I find this a bit bizarre. I've only taken a few toasters apart in the 90s, but they were examples of fairly complex control systems then. They didn't use timers or thermometers directly, but instead modeled the "toast" as a physical thermal element that was heated by the coil current, isolated on long wires, and cooled by ambient temperature (like little analog computer). You'll notice that the second time you toast is faster than the first, because the toaster/elements are already hot. Those thermo-mechanical elements were cheaper and more reliable than some digital IC in the 90s.<p>Likely current super modern $200 toasters use timers and thermometers along with numerical models (some use cameras) to brown your toast, but I don't think they're dumb. The power put into the element (the voltage, current, resistance) can be measured at 2 points, along with air temperature in the toaster or even radiant heat sensors for the toast surface and can all be combined into a Kalman or StateSpace estimator for the toast surface temp and radiant power cooking it.<p>I don't know that the toast is that much better (for the price) now and they just have different failure modes. I love the old toaster technology (especially the auto rising toast!), but they're far from perfect and were quite expensive in their own time. Be really careful when cleaning them!<p>p.s. the video is the only interesting part of the article.
Toasters (and other small appliances) like this still exist today, buy commercial/restaurant grade products <a href="https://www.waringcommercialproducts.com/p/1j5eb/medium-duty-4-slot-toaster" rel="nofollow">https://www.waringcommercialproducts.com/p/1j5eb/medium-duty...</a><p>Otoh most people _don't_ want to spend $260 (and taxes) on a toaster, and there lies the problem
People get irrational over this kind of products where all control of the outcome has been ceded to the product designer. I don't. To me, this is the kind of product that disrespects the user by not even giving the user any (literally) knobs and controls to customize things. Especially on something as personal as food.<p>I'm at least glad that the author describes the failings of the toaster and says it only works "most of the time".
I wish people would stop talking about this sort of thing. It is driving the price up! It is truly impressive to have toast knowing that everything is being handled mechanically.
> and it’s got a mechanical thermostat inside that stops your bread toasting when it’s toasted and ready, NOT after some arbitrary amount of time<p>What exactly does "toasted and ready" mean? Modern toasters have timers and "a bit more" buttons because people have different preferences. That isn't a design flaw.
Toasters are a waste of counter space. Just toast your bread under the broiler of your oven. Sure, you have to flip the bread, but you can do a whole bunch at one time if you're making lots of toast.<p>You might think "Gee, that's a waste of electricity" using an entire oven to make toast. Where I live, electricity is under $0.15/kwh. It takes about 3 minutes to toast bread on both sides. That works out to about $0.0105 to make toast. If a toaster costs $20, it would take me about 1904 uses of the toaster to pay for itself, not including the electricity the toaster uses. And that's assuming I'm only make the number of slices the toaster can handle (say, 2 or 4?) and not more in the oven.
I have a dualit toaster still made in UK and high quality, easy to replace components and manual lever but it was pricey and def not as advanced as this old toaster but analog is best to control how you want your bread
Mentioned in the video, but worth repeating. This one like many old appliances is ungrounded. What's wrong in this video is the suggestion to rely on neutral for ground. Neutral is <i>not</i> ground and shouldn't be relied on for electrical exposure safety. Not mentioned is the condition of the interior steel's plating. The galvanizing (at least zinc) and chrome are separating from the base metal in areas through oxidization and abrasion.<p>The design risks have value and are worth preserving, but "this device predates safety" is a real factor to bear in mind.
Mitsubishi makes a really incredible toaster for Japanese markets called TO-ST1-T (colloquially known as “The Toasty”). It only toasts a single piece of bread but it is adjustable for bread thickness and doneness, and is incredibly consistent in making a very thin and uniform layer of toasted bread with the inside remaining fluffy and moist. I can’t go back to making toast in a normal machine.<p>If you decide to splurge on this toaster be aware that you also need a step down power transformer for USA that outputs 100V (domestic Japan power supply).
This toaster is awesome but it really doesn’t fit anything but thin sliced bread. Modern toasters accommodate bagels (yes good bagels should not be toasted) English muffins, and so on. I really wanted one of these about a year ago but after seeing the slot size, decided to just get a new one each time my old one can’t be fixed.
I don't have a Sunbeam toaster, but I do have a Sunbeam CG-1 waffle iron, which I use routinely. I have an even older W-2, but it no longer works right. Sunbeam was once the king of the home appliance business.
> The Sunbeam T-20 reportedly retailed for over $22.50 brand new back in 1949. That’s $260 in today’s money<p>When people talk about appliances today being built with deliberate "planned obsolescence" (ie, designed to fail within 2 years so you have to buy another one), I like to point the above out.<p>I don't think modern cheap design is a deliberately malicious move being done to make more money. I think it's a consequence of consumers being short-sighted and VERY price-sensitive. Most consumers, when they go to Walmart to buy, say, a blender, might see the $19 Mainstays (Walmart's own brand), $30 Hamilton Beach, and $100 Ninja, and will opt for the Mainstays that will die in a year of moderate use, rather than the HB that will last 3-5 years.<p>But back to my original point, because of price sensitivity of consumers, capitalist competition creates a race to the bottom on prices, and quality suffers as a result. I don't think it's part of a sinister plan to make you buy a new one every year. And for the people that are willing to pay for the higher quality, good brands still exist. For your blender, that's probably going to be Vitamix or Blendtec.
It's smarter in the sense that it's a more elegant design that produces a result from fewer and simpler parts, not because it has a bigger brain than one with a computer in it.<p>The fewer & simpler parts isn't just a win for the manufacturer although all manufacturers are always striving for that.<p>A dumb piece of wire if it does the job, is far smarter and more valuable to the end user than something unnecessarily complex and delicate that will die from something as silly as static or a leaking cap or a fall or a spill or a hot day.<p>Companies produce new products with computers in them not because it's needed or better, but simply because it sells. In a capitalist environment, they must always be making something new and appealing, and it really doesn't matter what defines "new" or "appealing" at any given time.
2024 will be the year when someone will make an “ai” toaster. Potentially someone will claim we risk being annihilated by it. Wouldnt be surprised if someone defended its rights.
Add to the list: Kirby vacuums, Craftsman tools, Kitchenaid mixers. Still using my grandparent's heirlooms from the 60s/70s for all of those.<p>All strictly better than anything you can buy for any price today. So many things have improved since then, but basic consumer goods have almost entirely degraded to worthless crap.