The Sunbeam T-20
This toaster was a goddess. It never, to anyone's knowledge, required a moment of maintenance or had any type of malfunction in almost 60 years of continuous use. How many slices of toast is that? Well okay, it did get a little confused by whole wheat and sometimes burned it or wouldn't toast it at all but that could be dealt with by adjusting the dial towards 'darker'. Grandma Malin was a little like that too so it all makes sense.
This toaster was completely automatic. There wasn't even a lever. You dropped the slice of bread in the special slot (only one of them had the sensor) and the slice would slowly and gracefully descend into the unit while the coils began to glow. Then it knew when the bread was toasted and it would just as slowly and gracefully emerge from the unit perfectly browned.
Now it seems to not realize when the bread is inserted. It just sits there. I guess it's retired? 60 years is a long time. I turned it upside down to see if I could see a problem. But there was nothing in there except crumbs dating back to the Truman Administration. The automatic nature of the T-20 appears to have been magic. I could not see any part that looked like it was the bread-sensing mechanism. How did they do it? And how did it keep working seamlessly for 6 decades?
They don't make 'em like that anymore. I can't bring myself to buy some new, ugly, cheap piece of shit that will probably only last 5 years. Does anyone fix toasters anymore?
14 comments:
What happens if you put a little weight on the bread? Would that help the sensor to make the electrical contact? If not, you might be able to find a fix-it person around. We have one in the neighborhood here in Boston.
Good luck! Sounds like a brilliant toaster!
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What is it about perfect things that work perfectly? Aren't they the loveliest of the lovely?
I'm am so sorry your toaster is toast. You must have loved it so!
Sorry to hear about your toaster. The automated feature sounded terrific.
Here are two excellent toasters. This first one is a new model from the German company Rowenta. It has terrific features and a very good modern design. It's so good, even a Jew would have this German oven in their home.
http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=7808
Here's my overpriced English toaster. If there is one thing the English know about cooking, it's toast. The company is located (or at least used to be) in Deptford, which is the wonderfully nasty riverside London suburb where Christopher Marlowe was stabbed in the eye. When I lived in London I used to go to a betting shoppe on Deptford High Street. When I would cash a winning ticket, I'd tell the lady to "call me a carriage to Knightsbridge." The first couple times she laughed.
I love the toaster because it feels solid. No automation or sensors on ths baby - it has a lever to lower the bread and raise the toast and a very loud timer. Incase the link doesn't work, Google Dulait Toaster.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009NROG/qid=1127146504/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_unbuck_1/002-2813128-9646410?v=glance&s=kitchen&n=
Checkout this site dedicated to your toaster:
http://www.automaticbeyondbelief.org/
Looks like they may have a repair manual you can download.
Way cool!!! Thanks Dan. And now that I know how it worked, I really can't believe a working part that was calibrated to move 1/1000 of an inch functioned perfectly for 60 years!
Alan said he'd be happy to take a look at it.
sister S
It's not likely that your toaster cannot be fixed. The on/off mechanism under the covers has some contacts that may need cleaning. I just purchased one of these manufactured in 1951. After completely disassembling it and reassembling it, I did require making some adjustments to restore it's proper operation. If you are not 100% literate with line voltages and use of a multimeter, it's best you stay out from under the covers. There are numerous places under there that are at line voltage potential with the covers removed. In summary, there's almost nothing under there to wear out. Either something has become dirty or sticky causing the power switch mechanism to fail, or the heating coil(s) have burned out. If the heating coils are burned out (open) it's not likely you would be able to get this part or an equivalent. I see these units trading on e-bay frequently.
No other toaster has approached the engineering or quality levels designed into this unit, to this very day.
there should be a tiny screw bottom of toaster that needs to be turned counterclockwise half a turn when bread does not lower
I had mine fixed by the guy at Toaster Central dot com - Michael Sheaefe I think is his name. It wasn't cheap, but this was an ebay find that I had for a few years before my cheapo toaster died - and this seems to be about the best toaster ever made. It is awesome to just put the bread in, and watch it do its job, flawlessly, while I always had to fight with the cheapo $10.00 toaster to do its job -
v had it, the screw is UNDER the bottom cover (unplug it) and exactly in the middle, try turning it one way & then the other 1/4 turn at a time.
Check out this site dedicated to that sunbeam toaster. Click the "fixing your toaster" link at the upper left side. Good luck!
http://www.automaticbeyondbelief.org/
I took mine to an authorized Sunbeam repair center and they fixed the one I have. Best toaster ever made. It belonged to my mother and it became mine when she passed away.
I have one of these. It also stopped descending when the bread was inserted (particularly if you loaded the non-switched slot first) but then I found that if you reached in to the other slot and pulled up on the platform, it would work (I know, not the safest procedure.) Then I discovered a small adjustment screw on the bottom of machine. To see it, open the crumb door. It is in the middle of the bar that runs between the two slots. Turn it to adjust the sensitivity of the switch. Try a quarter turn each way until performance improves (if it improves.) My toaster is still working.
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