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A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

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Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#221

Post by fuzzfactor »

xadhominemx wrote: post #195
34679 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this says more about the decreased purchasing power of the average US household than it does about what people want. The Venn diagram of what a person wants and what they can afford is rarely a circle.

> I think this says more about the decreased purchasing power of the average US household What does it say about that?

Compared to the way it was during the lifetime of this model from a major company offering all price points, there is no longer a sizable enough percentage of Americans able to afford supporting this level of quality/superior-engineering for production to have continued past a certain year.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#222

Post by throwawaylinux »

IshKebab wrote: post #207
throwawaylinux wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They bury the lede in the last fucking paragraph. The reason this toaster is immensely better than the toaster you have at home is very, very simple: this toaster's 1949 price would be hundreds of dollars in 2021 terms. From the article it seemed that it's better because it has a radiant temperature sensor rather than a simple timer. Unless you're disputing that and saying it's good for some other reason that would…

Basically all toasters use temperature to stop rather than time. Am I missing something? I actually looked for a timer based toaster for ages and couldn't find one.

I don't know, I'm just going by the article and youtube video referenced.

From the article: and it’s got a mechanical thermostat inside that stops your bread toasting when it’s toasted and ready, NOT after some arbitrary amount of time.

From the video: Modern toasters operate based on a timer...

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#223

Post by mark-r »

jakub_g wrote: post #199
gambiting wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>I've always wondered if we could fix this through legislation that forces manufacturers of consumer goods to provide an estimate of product lifetime according to some agreed standard We can, but again, I feel like a lot of customers don't want that. Even here on HN I hear people saying that well, if I want to buy a $200 washing machine that falls apart in 3 years, then it should be my god given right to do so. If c…

> if I want to buy a $200 washing machine that falls apart in 3 years, then it should be my god given right to do so The $200 unrepairable washing machine has a massive negative externality for the planet. Most people don't think in those terms (especially when the budget is tight, or they are landlords and just need to put checkmark items in the apartment), that's why we should have strong regulations to prevent mas…

In the U.S. the manufacturers have figured out that they can make more money selling an "extended warranty" than they can selling the product itself. So the included warranty is as short as they think they can get away with, to encourage you to pony up for the upgrade. It's actually in their best interest for you to believe the item will die the day after the warranty expires.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#224

Post by mark-r »

loonster wrote: post #218
throwanem wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need the ground line too since the body of the unit is conductive and not insulated. Without a ground, you can short live to the body and have it still function in that hazardous state; with the body grounded, that short will pass current and trip the breaker.

That solves a different problem. The ground is only used if there is a short somewhere in the unit. (Potentially getting a shock from touching the toaster.) A polarized plug prevents the elements from being a live wire.

One end of the element will be neutral and the other end will be hot. No way to avoid that, no matter how you change the plug - the voltage differential is how you get the current that generates heat.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#225

Post by [deleted] »

mark-r wrote: post #224
loonster wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That solves a different problem. The ground is only used if there is a short somewhere in the unit. (Potentially getting a shock from touching the toaster.) A polarized plug prevents the elements from being a live wire.

One end of the element will be neutral and the other end will be hot. No way to avoid that, no matter how you change the plug - the voltage differential is how you get the current that generates heat.

[deleted]

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#226

Post by t0mas88 »

will0 wrote: post #91
t0mas88 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are polarised plugs? The article also mentions it but I have no idea what it is and why it's safer.

Without a polarised plug it means current can 'flow' the 'wrong' way through the toaster, backwards through the heating coils. Which is to say when the toaster is plugged in but off, the heating coils could still be live, and touching them would shock you.

Ah, European standard plugs don't have that. I guess that makes it mandatory to have the power switch interrupt both wires, at least that's what lamps here tend to have.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#227

Post by ygra »

dlgeek wrote: post #158
t0mas88 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are polarised plugs? The article also mentions it but I have no idea what it is and why it's safer.

Polarized plugs have one of the prongs bigger than the other and will only fit one way into an outlet. This ensures that you actually know which wire is hot and which wire is neutral and can ensure the switch controls hot (the power source) rather than neutral (the power return).

Not every country even has polarized plugs, though. The concept was new to me too at a time. The German Schuko plug for example is unpolarized, as is the euro plug, so there's no polarized plug options here.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#228

Post by myself248 »

bombcar wrote: post #107
myself248 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same problem! I bake a lot of my own bread and often end up with odd-shaped lumps of loaf-ends which fall between the wires. Also I wish I could get a narrow-slot toaster. I never toast bagels, and I feel like a the ubiquitous wide-slot designs waste energy and take longer because there's so much unnecessary room for air to convection-cool the bread.

Get a commercial one https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/toaster.html But probably not worth the space.

Literally all of the pop-up style toasters there are wide-slot types. And the conveyor style are clearly out of the question since my stated goal is to use less energy. I'm not sure I understand your suggestion.

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#229

Post by paledot »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #194
gambiting wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>I've always wondered if we could fix this through legislation that forces manufacturers of consumer goods to provide an estimate of product lifetime according to some agreed standard We can, but again, I feel like a lot of customers don't want that. Even here on HN I hear people saying that well, if I want to buy a $200 washing machine that falls apart in 3 years, then it should be my god given right to do so. If c…

I'm not arguing that we ban washing machines that break in 3 years, just that they're properly labelled.

Why not?

Re: A toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

#230

Post by AussieWog93 »

paledot wrote: post #229
AussieWog93 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not arguing that we ban washing machines that break in 3 years, just that they're properly labelled.

Why not?

Because providing this information to the consumer would be much easier to implement, face much less resistance and have an arguably greater effect (if there's a law saying that every washing machine must last at least 5 years, for example, that doesn't incentivise manufacturers to make something that lasts for 20).

Also, to be honest, it just seems "neater" mathematically/economic to not set hard borders anywhere.

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