Vintage gravity toaster

[maytagbear]

I wish!!!!

Currently, I am in a communal kitchen situation (more later), and the "toaster" is a dreadful conveyor thing. It burns one side and barely warms the other side of the slice. I am only exaggerating slightly. Perfect toast does happen, but more in a blue moon than any given Sunday, or Tuesday for that matter.

This is not a happy thing. When I was in my apartment, my breakfast was always peanut butter on toast. Golden, crisp, delicious toast..the perfect counterpoint to the creamy, robust Jif. Made in a Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster. "Automatic Beyond Belief."

Not a "perfect" device, but a very good one. It is important not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[lowefficiency]

Thanks Ralph, appreciate it!

 

[sudsmaster]

I've been rather pleased with the four slice KA pop up toaster I got about 10 years ago at Costco. It browns evenly, has a defrost setting (which actually works), and a time readout on a little LCD screen. I think it even beeps when it's done. I don't make a lot of toast but this one is a keeper. And sits on top of my french door Oster convection oven. And does a better job at toast.

 

 

 

[quebecois]

I got two toasters to fix (see pictures): one is a GE T-31-D with a cracked bottom; the other one is a Sunbeam T-40-1 in pretty good shape, but it doesn't work at all.

The GE toaster does work but doesn't stop toasting by itself. I think this is because the cracked bottom interfere with the thermostat slide. What would be the best glue to fix the bottom? Epoxy ?

As for the Sunbeam, I think the cord is the culprit, I'll dig in it soon and send pictures.

 

[turquoisedude]

The GE toaster most likely has a thermostat that needs to be adjusted which is why it won't stop toasting.  I have service literature on GE toasters of this era - I will find the pages and scan them for you. 

(PS - I drive through Waterloo every week on my way to and from Ogden!)

 

[quebecois]

Salut Paul !

I would be pleased to get some maintenance informations about the GE, thanks !

What glue would you use to fix it?

 

[rp2813]

I have gotten to the point where I use JB Weld to glue almost everything I want to remain glued, but in this case it would be important to immediately wipe off any excess from the exterior of the piece your mending, otherwise you'd have to grind or sand it off after curing, which would be problematic with all of those grooves.

 

[quebecois]

Permatex sells a Black plastic weld, it could be fine for this fix, what do you think?

 

[lowefficiency]

I've never done this myself, but I've read that for some tricky breaks like cracks in Bakelite, one useful technique is to first glue the pieces together with a cyanoacrylate "super glue". This isn't the permanent fix, but holds it together and set in place while you work on it. Once the super glue sets, working from the backside of the piece, you can then grind a groove into the crack (with a Dremel or similar rotary tool), which is then filled with a slow-set epoxy (such as JB-Weld).

The epoxy is the structural repair, and the roughness and surface area of the groove ensures that the epoxy will have something to bite into. But the face of the part, where appearance matters, will have been untouched by the epoxy, so there is far less clean-up to the part. A hairline crack will remain, but not blobs of epoxy or streaks from attempting to clean off epoxy spillover.

 

[quebecois]

Thanks Dave, this is the kind of repair I could do on this GE toaster.

 

[kb0nes]

Fix the Sunbeam!! They are the perfect toaster assuming you don't need wide slots for bagels etc.

The radiant control makes for the most consistent toasting batch after batch no matter if the appliance is hot or not (or the bread cold).

I've been using the same one (made in 1955) for about 20 years and I can't imagine getting rid of it. I was worried it might fail so 15 years ago I bought a back up at a flea market for $5.

I did take mine apart about 10 years ago and went through it cleaning and polishing and applying some DeOxit to the electrical contacts. I suspect the Sunbeam toaster will outlast me.

Toast does taste better when it isn't startled by a pop up toaster

 

[quebecois]

My plan is to fix both, the GE for my daughter who will need it in her first apartment and the Sunbeam to please my friend who asked for it.

 

[turquoisedude]

GE toaster service info

Bon, I wasn't able to scan them but I took pictures of the GE service guide for the T31 series toaster.  It's the "cool down" cycle that requires adjustment - it's not difficult but it can be time-consuming. 

Bonne chance!

 

[appliguy]

Answer to reply #22

I got a Sunbeam T35 Radiant Control Toaster for $3 two years ago because it did not work at all. All I had to do to fix it was take a butter knife and slightly turn the screw that is just inside the crumb door in the middle of the toaster. I have a friend that buys and sells these toasters and he has found that 95% of the time that will fix the problem you have with your Sunbeam Radiant Control Toaster! PATRICK COFFEY

 

[quebecois]

Thanks Paul, I had a look at the instructions and the way I understand them, it should be the Heat-up cycle that needs adjustment, beacause the toasts are too drak (actually the toasts burn if the heat-up cycle is not stopped manually).

I may be wrong though, my English isn't that good. But first I have to glue the plastic case.

 

[turquoisedude]

You're right about the instructions saying to adjust the heat-up cycle, but there's another mention of having to adjust the cool-down cycle if the heat-up is adjusted; I learned the hard way that if you start with the cool-down cycle, you'll likely solve the problem faster.  One other hard-learned lesson - the adjusting screw that can be accessed through the bottom of the toaster panel may have slipped out.  If that is the case, take the toaster apart carefully to locate it and reinstall it - that causes more burnt toast than you can imagine!!

 

 

[quebecois]

Thanks Patrick, I recently learned the trick you're talking about in one of the videos I put a linked to here a few days ago

 

[quebecois]

Here are the screws that may need adjustments in the GE toaster. I assume that the one with the hex-nut is the heat-up adjusting screw, and the thinner and longer one with the slotted head is the Cool-down adjusting screw.

 

[turquoisedude]

That's right - I'll bet that if you back up that cool-down screw, the overtoasting problem will be solved.

 

[quebecois]

I can't figure why it could have gotten out of the proper range?