Vintage gravity toaster

[quebecois]

Hey all! First post on this forum. I'd like to know if any of you has already tried to fix an old gravity toaster? What are the common flaws and what are the ways to fix them? A friend of mine asked me to help her with this but I'm a bit reluctant because I know nothing about them.

This said, I'm a bit handy , I've fixed old Elux vacuum cleaners for a few years, I doubt toasters will be more complicated.

 

[sudsmaster]

What's a gravity toaster?

 

And why are we trying to toast one of the four fundamental forces of the universe?

 

[rp2813]

Could this be a self-lowering Sunbeam toaster?  If so, they can be finicky.  I recently contributed two fussy ones to my sister's neighborhood association rummage sale (which has been postponed indefinitely due to current circumstances).

 

[quebecois]

Ralph

Yes, this is what I mean, self-lowering toaster. I don't know if Sunbeam is the only company that sold some, but if others did, they should share similar components, I guess.

What do you exactly mean by finicky? Have you ever fixed one?

 

[ea56]

Yes Ralph, thats what I thought the OP was referring to as a “gravity toaster”.  These Sunbeam Radiant Control toasters work great, until they don’t, and then they are very temperamental and perplexing.  

 

We had one that I bought at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in about 2006 that we used exclusively until just about a year ago.  Then it just stopped being dependable and all the tweaking I tried suggested from searching You Tube failed to get it back to working as it should have, so I donated it to charity, perhaps someone else will have better luck.

 

I finally replaced it with a Dualit after trying many other toasters, and I wish I’d found this Dualit first.  This toaster is excellent, and gives the user complete control of the toasting time, worth every penny that they cost.

 

Eddie

 

[rp2813]

No, I have never attempted to fix one.  That is a can of worms I chose to leave alone.  I did have one repaired by long-gone California Electric many years ago and it still works fine, but it's boxed up (see my closing statement below).   As far as I know, Sunbeam was the only source for these self-lowering radiant control toasters.

 

The issue I had with all of mine was refusal to lower the bread.  It may be a simple component that facilitates this, but it is definitely a weak link that was carried though every iteration of this toaster that Sunbeam produced over the decades.

 

By the way, when these toasters do work properly, they do a fantastic job and seem to understand that if the bread isn't quite toasted enough, by adjusting the shading control and lowering the bread again they will toast just a little more rather than going through another full cycle and burning the bread. 

 

That said, my experience has been that these toasters are best at handling plain white bread.  Anything else and all bets are off with regard to perfect toast.

 

[quebecois]

I just found and watched a video showing how they actually work, it's an amazing design!



there is another 48 minutes or so video on how to fix them, I haven't had time to watch it but here it is:

 

[rp2813]

Hands-free is a bit of a stretch IMO.

 

[DADoES]

 
The paternal grandparents had one.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

There were other self-lowering toasters produced. Toastmaster Super De lux toaster for one.

 

[jamiel]

The Toastmaster was what existed in our family---both grandparents and my mom all had the identical two-slice one as pictured.

 

[petek]

I have two or 3 of them and iirc only one works properly.. Haven't used them in years.. I recall Cuisinart selling one a few years ago but had a motorized mechanism I believe.. Not sure if it's still available.. Cuisinart occasionally re introduces a copy of an old 60's or 70s appliance like the Salad Shooter and the GE toaster oven

 

[countryguy]

I have the Sunbeam and the newer Cuisinart self lowering...both work pretty good.

Gary

 

[wayupnorth]

My kitchen has a cathedral ceiling so on top of the cabinets I have my aunts old Toastmaster Automatic, along with a beehive Osterizer, Crosley dashboard am radio, 60's Can o matic, and even a set of poppy promotional Frigidaire canisters and more stuff. I only have a stupid cell phone that might get a signal if you're lucky to be able to send a picture.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Wow Tim. Would had been nice to see your collection.

 

[sudsmaster]

Sounds like more trouble than they're worth.

 

I mean, how hard is it to push down a lever to lower the bread into the slots?

 

 

 

[lowefficiency]

>> Could this be a self-lowering Sunbeam toaster? If so, they can be finicky. I recently contributed two fussy
>> ones to my sister's neighborhood association rummage sale (which has been postponed indefinitely due to
>> current circumstances).

Ralph, if your sister still has them, and you'd be willing to ship those Sunbeams, I'd be interested in purchasing them from you.

We're getting tired of heating our house up toasting bread in the convection oven, and haven't found a modern toaster that speaks to us yet. Seems like it would be worth a shot to see if I could repair yours, or make one out of the two.

Let me know... (Thanks)

 

[rp2813]

Dave, I don't know where those toasters might be at this point, but I'll inquire and advise if they can be retrieved.

 

They are both the later type with color coded sliding darkness control on the front rather than the small black knob on the side.

 

[gizmo]

Sunbeam AT35

I have one of these, an early one with the dial control. It's a 240 volt one made in Australia. It uses 1600 watts which is pretty fierce for 2 slices. I love it but don't use it much. I don't know if the 110 volt US ones are as fierce?

It heats the toast up FAST because the elements are so powerful. This is fine if you use normal sliced supermarket bread, but if you like thicker slices, it becomes a problem - 1. The slots are narrow so thicker slices don't fit, or jam in the slot. 2. The elements burn so bright that thick sliced toast is cooked on the outside before the inside is hot.
The other observation is that the inner standard type element (between the slots) runs hotter than the outer, spiral wound elements, so the toast is always darker on one face than the other. I suspect that when new the outer reflectors were more shiny, but with age they don't reflect as much heat onto the bread.

The slots aren't very deep either, so if you like interesting high-top bread, it sticks out the top. They really are engineered to boring supermarket bread. (Designed by engineers not foodies...)

One strange way that the ferocious heating becomes an advantage is with hard-to-toast bread. I have to eat gluten free now, and GF bread seems to take a lot of toasting. the Sunbeam is up to the job. On our 800 watt Kenwood toaster, the GF bread takes ages and often needs a second go. On the Sunbeam it turns out fine and fast, though darker on one face than the other.

I think they are a fun novelty but in reality not a great toaster.

I also have a Dualit that I salvaged and repaired, and I hate it. Narrow slots, erratic clockwork timer gives erratic results. But I have never tried it for GF bread - it may actually be perfect for that job...