Everyone's familiar with the standard two slot toaster. You put two slices of toast in, push the handle down, all the heating elements come on, and after a while the toast pops up and both slices are evenly browned on both sides.
If you put only one slice in you go thru the same steps, push the handle down, all the heating elements come on and after a while the toast pops up. But in my toaster when it pops up there is a considerable difference in the amount of toasting done on one side of the slice compared to the other.
Why the difference when only one slice is toasted?
Using only one slice in two slice toaster disrupts the space-time continuum. It effects the flux capacitor's ability to calibrate the muffler bearings properly, resulting in non-uniform browning. To solve this conundrum, you can move the toaster closer to the equator of the earth, thus improving the flux capacitor's ability to maintain calibration. Or, you could just put the slice of bread back in after turning it 180 degree and toast some more. ; ` }
Les (when I started school, I could not spell enjunear, but now I are one!)
Hey, everyone's cracking jokes and I thought it is a good question! I've got 2 toasters, one electronic and one mechanical, and they both do the same thing to a single slice of bread, and I never figured out why either. Bob S.
I think I figured out why, I'll post my solution in another day or two. I was wondering why for at least a year and then one day it hit me (the solution, not the toast popping up). I thought a home repair group might generate some good ideas but it seems like that's not the case so far.
I wasn't going to get into this thread, but what the hey...
Heat rises. When those coils heat up, that heat wants out of that toaster. The heat goes out through the top of the toatser. When you have two slices of bread inserted, the heat goes around the bread and out through the top of the toaster. The "openings" (at the top of the toaster) are basically the same size, thus allowing the heat to escape at the same rate. The result is an even distribution on the bread (on both sides of each slice) thus they get "cooked" evenly.
If you put one slice in the toaster, you have now left a larger hole for the heat to escape: Heat that was not-so-slow-to-esape when there wre two slices in the toaster. The single slice will not be toasted as dark as when there are two slices. PLUS! The single slice will also have the side facing the "open hole" come out a little lighter than the other side.
Does that make sense or am I just an open hole myself?
look im no toast expert, but it seems simple. you have a case of cause and effect. the cause is using one piece of bread instead of two. the effect is burnt toast.
i think the logical assumption is that bread absorbs energy given off by the burners. when there isnt any bread there, but the burner is still on, that energy goes elsewhere. in this case, over to the other piece of bread. if the sensor were better located, this probably wouldnt happen.
either that or the magic bread faeries resent there not being bread in both slots and use magic to burn the single slice on one side....
Why in the world would anybody toast only one slice of bread? In my entire toast making existence, I have NEVER made only one slice. A one slice toast world seems a positively un-American concept to me, and I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the makers of the internet, and ask that you be investigated, with a cc to the Toast Council of America.
Further:
How many one slice toasters do you see on the market?
In America, practically zero. In Russia, that's about all they sell. Why? Because only commie pinko bastards make one slice of toast at a time, or allow the government to mandate to the masses how much bread can be converted to toast in one session.
In China, if you are caught making more than one slice of toast, your toaster is executed ON THE SPOT and your toast making license is revoked for life.
So beware the ramifications of the questions you ask Mr. Crusher; these are perilous times and it is best not to risk what you have worked so hard to gain by throwing such important questions into the internet wind with carefree abandon.
The toastmakers are watching you; you have been warned.
To the OP: How many radiant elements are in your toaster? One for each side of each slice or just two (unlikely) or three? If you have less than four no wonder you're getting a different result with one slice.
If you take two (or really any number) of slices and toast them in a domestic toaster, depending on the darkness control, you'll get a different result than if you toast them in a commercial toaster. The difference is the power of the radiants. The radiants effectively burn the outside layer of the bread; in the limp-wristed powerless domestic version they take so long to do so that the heat soaks through the bread and drives out the moisture from the entire slice thus making a crisper more brittle toast. In the commercial version the radiants burn the outside quickly bringing it up to the desired color before the moisture can be removed from the inside. Try it next time you eat in a luncheonette or diner.
What is necessary is for someone to produce a high quality toaster that actually does what is pretends to do. You need a scanner that measures by pixel (or crumb) on each side of the bread, determining the average pixel darkness and ejecting the slice when it reaches a preset color. It would also have to test if any one or group of pixels exceeded a "burnt" threshold to avoid being thrown off by irregular bread surfaces. The moisture content should also be factored in (user settable) by measuring the humidity level of the output air. Some electronics nerd needs to get on the stick right now!
You never commented on what I had posted (copied and pasted from Google):
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair From: "Dr. Hardcrab" - Find messages by this author Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 11:41:23 GMT Local: Mon, Mar 14 2005 3:41 am Subject: Re: Triva Question/Puzzler Reply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse
I wasn't going to get into this thread, but what the hey...
Heat rises. When those coils heat up, that heat wants out of that toaster. The heat goes out through the top of the toatser. When you have two slices of bread inserted, the heat goes around the bread and out through the top of the toaster. The "openings" (at the top of the toaster) are basically the same size, thus allowing the heat to escape at the same rate. The result is an even distribution on the bread (on both sides of each slice) thus they get "cooked" evenly.
If you put one slice in the toaster, you have now left a larger hole for the heat to escape: Heat that was not-so-slow-to-esape when there wre two slices in the toaster. The single slice will not be toasted as dark as when there are two slices. PLUS! The single slice will also have the side facing the "open hole" come out a little lighter than the other side.
Does that make sense or am I just an open hole myself?
If you're going to bother to deal with the problem at all, the sensible thing to do is have a separate lever for each toaster slot, or at least a switch for the second slot.
Most people, though, don't spend a lot of effort trying to color-match the two sides of a slice of toast.
The real problem with home toasters is that on a 120V circuit the most you can safely plan on drawing is 15 amps without risking constantly popping the breakers. At that amperage you just can't get enough heat generating capacity to really toast fast. Most of the commercial electric toasters are 220v I think. Or gas.
You pretty much have it. Nothing to do with the sensor though. Most of these toasters have three heater boards. A left board, center board, and right board. If you only put one slice in the right side, all the heat from the left board goes past the empty space where the second slice would normally be and adds it's heat to the center board. So the center board gets hotter then it normally would. That makes it toast the left side of the right slice faster then the right board can toast the right side of the right slice. This could be solved by making the center board a sandwich with an insulating layer in the middle so the heat couldn't transfer thru. Perhaps some toasters have that, mine apparently does not.
If you mean the stuff below, I think it's an interesting take on it but I don't think it's what's really happening. As the below stuff say, your theory is the side of the toast toward the center would be the less toasted side. But that's actually the more toasted side (I just sacrificed a slice of bread to verify). So far, I'm still of the opinion that the lack of the second slice causes the center board to get hotter then "normal" causing the inside side of the bread to toast more then the outside side, when there is only the one slice.
That would work if it kept the unused outside heater board from coming on when there is no slice in that side. There are some one LONG slot toasters which put the two pieces in longways and they should also eliminate this problem. It's not the most pressing problem in the world I'll agree.
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