[Closed] Recommend a toaster

A relative bought us a Dualit 4 slot, looks like the 125 quid one on John Lewis. I have to say it is hugely disappointing, especially now I have just seen how much it was. Cheap plastic handles, uneven toasting, prone to burning if a 2nd go is required. Cheap rubbish trading off the name imo.

Battlestar Galactica?

Had our Dualit 4 slice for 15 years. I replaced the timer on it last month for £8. That's the first thing that's gone wrong with it. It just works. The timer is just in minutes so if it's not brown enough then put it back on for a bit and then keep it on a bit longer next time. I put a red dot on it where it works best most of the time (bread type dependant).
Looks like the £200 john lewis one but without the little knob above the timer (whatever that is for?) but I think it was about £120 at the time.

Dualit 4 slice - the mechanical one with a timer where you lift the toast out manually. Makes absolutely perfect toast every time. Had mine for 8 years and it’s never put a foot wrong. If you leave it in the down position for a minute or two when it’s finished you get beautiful crisp warm toast. The only thing that beats the Duait is an Aga hot plate and toast cage but the Aga is highly susceptible to over/under doing it as it’s a completely manual process. Good though..😎

Pocpoc (abney and teal??)
This one?
https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/dualit-da0040-4-slice-classic-toaster-polished-stainless-steel?gclid=CjwKCAjwzt6LBhBeEiwAbPGOgR_LbiXnleX5EBc2kxxvKNPc-WJ7XKfIc3YYhWkhs_fLzd0BtqmgWBoCTvwQAvD_BwE

I'm even considering the £300 catering one to get the 2 levers, 1 for each pair of slots

It looks like there are at least 3 very similar ones, the classic I link above, the newgen at John Lewis, and a 2*2 Combi Vario
https://www.nisbets.co.uk/dualit-combi-4-slice-toaster/l139?vatToggle=incvat&plaid=1&cm_mmc=PLA-_-14490609285-_-130366799887-_-L139&cm_mmca1=go_14490609285_130366799887_543013866929_pla-1415483181988_m_&gclid=CjwKCAjwzt6LBhBeEiwAbPGOgXIIUmY9ItBsOtMZrA7_Lujv-5BsZg5ES5CFfRIfKQIhnVyCAgJNRhoCvj4QAvD_BwE

The blurb there says controls each slot separately, okay.. but only had one lever by the look. Can I set two slices going, grab plates, butter, knife, shove another 2 slices going, grab jam/Marmite/peanut butter just in time for the first two to pop, butter then and jam/ whatever in time for the second 2? How can one lever provide this!? Buying toasters shouldn't be this hard, I need a cuppa and a lie down.

Have you considered 2 two-slice toasters and some duct tape

I've got a 4 slice combi Vario here and a 4 slice new gen at our place by the beach.
They both work in the same way (no "popping up" and the single lever lifts all slices at the same time).
The combi is good because it has the cages that you can lift slices out early while leaving others in to cook.
That said you can buy them separately.
The new gen is cool because you can select 1,2,3 or 4 slices while the combi only lets you choose 1,2 or 4.
The new gen also has a bagel setting which only cooks one side of the bread in slot 1.

Overall I think I prefer the new gen but frankly any of them are great.
Using a timer to control the cooking becomes second nature.... It's kinda difficult to get it wrong as you can easily lift the slices up to check on them.
We've had ours for over 18 years - only needed one timer which is a 5 minute job to replace.

Chances are a Dualit will be the last toaster you ever buy.

We've had a 4 slot Sage one for a few years and it's been great. Much nicer to use than the clunky old Dualits though they do have a certain charm.

Don't be tempted by the non classic Dualit models. They are ok but feel flimsy and overpriced and the second round of toast comes out much more done than the first.

Dualit 4-slot classic here, treat to ourselves about 8 years ago. Best toast ever.

Yet our Sage continually seemed to trip the electrics and died just out of warranty. JL weren't interested and neither were Sage. Expensive waste of money.

The reviews of the toaster on JL seemed to document this was a regular occurrence when we went to leave our review.

ok i'm convinced to try the dualit. I'm keen to try the 6 slice as we are a family of 5 and although the kids are 6, 4 and 1 I've found out they grow, and eat MORE! I can see a future conversation with me reminding the wife that the 4 slot would be too small.

sharkbait, thank you! so that is a bagel setting. Isn't that 'french toast'? anyway, whatever its called, I'm glad i now know.

