
The Classic Sunbeam Radiant Control Toaster (2006) - CraneWorm
http://automaticbeyondbelief.com/
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Jaepa
I’d technology connections did a 20 minute long episode on the mechanical
design of this toaster. I’d recommend it if you haven’t see it.

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y)

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JadeNB
Every video in that channel is pure gold. If you think you don't want to spend
20 minutes on a video about toasters, give it two, and you'll be hooked.

~~~
WrtCdEvrydy
The klaxxon one is pretty good.

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donw
It does seem that truly quality design has fallen on hard times in the
consumer market.

For example, I'm looking for a kettle with temperature control. All I want is
a kettle with a dial on it, that I can turn to set the appropriate
temperature. Maybe a button to control whether or not my kettle will maintain
that temperature once it has been reached.

No lights, no Star Trek control panel, just a kettle with a dial and a switch.

Has been impossible to find.

Appliances without needless lights are also very hard to come by. The modern
aesthetic seems to lie somewhere between "70's sci-fi spaceship" and "plastic
Christmas tree"

Doubly so for WiFi routers. Ugh.

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perl4ever
I don't understand the concept of a kettle with a dial on it, although I've
gathered it is common in some places other than the US. Is this mainly for
people who don't have an electric burner? I think I've encountered claims it
is faster, but heating water on the stove seems very quick to me and I don't
quite understand how the heat transfer could be much greater.

~~~
zrail
Standalone kettles are usually induction plates. They’re more efficient and
less dangerous than a typical stove.

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perl4ever
I am not clear that they are significantly more efficient. Note the bit below
"that varies widely depending on the type of pot or kettle you use".

[http://insideenergy.org/2016/02/23/boiling-water-
ieq/](http://insideenergy.org/2016/02/23/boiling-water-ieq/)

"An electric stovetop is about 70 percent efficient, although that varies
widely depending on the type of pot or kettle you use. Most of the energy is
lost heating the air around the stove. An electric teakettle is about 80
percent efficient, although again this varies from kettle to kettle. Electric
kettles are generally very well insulated, and the heating coils sit directly
in the water, so less heat is lost to the air. An induction stove or hot plate
is about 85 percent efficient. It creates an electromagnetic current directly
in a pot to generate heat, losing very little to the air."

[as a footnote, the above apparently implies that kettles are not necessarily
induction, and of course there are stovetops that _are_ induction]

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foobar1962
My family had one of these, and they works as magically as the article
suggests.

It died after a decade of use when a glass of water was accidentally tipped
into it, causing earth leaks. I threw it out and went to buy another only to
find they were nla. Alternatives, even expensive models, are primitive in
comparison.

I too wonder why all toasters aren’t made this way.

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foobar1962
Now I think about it, I was given this toaster when I moved out of home in
1981 -- it was already a couple of years old then. It lasted until the mid
2000s which was over 20 years. No wonder they don't make them any more.

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dang
Two related threads from the past year:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21164014](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21164014)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23363646](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23363646)

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maxerickson
I bought a toaster recently.

It's hard to relate exactly how I felt when I used it the first time and it
beeped at me.

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rswail
My father has one of these. Received as a wedding present in 1962, used daily
since. Aside from emptying crumbs, is in robust health (as is my father I'm
happy to say).

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yborg
Why is this not made anymore? I would buy it in a heartbeat!

~~~
krapht
It's built with old-fashioned materials and technology that are expensive to
duplicate and toxic to manufacture.

For some reason, vinyl records and safety razors have come back into fashion,
but your toaster hasn't.

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yborg
It is mostly constructed of stamped sheet metal and toasters to this day
primarily use nichrome heating elements. The lever arm mechanism is probably
the most difficult part, but I saw nothing in this construction that would be
toxic. The original design is ungrounded and wouldn't pass safety
certification, but there is even a linked video for how to modify the old
Sunbeams to use a 3-prong cord.

To me, the beauty of this design is that these toasters apparently work for
decades because they were well-designed to accommodate the tolerances of the
materials and construction methods and they are essentially purely mechanical.

There are a number of expensive automatic toasters available that utilize some
combination of sensor and motor to raise and lower bread. They all seem to
have mediocre reviews. I don't think these are necessarily inferior in design
to the 1950s Sunbeam, but unlike the appliances of that era they are built to
be disposable. A Chinese clone of a Sunbeam Automatic Toaster would also
probably be a failure because it would be built to maximize profit on a 2 year
lifespan...

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pengstrom
Why has no Chinese company made a clone? All the patents are expired.

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WrtCdEvrydy
It's expensive probably.

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adrusi
There are very expensive toasters on the market that do less than this.

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fmakunbound
I have this thing. It’s wonderful and has worked for decades

