fan-of-fans
Well-known member
I have been collecting some of the newer toasters I find interesting, most of which I've gotten from eBay.
So far I've gotten a KitchenAid Architect 4 slice, a Kenmore Elite long slot toaster, and a Cuisinart 4 slice.
All of these have motorized carriages, so you press a button to lower the toast, and when the time is elapsed, it raises the items. The KitchenAid and Cuisinart show bars to indicate how much time is remaining, whereas the Kenmore has a minute/second countdown timer.
The KitchenAid and Cuisinart have two individual settings and start/stop buttons, one for each set of slots. The Kenmore has only two slots with one set of controls, but they are long slots, so each will take two pieces, for a total of four slices. There is a button that will shut off the elements on the rear slot so you can just use the front slot. It also has a cord rewinder.
I have noticed KitchenAid also had the Artisan model which actually lowers automatically when the items are inserted, but I haven't found any used ones for sale that weren't ridiculously expensive.
I didn't pay much for any of these toasters, especially given they are just modern electronic stuff made in China. But I still find them interesting and if they last long enough, I could see them being collectible someday.
The KitchenAid I am rather disappointed in the performance of. For some reason the elements don't actually glow red, so it takes a very long time to brown at all and tends to dry out the bread. From what I have seen that is typical of this model. No idea what they were thinking!
So far I've gotten a KitchenAid Architect 4 slice, a Kenmore Elite long slot toaster, and a Cuisinart 4 slice.
All of these have motorized carriages, so you press a button to lower the toast, and when the time is elapsed, it raises the items. The KitchenAid and Cuisinart show bars to indicate how much time is remaining, whereas the Kenmore has a minute/second countdown timer.
The KitchenAid and Cuisinart have two individual settings and start/stop buttons, one for each set of slots. The Kenmore has only two slots with one set of controls, but they are long slots, so each will take two pieces, for a total of four slices. There is a button that will shut off the elements on the rear slot so you can just use the front slot. It also has a cord rewinder.
I have noticed KitchenAid also had the Artisan model which actually lowers automatically when the items are inserted, but I haven't found any used ones for sale that weren't ridiculously expensive.
I didn't pay much for any of these toasters, especially given they are just modern electronic stuff made in China. But I still find them interesting and if they last long enough, I could see them being collectible someday.
The KitchenAid I am rather disappointed in the performance of. For some reason the elements don't actually glow red, so it takes a very long time to brown at all and tends to dry out the bread. From what I have seen that is typical of this model. No idea what they were thinking!
