, heft, etc..

To manufacturer's, the trick seems to be to keep customers coming back without
taking them out of the market with a product that simply lasts. Their ideal
toaster is one that reviewers will say is "built like a tank" and "should last
generations", but has a hidden flaw that bricks it after a couple of years.

~~~
AmericanChopper
For a lot of appliances, there are brands that are known to last for years.
The only problem is that you get what you pay for, so they tend to be rather
expensive.

~~~
jbotz
Give us some examples. OK, I'll start... Vacuums: Miele. I don't think Miele
vacuums are quite as reliable as they used to be, but they are still (with
some success) being marketed that way. What other brands for appliances
("white goods")..?

~~~
colinb
Our Dualit two slice toaster is ~15 years old. It has a touch of Trigger's
Broom because I've replaced the central heating elements once, and will do the
same with the side elements soon. I know Dualit sell replacements for the
timer mechanism though ours has been fine so far.

I would like a toaster that could handle thicker slices. But I quite like
having a toaster that has survived three house moves, two children, a lot of
floating cat hair, and generally rough treatment, and doesn't have a visible
scratch. I think they must make them from old battleship armor.

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sandworm101
No. I once owned one of those toasters. That automatic up-and-down bread
feature worked for maybe a day. The it gets stuck and I have to extract the
break with a fork. Maybe it works for wonderbread slices in the studio. It
doesn't work for my bagel in my kitchen.

Really care about toast? Don't let the machine do the thinking for you. Pop
the toast up when YOU know it's done. But to do that you will need _any other
toaster_ than those with the automatic up-and-down feature. Half the time I
ended up unplugging the thing and shaking the toast out.

~~~
cpcallen
It's true they don't work so well with bagels, as bagels are thick, but there
is an adjustment screw on the bottom which can normally solve any problem with
regular toast not coming back up again.

~~~
tssva
In their defense toasting bagels was not a feature in wide spread demand at
the time these were made.

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dang
The previous video on this got a big discussion last year:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21164014](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21164014)

------
puranjay
> Toast has become my jam, and jam is what I put on toast

I love this guy. Probably my favorite tech YouTuber

~~~
Jaygles
His cheesy joke delivery has gotten fantastic over the years. It was a bit
rough in his early videos but it just goes to show how anything can be
improved with practice.

------
stickfigure
I grew up with one of these, and then lived for several years with another (by
way of a roommate). These things inevitably revert to one of two failure
modes:

1) The toast does not go down, despite banging the toast up and down like a
basketball.

2) The toast does not come up, so you have to dig it out with a knife or a
fork.

There's an adjuster screw for #1, but it's a finicky analog adjustment. I
already pick banjo, I don't want to have to retune my toaster on the same
schedule.

#2 is probably just due to the undersized holes and necessarily weak spring
action.

------
downrightmike
This guy makes great videos on tech. Look at his video on the RCA CED system,
because RCA actually made a flux capacitor.

------
folmar
Side note: if you get a new cheap toaster from the shop it will have an
integrated toaster controller IC. And the functions defrost/reheat which are
sold at premium are in all ICs, only the buttons are missing in the cheap
ones.