Dualit 4 slice here, 28 years old, used every day and still going strong. All I’ve ever had to do is replace a couple of elements which is very simple to do. I bought an immaculate second hand 4 slot stainless one for a present off eBay for £100 delivered last month. Their kettles are crap tho!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Severin-Automatic-Chambers-2509-Stainless/dp/B007HMTKU0/

Good if you like longer bread. Ours is 4 years old now and heavily used.

For what it's worth as it zoomed past everyone, @scotroutes I appreciated that.

I've got a 4-slice Morphy Richards. It's alright. Doesn't fit a Warby's toastie slice but what does other than a grill?

This one @dooosuk ?

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/toasters/bta845.html

Reviews seem overwhelmingly positive to me.

Pocpoc (abney and teal??)
This one?

Not knowingly. Thankfully the children are too old for it now but I avoided it like the plague when they were younger. Awful program.

Also, yes exactly that one.
We also have one if the cages for it, bought separately, for doing cheese toasties and pop tarts.

Our Dualit toaster is probably the only thing that will of any use to our kids when we die.

Think of it as a steel framed, Deore equipped rigid mtb that just keeps on going, doing the job.

Also, love the BG toaster reference.

Is it just me that finds the concept of spending more than a tenner on a toaster odd?

Before anyone complains, I wouldn't advocate buying something that needs chucking and replacing in a year just because it's cheap, since there are plenty of other ways to ruin the planet... but neither have I ever had a toaster stop working that I can remember.

And it's not like I'm not particular about toast (and stuff in general)... working from home and baking my own bread twice a week, I use it a fair bit. In fact, I'm eating toast while writing this, without really thinking about it.

>£100 for a toaster?!

Another Dualit 4 slicer here.

18 years old, replaced the timer recently (as above ^^) which was an easy job.

Perfect toast every time.

Our Dualit must be over 25 years old and is still going strong. If they’re only lasting 18 years now before needing a new timer then clearly standards are slipping!

s it just me that finds the concept of spending more than a tenner on a toaster odd?

I bought a kettle in Tesco once that was (if I remember correctly) about £8.00. woman said to me "Keep the receipt, They either break straight away, in which case just bring it back, or they last forever" It's lasted about a decade so far...

I did buy a 2 slot proper Dualit with a work bonus though, so what do I know?

Is it just me that finds the concept of spending more than a tenner on a toaster odd?

I was the same until I bought one - I'm not a toast connoisseur, but the <£10 toaster we use when away camping is utter bollocks in comparison. Toast just isn't the same on holiday.

Plus I just like the mechanical nature of the timer #smallthings

I find them uncomfortable to sit on, a bugger to pedal and they're lethal in the wet.
That said I have a Breville four slice job It's at least 15 years old and does what it says on the, err... tin.
I've jinxed it now haven't I.

The Dualit classic is how every product should be made.

The Dualit purchase/ownership experience (save and then spend lots up front, take care of it, simple DIYable component replacement of every part, last a lifetime)is what we should be aspiring for from every product we own.

The sellers/manufacturers of £10 planned obsolescence toasters and similar should be hanging their heads in shame in these environmentally aware times.

Yes, I appreciate this is a very privileged middle class view.

Yes, I appreciate this is a very privileged middle class view.

It's the Sam Vimes Theory of Economic Injustice.

"Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet."

As someone who recently dismantled and repaired a Dualit toaster (that wasn't from the insane £200 range), I don't think it's fair to claim that Dualit make good things. My toaster was a PITA of twisted metal and plastic clips and very much not designed to be fixed (although I did fix it, because I'm awesome).

I'm stuck between "buy an infinitely fixable toaster" and "how much?!?!"

The Dualit purchase/ownership experience (save and then spend lots up front, take care of it, simple DIYable component replacement of every part, last a lifetime)is what we should be aspiring for from every product we own.

Ha! I chuck 'em out when the crumb drawer's full. Take that libs. (Dualit lever two slice owner here, costs the same as the four slice model meaning my toast consts twice what yours does, or something. Also I am utterly confused by the bagel function and never remember to take it off the one slice setting when doing too, causing feelings of mild rage. Also

what's Rankin' Ro0ger up to these days?

Edit: soddit, nevermind, posting a GIF here is harder than trying to fix an £8 Tesco toaster.

sharkbait, thank you! so that is a bagel setting.

Yep.... And you're welcome 😁

(I prefer my bagels cooked on both sides though!)

