Comments on: The Best Toasters of 2009

By: Toad the 12 sprocket

Toad the 12 sprocket — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:31:09 +0000

What a puff piece. Not a word about power draw or even a measurement. Nor a mention of where the units are actually made. This review is sadly inadequate.

And standby (vampire) power is an issue not to be overlooked, and an unforgiveable sin for something as simple as a toaster.

Because if your toaster draws 1 watt of standby power, over a year it probably uses more power when it’s “off” than if you toast 2 slices of bread every day.

By: Robin Green

Robin Green — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:26:53 +0000

There is already a toaster on the market that has automatically closing upper louvers and thereby gains considerable energy efficiency over traditional toasters (see Energy efficient toaster for a discussion). I tested the theory myself by covering my own cheap toaster for one slice of toast and found it toasted considerably faster than another slice toasted without a cover. Unfortunately the ‘energy efficient’ toaster in question has a vampire load of 2 watts continuously so it will burn far more plugged in all year than it will save by being more efficient.

Really, this discussion of how energy efficient a toaster can be is kind of missing the point. Say a toaster uses 1,000 watts and you toast an average of four slices of bread a day in it – for about 90 seconds for each two slices. That’s a total of 3 minutes at 1,000 watts, which is the same as 1/20th of a kilowatt hour, or 0.05 kwh. Over a year that ads up to 18.3 kilowatt hours.

Meanwhile, a typical house in Ontario, where I’m from, uses 35 kilowatt hours a DAY, while we’ve cut our use down to about 8 kilowatt hours (less than a quarter the average). We didn’t do it by buying an energy efficient toaster, that’s for sure!

By: john goldman

john goldman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:05:23 +0000

I don’t know how long ago you were in high school, but the maximum amount of time a patent can exist for is 20 years. After which time it enters the public domain and anyone can produce a product using the technique or technology.

If my assumption that this patent has expired or is an urban legend, its lack of widespread use is most likely the result of market forces (people prefer toasters that are open) or ineffectiveness.

If keeping the heat in makes it more efficient energy or appliance waste wise, why not use a toaster oven which is closed and can be used to toast bread or heat other foods.

By: Whymars

Whymars — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:59:41 +0000

I believe in Denmark the vertical style of toaster in unheard of, and all toasters are horizontal, more like grills. I wonder if they have a lower energy spend per slice than the rest of us.

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:25:03 +0000

I’ll second Christiaan’s comments actually, as nowhere were the superb ‘Dualit‘ British-built and made toasters mentioned. As as has been said, the parts are replaceable, and they have extremely well-made, solid components (similar to Kitchen Aid products in many ways) and have remained the same quality and design for decades. Hence they have a strong following as they are fashionably ‘retro’ now (not that fashion should dictate choices for the practically-minded, but it does at least then appeal to a wider audience).
In a nutshell, these toasters are stainless and alloy and totally manual! No automatic features at all, but different add-ons like warming racks & sandwich holders.
Lastly, for those wishing to reduce power consumption, these toasters have dial-controlled slot heating selection: 1-, 2- or 4-slot heating options, so if you’re only wanting 1 or 2 slices, then you don’t need all slots powered. How sensible, basic and utterly simple!

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:42:10 +0000

I know from personal experience that the Hamilton Beach 22708 Toastation Toaster is an awful device. The convenience of having a pop-up toaster and a toaster oven is dwarfed by the fact that it’s awful at both. The toaster oven delivers uneven heat, and even worst *it has no timer*. You can set the temperature, and that’s it. As for the pop-up toaster, it has too much clearance around the wires. Anything smaller than a regular slice of bread falls down into the oven portion, burning it on the way down.

I got it for free second-hand, and it wasn’t worth it.

By: christiaan

christiaan — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:12:52 +0000

Okay, so no mention of energy use and no mention of dualit toasters which have replaceable parts. This site is just an excuse for consumerism, not efficiency.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:26:03 +0000

I second Marinus

By: marinus

marinus — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:52:11 +0000

I thought Erik was a little too kind. You run a website touting metaefficiency and compare toasters without even mentioning power use/efficiency!? Doh! A few more roundups like that and i’ll be heading for the exit….

By: limbodog

limbodog — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:39:04 +0000

Just had my dad (who got a new meter for xmas) run his toaster through the meter to see power consumption. His is a 4 slot toaster and not a particular “energy saver” or anything. Just a regular toaster. 810 watts for 2 pieces of toast. (almost exactly double that for 4).