Just remembered that I've also got a three slice classic in the back of a cupboard at the other house.
That may be a present to whichever daughter gets their own house first.
Or I could keep it and then be able to do batches of 7 slices when the house is full 🤔

The saddest bit is that I'm currently on a low carb thing so avoiding bread at all costs 😩

Trust me we had all of your issues. My son was ready to move out if we didn’t sort out the 1” of Untoasted bread issue. All our prayers were answered in the form of

https://www.funkyappliance.co/pages/the-toaster?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIitLeypvr8wIVW-vtCh2L7AmEEAAYASABEgJRL_D_BwE

<blockquoteNot knowingly. Thankfully the children are too old for it now but I avoided it like the plague when they were younger. Awful program.

Wash your mouth out! By far our favourite of the Cbeebies era, especially Rock Music.

Still trying to build the strength to buy an expensive toaster. Nearly did but couldn't decide which so got a stopgap cheapo that just does the job so other things have taken priority.

Not sure about a tenner but yes northwind, I too have felt excess on toaster purchase was waste, I mean, it's not like they do lots of different things (although bagels in a French bread style these days apparently). I think my first toaster was probably £10-15 when at uni and it lasted ages and ages, can't recall if it broke or I decided 4 slice capacity was better but I do recall the next toaster was a gift, pre owned from me parents, when a kettle failure and kettle plus toaster Combi deal was cheap resulted in a spare toaster. That was probably a decade old and lived another 5 then died. Then came the hated breville. Wife and I had bought the cheap and cheerful kettle from them a year or so before so when a toaster was needed looked up the matching toaster, seemed like it would do the job and was a mere £26 so bought my second ever brand new toaster. It is a reflection of how much I hated the breville and lack of time to go to a physical shop and poke/assess actual toasters on a shelf which leads to this sorry state of asking advice on a MTB forum. I dispare.

It is worrying me how so many respondents are dualit owners. It is even more worrying how many are clearly dualhome owners ' dualit here but something else at the country retreat.'

I feel like vimes, my place is the ten pounds toaster, but just maybe...I too have grown being that and can afford to find pleasure in a pointlessly expensive kitchen appliance?!

Nickc AHH yes, 6 slots are only a tenner now then 4, would make my toast better value?

Sharkbait, Indeed so do I! No wait... I've never tried one sided toasted bagel, I could be missing out! I don't feel concerned though.

The wife is unconvinced still. I'll be grilling my toast if I don't get a purchase agreement signed off by the weekend

Dualit classic 4-slice. Had it 14 years. Not missed a toasting beat in that time.

Before that I had one of the ‘cheap’ dualits. Useless. Lasted less time than the Tefal fat and thin single slot, 2-slice toaster that preceded it. And it was not repairable.

As described by others, the option to heat 2 or 4 slots is good. The toast staying down after cooking is surprisingly good. And the robust build and replaceable and repairable nature is probably great.

We have a Dualit 4 slice toaster, it's probably about 15 (or more?) years old now. Maybe it's 20 years old, I can't remember. Old anyway.

We bought it after a succession of cheap(er) toasters just died after a few months of use.

I don't understand why it's not possible to make a toaster for less than £200 that doesn't break down. Maybe I should have spent more effort fixing those broken ones.

When I worked we would make 50+ slices of toast a day. Duralits lasted years, anything else weeks

We've a Dualit 2 slot with manual timer that is getting on for 25 years old. In that time I've replaced the heater elements (I think about 10years ago) and that's it.
The Land Rover Defender of toasters! 😁

Another vote for the Dualit Classic. They're basically clockwork/manual operation, look good, easy to use. HAd ours for about 20 years.

If you have a COSTCO card ( or are elligible for one), try there. I'm sure that what we saved on the toaster was more than what the years membership fee was.

Oooo, thanks for the Costco shout, I'm eligible I think but they are only a tenner cheaper than I can find elsewhere for the 4 slice, and don't seem to have the 6 slice. Oh well.

Wife wants to see a cardboard scale mock-up of the 6 slice before she'll decide. 🙄

Wife wants to see a cardboard scale mock-up of the 6 slice before she’ll decide. 🙄

You'll need a new house with a larger kitchen, but it'll be worth it, apparently 🙂

That 6 slice will be big! Never needed more the 4 slice for our family of 5.

BWD, nailed it. World's most costly toaster

NeilNevill surely has to have a Breville?
We have a Sage, primarily because it's one of the few decent long slot toaster out there. Also made by Breville.

Rankin' Roger sadly passed away 😿